2018 Ford F-150 Complaint Log

Ford F-150 equipped with 5.0L with 68,000 miles has a significant amount of engine oil loss between recommended intervals from the manufacturer. Took vehicle to dealership it was bought from brand new, they confirmed the level. Added oil, then the service department manager said, “we’ll have to do the oil consumption test. This is the test Ford recommends on the Service Board and they know about the problem.” They will send data to Ford, and Ford will recommend to “more than likely put a new motor in.” Since I’m just out of warranty, I have to pay over $15,000 out of pocket for a problem Ford knows about.

(A known defective Product/Part ) My name is [XXX] , and I am a retired military veteran and former police officer. I proudly served my country and community, including a deployment to Africa from 2021–2022. Unfortunately, during my service, I developed a chronic medical condition that ultimately led to my inability to continue working as a police officer and a soldier. Due to my physical limitations, I was honorably released from law enforcement, a career I deeply valued.   In 2019, I purchased a 2018 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0 Crew Cab with 14,000 miles on the odometer which has always been a goal of mine. In an effort protect my investment, I purchased an extended warranty, which I believed would cover me until I reached 100,000 miles. The truck currently has 77,000 miles, and I recently experienced a serious mechanical issue.   While returning home from dropping my son off at college, my truck began harshly shifting, hesitating between gears, and jerking forward. The wrench light appeared, and I experienced a significant decrease in power. I immediately took it to Landers Ford in Covington, TN, where I was informed that the CDF drum is malfunctioning—a known issue with this type of transmission. The estimated repair cost is $9,335.14, but I was informed that my extended warranty had expired in 2024. I have meticulously taken care of my truck since I purchased it. I have only recently started driving it on a regular basis. As a [XXX] living on a fixed income, I simply do not have the means to cover this cost. This appears to be a known issue with several models of the Ford F-150. Some of the sites that reference this issue are: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I am seeking assistance to get this resolved and corrected INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When driving my vehicle it would keep slipping out of gear and sometimes just stopping forward motion. Scaring the heck out of myself and my wife. I never knew when this might happen so I took it in and it was diagnosed and was told that it was jumping out of 2nd and 4th gear I believe. This vehicle only had approximately 45000miles onit. They told me I had two choices replace with rebuilt transmission or a new one I chose the new one . 8000. That was a shock considering I believe these should had covered it considering the mileage on it . Anyway that’s my complaint. Thank you

My son brought his vehicle in for service because his coolant had been leaking and the fan was constantly running very loud. The guy in the service department told him that it was a recall. After four days, they finally diagnosed it as an excessive coolant leak. I spoke with the service manager, Josh Bass and he sent a quote for $995.61 and didn't even specify what work was going to be done to the truck on the quote. Josh verbally told me over the phone that the water pump needs to be replaced to fix the problem. The truck has less than 60,000 miles on it and should be on recall. The coolant leak could lead to major engine problems. This issue is very concerning and should be reported immediately!

My coolant/water housing had an issue and caused a leak by the thermostat and it caused my engine to overheat while I was driving. I had my 10yr old son in the vehicle with me and had I not had the opportunity to pull over into a Walmart parking lot almost immediately in order to get some coolant into my truck, it would have been disastrous. The warning for high engine temperature was the only warning I had as I was unaware that I had any type of coolant leak. This could and may have caused some more damage than just the mandatory repairs that I had to do because this is my mode of transportation to/from work for the Federal Government.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the vehicle was idling rough and there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer, and it was determined that the engine had consumed over 3 quarts of oil during the test period. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer advised that it was a known failure of the 2nd generation 5.0-liter engines. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Experienced a rapid, dangerous downshift on the highway that took me from 70 mph to 50 mph. After that, the truck shifts roughly into gears 1-7 then hesitates into gears 8-10. Additionally, trucks downshifts cause passengers to lunge forward at random times as it skips and slips in and out of all gears. I took the vehicle to my local Ford dealer immediately and was told i need to spend $10,000 on a new transmission. After researching, this is a KNOWN issue with this year and model of truck. It is grounds for a recall and I see there are a few already in process along with a class action lawsuit. Please help! I am without a working vehicle and have young children.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers and timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired the first time the failure occurred. The vehicle was not repaired currently. The contact was relating the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case and notified the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for service, the contact was informed that the dealer observed an abnormal oil leak at the oil pan but provided no specific diagnostic results. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 74,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

10R80 transmission jerking, harsh shifting, lunging, clunking, hesitation, and sudden loss of power, slipping,

My vehicle (2018 Ford F150) is presenting with the same issues the 2021- 2023 ford an Lincoln models regarding the fuel system with my truck sputtering in 7th and 8th gears and stalling. It has stalled a few times in the past few months. The spark plugs have been changed, purple fuel styrene cleaner has been used regularly, filters changed, basically all trouble shooting has been done with no significant change. Maybe there are others who are experiencing the same out there. My vehicle is well maintained, in fact I just put upwards to $8k into it this year.

In 2019, I purchased a 2018 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0 Crew Cab, VIN # [XXX] 00 miles on the odometer which has always been a goal of mine. In an effort protect my investment, I purchased an extended warranty, which I believed would cover me until I reached 100,000 miles. The truck currently has 69,000 miles, and I recently experienced a serious mechanical issue.   While returning home from dropping my son off at college, my truck began harshly shifting, hesitating between gears, and jerking forward. The wrench light appeared, and I experienced a significant decrease in power. I immediately took it to Landers Ford in Covington, TN, where I was informed that the CDF drum is malfunctioning—a known issue with this type of transmission. The estimated repair cost is $9,335.14, but I was informed that my extended warranty had expired in 2024.  I have meticulously taken care of my truck since I purchased it. I have only recently started driving it on a regular basis. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I am reporting a persistent safety issue involving exhaust fumes entering the passenger cabin of my 2018 Ford F-150. The vehicle was purchased January 20, 2025 and has since experienced repeated mechanical failures and extended repair attempts. Despite extensive work completed under warranty - including a transmission rebuild, full engine replacement, alternator/battery/starter replacement, rear main seal repair, transfer case repair, and transmission pan repair - the exhaust odor inside the cabin has never been resolved. The odor is strong enough that passengers have experienced headaches and nausea while the HVAC system is operating. The vehicle has spent well over 150 days in repair facilities since purchase while technicians attempt to diagnose and repair the issue. The dealership currently still has the vehicle and has not been able to identify or fix the cause of the exhaust fumes. This condition raises serious safety concerns regarding possible exhaust or carbon monoxide entering the cabin. I am requesting that this issue be documented and reviewed as a potential safety defect.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 15–20 MPH, the transmission independently downshifted into first gear, the vehicle jerked, and lost automotive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over onto the shoulder and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The vehicle was taken to AAMCO, where the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but declined to provide assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Transmission frequently doesn't shift correctly. Leaving the house in the morning has trouble shifting to 2 on a neighborhood Street. Rpm climbs very high and finally jerks into second gear. Very dangerous. Pulling out on major highway. The transmission has trouble finding 2nd ,3rd or 4th gear. Same thing. Will go catch a couple of gears and not engage gear. This is very dangerous as if someone is coming up behind me and my truck randomly stuck in neutral and don't have forward momentum I have almost had some close collisions with some one running into the back of me. There is no recall with ford at this time this needs to be recalled as this is very dangerous for this to randomly happen in traffic.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

My transmission started shifting erratically. It would go from 8th to 10th gear down to 1st or 2nd gear then go back to 5th while trying to merge into oncoming traffic. People had to lock up there brakes or swerve around me to avoid a collision. There were no lights on the dash. I had a transmission shop take a look and there were no failure codes for the transmission. I have had to park the truck due to safety concerns and not drive it. This happened on several occasions during that trip.

My 2018 Ford F150 with the 2.7L V6 Ecoboost and 10R80 10 speed automatic transmission was purchased used with around 50k miles on it. At approximately 100K miles the transmission started acting funny. After taking off from a stop with the transmission in 1st gear, as it went to shift up to the 2nd gear, the truck would rev as if it was in neutral with no power, then eventually slam violently into gear to the point where the tires would squeal. This is obviously dangerous as it is unpredictable and could cause the vehicle to lurch and hit another object uncontrollable. Especially in low speed areas such as parking lots. The truck had several CEL lights on including P0761. My research found several TSB's for the transmission usually indicated the CDF drum was the failure. I made an appointment with a local ford dealer and explained the circumstances to recreate the issue as it mostly occurred when the vehicle was cold. After $150 fee they told me they could not recreate it and no issue was obvious to them. I eventually went to a transmission specialist who confirmed the CDF drum was slipping and ended up paying $7,000 out of pocket to get it fixed.

The Cam phasers on this vehicle are defective. This will be my third cam phasers in less than 3 years. The Cam Phasers cause the emissions to fail and can also cause unsafe driving such as the first time they failed while driving on the highway. I have brought this to the attention of the dealership numerous times and they say they can't duplicate it, even though it makes the noise when turning on the car or idling every time. They finally admitted this past visit to the Mall of Georgia Ford that it is an issue and a known recurring issue with this vehicle. I see the issue reported online, Ford Facebook pages, blogs, etc with thousands of people experiencing the same unsafe issue with both emissions and driving safety. Please advise.

Doors will not latch in temps below 30degrees F.

The CDF drum bushing in the 10R80 transmission is able to spin and slide inside the housing causing extremely harsh and delayed shifts, momentary neutral, downshift of gears from 7th to 1st gear causing excessive engine reving, shutter shifts in gears 1-6. Ford didn’t redesign the CDF drum until the 2021 model’s, effecting thousands of vehicles with the 10R80 transmission. Does this not meet the safety requirements for a recall?

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at slower speeds, the transmission hesitated to upshift while attempting to drive at higher speeds. In addition, while decelerating, the vehicle was aggressively decelerating. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not identified. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

We received a recall letter for Emission recall dealing with the system reading that the catalytic converter is bad. We had this happen a year ago, and had to have the catalytic converter replaced because it was showing it was bad. This recall letter says that it will show it’s bad, but may not be bad. We spent almost $3000 because we live in a state with inspections. This letter shows that it was the computer that messed up. We are trying to deal with Ford to see if we can get reimbursed since there’s a recall on the chip. The recall is emission recall 24E12. The work wouldn’t have needed done if the chip wouldn’t had shown the catalytic converter was bad.

Back up camera works sporadically. Parking guide lines have disappeared, parking collision warning goes off for no reason. Cross traffic alert does not work sometimes.

When it gets close to negative temps the door locks won’t work to close the door and the door won’t actually close. I can’t drive with me door open. I have had the recall and door were fixed 2021 and it is a occurred event

Rear doors get frozen and will not latch to stay shut. My daughter almost flew out of the vehicle when we went around a corner. I literally had to turn the heat on high hood the door closed for 30 minutes to get it warm enough to latch and stay shut. This is usually following a car wash within a 7 day span. I am not sure how there cannot be a recall for this. Everyone that I know with an F150 has had the same issues.

Driver door cable sticking open when low temps occur. Driver door does not latch until vehicle is locked or key is inserted into door and manually positioned or key fob is used to lock the vehicle.

Door latch wont latch in cold condition. Once warmed up it works fine.

At cold temperatures driver side door will not latch.

I’m experiencing the cam phaser rattle on startup on my 2018 Ford F-150 3.5L

The 10 speed transmission suddenly jerks and briefly loses power at approximately 30mph and at or about at 5th gear. This happens during acceleration and deceleration This can lead to a dangerous situation where I could be hit from behind with sudden loss of power or not being able to get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.

Transmission issues including, hard shifts, shuttering, slipping and truck won't move, random shifts in gears 1-7, erratic shifting from gear 7 to any of the lower gears. Major safety concern especially with children in the car and getting caught in intersections and road crossings and the truck won't move.

Cam phaser Failure. Common problem with 2018 F150 ecoboost engines. Ford has confirmed that the cam phasers need to be placed. Defective from manufacturer. Ford does not offer to cover replacement.

10 speed transmission shifted from 4 to 1 when I was trying to cross and intersection. It has also happened several times when I’m accelerating and hard shifts from the transmission cause my phone to fall and my body to jerk hard causing a ton of distractions in the cab while driving.

1. Cdf drum issue 2. Transmission will suddenly down shift into 1st when going 60mph and will jerk the truck very hard and it slips when going into 4th gear. 3. Truck was looked at by independent service center 4. No warning light and mechanic said there were no faults on the transmission

Transmission slams gears, downshifts hard, takes some time to get into gears if cold. Skips gears (for some reason, not sure if it’s supposed to but it isn’t good for the transmission). Overall, the 10r80 is very jumpy, slams into gear, etc.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the cam phasers were faulty, and a software update was needed. The software update was performed, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that shortly after the software update, the transmission started experiencing hard shifting. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced by an independent mechanic, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 56,000.

The 2018 Ford-150-10 speed 2018 transmission is failing. Paid to have the computer to relearn the system and that failed. When you take off from a stop the truck will go 10 or 15 feet and the transmission will kick out of gear completely and the motor will reve up and kick back in to gear. (Scary) when you are going 60 miles an hour or 70 just to give speed judgment the truck will kick in and out of gear at those speeds. (Scary) Now I am having to pay 7600 dollars to have a new transmission installed in the 2018 F-150 truck through Ford.

This has been going on since approximately the first of this year. Daily incidents to this date. Truck slips into neutral while driving or braking.

TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE, MISSED GEARS, RPM FLARING, AND TRANSMISSION SEEMING TO BE IN NEUTRAL WHILE DRIVING. LOSS OF POWER WHEN DRIVING CAUSING VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN IN TRAFFIC. NO ENGINE CODES PRODUCED. ISSUES WITH SHIFT INDICATOR BOUNCING FROM 10TH TO 1ST GEAR WHILE IT SEEMS THE TRANSMISSION IS IN NUETRAL. HARD TRANSMISSION SHIFTS. OVER REVING SHIFT POINTS OR NO SHIFT CONDITIONS. CURRENTLY BEING DIAGNOSED BY A MECHANIC TO SEE WHAT THE ISSUE IS. WHETHER IT'S MECHANICAL OR COMPUTER ISSUE. PROBLEM IS RANDOM AND HARD TO DUPLICATE WHILE DRIVING. DANGERS INCLUDE CAUSING AN ACCIDENT WHILE IN TRAFFIC TO GETTING HIT BY OTHER VEHICLES. ISSUES AT TIMES WHEN DRIVING UP A HILL AND A NEUTRAL SITUATION OCCURS LOSING SPEED AND HAVING TO COMPLETELY STOP AS SPEED CAN NOT BE MAINTAINED.

I recently purchased a 2018 F150 from Taylor Ford in Taylor, Michigan. The vehicle had 61,000 mi. The other day I was driving from Chicago to my hometown of Michigan. While driving at 70mph on the expressway the transmission dropped down into first gear, my yellow wrench light came on saying check manual. I drove a few more miles and pulled over at a gas station and as I was pulling in, it dropped into first gear and I heard horrific noises/ clunking /grinding and my vehicle would not go forward. It would not engage any gear past first gear and would not move forward. I was able to put it in reverse and come to a stop. This was a very dangerous situation and if I wasn't able to pull over at that time, it could've ended in tragedy. I was also inconvenienced because it happened 110 mi from my home and I ended up stranded.

This vehicle started rattling upon cold start. It has only 43K miles on it. When looking into the situation it has been a defect of this vehicle as well as many other years that Ford has failed to own up to. This rattle is due to a cam phaser pin that breaks loose and can dislodge at any time and cause the vehicle to seize up. Another owner had this happen on the freeway at 70 mph. Ford claims it is “not dangerous” but obviously it is. It costs the owners anywhere from $4500-$6500 to fix. Our local service department advised us they have “fixed hundreds of these”. PLEASE STEP IN AND HAVE FORD ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEFECT AND CORRECT IT VIA RECALL. This is dangerous and expensive for owners. Thank you!

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rear passenger’s door failed to latch and close securely. The contact stated that after the vehicle had warmed up the door closed as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle experienced unexpected transmission downshifts while the RPMs revved, nearly causing a crash. The contact stated that upon shifting to neutral(N) and shifting back to drive(D), the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing hard shifts between 3rd and 4th gears, and the vehicle was shuddering while driving. The contact stated that the vehicle had failed to shift to 10th gear. The contact stated that the failures also occurred while driving on the highway. The power train warning light recently illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and briefly lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven slowly to a repair shop where it was diagnosed with fuel intrusion into the catalytic converters, causing the failure. The catalytic converters, fuel injectors, and manifolds were replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

Rear Window/Glass spontaneously shattered. Loud Noise as it shattered entirely. No apparent cause while driving in parking lot with no bystanders.

Rear wheels locked up on highway causing a skid. Vehicle was on fire when came to a stop. Vehicle was towed to a repair shop where the entire rear axle assembly was replaced.

The transmission failed. Yes available on request. The vehicle was diagnosed by Gary Smith Ford in Ft Walton Beach Florida. The vehicle jumps out of gear when driving down the road rendering it undriveable. A slight “clunk” and delay to go into 1st gear when cold began at 30,000 miles. Just thought it needed a software update. At 70,000 miles, the engine light came on and I took it to Gary Smith Ford. The miles on it are light miles. No towing or city driving.

In December 2024 I had a massive fuel leak in my system. I drove into my driveway and my neighbor said they could smell gasoline. I look and fuel was leaking onto the ground. If there was a spark It would have explodes into flames. I took it to my dealer and the diagnostic was a squirrel has chewed a hole in the fuel line because it is coated or made from a soy-based product, and it drawls rodents by its sweet smell and taste. I have spent over $3000 to replace the line because they didn't get it corrected the first time and had to replace the whole system again. I am eliminating the squirrel problem to prevent this happening again but it's not a guarantee and this fuel line material should not be make with a soy-based product.