Put 'er in Low: Ford's Crash-diving Transmission Earns Another Investigation

In 2016, Ford Motor Company’s stable of rear-drive vehicles came under scrutiny for six-speed transmissions that couldn’t decide whether to sprint or crawl. Owners reported that their 2011-2012 F-150s, Expeditions, Mustangs, and Lincoln Navigators would, suddenly and without warning, downshifting from upper ratios to first gear, ultimately forcing the automaker to recall some 153,000 of the vehicles in the United States.

It now looks like it didn’t recall enough of them. Dangerous downshifts continue, and not just in vehicles covered by the recall. Another concern is that the problem is reappearing in supposedly “fixed” vehicles.

In a new investigation opened on December 25th, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has expanded the probe to include 1,375,577 F-150s, Expeditions, and Navigators from the 2011 to 2013 model years.

The NHTSA lists the danger of such a rapid change in gearing in its description of the earlier recall: “An unexpected downshift to 1st gear can cause the vehicle to slow down suddenly and without warning. This can also cause the rear tires to skid or lock up, increasing the risk of a crash.”

Since Ford issued its recall, a further 123 complaints have rolled into the agency, including “many reports” concerning vehicles not involved in the recall. More troubling is word that the recall seems to have been a dud. “[Some] reports indicate that the remedy was not effective,” the NHTSA states. Some owners report their vehicles dropping from top gear to first at 50 miles per hour, then switching back. In other cases, the lowest gear wasn’t reached, but it took the owner turning off the engine and restarting it before things returned to normal.

While an investigation doesn’t necessarily mean there’s another recall in the works, the number of complaints collected by the agency makes a new safety recall extremely likely. Of course, if Ford drags its feet (which aptly sums up the transmission’s symptoms), the NHTSA can compel it to call back the vehicles.

Two crashes are allegedly linked to the shifty 6R80 autoboxes, but no injuries were reported.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]