Transmission shudder

[Bullett]

Just now getting into this forum.. I have the exact same issue. Mainly between 8th and 9th @ roughly 1250 rpm. Haven't taken it in yet, but unfortunately glad to see I'm not the only one with that issue. Looks like no one has a resolution yet either.

Still no resolution. Once someone has some sort of luck I plan on updating my original post so people don't have to scroll through 9 pages looking for an answer.
My requested buyback from Ford was denied, saying my truck didn't meet the criteria. With that being said, they reopened my case and will be taking a look at my truck this coming Monday. The rep I've been working with has been great so far. I'll post any updates as they come in.

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[Gearhead2020]

Updates never fix anything. I had a 2018 with at least 6 updates. I have never been a Ford guy until my 2016 Sierra had similar transmission issues with their 8 speed. Its a shame that you can't even rely on a new truck.

There is some Ford rep (so they claim) on here but

 

[Chase]

Found another thread for others who are having the same issue.

https://www.f150forum.com/f129/shudder-jerking-issue-when-accelerating-508814/

Posted a few months ago about same issue (2021 Supercrew 3.5 EB). Approaching 5000 miles now and problem is still present…8, 9 and 10th gears have what feels like a misfire/shudder/rumble strip under light highway acceleration. Been to the dealer once and got the normal response like everyone else. Will be going back soon because service advisor said they've had a few others with same problem. But wait, how’s it a “problem” coming from the service advisors mouth but documentation from the tech shows “No concern or issue” ?

Ford, you’re letting your F150 fans slowly slip away…

Got the truck back today after the second time in the shop. Tech drove it and felt the shudder. They had it for 2 days and he found that the transmission fluid was a quart low. Added fluid and listed that the problem was resolved. WRONG. Shudder is even more pronounced now. Went right back when driving home and scheduled to drop it next Monday to get looked at again. Advisor said they’ve had a lot of these coming in and haven’t been able to find a fix. She’s been great to work with so far because she’s acknowledged they are aware there is a problem with the 21s. She even said they’ve come across a lot of the 21s with low transmission fluid from the factory. I’m in MD so I’m thinking I’ll be attempting to get the buyback process started after this 3rd “repair/diagnosis”. Truck is sitting at 7k miles now since mid May.

 

[Chase]

Still no resolution. Once someone has some sort of luck I plan on updating my original post so people don't have to scroll through 9 pages looking for an answer.
My requested buyback from Ford was denied, saying my truck didn't meet the criteria. With that being said, they reopened my case and will be taking a look at my truck this coming Monday. The rep I've been working with has been great so far. I'll post any updates as they come in.

Did Ford give you a reason of what criteria wasn’t met?

 

[Gearhead2020]

Got the truck back today after the second time in the shop. Tech drove it and felt the shudder. They had it for 2 days and he found that the transmission fluid was a quart low. Added fluid and listed that the problem was resolved. WRONG. Shudder is even more pronounced now. Went right back when driving home and scheduled to drop it next Monday to get looked at again. Advisor said they’ve had a lot of these coming in and haven’t been able to find a fix. She’s been great to work with so far because she’s acknowledged they are aware there is a problem with the 21s. She even said they’ve come across a lot of the 21s with low transmission fluid from the factory. I’m in MD so I’m thinking I’ll be attempting to get the buyback process started after this 3rd “repair/diagnosis”. Truck is sitting at 7k miles now since mid May.

Thank you for the information and keep us posted please.

 

[Gearhead2020]

I called my dealer to set up an appointment..told me the end of January. Never heard of the transmission issue either. Go figure right....

 

[Bullett]

Did Ford give you a reason of what criteria wasn’t met?

They didn’t. They caught me in between interviews we were conducting at work so I wasn’t able to really dig into why either. Later that day I received a feedback email. Not realizing it was feedback for the rep and not for my truck in general, I laid out all of the issues I’ve had since owning the truck. From the shudder, to the dealership stringing me along and essentially kicking the can down the road hoping I’d go away, to the 2-3 month wait time to even get the truck looked at. They contacted me right back and reopened my case, scheduled me an appointment at the dealership closest to my house and are working on getting me a loaner. If they can’t get me a loaner, they’ll pay for a rental for up to 10 days.
I’m glad Ford is owning up to it for some of you guys. Maybe they’ll work harder to find a fix before they experience a mass exodus of us to a different brand of truck.

 

[Bullett]

A little update. I dropped my truck off this morning and had one of the techs take a ride with me. He said that it feels like a spark knock. They’ll be keeping the truck a few days to do more tests. Once I have more info I’ll post up.

 

[Bullett]

Just picked my truck up. The dealer searched some system they have and ford recommend to cycle the solenoids and shift valve controls. These didn’t work.
Dealership is reaching back out to ford for the recommended next steps. Will follow back up soon

 

[Gearhead2020]

Just picked my truck up. The dealer searched some system they have and ford recommend to cycle the solenoids and shift valve controls. These didn’t work.
Dealership is reaching back out to ford for the recommended next steps. Will follow back up soon

Thank you for letting us know. Please keep us posted and I will as well.

 

[the]

I just recently started noticing this. To me, it feels exactly like when I had a tuned BMW 135i and it was misfiring. In my case I was requesting too much boost at too low an RPM and it was blowing out the spark plugs. Gapping the plugs tighter fixed it. I'm not suggesting anyone go messing around with plugs but I sure would be curious if this would solve it?

 

[Chase]

Got the truck back today after the second time in the shop. Tech drove it and felt the shudder. They had it for 2 days and he found that the transmission fluid was a quart low. Added fluid and listed that the problem was resolved. WRONG. Shudder is even more pronounced now. Went right back when driving home and scheduled to drop it next Monday to get looked at again. Advisor said they’ve had a lot of these coming in and haven’t been able to find a fix. She’s been great to work with so far because she’s acknowledged they are aware there is a problem with the 21s. She even said they’ve come across a lot of the 21s with low transmission fluid from the factory. I’m in MD so I’m thinking I’ll be attempting to get the buyback process started after this 3rd “repair/diagnosis”. Truck is sitting at 7k miles now since mid May.

Update: Shop had the truck for 3 days and I picked it up today. On Monday the dealership called at the end of the day (1st day having it) and said they were puzzled and had reached out to Ford. According to the service notes, they “performed accelerated main control breakin through FDRS, retest drove 60 miles and concern did not return” as that’s what Ford recommended to them. Picked it up today and put about 30 miles on it after picking it up and the problem is gone. Hard to remain optimistic but I’ll take it for now because it drives like the first day off the lot. They also made a note that they will be keeping this in an “Open” status (whatever that means). Hope this helps anyone on here with any recommendations to their dealership. Will post any updates in the future if/when it starts to happen again.

 

[Bullett]

Just got a call from the dealer and it was the answer I was expecting. The field engineer told them that nothing is wrong with my truck and that the shaking is a normal characteristic of the transmission trying to get the best gas mileage possible. They said not to replace anything or do any further diagnostics on the truck.
Service manager said he was surprised at the engineers response as he's had a bunch of trucks in for the same reason.
I'm seriously considering trading my truck in. Does anyone know if all these trips to the dealer will show up on the carfax resulting in a lower valuation?

 

[Gearhead2020]

Just got a call from the dealer and it was the answer I was expecting. The field engineer told them that nothing is wrong with my truck and that the shaking is a normal characteristic of the transmission trying to get the best gas mileage possible. They said not to replace anything or do any further diagnostics on the truck.
Service manager said he was surprised at the engineers response as he's had a bunch of trucks in for the same reason.
I'm seriously considering trading my truck in. Does anyone know if all these trips to the dealer will show up on the carfax resulting in a lower valuation?

Not sure Bullett, but if you have an issue in my state, and gave the dealer 3 time to fix it, lemon laws require them to buy-it-back. Check for a lemon law attorney, if they are buying trucks back, like GM did with the Envoy and traverse a few years ago, my guess is they will have a fix.

 

[Chase]

Just got a call from the dealer and it was the answer I was expecting. The field engineer told them that nothing is wrong with my truck and that the shaking is a normal characteristic of the transmission trying to get the best gas mileage possible. They said not to replace anything or do any further diagnostics on the truck.
Service manager said he was surprised at the engineers response as he's had a bunch of trucks in for the same reason.
I'm seriously considering trading my truck in. Does anyone know if all these trips to the dealer will show up on the carfax resulting in a lower valuation?

Man that’s unfortunate. As you have probably done so by now look up your states requirements to meet the lemon law. Quick update about mine…300 miles now since getting truck back after 3rd time in and I’ve noticed the issue has started to return. Mainly around 50-65 mph in 10th under light acceleration now. Wasn’t optimistic when it was acting fine from the reset they performed. Truck will be going back in the near future for the 4th time (which MD states 4 repair attempts in regards to lemon). Another requirement states “Any one problem that substantially impairs the use and market value of the vehicle that was not corrected in four repair attempts.” With that said, Im also curious about all these visits being documented/reported to Carfax. I’m with you Bullett…just about done with this headache and ready to move away from owning a Ford.

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