Transmission "Shudder"

[wilmaj32]

I have a Lariat Powerboost and have been experiencing some various transmission problems. The latest one is what I describe as a shutter when I have it in cruise control or not at highway speeds when I approach a hill and goes away after the approach. Now when I say hill I mean an overpass, I live in Florida. It seems like the transmission is vibrating. I liken the sound and feeling to when you are in to high of a gear when shifting a manual. I also have the skipping second, harsh 5-6th, hard downshifts, and hard starts to gas from electric. I cant get into the dealer until after Christmas, yes they are that backed up. I was wondering if anyone else had or have this problem and know of a fix or service bulletin that I can bring in. I purchased my truck far away from my closest dealer due to the shortage and don't expect concierge service to say the least. Thanks in advance for any info...

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[DT400]

I have to helpful input, but curious if this is when the engine starts from electric only and your sensing a restart.

Darrell

 

[F-150 Prius]

I have a Lariat Powerboost and have been experiencing some various transmission problems. The latest one is what I describe as a shutter when I have it in cruise control or not at highway speeds when I approach a hill and goes away after the approach. Now when I say hill I mean an overpass, I live in Florida. It seems like the transmission is vibrating. I liken the sound and feeling to when you are in to high of a gear when shifting a manual. I also have the skipping second, harsh 5-6th, hard downshifts, and hard starts to gas from electric. I cant get into the dealer until after Christmas, yes they are that backed up. I was wondering if anyone else had or have this problem and know of a fix or service bulletin that I can bring in. I purchased my truck far away from my closest dealer due to the shortage and don't expect concierge service to say the least. Thanks in advance for any info...

Sounds like your truck is exhibiting "harsh" or "hard" shifting problems (shudder or stutter might be the word) which many people (including myself) have variously experienced or had resolved with software updates and service bulletins. The transmission in my truck still hits the 10-9 downshift very hard sometimes even with very little throttle input, just when the vehicle slows down to the point that engine rpm in a lock-up ratio are too low. Otherwise it's now quite unremarkable (just works, no mistakes) but there are occasional "turbo lag" levels of delayed throttle response (which I attribute in part to be in Normal or Eco modes.)
Dealers tend to be swamped as holiday plans both increase demand from people wanting their vehicle reliable and for staff wanting days off.

 

[wilmaj32]

I have to helpful input, but curious if this is when the engine starts from electric only and your sensing a restart.

Darrell

No, The shutter or vibration is at highway speeds. It almost seems like the transmission doesnt sense that it needs to downshift when I hit the overpass. I will add that I have gone to larger tires 295/60/20 and have the 3.73 rear end. I've added larger tires to all of my previous trucks, some even larger sizes than this current truck and have never had shifting problems like this.

 

[Bullett]

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/transmission-shudder.2312/

 

[Bullett]

There are a few of us that are experiencing this issue. The thread above has dealer attempted fixes, all of which didn't do anything...

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I have a Lariat Powerboost and have been experiencing some various transmission problems. The latest one is what I describe as a shutter when I have it in cruise control or not at highway speeds when I approach a hill and goes away after the approach. Now when I say hill I mean an overpass, I live in Florida. It seems like the transmission is vibrating. I liken the sound and feeling to when you are in to high of a gear when shifting a manual. I also have the skipping second, harsh 5-6th, hard downshifts, and hard starts to gas from electric. I cant get into the dealer until after Christmas, yes they are that backed up. I was wondering if anyone else had or have this problem and know of a fix or service bulletin that I can bring in. I purchased my truck far away from my closest dealer due to the shortage and don't expect concierge service to say the least. Thanks in advance for any info...

Hello, Bill!
Send us a private message with your VIN and the name and location of your local Ford dealer.
I’d be happy to see what I can do to assist with this transmission issue. Thanks!

 

[JPNewIn22]

I have a Lariat Powerboost and have been experiencing some various transmission problems. The latest one is what I describe as a shutter when I have it in cruise control or not at highway speeds when I approach a hill and goes away after the approach. Now when I say hill I mean an overpass, I live in Florida. It seems like the transmission is vibrating. I liken the sound and feeling to when you are in to high of a gear when shifting a manual. I also have the skipping second, harsh 5-6th, hard downshifts, and hard starts to gas from electric. I cant get into the dealer until after Christmas, yes they are that backed up. I was wondering if anyone else had or have this problem and know of a fix or service bulletin that I can bring in. I purchased my truck far away from my closest dealer due to the shortage and don't expect concierge service to say the least. Thanks in advance for any info...

My previous F150 had a similar sounding issue, where it was only when I was entering 5th & 6th gear (6 speed transmission). My mechanic suggested injecting friction modifier (must use Motorcraft by Ford) which I understand thickens the transmission fluid and aids in smoother gear shifting. They don’t flush the transmission, there is actually a place for this injection process under the vehicle so they have to put it on a lift and pump the friction modifier into the transmission. It actually worked to perfection in my case. The service cost me $85. This may not be the fix for your newer model but it’s something to ask about. Check with a transmission mechanic as a 2nd opinion since you can’t get into the dealer anyway. Just to get their take.

 

[Yellowjackets369]

Any updates on the shudder? I have a powerboost with the same issue, shudders between 55-88mph when on the throttle, it will stop when I let off, and it's definitely most noticeable on hills. Dealer was not able to fix the issue and has said that they noticed the same issue with another truck on their lot and had another customer come in with the same complaints. I have also read on other forums about shudders with just regular 3.5 ecoboosts.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Any updates on the shudder? I have a powerboost with the same issue, shudders between 55-88mph when on the throttle, it will stop when I let off, and it's definitely most noticeable on hills. Dealer was not able to fix the issue and has said that they noticed the same issue with another truck on their lot and had another customer come in with the same complaints. I have also read on other forums about shudders with just regular 3.5 ecoboosts.

Hi there. Send us a DM with your VIN and dealership info. I can look into this on my end.

 

[wilmaj32]

Any updates on the shudder? I have a powerboost with the same issue, shudders between 55-88mph when on the throttle, it will stop when I let off, and it's definitely most noticeable on hills. Dealer was not able to fix the issue and has said that they noticed the same issue with another truck on their lot and had another customer come in with the same complaints. I have also read on other forums about shudders with just regular 3.5 ecoboosts.

No update yet! I couldn't get my truck in until the end of this month. Jan.31st to be exact. I dont have any high hopes though. Looks like there isn't a fix as of yet. As a matter of fact most dealerships are telling owners to shift down manually to a lower gear if you don't want to feel it! If you could imagine that. After I get my truck in the shop I will update anyhow. Also, don't waste your time with the Ford Social Media reps on here, they don't help. If I dont get the problem resolved after the first or second visit I more than likely will just sell or trade the truck. I'm not getting stuck with this problem going back and forth to the dealer week after week with no resolution. Who has time or patience for that with a brand new 75,000 truck? Pretty sad, Ive owned fords all my life.

 

[Yellowjackets369]

No update yet! I couldn't get my truck in until the end of this month. Jan.31st to be exact. I dont have any high hopes though. Looks like there isn't a fix as of yet. As a matter of fact most dealerships are telling owners to shift down manually to a lower gear if you don't want to feel it! If you could imagine that. After I get my truck in the shop I will update anyhow. Also, don't waste your time with the Ford Social Media reps on here, they don't help. If I dont get the problem resolved after the first or second visit I more than likely will just sell or trade the truck. I'm not getting stuck with this problem going back and forth to the dealer week after week with no resolution. Who has time or patience for that with a brand new 75,000 truck? Pretty sad, Ive owned fords all my life.

I agree, i'm not planning on sticking with this issue either. I actually had already ordered a tremor, but canceled once i saw that owners were experiencing the same issue, If they can't fix it, ill probably just wait until the updated GMC's come out.

 

[Yellowjackets369]

Well 4th visit to the dealership didn't help, because ford has said nothing about the issue and they can't detect any issue with their computers, they say it's "normal", even though they feel it shudder as well. I give up, time to find something else, I can't see paying this much for a truck that shakes at highway speeds.

 

[wilmaj32]

Well 4th visit to the dealership didn't help, because ford has said nothing about the issue and they can't detect any issue with their computers, they say it's "normal", even though they feel it shudder as well. I give up, time to find something else, I can't see paying this much for a truck that shakes at highway speeds.

I took my truck to Ford and they performed a software update TSB-21-2407. This update did smooth out the skipping of second gear. Unfortunately it did nothing to address the transmission shutter while on the highway, both when I am in 10 gear and I hit the accelerator to pass or when I hit an overpass on cruise control. The shuttering is so obvious that my little nephew looked at me like the truck was going to blow up. anyone have any recommendations at this point? I am not willing to have to shift manually when I'm on the highway. There trucks have a serious transmission issue that needs to be resolved IMHO.

 

[tukme]

There are a few of us that are experiencing this issue. The thread above has dealer attempted fixes, all of which didn't do anything...

I have the same problem and been to the dealer 6 times. They have replaced the transmission and PCM to no avail. Finally after they replaced the PCM the Ford engineer said this is normal for this truck. I can say with 100% certainty that this is not normal for any vehicle. It looks like Ford is not wanting to open the door for buybacks and lemon law claims. Sad very sad and by the way it is a waste of time to give the supposedly Ford Co. member any information. They are on another forum and they don't do anything on that site either. My previous vehicles were Toyota and no problems. This time wanted to buy a full size truck for towing so I went with Ford. I wanted to buy an American branded vehicle and the Ford dealer is close by. Guess I was way wrong and now stuck with a lemon. My guess is there is going to be joint lawsuits against Ford coming soon. It would be a lot cheaper for Ford to be honest and forthright instead of going down the wrong road.

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