2011 F150 Transmission Problems

2011 F150 Screw Ecoboost with Max Tow Package

I'm having problems with my new 2011 F150 with max tow package. I have 3500 miles and the problem is getting worse. My dealer says the valve body and all clutches need to be replaced in order to correct this issue. The dealer went on to say that this is a known issue with the 2011 F150 transmission. I have not heard nor can I find anything about this "known issue". I'm looking for feedback from fellow forum members as to whether others are having this problem and if this really is a known issue. Any other feedback is also welcome. Very frustrating since this is a brand new truck and my first Ford at that.

Here are the symptoms:

1. Upshifts hard and shudders from 1st to 2nd

2. Shudders in 2nd gear especially when towing a load or driving up hill

3. Upshifts hard from 2nd to 3rd with a little shuddering (not as much as 1st to 2nd though)

4. Horribly rough, shuddering downshift from 2nd to 1st . It almost feels like you've been rear ended. (normally it downshifts from 3rd straight to 1st so I see this symptom in stop and go traffic where it never makes it to 3rd gear before I stop again)

5. Distinct metal to metal clunk when shifting into drive sometimes (but not every time)

6. Truck bogs down badly in 3rd gear right after it shifts into 3rd

7. Occasionally feels like you've been rear ended while traveling at interstate speed even though you haven't been. Basically feels like the vehicle suddenly downshifted even though it didn't.

If you want to see if your truck has this issue simply drive until the vehicle shifts to 2nd gear then apply the brakes and come to a stop. If you get the shuddering stop then you have the same issue.

Thanks in advance for any feedback and help.

Hmm. There is a TSB out, but not sure if it will cover your issue. Here's a couple threads talking about tranny issues. Hope this helps??

http://www.f150online.com/forums/2009-2011-f-150/451209-2011-f150-ecoboost-tsb.html

http://www.f150online.com/forums/2009-2011-f-150/449450-weirdness-coming-accelerating-stop.html

The first thread was very informative. The TSB didn't include my F150 since it was built on May 16th but was close enough to make me think the problem is the same. Maybe the TSB dates need to be expanded? Here's what the TSB stated.

2011 F-150 WITH THE 3.5L OR 5.0L ENGINE AND 6R80 TRANSMISSION BUILT ON OR BETWEEN 2/1/2011 TO 4/1/2011 SHUDDER DURING 2-1 DOWNSHIFT 5-7MPH (8-11KPH)

SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE 2011 F-150 VEHICLES WITH THE 3.5L OR 5.0L ENGINE BUILT ON OR BETWEEN 02/1/2011 UNTIL 4/1/2011 MAY EXHIBIT A SHUDDER DURING A 2-1 COASTING DOWNSHIFT TYPICALLY FOUND AT SPEEDS OF 5-7 MPH (8-11KPH). USE IDS TO MONITOR FOLLOWING PIDS, IN_GEAR MODE,GEAR_RAT, VSS TO VERIFY IT IS THE 2-1 DOWNSHIFT. IF THE SHUDDER IS ONLY PRESENT ON THE 2-1 COASTING DOWNSHIFT REPLACE THE C-CLUTCH (INTERMEDIATE) FRICTION PLATES FOLLOWING WSM SECTION 307-01 AND USE AVAILABLE SERVICE LABOR TIME STANDARD OPERATIONS. IF THE SHUDDER OCCURS AT ANY OTHER VEHICLE SPEED OR GEAR CHANGE EVENT DISREGUARD THIS PROCEDURE AND FOLLOW NORMAL WSM SECTION 307-01 DIAGNOSIS BY SYMPTOM FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSTICS

I'd go to dealer and see if they will update your truck with that TSB?

Update:

Took the truck to my local dealer for diagnosis and they are replacing the valve body and all the clutches per Ford corporate. According to the dealer, the valve body is not shifting the gears at the right time and thus causing several of the clutches to slip. Repair is scheduled for tomorrow so I'll probably get the truck back on Thursday. I'll update this post when the fix is completed with the results. Hopefully this will correct all the issues I've been having.

Update:

 

Took the truck to my local dealer for diagnosis and they are replacing the valve body and all the clutches per Ford corporate. According to the dealer, the valve body is not shifting the gears at the right time and thus causing several of the clutches to slip. Repair is scheduled for tomorrow so I'll probably get the truck back on Thursday. I'll update this post when the fix is completed with the results. Hopefully this will correct all the issues I've been having.

Wonder why on a truck that new ford would not just send a complete new tranny and swap it in, it would have to be cheaper????

I asked that question too. The service manager said that there is a certain dollar amount that the parts and labor must exceed for an assembly (ie: transmission or engine) repair under warranty before Ford will replace the entire assembly. He also went on to say that shipping a transmission from Dearborn to my local dealer would be very expensive and that also factors into how they handle the repair.

Has anyone started asking the questions regarding the transmisson -

1. Which plant built the truck that is having proplems?

2. Is there more than one plant building the transmission?

3. Which shift Group? (A,B,C)

4. Particuliar truck depending on the engine? (XLT - FX4/FX2 - KR - Lariat - etc)

5. Short bed or long bed?

6. Engine?

This may help identify some issues either as quality control or a part issue or a build process issue some where along the line.

FORD has stated that each Tranny is build a little different for the 3.7, 3.5, 5.0 & the 6.2

This may require a seperate sticky to lump this together. :stats: Someone help me out here on this process. This will In the process helps us all in the short and long haul!

Has anyone started asking the questions regarding the transmisson -

 

1. Which plant built the truck that is having proplems?

2. Is there more than one plant building the transmission?

3. Which shift Group? (A,B,C)

4. Particuliar truck depending on the engine? (XLT - FX4/FX2 - KR - Lariat - etc)

5. Short bed or long bed?

6. Engine?

 

This may help identify some issues either as quality control or a part issue or a build process issue some where along the line.

 

FORD has stated that each Tranny is build a little different for the 3.7, 3.5, 5.0 & the 6.2

 

This may require a seperate sticky to lump this together. :stats: Someone help me out here on this process. This will In the process helps us all in the short and long haul!

I read somewhere that Ford got a bad batch of parts from an outside vendor that is causing the problems.

I read somewhere that Ford got a bad batch of parts from an outside vendor that is causing the problems.

I spoke today with the trans tech who is working on my transmission and he gave me some insight. He didn't say specifically that a bad batch of parts was the cause but that's what I took away from our conversation. What he said specifically was that a batch of clutches that were too hard was installed in many F150 trucks thus causing this TSB. He said the clutches he is installing in my tranny are softer and will not slip like the ones that were installed from the factory. Sounds like a bad batch to me too.

I spoke today with the trans tech who is working on my transmission and he gave me some insight. He didn't say specifically that a bad batch of parts was the cause but that's what I took away from our conversation. What he said specifically was that a batch of clutches that were too hard was installed in many F150 trucks thus causing this TSB. He said the clutches he is installing in my tranny are softer and will not slip like the ones that were installed from the factory. Sounds like a bad batch to me too.

Sad thing is the clutches probably came from china????

I actually noticed "Made in Korea" stamped on quite a few parts in the interior of the transmission. Korean quality standards are about the same as Chinese though.

I actually noticed "Made in Korea" stamped on quite a few parts in the interior of the transmission. Korean quality standards are about the same as Chinese though.

Did this fix work?

Glad someone reminded me to post an update. Thanks Jammer.

Ok, here's the update. The dealer did actually apply the TSB that I listed earlier which involved replacing only the C-clutch (intermediate clutch) friction plates. They did not replace the valve body like they told me at an earlier date. The fix took 3 days and a little over 16 hours to complete. Glad Ford is paying for this one. :-) The good news is that the fix was successful. The transmission shifts much smoother going into and out of 2nd gear and now stops smoothly with no shudder. It still does occasionally downshift roughly during deceleration at higher speeds but it's not as bad as it was and appears to be something that will smooth out as the transmission continues to break in over the next few thousand miles. I have a friend with a 2010 F150 and he said his truck transmission was a little rough at first during deceleration but smoothed out over the first year of driving.

If you have a 2011 F150 with these symptoms then I highly recommend you take the truck to your dealer even if you're outside the date range of the TSB. My truck was 6 weeks outside of the range and the TSB still applied and corrected my issue.

Glad someone reminded me to post an update. Thanks Jammer.

 

Ok, here's the update. The dealer did actually apply the TSB that I listed earlier which involved replacing only the C-clutch (intermediate clutch) friction plates. They did not replace the valve body like they told me at an earlier date. The fix took 3 days and a little over 16 hours to complete. Glad Ford is paying for this one. :-) The good news is that the fix was successful. The transmission shifts much smoother going into and out of 2nd gear and now stops smoothly with no shudder. It still does occasionally downshift roughly during deceleration at higher speeds but it's not as bad as it was and appears to be something that will smooth out as the transmission continues to break in over the next few thousand miles. I have a friend with a 2010 F150 and he said his truck transmission was a little rough at first during deceleration but smoothed out over the first year of driving.

 

If you have a 2011 F150 with these symptoms then I highly recommend you take the truck to your dealer even if you're outside the date range of the TSB. My truck was 6 weeks outside of the range and the TSB still applied and corrected my issue.

These tranny problems are part of the reason I decided to wait and order. I didn't want the the known problems with the clutch plates on the earlier build dates (feb 2 to april 2) or the tranny pump problems that came with the builds in the last half of May. Hopefully my truck is free of these problems when it arrives as it is a later build date. The service manager was less than helpful when I originally question him about the problem after I already knew about the tsb/ssm? It just seemed wise to wait it out.

Should have waited for a 2012.....looks like I missed out on cooled seats, universal garage door opener and a few other cool gadgets.

Hi,

New member here. I have the same vehicle with the same problem as the OP, namely that: "Occasionally feels like you've been rear ended while traveling at interstate speed even though you haven't been".

I spent a frustrating morning picking my truck up from the dealer and then on the phone with Ford customer satisfaction (and I use the word loosely).

Both the dealer and the phone rep at Ford told me that having my truck feel like it was rear ended at highway speeds was "within specifications", suggested I was a bad driver, and that there is nothing they can do for me. A few days ago at 70 mph my truck made a HUGE noise and acted as if I had hit a deer or some other substantial object. I was in light traffic and hit nothing.

Can anyone help me understand what happened and/or tell me how to go about getting satisfaction from Ford? Appreciate the help--I'm actually afraid to drive this truck at highway speed now. Something is very wrong with it and I don't know what it is.