I have a 2018 F150 4X4 V8 manufactured in Nov 2017. I purchased used in Dec 2018 with 20,000 miles. Truck was well maintained and in great shape. Only issue I have had is the rough shifting transmission, primarily in the lower gears (1 - 6). Issue occurs during acceleration and but is worse during deceleration. Seems to clunk and rough shift most strongly when moving into 3 and 5. Sometimes seems to hang up leaving 1st and 2nd. After a little research I found that this is an issue with the 10 speed F150s manufactured during the first 3 - 6 months of the 2018 production run.

I have taken it to the Ford dealership and they ran the latest program update, but it did not fix the issue. Does anyone know if a fix/program release has been implemented to take care of this issue? Ford service department has acknowledged that the issue does exist, but seems unaware of any fix. Thinks that this is computer related and not mechanical since it has not thrown a code.

First Ford I have ever owned. Lots to like about this truck. Always drivers great in the higher gears when travelling on open road and sometimes it drives great around town. Most days though, stop and go is frustrating with the rough shifts and jerks. Annoying to the point, if I can't get it resolved, I'm going back to my previous vehicle.

 

Did you go through the reset/relearn procedure? Sometimes it can be as simple as your different driving style from the previous owner, and all you have to do is get it to relearn your driving style. I don't think this is a common issue, as all of the reviews I've read describe it as smooth shifting.

 

Well, it’s too late now but you should have paid to have this vehicle inspected before you made the purchase.
With that being said, I guess you’re still under the mileage for the factory warranty so you won’t have to come out of pocket for any repairs so that’s a good thing. Perhaps you should try another Ford dealer because not all techs and service departments are created equal regardless if they have the same info on TSB‘s.

 

My was “clunky” at first as well, especially on the downshift when it skipped gears. Smoothened out with time. Mine was low miles used as well. Use sport mode. Totally different feel.

 

Car drove fine when the test drive occurred. Also, purchased from a Ford dealer and had been inspected along with service history. No indication of any issue. I have driven the truck 6,000 miles since purchasing. It just never seems to have a consistent driving experience with the shifting, which does seem to indicate that this is a computer issue. Also, periodically, the gear tree (1-10) that is displayed in the instrument panel, just disappears. It will re-appear if you press the manual gear shift button. Not a big deal but seems odd.

I do not believe the the Ford tech did a hard reboot. I will check. I am interested in any feedback or suggestions.

 

All of the gear indicators in F150 do the same thing. I have no idea why Ford configured it that way.

Take it back to the dealer and tell them you have a drivability issue. Apparently that word is important. I learned this back in my Super Duty days. The service writer didn’t give me any problems or ask too many questions. I left it, when I picked it up they told me that the truck was reflashed with an updated program.

My understanding is that Ford tunes their vehicles a certain way, for a variety of reasons, to meet government regs and the expectations of most drivers. Apparently, and I don’t know f this is so anymore, there are alternative Ford factory written tunes that can be used to address a customer’s concern about a drivability issue.

When I had it done on my V10 Super Duty, it drove like a completely different truck.

 

Checking for an update on a fix for a rough shifting transmission. Has anyone had success correcting this issue yet? My issue is still occurring and has been back to the dealer twice now. Dealer service department has acknowledged the issue and did the TSB update but it has not fixed the shifting issues. I have now opened a case with Ford Corp and they have assigned a case number and instructed me to take it back to the dealer. Dealer appears to being doing what they can based on the current info on dealing with this issue. Can I expect any additional troubleshooting resources or solutions now that "Ford" is involved?

Also, my truck makes a loud BANG from underneath the truck occasionally when I start the engine and there is a loud pop from the passenger side engine when I really get on the gas, especially when going up the hill. This truck has gremlins, just wondering if I need to waive the white flag and get rid of it or try to push Ford to fix it and hope that they can.

 

I was able to resolve this issue by getting rid of the truck. Ford was never able to fix the truck and the issue seemed to evolve and get worse over time. I have never owned a vehicle in 30 years of driving that operated as inconsistently as this truck. It drove differently each and every time I started it up. 20% of the time it was fine but the rest of the time it was operated from bad to terrible Rough shifting transmission in gears 1 - 6, pop under front passenger seat when you really got on the gas, occasional load bang underneath the truck when starting it up, loss of acceleration at different times, back up sensor and collision warnings worked sometimes and not at others. When starting the truck sometimes the seat would move to the preset position other times not, stereo would get stuck and the front door developed a "creeek" each time you opened or closed it.

Each of the issues maybe even a few of them, other than maybe the transmission shifting, I could live with or ignore, but when you combine all of them and "The Ford Motor Company's (corp) lack of concern about the performance of their vehicle made the decision to get rid of it easy. It was traded to a Ford dealer for another brand of vehicle.

 

Flood vehicle maybe?

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

No sign of water damage. Exterior was in excellent condition as was interior. Bought coming of a corp lease at one year and vehicle had a clean Carfax. Each of these issues occur across the 2018 Ford F150 platform in varying degrees, however my vehicle seemed to have all of them. Ford is aware of many of these issues and does not offer a fix. Through online research and discussions at times with Ford (techs / staff) the rough shifting transmission issues and other problems seem more common in 2018 trucks produced in late 2017 early 2018. This is not verified, so take my comments for what they are worth.

I did discover that when I called Ford Motor Company and opened a case, they never actually opened a case on the vehicle. At least my last conversation with Ford resulted in that little surprise. Seems to sum up my experience with Ford. I know a lot of people are Ford loyalists and have had great experience with the newer F150's but I was not one of those people. I have spoken to a number of folks that have similar issues but not all of them.

For buyers, research, research, research and test drive for an extended period of time including stop and go traffic if possible.

 

Interesting for sure and sorry to read about.

I got one same year, 2018, 5.0 4x4.....Getting a new engine in a few days.

First big problem I ever had with a Ford. We are a lifetime Ford family so I won't changing brands

 

Well, thanks for a great thread and for closing the loop on your solution.

All the best to you going forward.

 

Ordered my truck in Feb of 18 and took delivery in April of 18. I guess I am just one of the lucky ones. No rough shifts, no excessive oil consumption. I have just put in my first quart of oil after my last change 4,346 miles of hard running. I have been going from Abilene to Bandera and back every 2 weeks going down just me and the wife and everyother trip with a trailer. Then back home with truck and trailer loaded or truck loaded respectively. I have been running the speed limit of 75 mph to however slow the respective town I am going through, The slowest being Bandera and Fredricksburg and a few blocks in Brady at 30mph. All the rest are 35-40 and we are talking some small towns less than a 1 - 1.5 miles through them. I have been changeing at the longest interval I have ever done of 6 months or 6,000 miles. so the oil was changed twice in it's first 5,000 miles. I will be very close to the 6,000 mark about the same time as I hit 6 months this time.

 

TJReams - Wish mine had been as good as the one you have. Lots to like about the truck, if/when it works.