I have a 2011 F250 Crew Cab, Diesel, FX4 Lariat that I bought back in August. A few things have been bugging me about the transmission / shifting but I was waiting until the oil light change indicator light came on to take it to the dealer. Well the oil change light came on Monday so I took it to the dealership. In additional to having them change the oil, I had a detailed list of items I wanted them to check out:

1. Very harsh gear shifting from 1st to 2nd, from 2nd to 3rd and and from 4th to 5th. Much more noticeable when the engine and transmission are “hot”. The worst is from 4th to 5th. It slams really hard sometimes when driving normally. The problem is much less noticeable when accelerating very quickly.
2. When shifting from reverse to drive or from drive to reverse, the gear shift is very harsh. If I stop the shift at the neutral position for about 2 seconds then continue, the harsh shift does not occur.
3. Recently I went to engage the 4x4 High and the system would not engage. I had to turn it the **** back to 4x2, then switch it again to 4x4 High and this time it engaged. This has only happened once but I have only used 4x4 3 times.
4. Once time about a week ago, the truck flashed up a warning that said “Low Oil Level”. I had stopped to fill up with diesel and the truck had been off for about 10 minutes. At start up, the truck flashed the message. I immediately turned the truck off and checked the oil level which was normal. I then restarted the truck and did not receive the message. I have not seen the message since.
5. Very high pitched whining noise that started a few weeks ago. It is not the normal turbo charger sound. To duplicate this issue: Truck must be “hot” or at full operating temperature (above 180 degrees for engine and above 135 degrees for transmission) Drive truck where you don’t have a lot of road noise (not on 183 as the concrete surface and the Continental tires create a loud tire hum). While driving get up to about 30 MPG and listen, you will hear normal engine and truck sounds. Accelerate to 40MPH or 45MPH and you will hear a fairly loud high pitched whine. Once you hear the whine, let off the accelerator and coast. The whine is even more pronounced. When the truck drops below 30MPH the whine will immediately stop.

In addition to these concerns, I asked that the dealer also check out following TSB's to see if they apply:

1. TSB 10-22-9: 6.7L Exhaust Leak at EGR Inlet Tube
2. TSB 10-23-9: Calibration Update - Various Issues - Built on or before 11/5/2010
3. TSB 10-23-3: Single Rear Wheel (SRW) - electronic locking differential - built on or before 9/22/2010 - binding unable to unlock

Well, the dealer calls me today and says that the service manager is very concerned over the shifting patterns and clunking in the transmission. He has multiple calls into Ford for assistance but Ford is not giving them any answers. The service manager's exact words are "I am not happy with how the transmission is shifting and behaving". Lovely!! I thought something was not right but I was hoping it was something very simple. I guess not.

Unfortunately they can't hear the "whine" that I described so I am going to have duplicate it with service manager on a ride.

So, any advice on how to handle this at this point? My gut feel is to wait it out another 24 hours see where we are tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. Thoughts?

-gascan

 

did they put the flash 10-23-9 on before testing.. it fixes a lot of tranny issues

Sam

 

They said they tested it before the 10-23-9 update & duplicated the problem. Then applied the update and retested. The shifting problems are still there after the update.

-gascan

 

Wow, I would be concerned to. At least it seems you have the dealer on your side. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

God I love warranty. About 2 weks ago I had my dealer do the 400/800 re-flash. I also asked them to make sure the latest pcm flash was installed. I was never happy with the original flash back in Sept. I felt I lost mpg and power. I have mentioned the harsh tranny shifts on various threads over the last four months. So far it feels like the truck is running better and shifting smoother. Maybe it's just a tasty sugar pill, but, I'm passified for now. More research is required, ie... more drive time, yipee!

Don't give up. It gets frustrating seeing your pride and joy sit in the shop while your making payments.

 

did u already have the 400/800 flash on?

I don't remember if that is the number for that or the later additional corrections

Sam

 

Well...I really think your cure is a new TCM. Don't let them give you one from another truck either.

I say this because that is almost to the t what happened in my 08 at just a few hundred miles.

The fix was a new tcm. Mine got so bad once it threw the truck into limp mode.

Just my thoughts.

 

I don't know that transmission... does it have an external solenoid pack (that can be replaced as a module)?

If so, I would say, toss in both a new TCM and new solenoids.

Probably just as easy to just drop the transmission and ship it back to Ford.

I am leaning toward the oil issue as a electronic glitch...

 

Very good thought. I will talk to the service manager about that tomorrow morning.

 

Mine has been in the shop for a total of 5 weeks for transmission issues. The first was 4 weeks straight where it was rebuilt due to a noise it was making. The next trip was for 5 days where they tried to find out why it was getting hot which they didnt fix. After this I pulled my Ace of Spades and got the truck in the hands of a Automatic trans engineer at KTP who did some troubleshooting and then decided to put in a new trans, cooler and lines. So far I am still not convinced it is fixed (getting hot) which to me means there is a cooling system problem! Good luck!!!

 

Gascan
Can you tell me the dealer or the location at least? Sounds like they are in your corner.

 

I will bet that the low oil light was a low oil pressure warning. This happens if you turn the key to the run position and leave it there without starting the engine. It does not take very long, just seconds, for the message to appear. I have seen it a couple of times when something distracted me just as I turned the key.

 

That is another gremlin that they should have put in a check routine to see if the engine was stopped and not running before flashing that message.

Ford software dingos.

 

Sure. I am working with the nice folks at Covert Ford in Austin. I didn't buy there but they don't seem to care (at least the service folks don't).

 

Hmmmm. That sounds about right. I distinctly remember when it did occur that my phone rang as I was starting up and I answered the phone before I started the truck. I remember because as I was talking on the phone I looked down and saw the message. I must have delayed the engine start as I was answering the phone. When (and if) I get my truck back, I'll try to reproduce.

Thanks,
gascan