Hi all,

I recently purchased a 2020 F150 XLT Sport Crew Cab with 5.0. I was well aware of the possible issues with the 10R80 transmission and read most of the posts on here about it. I spoke to a few guys that I know that have 2019 - 2021 F150's and they haven't had any issues and weren't aware that one existed. Since there isn't a vehicle made that isn't susceptible to major issues, we decided to purchase it but we did add a 6yr/75,000 bumper-to-bumper warranty.

It didn't take long for issues to show up. Last Friday while pulling into a parking lot, heard and felt a loud clunk while it was downshifting (I think from 4-3). It happened again yesterday while I was slowing down to pull into my driveway. Again, a very noticeable loud clunk while downshifting (I think again from 4-3). It almost seemed like it hit neutral before the clunk. I'm assuming this is the CDF drum flaw issue, but don't know for sure.

My question to the forum is, what has your experience been with getting the dealer to perform one of the transmission TSB's under warranty? I'm assuming I need to wait until this happens more frequently so they can easily reproduce it and confirm there is an issue, but now that these TSB's have been out there for a while, are the dealers more willing to perform them without much resistance? I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,

Mike

 

I have the same issue with my 2019 XL (92K). Mine does it 4-3, and 9-8. I have an appointment at Ford next week to have it checked out. They asked if any "check engine" or "wrench" icons illuminated on the panel. I didn't have either. I also have the Premium Care Extended Service Plan. I was advised there is a $150 diagnostic fee to check it out, and assuming it is a warranty issue I assume that would absorbed. I come back and advise on my results.

 

Please keep me posted on how things go. How often are you experiencing the issue?

 

I'll only suggest, but the slip joint splines on the rear driveshaft are known to become dry, and bind up when downshifting, coming to a stop. Bears looking into instead of automatically thinking the trans is screwing up.

 

All the time either shifting up from 2 to 3, or shifting down from 4 to 3. Same with shifting up from 7 to 8, and shifting down from 9 to 8. They should have no problem duplicating the issue on a test drive.

 

2020 XLT owner here. We had the harsh shift/delayed shift (which resulted in a hard clunk) issue at around 53K miles. Took it to the dealer. They performed the transmission relearn and told us it was good to go. Shifted better for a while but after a few months the problem came back. Brought the truck back in and they were able to duplicate the issue (we told them exactly how to make it happen) and implemented the TSB under warranty. Truck has 84K miles on it now and transmission has been solid. Good luck to you.

 

I just got mine back from a full rebuild with the dealer under original power train warranty. Mine was doing the same thing...it's most likely the CDF drum failure that the '18 to '20s have. Take it in, tell them exactly what it is doing, and tell them it sounds like the CDF drum failure. They will document that, and if they are halfway decent, do the repair. Good that you have the extra warranty.

 

What if they hit me with "all you regularly service maintenance items are not up to date, so you need to do that first"? Not that they have told me this, but I want to be prepared. This dealership has done all my oil changes with the high mileage additive ($200+) since I've owned it (8/2023).

 

'17-'22

The only regular service item on the transmission is to change the fluid at 150,000 miles. That shouldn't be an excuse they try.

 

The TSB procedure tells the dealer to "reprogram the PCM/TCM to the latest software. Perform the adaptive learning drive cycle". If the problem goes away, then you get your truck back. This is what happened with my truck - and the transmission did shift better for a little while. But soon enough the harsh/delayed shifting came back. After bringing it back in, the dealer agreed to do the TSB.