Ford's 10-speed transmission has drawn complaints from F-150 and Expedition owners, with reported problems ranging from harsh shifting to slipping gears.
A Flush That Didn't Hold
Ford's new-vehicle bumper-to-bumper warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles, while its powertrain warranty extends to five years or 60,000 miles, the automaker says.
Ford's 10R80 transmission has drawn complaints involving harsh or erratic shifting, gear slipping, delayed gear changes and shuddering, the newspaper's reporting shows. The relevant failure mode is axial movement of the CDF clutch-cylinder sleeve, with the applicable 10R80 bulletin covering transmissions built on or before August 15, 2022. An updated replacement cylinder has a no-walk backing lip, and Ford bulletins cover transmissions built on or before August 15, 2022.
What the Technical Bulletins Actually Say
Ford's technical service bulletins identify movement of the CDF clutch cylinder sleeve as a potential cause of harsh or delayed shifting, addressing 10R80 issues across 2017-2022 F-150, 2018-2022 Mustang, 2020-2022 Explorer and certain Expedition, Navigator and Transit models, The Detroit News reports. One such bulletin, TSB 24-2304 issued September 24, 2024, states the condition may be due to axial movement of the CDF clutch cylinder sleeve causing hydraulic circuit leaks, according to Gearbox Insider's review of the bulletin. That outlet's account notes the bulletin calls for removing the transmission and replacing the CDF clutch cylinder only if both results from a diagnostic leak-test calculator come back failing, a process that includes roughly 0.7 to 0.8 hours just to run the leak test itself.
A separate bulletin, TSB 26-2408, reportedly identifies F-clutch friction plates brinelling into the clutch and planetary container cylinder as the cause of specified harsh-shift and harsh reverse-engagement symptoms, per the Gearbox Insider analysis. CDF clutch cylinder bushing movement can cause fluid pressure loss across clutch packs, and technicians may need to replace the defective cylinder through a full transmission tear-down if valve-body cleaning fails to resolve the issue, The Detroit News reports. A 2023 NHTSA-hosted service document also lists sticking valves in the main control valve body and possible axial movement of the CDF clutch cylinder among topics Ford has addressed, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Independent Shops See a Steady Stream of Rebuilds
Transmission shops are studying Ford CDF repairs.
Ford Issues Technical Service Bulletins
Ford has issued technical service bulletins for the transmission.
An Illinois federal judge, Jeffrey Cummings, denied class certification in September, allowing claims to proceed individually instead, The Detroit News reports.
Ford has issued a 10R80 recall for a parking-pawl defect posing a rollaway risk, per the newspaper.
