Almost 1.3 million of America’s most popular pickup trucks are under federal investigation over a transmission problem that drivers say can cause sudden, frightening gear changes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has expanded a probe from last year into Ford F-150s for model years 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Drivers told regulators that their trucks could unexpectedly downshift ‘without warning or driver input’ while going at speed.
In some cases, they reported the rear wheels briefly locking up, a scenario that can cause loss of control, especially on highways or slick roads.
Among the hundreds of incidents, there are no injuries or fatalities recorded, the update on January 30 said.
Ford told regulators that the current transmission issue is different from a downshifting issue that led to the recall of model years 2011 through 2014. ‘We are working with NHTSA to support its investigation,’ a Ford spokesperson said.
For these 1.3 million newer trucks, Ford says the likely culprit is the degradation of an electrical connection to the transmission range sensor. That can cause the truck’s computer to receive incorrect signals about what gear the vehicle should be in.
The ‘worst case scenario’ is a downshift to second gear when travelling at speed, which could lead to the rear wheels locking up.