NHTSA Complaint #11644010 — 2019 FORD F-150

I leased a new 2019 Ford f150 xlt sport package in the fall of 2019. During the first year, I experienced some "choking" of the engine when I would accelerate. Nothing big, but noticeable. I mentioned this experience to the dealer at regular checkups and they informed me that it was "normal" and that if anything was wrong, the computerized monitoring system on the truck would identify the problem. I bought the truck after a 36 month lease. The choking continued to be a regular occurance, especially for the first few miles of a new drive. Around 30k miles, I noticed the issue getting more pronounced. I again asked the dealer about it and they provided me the same answer as before and didn't offer to explore the issue. Between 30K and 50K miles, the issue became more frequent and would impact the truck whether it was warm or cold. But now I experienced a hard shift between 1-3 gears and sometime 3-5-- jerking and slowing and struggling to move to the next gear. It will also bog down at times when changing into the higher gears with no telling when this would occur. Again, I asked the dealer about it, and becuase there was no safety light, they wouldn't do a thing. Over the past month or two, at over 50K miles, the frequency was several times on every drive. It started to jump from 8-1 and back up to 8. It would jerk and slow in high traffic situations, and finally it just would not move into gear at a stop sign at rush hour. I had to drop it into low gears and move to the side of the road after 10 minutes of stoppage; then the check engine indicator finally flashed, after an incident that could have caused harm to me or others. I slowly drove it to my destination. Since then, I have not allowed anyone to drive the truck because it is dangerous to operate. I took the truck to the dealer and they informed me that it needs a new transmission which will be ~$5k