NHTSA Complaint #11677003 — 2014 FORD F-150

After receiving a call from Mullinax Ford in Mobile, AL regarding a recall for our 2014 Ford F-150 Raptor (recall related to unexpected downshifting), I brought the vehicle to my workplace on [XXX], where a technician performed the software update (flash) on-site. Before the update, the vehicle was functioning without issue. That same evening while driving home, I experienced extremely hard downshifting, initially in lower gears, and worsening over time. The truck now violently downshifts, primarily into 4th gear, and sounds as if the transmission is slipping. I drove the truck again the next morning and the symptoms persisted. I contacted Zachary, the original representative at the dealership, who said it may be part of the “relearning” process. My husband drove it a week later after returning from a business trip and he confirmed the issue. It has progressively worsened to the point of being undrivable. We returned the truck to Mullinax Ford for evaluation on 7/29/25, and they claimed the failure was unrelated to the update and that the transmission needed to be replaced, at our expense. The truck unpredictably drops gears at high speeds, creating a sudden jerk that could lead to loss of control. This poses a serious safety risk to both the driver and others on the road. The dealership performed the recall software update and later diagnosed the truck with transmission failure, but is denying responsibility. No other third-party inspections have been done at this time. There were no warning lights or issues prior to the update. The issue started immediately after the recall software was flashed and worsened over the next 24–48 hours. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and available for inspection. We believe the issue stems directly from the PCM/TCM update applied under recall conditions. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)