NHTSA Complaint #11708247 — 2015 FORD F-150

On [XXX], I was driving the vehicle and accelerating onto the [XXX] freeway from an on-ramp in northern Phoenix, Arizona. During acceleration, the truck suddenly and violently downshifted, producing an abrupt jerking motion that forcibly displaced the vehicle out of the accelerating gear and into a lower gear without warning or driver input. The incident required us to exit the freeway and pull over. The event caused a momentary but pronounced loss of smooth propulsion at a critical merge point on to the freeway, creating an obvious risk of loss of control and collision with other motorists. The sudden lock-up and downshift, spike in RPMs, and deceleration were entirely inconsistent with normal operation and were objectively dangerous under highway-speed conditions. My passenger and I were jerked forward into our seatbelts. After this incident, I had the vehicle's transmission checked at a small shop, which stated they did not find any codes or issues, but recommended a full transmission rebuild at a cost of several thousand dollars. Finding no diagnostic codes or issues, I continued using my truck until it unexpectedly failed the following month on a freeway. In December 2025, while I was exiting a freeway in Mesa, Arizona, the F-150’s 6R80 transmission downshifted again without being prompted, causing similar critical safety concerns. But this time the transmission was stuck in gear and was unsafe to operate on the highway or city streets. It had to be towed. A repair shop determined that the output speed sensor was found faulty at all times with diagnostic trouble codes of P720, P0722, and P2535, requiring complete replacement of the Leadframe Assembly. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this is consistent with other recalls that Ford has issued related to the failure of its 6R80 transmissions in F-150s and similar vehicles for years 2011-2014, which are known to Ford to have a risk of crashing due to the sudden downshifting concerns. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA)