2018 Transmission Clunking/slamming in gears

[Kanderson]

Currently Expedition is sitting at the dealer to get the tranny gone thru. Started noticing on highway when cruising 70+ and stepped on it to pass and downshift. Dropped to 7 or 8 then really slammed into 9 and ok up to 10. Then started noticing hard clunky sometimes hesitant shifts in all odd gears (3,5,7,9) Dealer said something major is going on but now it sits for 2+ weeks until the tranny tech can get to it. Kind of disheartening for such a new vehicle w/ 20k on it. Anybody else had similar issues?

Thanks

I’ve had my 2018 for five months. I think I have driven it about three weeks total. I put less than 1000 miles on a car that only had 38000 miles. It has been in the shop 5 times at two different dealerships and no one has fixed it yet. I finally gave up and traded for a 2021. It was doing what you describe and also doing it at low speeds. It would shift and then seem to stay in neutral. It has been a nightmare and Ford would not do anything except contact the dealership about repairs. I would not have bought another one except I know Chevrolet is the same way. I have owned 6 now 7 expeditions and have only had problems with the one so I hope it was just a lemon.

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

Dealer confirmed the issue and applied a software update then reset the module. They said it should be fine now. Only time will tell…

 

[FlyBry]

Dealer confirmed the issue and applied a software update then reset the module. They said it should be fine now. Only time will tell…

Give it a week or 2 to relearn your driving style, then shoot us an update.

 

[Kahuna]

Add my 2020 Expy to the list here too. 25k miles and I have had two incidents where upon shifting to pass the transmission “bangs” and slams into gear after a short neutral period.

Into the dealer it went with “we can’t replicate it” comment afterwards.

Then it slips out of gear up a short hill and I’m left in neutral for a min until it finds a gear.

Back in the dealer now for a couple of days. No word yet but they said they are opening a ticket up with Ford “on this one”.

I need this thing to be dependable as we do a lot of towing for camping.

At $75k purchase price I’m pretty disappointed at Ford.

Chevy has the same Tran but do they have the same problem too?

If they are going to do major surgery on this transmission I’m going to dump it quickly as a trade in for a Chevy if they’re more reliable?

Will report the results of this when I know more

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

Two week check in - issue still persists. Big clunking downshifting into 8th and 3rd, just like before. It also lurches from park to drive now too. I will have them reevaluate during my 30k service.

 

[texevora]

The dealership service situation is beyond ridiculous here in TX. Every dealer is backed up for weeks if not months for transmission work, none have loaner cars, and they require you to leave your car with them until they get to it even though they know it will just sit. So annoying and inefficient. I don't know how anybody can afford to not have a daily driver for weeks on end.

 

[Kahuna]

Ok so now a couple of weeks later and Ford is still scratching their heads. Fortunately I now have real evidence (codes) that have left a trail of bread crumbs.

With previous issues it didn’t leave a wrench or error message/codes on the modules when read. The last two missed shifts resulted in me catching the “Shift fault” message before it disappeared and the service guy was able to use my vin number and see what the car reported as it happened. I included the screen shot below from his screen. But still no codes left in the modules to report a problem - strange.

Basically modules were not communicating which put the car in a “blind” kind of situation for the TCM. Not knowing how fast the car was going I guess.

Ford “mother ship” is apparently reviewing the situation and will advise the dealer. Probably throw parts at the problem.

Im hoping for a fix. Love the vehicle except for this crazy missed shift issue! Otherwise I’ll go down the path of the Calif Lemon Law.

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[ChrisInAustinTX]

The dealership service situation is beyond ridiculous here in TX. Every dealer is backed up for weeks if not months for transmission work, none have loaner cars, and they require you to leave your car with them until they get to it even though they know it will just sit. So annoying and inefficient. I don't know how anybody can afford to not have a daily driver for weeks on end.

Texas - the land of zero consumer protection. We are passed the lemon law stage as that taps out at 24k miles I believe. Tricky City Ford in Buda has been good so far if you’re close to central TX.

 

[Jerald Cook]

I thought I’d come and join the fun. Our 2020 has almost 30,000 miles and for about the past year we have had a horrible clunk (like a sledge hammer hitting the floor under the truck) occasionally when downshifting into 8th. We also get it in third as well. Often times in the morning shifting from park to drive shakes the entire truck like someone rear ended us. It sounds like I should get this into the dealer when they have a loaner available…

Exact issue and symptoms I'm having in the 2020 with 17k miles. Guess it's time to call the dealership.

 

[Kahuna]

Let us know if the dealer solves your clunk issue. I’m now having that as well as my “missed shift” issue. Same gears too.

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

UPDATE:

Issues are getting progressively worse. The car now misses shifts between 2-3. The horrible clunk is back when downshifting into 8th or 3rd. The shifts are almost all rough and sometimes the car gets stuck in neutral for a second between gears and the engine revs. I plan on (respectfully) demanding Ford either replace the transmission or buy-back the car.

 

[Jerald Cook]

I took my 2020 into the dealership yesterday and was told that all the transmission issues I was experiencing was typical for the 10R80. The service advisor acknowledged the issues and said he has 2015 F-150 with the 10R80, has the same issues, and that he won't buy another vehicle with that transmission until the issue is fixed. I asked about Mustangs and GM vehicles with the 10R80 and he said they all have the same issues.

The dealer did a reset on the transmission, updated the software, and sent me on my way. I've already experience a mild "clunk" on a 10-8 downshift since the update. I'll give it some time and see if it improves.

Complete list of issues I presented to the service advisor:

• 10-8 downshifts. Mostly around 50 mph at low RPMs, but a few times on the highway as well. EXTREMELY loud/harsh “clunk”.
• Severe “clunks” when shifting from P to D. Very harsh and very loud on occasion, almost feels like you’ve been rear-ended.
• Occasional jerky downshifting when coming to a stop or slowing down. Almost feels like downshifting with a manual transmission, except the downshifts feels like it’s working against braking.
• After slowing down and getting back on the throttle, clunks/shift issues/gear hunting after back on throttle when downshifting into 3rd.
• Occasional minor lurching when shifting from P to D.
• Occasionally after startup and pulling away when transmission is cold, transmission shifts 1000 rpm higher than normal. Feels almost like a CVT. Torque converter not locking up?
• 3rd to 5th upshift has occasional hesitation (1-2 second delay in the shift).

 

[bill_b]

I took my 2020 into the dealership yesterday and was told that all the transmission issues I was experiencing was typical for the 10R80. The service advisor acknowledged the issues and said he has 2015 F-150 with the 10R80, has the same issues, and that he won't buy another vehicle with that transmission until the issue is fixed. I asked about Mustangs and GM vehicles with the 10R80 and he said they all have the same issues.

The dealer did a reset on the transmission, updated the software, and sent me on my way. I've already experience a mild "clunk" on a 10-8 downshift since the update. I'll give it some time and see if it improves.

Complete list of issues I presented to the service advisor:

• 10-8 downshifts. Mostly around 50 mph at low RPMs, but a few times on the highway as well. EXTREMELY loud/harsh “clunk”.
• Severe “clunks” when shifting from P to D. Very harsh and very loud on occasion, almost feels like you’ve been rear-ended.
• Occasional jerky downshifting when coming to a stop or slowing down. Almost feels like downshifting with a manual transmission, except the downshifts feels like it’s working against braking.
• After slowing down and getting back on the throttle, clunks/shift issues/gear hunting after back on throttle when downshifting into 3rd.
• Occasional minor lurching when shifting from P to D.
• Occasionally after startup and pulling away when transmission is cold, transmission shifts 1000 rpm higher than normal. Feels almost like a CVT. Torque converting not locking up?
• 3rd to 5th upshift has occasional hesitation (1-2 second delay in the shift).

A lot of the same issues I am having. My 9-10 shift hits like a shift kit, I can replicate it like clock work. This is after the 2 most current Field Service reflashes.


Ford has no idea what they are doing with this transmission at this point. As a last ditch effort for me to keep this thing I MIGHT turn to 5 star tuning. My neighbor has an F150 with a lot of the same issues and just did a 5 star tune/intercooler and he said its as smooth as can be now.

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

I took my 2020 into the dealership yesterday and was told that all the transmission issues I was experiencing was typical for the 10R80. The service advisor acknowledged the issues and said he has 2015 F-150 with the 10R80, has the same issues, and that he won't buy another vehicle with that transmission until the issue is fixed. I asked about Mustangs and GM vehicles with the 10R80 and he said they all have the same issues.

The dealer did a reset on the transmission, updated the software, and sent me on my way. I've already experience a mild "clunk" on a 10-8 downshift since the update. I'll give it some time and see if it improves.

Complete list of issues I presented to the service advisor:

• 10-8 downshifts. Mostly around 50 mph at low RPMs, but a few times on the highway as well. EXTREMELY loud/harsh “clunk”.
• Severe “clunks” when shifting from P to D. Very harsh and very loud on occasion, almost feels like you’ve been rear-ended.
• Occasional jerky downshifting when coming to a stop or slowing down. Almost feels like downshifting with a manual transmission, except the downshifts feels like it’s working against braking.
• After slowing down and getting back on the throttle, clunks/shift issues/gear hunting after back on throttle when downshifting into 3rd.
• Occasional minor lurching when shifting from P to D.
• Occasionally after startup and pulling away when transmission is cold, transmission shifts 1000 rpm higher than normal. Feels almost like a CVT. Torque converting not locking up?
• 3rd to 5th upshift has occasional hesitation (1-2 second delay in the shift).

WOW!! I could literally copy and paste that entire list and take it to the service center. It would be 100% accurate in our case too. And they’ve even already done the “software fix”. I’ll be asking for a new updated transmission (apparently the 2022 F-150s are much improved) or a buy back. I cannot go the lemon route due to mileage and TX state law. I will simply request Ford buy back the car. It’s trash.

 

[JDorn]

I would like some advice here. I've been researching this issue for the past month while our 2018 Expedition sat in the lot at ford. We had the Cam Phasers replaced under the extended warranty partial coverage. Leading up to this, we were experiencing transmission issues.

These included:
- Hard shift from 2-3, and other random upshifting
- No acceleration from a dead stop...then clunk and go.
- Occasionally would not down shift from 7th gear to 1st when coming to a stop. Would just remain in 7th. I would have to shift it to park or Neutral to get it to go back to 1st.

Ford verified concerns. Pulled a sample of transmission fluid and said it was dirty. Mind you, we had the transmission serviced by a qualified mechanic when this problem began with a trans flush and new trans filter about 300 miles prior to going to ford. Our mechanic said the fluid was clean and no metal shavings. Nothing out of the ordinary and he too thought it was the throttle body.

Multiple mechanics mentioned throttle body issues. Ford said they're not showing any issues with it. Received call today after cam phasers were fixed and were working on transmission and that it has suffered a "catastrophic failure" with the problems described above and was sending in a claim to ford for assistance with financial support.

Is this something I need a second opinion on. They are saying it needs a total transmission replacement and very hesitant of dealers in our area.