CD8888
New Member
Long time lurker - appreciate all the knowledge in here.
Just put my 2020 Expy Max XLT into the dealer with 53476 miles on it for its 4th time being in with transmission issues. The first three times they flashed it and it worked for about 400 miles and then went back to clunky again. Had the same challenges everyone else seems to have - super hard shifting from Park into Drive or Reverse (loud CLUNK and the car shoots back) and then hard shifts (which have become increasingly more violent) while upshifting from 3-4-5-6 and then 8-9 and then on downshifting from 7-6 and 5-4-3.
The final straw was while driving in sport mode over New Years, when I hit the accelerator to merge into traffic (speed around 65 mph), the truck violently slammed forward and then slammed back, definitely shocking myself and the passengers. Fast forward to last week while driving home and the hard shifting was getting worse and no longer staying between 5-6-7, it was going all the way up to 8 (upshifting). Then, while cruising at 70mph, I pushed the accelerator to downshift and absolutely no reaction. Twice - pedal went all the way to the floor. I'm in the left lane losing speed at this point so I shift it into Sports Mode (probably around 60mph) and the truck slams forward and then back and drops into 5th gear. I get back up to 70, switch it over to "Manual" and nurse it home.
I bring it in to the dealer and let them know what's going on - the techs took it out twice (first time flashing it and then the second was a full reprogram) and the second time my service guy said they didn't even make it 4 blocks before he turned it around and brought it back. I have a call on Monday afternoon, but it looks like a rebuild.
With that being said... I've been researching this problem for over 8 months now and I don't have the highest confidence that the rebuild is the 100% answer (lots of variables per my research: Better than OEM Parts are needed but not usually obtained, knowledge and expertise of the techs, and which parts are actually replaced as the CDF drum seems to be the main culprit). Most of my research on rebuilds seem to have a 40/60 success rate (40 percent are having no issues, 60 percent are noticing a resurgence of the same problems).
I freaking love this thing. Aside from the occasional gremlins and this trash trans, it's a wonderful family vehicle and hauls all 6 of us and our gear all over the place. I'd hate to have to turn it in, especially since there aren't many options for a full size SUV and one of those options co-engineered the current trans (and have their own issues with their line).
Has anyone just gone out and bought a 10R80 from Jasper or someone and ran it with no problems? I have 2 kids graduating college soon and the plan was to take this truck, run it until about 150-200k (if possible - we're meticulous with the maintenance) and get a small trailer (4500lbs) so we can start going to see some places. I'd hate to have to sell this thing once it's fixed and start on another adventure (of which success isn't a guarantee). Very frustrated with Ford at the moment (this is my third).
Thanks for any feedback on your experiences/thoughts!
Just put my 2020 Expy Max XLT into the dealer with 53476 miles on it for its 4th time being in with transmission issues. The first three times they flashed it and it worked for about 400 miles and then went back to clunky again. Had the same challenges everyone else seems to have - super hard shifting from Park into Drive or Reverse (loud CLUNK and the car shoots back) and then hard shifts (which have become increasingly more violent) while upshifting from 3-4-5-6 and then 8-9 and then on downshifting from 7-6 and 5-4-3.
The final straw was while driving in sport mode over New Years, when I hit the accelerator to merge into traffic (speed around 65 mph), the truck violently slammed forward and then slammed back, definitely shocking myself and the passengers. Fast forward to last week while driving home and the hard shifting was getting worse and no longer staying between 5-6-7, it was going all the way up to 8 (upshifting). Then, while cruising at 70mph, I pushed the accelerator to downshift and absolutely no reaction. Twice - pedal went all the way to the floor. I'm in the left lane losing speed at this point so I shift it into Sports Mode (probably around 60mph) and the truck slams forward and then back and drops into 5th gear. I get back up to 70, switch it over to "Manual" and nurse it home.
I bring it in to the dealer and let them know what's going on - the techs took it out twice (first time flashing it and then the second was a full reprogram) and the second time my service guy said they didn't even make it 4 blocks before he turned it around and brought it back. I have a call on Monday afternoon, but it looks like a rebuild.
With that being said... I've been researching this problem for over 8 months now and I don't have the highest confidence that the rebuild is the 100% answer (lots of variables per my research: Better than OEM Parts are needed but not usually obtained, knowledge and expertise of the techs, and which parts are actually replaced as the CDF drum seems to be the main culprit). Most of my research on rebuilds seem to have a 40/60 success rate (40 percent are having no issues, 60 percent are noticing a resurgence of the same problems).
I freaking love this thing. Aside from the occasional gremlins and this trash trans, it's a wonderful family vehicle and hauls all 6 of us and our gear all over the place. I'd hate to have to turn it in, especially since there aren't many options for a full size SUV and one of those options co-engineered the current trans (and have their own issues with their line).
Has anyone just gone out and bought a 10R80 from Jasper or someone and ran it with no problems? I have 2 kids graduating college soon and the plan was to take this truck, run it until about 150-200k (if possible - we're meticulous with the maintenance) and get a small trailer (4500lbs) so we can start going to see some places. I'd hate to have to sell this thing once it's fixed and start on another adventure (of which success isn't a guarantee). Very frustrated with Ford at the moment (this is my third).
Thanks for any feedback on your experiences/thoughts!
