2018 Max W/Hard Tranny shifts

[stefan gimenez]

I have a 2018 Max with 88k miles. I have never had an issue until recently where it has been holding gears, hard shifting, getting stuck in gear. This morning I was at a traffic light and it was in 7th gear from a dead stop then dropped to first. I often see it shift from 1-3-5-6-7-8-9-10 instead of using all gears. I brought it to the stealership and they did a tranny flush, and " reset the learned tranny." Well same issue this morning. I do not beat on my truck but I am running a tune and occasionally tow. When I had it serviced I took the tune out reset to factory. Any information would be great!

 

[Deadman]

Trans is probably toast. The dealer will see the tune if they look...

They just released a fix for this issue, I forget what it was.

 

[TheDoug]

The skipping gear thing is how it comes from factory. It does that, they say, to save fuel.

The other issue is not normal.

 

[Laraleal]

I just bought my 2018 Max May 18th with 69,000 miles. It started doing exactly what you're explaining 10 days after purchase. At first just an annoyance, so I made an appointment and they assured me it wouldn't damage the vehicle to keep driving...but it quickly got so much worse. RPMs revving up between 6/7, so in the red and then all engine power stopped until it "caught" again. Apparently there's a problem with the clutch pack and it needs a completely new transmission, under warranty thankfully. Hopefully yours is a simpler, cheaper fix good luck!

 

[BAHAExpedition]

I had my transmission replaced in April. 2018 XLT (30k mi.)

 

[stefan gimenez]

I bought my truck certified so it carries a 100K powertrain warranty so I am going to call and bring it in. Once it warms up and at highway speeds, while passing it is fine. It is just not a comfortable feeling when your making a left turn; your kid is in a car seat on that side and my 7k pound beast does not move. So an eighty thousand dollar truck has cam phaser rattles and a transmission issue...if the Sequoia was as big I would have bough that. I put the tune in the truck to open its potential while hauling my snowmobile trailer 2 times a year and the improved fuel economy. I have it all set back to stock so I am not concerned, they do not diagnose at the dealership so how much effort are they really going to put in, its a KNOWN problem.

 

[Soliyou]

If you are under warranty, definitely take it to the dealer. They should inspect the valve body first for any shift issues.

These transmissions use linear solenoids (or actuators) to control the valves and shifts. This is different than older transmissions that used servos, bands, and on/off solenoids. So most of the issues in shift quality can be traced back to the valve body. However, if left for a long time, this can lead to burnt clutches and a need for rebuild.

See this new product on Sonnax: https://www.sonnax.com/parts/5576-solenoid-stabilization-clip-insert

Apparently ford used weak retaining springs for these solenoids that collapse and cause misalignment. See the picture below from Sonnax:


Now, I am not saying that this is the issue with yours, but it is worth bringing up valve body issues to the tech. Ford also released a modified separator plate for the valve body to solve the neutral-out condition. My recommendation is to get this fixed ASAP before the need for a complete rebuild.

I am actually thinking of using this product and the new plate at 60K miles along with fluid and filter change. When the pan is off, the valve body can be easily removed and retrofitted (may be one additional tech hour).

 

[stefan gimenez]

4 weeks today my truck has been at the dealer. Lucky all covered under extended warranty. Never offered loaner so I have been beg, borrow, and steal to get to work to make payments on a truck sitting in the shop!

 

[NukeLife]

4 weeks today my truck has been at the dealer. Lucky all covered under extended warranty. Never offered loaner so I have been beg, borrow, and steal to get to work to make payments on a truck sitting in the shop!

Yep. They had mine for 8 weeks, tried replacing just the MCV-but the rest of the transmission was just too far gone. The final result was that the cost to rebuild/repair was not worth it, and just installed a new transmission.

 

[NukeLife]

They provided a loaner clown car for the duration—which made me feel great about paying the monthly payment on my $81,000 Expedition for two months.