Ford is recalling 1,392,935 F-150 pickups from the 2015 through 2017 model years because a transmission sensor problem could cause some trucks to downshift abruptly from sixth gear to second at highway speeds. The company says the defect centers on the Transmission Range Sensor inside the 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission.
The sensor tells the Powertrain Control Module which gear the driver has selected. If it sends the wrong signal, Ford says the module can potentially command a shift from sixth gear straight into second, which is the kind of failure that can turn routine highway driving into an emergency in an instant.
Ford says age and repeated use are behind the signaling problem, and the recall names the lead frame as the part involved in the failure. The fix is a software reprogramming of the Powertrain Control Module with a new calibration designed to detect lead frame failure through the sensor’s signaling, along with extra time between shifts so the system can catch the problem before the transmission reacts. If certain diagnostic trouble codes appear before the module is reprogrammed, dealers are instructed to replace the lead frame.
Last year, enough complaints about transmission trouble in 2015–2017 F-150 trucks prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to get involved. Ford’s recall follows that review and comes after a separate action in which the company recalled about 4.3 million trucks over a trailer control software glitch, including the 2021–2026 F-150 and other Ford vehicles.
The new recall is narrower than some owners may expect. Ford said the 6R80 transmission used in 2009–2014 F-150s is not part of this action, and neither are the 2011–2017 Mustang, 2009–2018 Expedition, 2009–2010 Ford Explorer or 2015–2019 Transit. Those vehicles were excluded because their lead frames are different enough or their use cases differ, according to Ford.
The scale alone explains why this recall matters now. Ford has recalled well over 19 million vehicles in the past year, and this one adds another large batch of trucks tied not to a full transmission redesign, but to a defect in a sensor and a part inside the transmission that can misread what gear is selected. For owners of these F-150s, the question is not whether the company has identified the problem. It has. The question is how quickly dealers can reprogram the trucks, and whether any lead frames need to be replaced before those vehicles go back on the road.