2020 FORD F-150 Complaints

Windshield wipers not working properly. Wipers barely move, then seize up. No warning. Requires manual help/ movement by hand to get them to return to the bottom of windscreen. Was pouring rain and could not see out of windshield on the highway. I have not taken the vehicle to service yet - but this appears to be a widespread complaint when researching the issue online.

Failed CDF drum and collapsed shift solenoid retainers. Causing erratic shifting, hard shifting, gear skipping, bouncing back and forth between gears, delayed gear engagement, and shuttering when shifting.

I brought my 2020 F-150 XLT to Cook Ford Texas City for a recall (24E12 PM reprogramming) and a steering issue that have happened while driving and making me loose control, almost hitting the vehicle front! After spending over $3,400 to get the whole steering system changed, I picked up my truck thinking everything was good. Within one day of the recall being done, my check engine light came on with an emissions fault. When I asked about it, I was told this was "normal" after the recall because now the PCM is able to read codes. But it feels shady that a brand-new problem shows up immediately after a recall reprogramming. Now, I'm being told I might have to pay for even more expensive repairs like a catalytic converter (5k for both) - right after just spending thousands. It's frustrating, stressful, and feels like a never-ending cycle. After looking online, I found many other Ford owners sharing the same experience with this recall on forums like Reddit. That makes me believe this is not an isolated case.

Component/System Failure: The 10-speed automatic transmission failed prematurely at only 75,000 miles. The transmission is still in the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. The symptoms include harsh shifting between gears, particularly into lower gears, followed by significant lag and then abrupt jumping/engagement. This is consistent with numerous other complaints filed regarding the 10-speed transmission in this model year. Safety Risk: The unpredictable transmission behavior created dangerous driving conditions. The harsh shifting and lag followed by sudden acceleration made it impossible to safely merge into traffic, navigate intersections, or maintain consistent speed on highways. The erratic gear engagement put myself, my passengers, and other drivers at risk as the vehicle's response became completely unreliable. The truck is currently unsafe to drive. Professional Confirmation: Yes, the problem has been confirmed by Aamco Transmission on Sept 17, 2025. They diagnosed it as transmission failure requiring complete replacement. Manufacturer/Other Inspection: No inspection by Ford has occurred to date. Warning Indicators: No warning lights, check engine lights, or dashboard messages appeared prior to or during the failure. The only symptoms were the physical driving symptoms described above—harsh shifting, significant lag, and abrupt gear engagement—which began approximately gradually over the past month and progressively worsened until the vehicle became unsafe to operate.

I was driving eastbound on city streets at 30 mph with my three young children when the vehicle exhibited abnormal shifting behavior, searching for a gear. Despite being in 9th gear, traveling the speed limit, and lightly pressing the pedal, the vehicle experienced a rough downshift and lost power while going up a small incline over a freeway overpass. I turned on my hazards and attempted to move over to avoid an accident, which I successfully did. The vehicle regained power after restarting with rough shifts in the lower gears. I put the vehicle in manual mode to better control the shifting, though it remained incredibly rough. The kids were shaken and refuse to drive in the vehicle. Since then, I’ve only driven it to have it serviced at our local Ford dealer. They stated everything was fine after the transmission fluid exchange and battery replacement. However, the vehicle still exhibited rough shifting behavior on the short drive home. A friend pulled codes from the TCM/ECU and found P0734-00, P07F7-00, and P2535-00. He assisted, backed up the ECU/TCM, re-flashed the onboard ECU/TCM with the latest mappings, and reset the adaptive learning. He then drove the vehicle with diagnostics equipment connected and recorded the driving data, finding that the transmission was losing pressure and the shift behavior was slightly better but still rough shifts between 2-4 and 7-8 gear. Once the drive/test was completed, codes P0761 and P2702 appeared on the reader. He explained that the issues pointed to a CDF drum defect, which has several TSB’s published. He advised me to stop driving it and reach out to the dealer or local qualified shop. I was quoted between $7,677-$8,978 to replace trans with reman unit. Vehicle has been maintained with all records on file and is in nearly perfect condition with exception of the transmission due to the CDF defect. I would love to see action taken to prevent injury/death as I could see that occurring at some point.

Like a lot of f-150 owners, my 10speed transmission stopped working not allowing me to accelerate or shift into reverse. I was stuck in the intersection luckily I didn’t get into an accident. The truck was stuck in 7th gear! This is dangerous and happens far too commonly, please investigate, this is dangerous and expensive for the average consumer. Please help.

Like most people with the same model and year. My transmission stopped shifting, and stalled. I was fortunate since I was sitting in the intersection. You need to look into the 10speed transmission they are faulty and need to be investigated!

the transmission for this truck has on several occasions shifted very hard when accelerating, and on a couple occasions has down shifted without warning and without reason. the down shifting incidents were unexpected and could have caused an accident if I was in traffic.

This model year truck has an oil consumption problem. I had the truck repaired under the Ford bulletin, but I’ll still need an oil consumption test after 1000 miles and continued frequent oil changes.

The transmission failed. While driving, it shifts extremely hard and will suddenly downshift without warning. Autonation Ford of North Canton, Ohio, inspected the vehicle on August 13, 2025, and reported that the CDF drum clutches were likely worn. The truck is available for inspection upon request. The sudden downshifts cause the truck to jerk violently and lose speed abruptly. On multiple occasions, this has nearly caused me to lose control and creates a high risk of being rear-ended by other drivers who are not expecting the sudden slowdown. Yes. Autonation Ford of North Canton, Ohio, confirmed the issue on August 13, 2025. Yes. Autonation Ford of North Canton inspected the transmission and stated it was likely due to worn CDF drum clutches. There were no warning lamps or messages. The symptoms began before August 2025 when the transmission started slipping, shifting hard, and then downshifting unexpectedly. The issue occurred just one month after the warranty expired. The dealer quoted me approximately $7,000 to repair it. I have read that Ford has replaced the old pressed bushings in this part with welded ones to prevent this failure, which suggests this may be a known defect in the original design.