2017 FORD F-150 Complaints

Vehicle transmission will instantly drop to gears 3 to 5 (limp mode from what I have researched) & wrench light comes on. Very dangerous on the interstate traveling at 70mph+, seems to happen more frequently on hotter days. You can park & turn off vehicle, then crank back up, & it is out of limp mode but transmission is sluggish. Initially it was happening once per week on avg, now it is a toss up on each drive I do whether it goes into limp mode or not.

My truck dies for no reason when in park, or drive going very slowly. My vehicle is available for inspection if desired. This is very dangerous to have a running vehicle die when driving, or stopped at a red light. This has happened multiple times. I usually know when it's about to happen because my vehicle shakes, sometimes very hard, right before it happens. The dealership has stated that it will be expensive to diagnose because it happens irregularly, and they have no idea what could be causing it. No warning lamps, engine light, or any messages prior to staling. However, as stated prior, sometimes the vehicle shakes just before stalling. My vehicle is a 2017, and this just began about seven months ago. I had just had the dealership put in a new transmission and water pump . It never happened prior to that service.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the contact heard a knocking sound coming from the engine. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was determined that the cam phaser needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating to the failure of Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03: (GTDI Engine Cam Phaser Replacement); however, the VIN was not included in the program. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under a recall related to the failure. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 84,000.

Transmission started jumping hard from park to drive , progressed dropping from higher gear to lower gears hard while driving causing the truck to lock up and skid does it at both higher speeds and lower speeds even while idling down the road .

There is an engine rattle when starting the vehicle. I took my vehicle to Ford of Upland dealership. They said I need to replace my VCT Solenoids and water pump. This was a known issue for this year and make of vehicle and I never received any notification. Now, they want to change me $6000 to repair it. There was TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 23-2143 issued for this defect.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine light had illuminated and the vehicle had experienced rough operation. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the cam phasers were faulty and advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 144,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle in the morning, there was white smoke coming from exhaust pipes. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine. The dealer observed a crack in the cylinder head gasket. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 99,000.

When the vehicle is started, the cam phasers rattle, and yes, it is available for inspection upon request. Ford mechanics and other mechanics have stated that if not replaced, the cam phasers will eventually fail. This puts others at risk as the auto start/stop feature shuts the engine off anytime the vehicle comes to a stop. If the cam phasers failed while stopped in the road, the vehicle would not start back up, causing a rear end collision and possible injury/death to anyone on the road. The problem exists in the 2015-2018 Ford F150 3.5L ecoboost. Ford resolved the issue in the 2019 model F150 by replacing the cam phasers with ones that are built with better quality. I am unsure if the vehicle issue has been inspected by others. There have been no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. It first appeared in my vehicle around this year.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V236000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving in the snow at slow speeds, the brake pedal was depressed but traveled down to the floorboard, and the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that several warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer refused to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the brake hose had failed and leaked brake fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the driver's side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

This incident has occured twice. The first time, February 2025, I was driving the vehicle at approximately 55mph with Cruise Control engaged. The vehicle took itself off cruise and drop shifted to 1st gear. The rear tires skidded but I was able to pull over safely. Wrench warning on the screen. I shut off the vehicle. Restarted and the wrench icon was still present and vehicle would not shift to higher gears. Restarted again and the issue was gone. Independent service center could not find any issues or reproduce the problem. The second instance, July 1st 2025, occurred while towing a travel trailer. I was traveling at 25mph and the truck shifted to 1st and the rear tires locked briefly. The wrench icon appeared on the dash and then disappeared. It happened again just a minute or so later and then did not reoccur. Due to the low speed, no injuries occurred and control was maintained. I am certain that if this had happened at highway speed, there would have been an accident.