2011 FORD F-150 Recalls, Complaints & Safety

Approximately one month ago, I noticed that the vehicle would not accelerate the way it normally does. A error code came on. I took the vehicle to Auto Zone for error code check. I was informed that the powertrain control module speed sensor had gone bad. I looked this up and found that Ford had a recall on 2011 Ford F-150s for similar issues. I disconnected the battery, as recommended on an internet site, and the vehicle began to operate normally. About one week later, I noticed that the vehicle would not shift above third gear and was accelerating very sluggishly. On further investigation I fount that the vehicle would not shift out of third gear (up or down). I again disconnected/reconnected the battery, and again it began operating normally. I contacted the local Ford dealership and they said that I should have received a letter in May 2019 about the PCM recall. I didn't recall receiving the letter, but Ford Motor Co. Customer Service says the PCM was actually reprogrammed on March 29, 2019 to repair the issues related to the recall. My concern is that the PCM speed sensor is malfunctioning again even after the repairs were supposedly performed by Ford. I am concerned that the vehicle may again be potentially unsafe to operate at highway speeds. I wanted to make NHTSA aware of the potential for ongoing safety issues with this vehicle even after Ford's proposed fix.

Preliminary don’t want it to happen to my truck.

The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.

Trans mission input shaft speed sensor. Transmission is downshifting and going into limp mode while driving.

I faced an unexpected transmission downshift that came without warning or driver input. Transmission 6R80. The same problem that is being investigated for the 2015 - 2017 Ford F-150. The truck only had 105,904 miles. I was almost hit in the rear when this happened. This happened in November 2025

The truck will randomly downshift from 4th or 5th gear to 1st gear. I was driving around 64 miles per hour and the truck downshifted into first gear. It made me swerve out of my lane on the highway and sounded terrible on the engine. It’s very dangerous and is going to cause a wreck or ruin the engine. Ford had an extended warranty for up to 150,000 miles on the molded leadframe and my truck has 156,000. Ford refused to fix this issue and I feel as if they should replace the faulty part.

BostonMA2266United States1/1/2026"Are LED manufacturers trying to destroy my country, or pushing the slightly less nefarious agenda of stimulating auto-wreck insurance companies and Lens Crafters? It's unbelievable how so many people keep wanting to go back down an old, broken road."

Orchid Isle Ford in Hilo has replaced the electronic power steering rack and pinion already once but now it’s gone bad again.I don’t understand why because I hardly drive my truck and it has only 40 something thousands miles on it

Driving about 10 mph when steering lockup Shop replaced rack opinion

Steering became stiff and difficult, brakes fell off the vehicle. No breaks. Heard/felt a pop and steering became loose. No steering, steering wheel was not turning the tires. Operated as a toy steering wheel without any temsion/control. I was stopped at a stop sign when the incident happened going 0mph.

The first indication of problems came when I tried to put the truck in gear and I noticed that the reverse light didn't come on and it wouldn't engage into the gear then as I was traveling down a three-lane highway in the middle lane the car started jerking and like it didn't want to go and then I got to a red light and the truck would not move so I was stuck in the central lane but after engaging the gear several times I managed to get the vehicle into a gas station parking lot where I call the dealership after finding out that I had the trouble code that was referred in the recall and the vehicle was towed to Duval I mean it was told to Hogan forward on Atlantic boulevard .where it's now under inspection.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to decelerate and come to a complete stop while the brake pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that excessive force was needed, or the brake pedal needed to be pumped several times to start operating as needed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where the brake master cylinder was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was also taken to several other local dealers, where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

P072200-68, CMDTC, Output Shaft Sensor Circuit No Signal. There has reportedly been multiple recalls for the 2011 Ford F-150's 6-speed automatic transmission related to an issue with the molded lead frame that can cause an unexpected downshift into first gear.

TRUCK HAS INTERMITTENT OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR CAUSING TRANSMISSION TO ABRUPLTY DOWNSHIFT AND LOCK REAR END UP. FORD IS AWARE ACVORDING TO FORD TSB 13-6-8. MOLDED LEAD FRAME NEEDS REPLACED. I GAVE OBD CODES P0720 AND P0722 INDICATING THIS FOR WANTS 2000.00 DOLLARS TO FIX A KNOWN REPAIR. CALLED FMC IN DEARBORN...PRETTY MUCH TOLD ME ITS MY PROBLEM.

Was starting to accelerate out of a toll booth a vehicle and was about 60mph when suddenly the engine shut off. Electrical worked. Got mechanical symbol and then oil pressure low warning. It started to down shift and slow rapidly in traffic. Managed to get to side of road but almost got hit. Got it towed to dealer and the fuel pump fuse had melted. Shutting off the fuel pump.

The contact owns 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the rearview camera was glitching and had displayed a blank image. The message “Camera Unavailable” was displayed. Neither an independent mechanic nor a dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to a recall that did not include the year, make and model of the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 21,704.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after the dealer had reprogrammed the PCM under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train), the vehicle started to experience failures. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle downshifted to first gear unintendedly. The powertrain warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact resumed driving; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the residence. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake lights, the hazard lights, the turn signal lights, and the infotainment system and the A/C system became inoperable after the recall repair. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure might be related to the electrical system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

After a short drive on the highway, upon slowing down to turn off, automatic transmission was erraticly changing gears. kept switching from 1st to 2nd gear. really jerky with tires locking up. pulled to side of the road, shut off truck and restarted. seemed to work fine for the 2 mile drive to my destination. when leaving to head home it shifted ok but i noticed some weird shifting patterns. then upon slowing to a stop off the highway again, when i left the stop sign it repeated the process off shifting back and forth from 1st to 2nd gear again. shut off truck started again. drove home ok. i am dropping it off to be looked at today. i really do not feel safe driving this pickup not knowing when and where this could happen again. no warning lights

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, and DTC: P0720 was retrieved, which indicated a failure with the output shaft speed sensor. The contact was informed that the output shaft speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under any unknown recall. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with rack and pinion failure. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was informed that neither repair was covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

Any time I’ll driving my truck down hill the transmission drops into 1st gear while traveling 65 miles per hour almost causing an accident every time this happens

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, and DTC: P0720 was retrieved, which indicated a failure with the output shaft speed sensor. The contact was informed that the output shaft speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under any unknown recall. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with rack and pinion failure. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was informed that neither repair was covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

Going down the highway at 60mph. Car went from 6th gear to 1st gear and tires locked up and I started sliding. I could smell the tires burning. I threw it into neutral and the tires unlocked. I dropped back down to 40 mph and went back into drive. No issue after.

I was driving in the morning car was started to lag on accelerating and shifting gears slightly. My dashboard and gps system flickered on and off when this happened. The truck putted as well. On my way home the car had trouble accelerating and dropped from 5th gear all the way to first causing me to almost lose control of the vehicle. It continued hard shifting and loss all acceleration. It continued flickering everytime it would sputter and slip gears, Gps and dashboard would flicker. They gears were going haywire. I could not accelerate with the pedal all the way to the floor, and was hard to turn steering wheel. Almost like the Truck was coasting. When we took it to the mechanic they stated it was a transmission range switch which is an issue and many F150's of my year, make and model. My vehicle was not listed as a recalled vehicle yet has the same issue as the other recalled ones. Total repairs are going to cost around $2000. I have not driven my vehicle since the incident and I am frightened after almost losing control from the hard shifting. Prior to this the vehicle ran great. It was an out of nowhere issue. the truck has been maintained well, with all oil changes, and regular maintenece. there is less the 96,000 mile son the truck as well.

The power steering goes out randomly. While driving forward , backing up, parking, turning. Very dangerous to drive.

Was in a car Collison not wherein setbelt and airbags did not deploy or come out at all

Crash 2 injured

Was in a car Collison not wherein setbelt and airbags did not deploy or come out at all

Crash 2 injured

Was in a car Collison not wherein setbelt and airbags did not deploy or come out at all

Crash 2 injured

Hard downshifts from 5 to 4. At low speeds, like parking lots it shifts hard from 1 to 2. At freeway speeds while attempting to pass instead of dropping a gear to passs it downshifts to 1st, rpm’s shoot up and it results in having to pull off stop and place in park. Once in park back to D and able to take off. At any speed from 30 mph or more there is a sort of “tap of brakes” feeling every .15 of a mile.

Entering the highway, the transmission shifted into 1st, the gauges blanked out and a service light came on. Upon taking it in for inspection, FORD compliant 19N01 already existed but had limited mileage/date that has now expired. The problem and solution is the same found under 19N01

The display will show a wrench icon and check engine light. The transmission will suddenly downshift and lose power. The RPMs will either rise or remain the same but unable to accelerate. The wheels will intermittently lock up. This occurs at high speeds on the highway and on back roads at slower speeds. Stopping the tuck, shutting it off and turning it back on will "reset" and it will run ok but the timing between incidents is intermittent. There is a recall for this issue however the dealership (Greico Ford in Raynham) refuses to make the repairs, instead telling me this is no longer covered by recall: Transmission molded leadframe extended coverage [XXX] Today was the latest event, however this has been ongoing since December 2024. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Speedometer stopped working and automatic transmission would not shift out of first gear without manually shifting. Transmission then would not come out of third gear.

I own a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving at highway speed, the transmission unintendedly downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to lose motive power. This can, by Fords admission, cause accidents and Injury. The check engine warning light and Wrench Symbol was illuminated. Sometimes it is able to restart and reset sometimes not. This problem has occurred several times while driving. I took it to my normal mechanic, where it was diagnosed with an output shaft speed sensor failure. He said that the transmission lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. I spoke to Ford customer service and they refuse to fix it and said my VIN was not included. See NHTSA Safety Recall Report 16V-248

When driving on the interstate with the normal flow of traffic at 55mph, the vehicle abruptly downshifted from 6th gear to 1st gear causing the the vehicle to lock up an nearly caused an accident. This was followed by a a mechanic warning light and the speedometer to lock out and no longer work. Once pulled over, the vehicle was powered down. When the vehicle was turned back on operation returned in a limp state.

What is happening is a KNOWN issue that effects Ford F-150's from 2011-2013 Models with the 6-Speed transmissions. The issue is with the Molded Lead Frames. The fault causes hard downshifts out of now where. I was driving on a highway, at highway speeds, when the truck downshifted to 1st Gear. Incredibly unsafe, jolted the truck to an immediately forced reduced speed, luckily no one was behind me. Ford is aware of this, but is not correcting affected vehicles. My vehicle is a 2011 F-150, I tried to have it fixed while it was still under the "extended coverage" but Ford denied it due to it only being a "possible malfunction" at the time. Roughly 2 years later, the malfunction & defect is now on full force, rendering the truck unsafe to drive due to sudden down shifts at random intervals, multiple times a day while driving, yet now it is "passed the coverage." That is unacceptable, and is safety issue for the many of these generation models of F-150's that are still out driving.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The RPM fluctuated, and the transmission shifted roughly. The gear shifter indicator was randomly illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that after a while, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact used a scanner and retrieved DTC: P0705 (Transmission Range Sensor Circuit Malfunction (PRNDL Input)" was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred, and the contact parked the vehicle and the vehicle was no longer driven due to safety concerns. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

The transmission unexpectedly downshift's to 1st gear, instrument gauges go dark, wheels have locked up, motor then lacks power. The issues have been going on for a while and recently had to stop on the side of the road 5 times in the 20 mile trip home from work. 2011 F-150 is unsafe to drive. Called Ford Customer Service on July 2, 2025. Case Number [XXX]. Was informed a prior Recall 16S19 addressing these issues was performed in 2016. A second recall 19S07 was issued for the same reasons. The service rep said this vin number is not listed; apparently it does not cover this vehicle. Ford customer service rep suggested filing a complaint with NHTSA.gov as this has been an ongoing safety issue. Unless NHTSA is made aware of an issue can it be addressed or in this case readdressed because the repairs by Ford has failed as a long term solution. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the transmission was shifting rough. The contact stated that that there was a grinding sound coming from underneath the vehicle, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that a mobile mechanic visited residence to diagnose the vehicle and the contact was informed that the transmission was slipping out of gear and downshifting unexpectedly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be repaired and an unknown recall repair needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the rear end occasionally locked up while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 228,000.

As i was driving around 45 mph this Sunday, my 2011 f150 suddenly shifted hard down to first gear. i thought someone hit me from behind at first, i don't think i have ever been so scared in a vehicle in my life! this truck has been so good to my family otherwise. Anyway, i started researching online and found there was a recall for this but has ended. I called Ford thinking maybe they would stand behind a problem that was a known ford issue. whether its been 10 years or 20. this is my 7th f150. i have dealt with all there issues in the past. From blown out sparkplugs in the 4.6 to the leaking intake manifold to cam phasers. you may ask why i keep buying them, but its because i love ford. Is there anything you can do for me? I'm scared i could kill myself or someone. This is a dangerous problem and i don't see how this recall could have ever had a deadline on it. Thank you for you time, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I am having a lead frame issue as many of these models had but it never affected me until now. I can be doing highway speeds, upwards of 70mph and the vehicle will just down shift to first gear, locking the tires and causing a hazard for other drivers which could be a very dangerous situation