The most widespread complaint: harsh upshifts and downshifts, especially 1–2 and 2–3.
Caused by valve body calibration, accumulator seals, or adaptive learning logic.
Driver places the vehicle in Drive or Reverse and experiences a several-second delay.
Often tied to hydraulic pressure loss, valve body wear, or low fluid.
Feels like vibration or rumble-strip sensation around 25–45 mph.
Frequently caused by torque converter clutch (TCC) oscillation or contamination in the fluid.
Transmission jumps between gears unnecessarily on hills or steady throttle.
This is partly programming-related but can also indicate clutch wear.
Converter clutch can slip, causing shudder, overheating, and metallic debris.
In severe cases, it contaminates the entire transmission.
Cooler line leaks and overheat events are relatively common on early units.
Overheating leads to varnish deposits and sticking valves.
Excessive bore wear causes pressure loss → hard shifts, slip, or bang shifts.
Often requires replacement valve body or solenoid body.
Ford faces multiple lawsuits alleging “violent” shifting, lunging, and hesitation in 2017–2022 F-150 and Mustang.