2017 Ford Expedition Powertrain (other) Problems

Our 2017 Ford Expedition, has been diagnosed with a failure involving the molded lead frame/transmission sensor assembly in its 6R80 transmission. We were advised that the failure can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift at highway speed, resulting in sudden deceleration and possible loss of control. Ford has recalled 2015–2017 F-150 vehicles equipped with the 6R80 for a substantially similar unintended-downshift condition, but Ford states that our Expedition is not included and has declined financial or repair assistance. The required component is currently backordered, leaving us without a safe vehicle or a timely repair. We request that NHTSA investigate whether 2015–2017 Expeditions equipped with the 6R80 should be included in the affected population.

NHTSA ID

11752445

Incident

Jul 16, 2026

I am reporting a severe, systemic manufacturing defect in the 3.5L EcoBoost engine timing system (cam phasers and timing chain) of my 2017 Ford Expedition that poses an immediate highway safety hazard. Approximately February 2026 Upon start up heard odd rattle type noise, a week later heard noise again thought maybe due to recent Ford Dealership changing engine belts. Searched websites discovered notable issues regarding serious known manufacturing defect, cam phasers, timing chain, water pump. Followed Ford recommendation to change oil well before normal schedule to address. At approximately 54,550 miles, the vehicle began exhibiting continuous mechanical rattling and timing instability upon startup, a condition heavily documented across Ford’s truck/SUV platform and acknowledged internally via Ford Technical Service Bulletin TSB 23-2143. The 3.5L EcoBoost is a high-compression interference engine. A failure or skipped tooth of the timing chain or cam phaser system while operating at high speeds causes instantaneous, catastrophic engine failure. This results in an immediate stall and a complete loss of vacuum-assisted power braking and power steering. This vehicle is routinely operated on major Texas highway corridors (XXX) at posted speeds of 75 mph by my [XXX] spouse, who stands[XXX] and weighs [XXX]. A sudden loss of motive power and mechanical steering/braking assistance at 75 mph presents an unsurmountable vehicle handling emergency that would likely result in a high-speed crash, rollover, or catastrophic multi-vehicle collision, as a driver of her physical stature cannot safely muscle a stalled, unassisted 5,500-pound SUV to the shoulder. To mitigate this imminent risk to human life, I was forced to perform emergency out-of-pocket repairs to replace failed factory components with Ford's updated, redesigned parts. This defect represents an inherent, dangerous engineering failure requiring a mandatory federal safety recall before highway fatalities. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI

NHTSA ID

11745999

Incident

Feb 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle downshifted to first gear independently. The contact pulled to the right side of the road, turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission lead frame connector had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure through a customer representative, who informed the contact that they were not technical inclined to answer the contact's question. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ID

11743444

Incident

Jun 7, 2026

Mileage

86,000 mi

Vehicle suddenly shifts to 1st gear while travelling at 45MPH or more causing immediate jerking and slowing of vehicle, placing driver, occupants and other drivers at risk of crash. In this condition, the speedometer reads 0MPH while still travelling and other warnings on dash are: Airbag Failure, Blindspot system fault, Cross traffic system fault, and See manual. Vehicle then appears stuck in 3rd gear until pulling over, stopping the engine and restarting. All warnings clear after restarting. This has occurred many times without proper diagnosis from Ford service. Now vehicle is doing this two to three times weekly and is currently in Ford service. Now diagnosed as Lead Frame Failure. Estimated cost is $1,523.38 and Ford refuses to pay for repair due to no active recalls on this specific vehicle, however the same transmission issue is in recall on same year model F-150's with the same transmission.

NHTSA ID

11741968

Incident

Jun 3, 2026

Sudden and severe downshifts occurred at roadway and highway speeds resulting in sudden speed decrease. Also revving and loss of power occurred. Problem codes P0706 & P0707 were logged which point directly to the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS), which is integrated into the molded lead frame. This sudden and uncontrolled loss of speed caused significant danger to vehicles, ocupants, and other vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11733139

Incident

Apr 22, 2026

As is the same with the Ford F-150 recall for the transmission downshift issue my Ford Expedition has that same problem I sent an email into your website and hopefully it will be addressed because it is the exact same thing. When I accelerate to access an on-ramp at the highway or if I try to pass somebody on the highway and accelerate the transmission downshifts and almost causes me to lose control. It down shifts very abruptly and hard and sounds like it's going to yank my transmission out.

NHTSA ID

11732079

Incident

Mar 29, 2026

While driving down the road 70 MPH the transmission suddenly downshifting from 6th gear to a much lower gear causing the rear wheels to briefly lock up causing a skid safety issue... at the same time, the speedometer dial swings downward to the left like a sudden deceleration, then seems to catch up and return back to normal driving if you will Here is the Ford case number: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11730921

Incident

Apr 9, 2026

My 2017 Ford Expedition is currently at an authorized dealership (Arlington Heights Ford, IL) for a failed transmission lead frame (DTCs P0706, P0707, P1702), which causes intermittent loss of gear engagement and sudden shift issues. This specific part is subject to NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA26001. Ford is refusing to honor the 10-year/150000-mile extended coverage (Program 19N01 Supplement 4) and a separate safety recall (25S37 for Brake master Cylinder) because the Vehicle was originally manufactured for Canadian market. Despite the Vehicle being in a U.S. facility, Ford claims a 'system limitation' prevents them from bridging the VIN for these safety repairs. This is a formal refusal to remedy a documented safety defect that puts the driver and the public at risk of unintended downshifting and loss of braking power."

NHTSA ID

11728628

Incident

Apr 1, 2026

While towing our RV trailer, we received a wrench light and the vehicle when into limp mode. When we tried to slow down and take the next exit on the interstate, the transmission tried to shift from 6th gear to 1st gear, causing the rear tires to screech and slow the vehicle dramatically. This could have caused a rear collision due to the abrupt slowing of the vehicle. The problem could only be reproduced when towing a trailer for an hour or more, so the problem was not reproduced by a mechanic or service center. No one else has inspected the vehicle. The only warning light was the wrench light on the dash. There was a code stored when checked: P0735.

NHTSA ID

11727534

Incident

Dec 11, 2025

We were driving on the highway and suddenly lost all power. Vehicle downshifted so hard I thought someone had hit us. Then it was back to normal, driving fine. But now we had no speedometer and the check engine and wrench light were on. My wife said she had felt something like that before but it was minor and at a lower speed. It had never resulted in a check engine light or loss of speedometer. I told her to exit the highway. She was shaking like crazy because she thought we just got rear ended. I can see how this could cause someone to completely wreck it was so harsh. We towed it home and when we started it up at home all those error lights were off. So I drove it around the block and it drive fine. I had my friend come take a look. He scanned it and it had a P0720 code. He said his F150 had the same issue and the same code as well a few years back and it was covered. It turns out we have the same transmission in our Expedition that he has in his F150. I havent had a chance to call the dealer yet but the paper I read in the recall and extended waranty coverage states only going up to a 2013 vehicle. They say it was a leadframe issue causing this. My Expedition has the same leadframe, and the same issue. This is very much a saftey concern since it changes harshness of downshifting out of no where. It could be even worse next time locking the wheels up or blowing the engine. Knowing its the same transmission and the same leadframe, why isnt my year model under that recall. I was reading in the forums and there are hundreds of similar questions coming from people with Expeditions and F150s that are near to my year and not covered. Can you please let me know if there is something im missing. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11706939

Incident

Dec 20, 2025

The transmission suddenly downshifted to 1st gear while traveling at 45 mph with no warning. This created a very dangerous and life threatening occurence.

NHTSA ID

11696775

Incident

Oct 27, 2025

The vehicle has not been inspected by anybody so the problem is not been reproduced. It just happened this morning. There have not been any check engine lights or anything related pop up on the dash. I was leaving my house I just reached highway speeds 50 to 60 miles per hour I was in 5th or 6th Gear. The transmission suddenly downshifted on its own to first gear it downshifted so hard and so fast that it barked the tires really hard the RPMs went up to 5 to 6,000 I thought that it had somehow been hit into reverse or park or something I am the only one in the vehicle. I shift the vehicle into neutral and then I went back down to manual and cycled up and down a gear and then put it back in Drive.

NHTSA ID

11686188

Incident

Sep 10, 2025

Truck first would shift out of park but would not engage into a gear causing it to roll unexpectedly in the downhill driveway. Problem self corrected with a few ignition cycles. Week later truck became inoperable at a stop light and require shut down and restart and traffic. Same day truck would not start at all after returning home. Dealer diagnosed 6r80 transmission with molded lead frame assembly failure. This has been subject of a recall or customer satisfaction program for earlier year models but not beyond 2013.

NHTSA ID

11680804

Incident

Aug 7, 2025

TSB 23-2143, citing cold-start cam phaser rattle as a manufacturing defect that impacts reliability and safety (loss of power, premature wear, noise).

NHTSA ID

11672884

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

For 1.5+ years, the transmission will unexpectedly and suddenly downshift into 1st gear without warning. Which causes a sudden deceleration. No warning lights before it happens. It occurs randomly and at different speeds. It has happened over 20 times. I've experienced it happening at speed ranging from 35mph to 65mph. The gear shifter was in the drive position each time this issue occurred. The suv is the 2017 ford expedition EL with the 3.5L ecoboost engine with 6 speed automatic transmission. No check engine light before or after the issue (so no OBD2 code to read) a big yellow warning appears during/after saying "see manual". Sometimes the issue will resolve in a few seconds. The suv has not been to the dealership yet for this issue. But i will be contacting ford today.

NHTSA ID

11659528

Incident

Apr 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. Roadside Assistance was contacted. The technician connected the battery cables and jumpstarted the vehicle. The vehicle was started, and the vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact later replaced the battery. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with parasitic battery drain due to a failed gear shifter. The contact was informed that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The contact was informed that parts had been ordered for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11652292

Incident

Mar 17, 2025

Mileage

40,000 mi

I can be driving up a hill the traction control warning light and hill decent braking light come on causing the vehicle speed to drop the vehicle shakes acting like it is trying to stop. Once you stop and turn the vehicle off the error codes go away . This problem has been occurring since early September it currently only occurs going up hill on one road

NHTSA ID

11630509

Incident

Dec 12, 2024

While driving, the speedometer began to bounce around. This caused erratic shifting. At one point the speedometer went to zero while we were still moving. I pulled over put it in park and it would not go into gear. During this the air bag light came on. After turning the vehicle off and back on again, everything went back to normal. Over a period of days, it would do the same thing again, but not as bad as the time listed above. The speedometer will bounce around while driving and cause moderate shifting issues. I took the vehicle into a shop, and they ran the code as being Output Speed Sensor. After research, it appears Ford had a recall on output speed sensors for 2014 F-150 vehicles (Recall Reference Number 24S37) which use the 6R80 transmission. I contacted my local Ford dealership and Ford corporate via chat, and both told me my 2017 Expedition was not covered under that recall. Since my vehicle uses the same transmission, I inquired as to what they did to fix the output speed sensor issue. They could not provide me with that information. I have several videos of the speedometer bouncing around, but am unable to upload them here.

NHTSA ID

11620436

Incident

Oct 3, 2024

In 2022, around mileage of 67000, our SUV was climbing a steep road when it suddenly made a pop sound & went into limp mode with the wrench light showing and the engine sounding rough. It felt like no fuel was getting to the engine & the gas pedal was non-responsive. The RPMs didn't change when the gas pedal was pressed. The grade was so steep, we barely made it to the side of the road without rolling backwards into traffic behind us. After turning the engine off and sitting about 10 mins, we tried starting the engine again. The car seemed to have reset itself! It ran fine; the wrench light turned off, and the gas pedal was responsive again. (At the time, we were on vacation at the coast and had traveled from our home at about elevation 3500'. We had also recently had to buy gas from a small no name gas station, so we feared we may have gotten bad fuel). From there, we returned home without re-occurrence, and we used fuel cleaning additive to our Chevron fuel for the next 2 fill ups. Then, approximately 600 miles later on a flat grade, it happened again without the pop sound. We immediately went to our Ford dealer who found no error code but found our purge valve stuck open. They recommended we replace it, which we did, and we operated the vehicle for 2 years without re-occurrence and using only Chevron gas. Recently, it happened again! Luckily, we weren't on a steep grade this time or on the freeway, but if a car would have been behind us, we would have likely been rear ended, especially had we been on the freeway. Once again, we shut the engine off, and it reset with the wrench light disappearing, so no diagnostic code got thrown AGAIN! Based on many complaints, this appears to be a common problem. It's very dangerous as the car immediately losses power to a crawl no matter what speed you are traveling at the time. It seems to be the electronic throttle body in instances where the SUV can stay running, so a code can be obtained before it resets.

NHTSA ID

11601824

Incident

Jul 11, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to abruptly slow down. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the failure was corrected. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission lead frame was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11597164

Incident

Jun 14, 2024

Mileage

170,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The wheels then seized, causing the vehicle to jerk. Additionally, the speedometer was inoperable while driving. The "Blind Spot System Fault" and "See Manual - Transmission" messages were displayed and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the molded leadframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was informed that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N01 (Transmission Molded Leadframe Extended Coverage); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11587514

Incident

May 6, 2024

Mileage

120,000 mi

I am about to have the rear end rebuilt for the 2nd time since I bout the vehicle roughly 1 year ago, and am currently over 30th in line at my dealership to have a rear end rebuilt

NHTSA ID

11582088

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

Was traveling 75 mph on a busy highway and lost power, the message center lit up yellow with a wrench in the middle, vehicle went to idle/coast, had no power to move thru lanes as cars were buzzing by me. very scary somehow got to the side of road safely but close calls many times. had it taken to Ford dealer - pulled the code P2112 THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM STUCK CLOSED/THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM CLOSED. I would like to join class action lawsuit that is open for this problem since Ford will not stand behind this issue. i spent $600 to replace the defective THROTTLE BODY component with a new one. But the reality is that this put myself and others in grave danger because the total loss of power. Thank you [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11556199

Incident

Nov 20, 2023

Mileage

111,099 mi

Driving at highway speed, vehicle gauges drops to zero and transmission stays at 3rd gear. Unable to know what travel speed is while trying to exit safety off highway. Have to turn off engine to reset issue, but no way to figure out what happened.

NHTSA ID

11548323

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

Vehicle sudden power loss. No fuel getting to engine vehicle must be stopped it is in limp mode. Turned off and restarted and vehicle runs. Happened 15 different times. Still ongoing possi le contaminated throttle body?

NHTSA ID

11545436

Incident

Sep 19, 2023