2021 Ford Ranger Powertrain (other) Problems

While driving from [XXX] to [XXX] on XXX my 2021 Ford Ranger's dash light came on and I noticed harsh shifting and the vehicle began jolting unpredictably while I was driving at highway speeds. To avoid imminent danger, I pulled off the 101 and slowly drove to the closest Ford dealership, Vista Ford Lincoln of [XXX], in order to have the truck assessed. Technicians performed a diagnostic evaluation and retrieved DTC P0766 (shift solenoid "D" performance/stuck off) and P2703 (transmission friction element "D" apply time.) These codes are the documented engineering signature of internal CDF clutch drum bushing migration- a known, widespread manufacturing defect inherent to Ford's 10R80 transmission platform. Vista Ford confirmed the transmission required a complete replacement, but assured me that I could slowly drive the truck home to [XXX] for the repair. [XXX] of [XXX] confirmed the error codes and quoted me $9,857.86 to repair the existing transmission and $13,295.84 to replace the transmission. I reached out to Ford Corporate (case number: [XXX]) who explicitly refused a reasonable goodwill remedy, offering only a 10% discount against [XXX]'s replacement quote. This left me with an untenable $11, 966.26 bill for a known factory defect, therefore I transferred the truck to B'N'C Mobile Auto Repair where the transmission replacement cost me $7, 954.73 Although the 5 year express powertrain warranty concluded on XXX, a major vehicle powertrain components failing at just 48,820 miles under normal during conditions is dangerous and unacceptable. I have preserved all diagnostic sheets, including trouble codes, paid receipts and my original 2021 sale contract. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11763949

Incident

Jul 27, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and shifting gear, the transmission shifted hard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission was operating as designed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recalls on the VIN associated with the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

NHTSA ID

11756983

Incident

Feb 24, 2025

Mileage

59,000 mi

2021 ford ranger 98160 millas firts time buy 01 19 2022 transmition went out 7 2 2026, my factory defect

NHTSA ID

11755738

Incident

Jul 2, 2026

Transmission hard shifts in low gear and sometimes slips gears or revs up engine without accelerating then slams into gear lurching forward. Had transmission oil checked by dealer and they said it looked great. Happened 29 July several times and again 5 Aug all throughout the day.

NHTSA ID

11755122

Incident

Aug 5, 2026

The 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission and the gear-shift linkage module are defective, and the truck remains available for inspection. Our safety is constantly put at risk because the transmission exhibits an extremely violent, highly intermittent powertrain lunging jolt during deceleration and stopping. The impact is so severe that it sounds and feels like a loud gunshot firing right next to the cabin occupants. Furthermore, the transmission simultaneously exhibits severe throttle hesitation and gear-skipping. This causes the vehicle to drop gears and completely fail to move when attempting to accelerate at busy stoplights, trapping us as a sitting duck in active traffic. Earlier in our timeline, the technician improperly reassembled the shift linkage, which caused the multi-ton vehicle to refuse to engage in Park and violently roll backward down a steep residential incline; an emergency parking brake deployment was required to prevent a catastrophic accident. The transmission defect was physically confirmed by [XXX] of Papillion, who verified scored, sticking fluid control valves inside the main control unit. Additionally, the hazard was officially confirmed by BBB AUTO LINE National Arbitrator Sharon Katt (Case XXX). The arbitrator officially signed a ruling certifying that our safety, use, and value concerns are completely valid, explicitly noting that the intermittent nature of this transmission failure does not minimize the extreme safety hazard. There were no warning lamps prior to the failure. The symptoms first appeared at ~49,000 miles. The dealer has since refused advanced diagnostics, executed an irrelevant radio reset instead, and willfully fabricated a fake service record on CARFAX on April 21, 2026, to force-close system safety alerts in their database. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11753464

Incident

Nov 19, 2025

I've had many issue's with this vehicle's transmission: Harsh and erratic shifting. Shuddering when accelerating. Slippage. On several occasions not able to go in reverse. Issue's started at 45k miles. Had it in the shop on several occasions to address problem. I've had to replace faulty transmission at 70k miles. This is a faulty transmission due to incompetent CDF Clutch drum. This is NOT a safe vehicle to operate.

NHTSA ID

11749472

Incident

Feb 6, 2026

The ring gear wore out and had to replace the whole rear end

NHTSA ID

11748038

Incident

Jun 8, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping in and out of gear. There was no warning light illuminated. After approximately 3 seconds, the transmission shifted into the correct gear. The failure had occurred while driving through an intersection, placing the contact at risk of being rear-ended. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11747624

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

Mileage

93,000 mi

Vehicle: 2021 Ford Ranger. Mileage: 44,000 My 2021 Ford Ranger begin experiencing dangerous transmission shifting issues with absolutely no warning signs or indicator lights prior to the incidents. On multiple occasions the truck suddenly and randomly stalled in the middle of the freeway and in the middle of the road, feeling as if the transmission went into neutral with no power to move the vehicle. These incidents occurred multiple times putting myself and my small child at serious risk of injury or death. At no point did any warning lights illuminate or any indication appeared on the dashboard to alert me of a problem before these dangerous events occurred. The truck was taken to a Ford dealership where it was diagnosed with an electrical fault in the transmission solenoids. The final diagnosis is a full Transmission R&I and overhaul at only 44,000 miles. This issue is covered under Ford TSB 21-2315 which acknowledges that the 10-speed automatic transmission may exhibit harsh engagement, delayed shifts, and shifting problems due to known defects. My 5yr/60,000-mile powertrain warranty expired 3 months ago by time only. I am well under the mileage limit at 44,000 miles. Ford has agreed to cover only $2,097.06 of the $5,242.65 repair, leaving me responsible for $3,145.59 for a known manufacturing defect. When I contacted Ford requesting full goodwill warranty coverage, I received poor customer service a manger (Luis) promised to call back multiple times with additional coverage options and never did. A full transmission overhaul at 44,000 miles is not consistent normal wear and tear and is clearly the result of a manufacturing defect that Ford has already acknowledged through TSB 21-2315. The sudden and unexpected nature of these failures with no warning, combined with the serious safety risk posed to myself and my child, makes this matter extremely urgent. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this matter and Ford's handling of this known defect.

NHTSA ID

11744440

Incident

May 18, 2026

During low speed driving, mainly stop and go traffic the truck will randomly lunge forward when the brake pedal is engaged. It happens when accelerating and the truck will shift in to second gear, then if you apply the brake the truck will act like it is going to stall, the engine rpm will spike and the truck will launch forward. If you dont force the brake pedal to the floor, the truck will continue to accelerate, potentially slamming into another vehicle. This has happened multiple times, the dealer has rebuilt the transmission and that fixed the issue for the last 6-8k miles. the issue has returned and the truck is back at the dealership for diagnostics. This is becoming a serious safety concern and the potential that someone gets hurt grows every day. I have seen other complaints on the internet about this same issue in trucks with the same transmission.

NHTSA ID

11741626

Incident

May 28, 2026

truck hesitates to go into gear then slams into reverse unexpectedly with a lot of force backing up - almost ran over a family member. Same thing when cold and going from park to drive, almost drove off my driveway down a steep mountain. I believe it is related to TSB 24-2046 No warning lights or anything, dealer has not been able so far to reproduce because the weather warmed up

NHTSA ID

11740512

Incident

Jan 6, 2026

The 10R80 transmission CDF drum failed due to a defective bushing housing, resulting in the replacement of the 10R80 transmission. The diagnosis of the failure took 3 weeks because there were no warning lights or engine codes. The symptoms of the failure were erratic shifting in heavy highway traffic, causing harsh up/down shifts and shift patterns. The erratic shifting makes driving feel unsafe, as the vehicle may lurk or seem to lose power. Currently, with the new 10R80 transmission with the redesigned CDF drum bushing housing, similar symptoms of erratic up/down shift going between 20-40 mph and between gears 3-7 are present. The vehicle is going back in to the shop for diagnosis and potential repairs

NHTSA ID

11740493

Incident

Jan 2, 2026

Automatic transmission had a hard time finding gears and accelerating while in a parking lot. There were vehicles behind me that could have run into me during the brief failure. There was no warning light on the dash. I have not been able to replicate it since yesterday, but my spouse had it happen a few months ago as well.

NHTSA ID

11739912

Incident

May 24, 2026

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Automatic transmission failed How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? While merging into traffic the transmission would not shift and the truck lost power and began to slow down. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes the dealership experienced the same problem. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The Ford dealership is replacing the transmission at my cost. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warning lamps or messages. The transmission was working fine and then it wasn't.

NHTSA ID

11735466

Incident

Apr 20, 2026

Transmission failure at 75k miles. It downshifted from 10th gear into 4th at highway speeds and started throwing transmission codes. Almost caused me to get rid as I was on the interstate in traffic at a speed of roughly 65-70 mph. Vehicle is currently being gone over by a Ford dealership who advises a complete transmission overhaul at the cost of 7,000 or total transmission replacement.

NHTSA ID

11734737

Incident

Apr 20, 2026

While accelerating from a stop the truck went from 1st gear and then would not go into 2nd gear for a 5 seconds and then it engaged into 2nd with a harsh gear change. This happened several more times to various degrees of time out of gear and not engaging into gear.

NHTSA ID

11729537

Incident

Apr 6, 2026

Truck Issue Description (2021 Ford Ranger – ~93k miles): Truck makes a whining / humming noise with a slight rattling vibration. The noise occurs while accelerating in gears 1–5. The pitch stays mostly the same but gets louder under throttle. The noise goes away when I let off the gas. No noise when revving the engine in park/neutral. No loss of power and the transmission shifts normally. Gears 6–10 sound normal with no noise. At idle there is sometimes a light rattling sound. Transmission fluid was changed around 60,000 miles. Check Manual light came on yes it has been confirmed by a service center transmission is giving out. Mileage: ~93,000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11728611

Incident

Mar 31, 2026

Vehicle shifts hard between 3 and 5th gears. The dealer currently has the vehicle in for repairs and there are metal shavings in the transmission reservoir

NHTSA ID

11720280

Incident

Feb 8, 2026

My truck loses power at a stop, starting to accelerate is stalls in the middle of the road. It seems to be stuck in gear or not going in gear. It will finally start going and the hesitation starts a the rpm gage goes up to about 3000 rpm’s and then goes back down to 1500. This is extremely dangerous to lose power in the middle of the road. This needs to be addressed.

NHTSA ID

11719560

Incident

Feb 20, 2026

Transmission drops out of gear when entering freeway. This happened after battery was replaced. warning light came on so its at the dealership. No previous issues before battery was replaced.

NHTSA ID

11719437

Incident

Feb 14, 2026

Transmission slipping and hard down shift and hesitation from 2nd to first , has had rear wheel lock up while moving , dealer is ignoring my issues . Thanks

NHTSA ID

11715441

Incident

Nov 15, 2025

While driving car shifted from 2nd to neutral. Engine rpms went up but no power was transfered to tires. Had to put car into park and then back into drive to regain power transfer to tires. Luckily no one was injuried. Took car to local mechanic. Diagnostic came up with no error messages. Service tech took it for a brief test drive and noticed issue with transmission. Recommended transferring to dealership where truck was purchased. To date all maintenance has been performed by dealership. Followed their 'recommended' maintenance schedule.

NHTSA ID

11707758

Incident

Dec 27, 2025

Vehicle has no gears and will not move. Was able to pull into parking lot. Transmission has acted jerky and slipped gears since I bought it.

NHTSA ID

11707643

Incident

Dec 29, 2025

I was driving and all of a sudden I lost acceleration in the middle of an intersection. My truck had no gears and gave me zero indication there was an issue. I then was told Ford has a newly designed part that fixes the issue and I would have to pay $7500. How does a manufacturer knowingly sell such a dangerous product, and not have a recall for that product after updating a faulty design?

NHTSA ID

11706677

Incident

Dec 18, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, with an abnormal sound coming from the transmission. The contact stated that the vehicle functioned as intended afterwards. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at 65 MPH, the yellow wrench warning light illuminated, and the RPMs fluctuated; however, the vehicle failed to move, and the vehicle stalled. The contact turned on the hazard lights and coasted to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA ID

11704533

Incident

Oct 11, 2025

Mileage

76,000 mi