2021 F150 10 speed a/t

[Rockman5159]

I have a 2021 F150 FX4 5.0 with 10 speed transmission with 36000 miles. Sometimes the downshift from 6-5 is pretty harsh. Anyone else having these problems?

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[jkosh22]

The10r80s have an abundance of shifting issues which I’m sure you have researched. First thing to do is check your fluid level. That will cause a few different issues. I had 82,000 on mine and noticed some angry upshifts, sucked out pan and out in about 7.5 quarts and shifts like butter. Ford has an updated CDF drum which holds the C, D, and F clutch plates. Your definately not there yet but many trucks have had this done due to these issues. I’m at 92,000 and going strong.

 

[Mosey]

Unfortunately harsh shifts is a somewhat common compliant on this forum.

Any shift involving gears 4, 5 and 6 can have issues. Do a little googling for “CDF drum“ issue. This issue was fixed in very late 2022 and newer. Another issue that could cause this are the solenoids in the valve body.

You can also try to reset the adaptive shift tables and force the tranny to relearn your driving habits.

 

[Jeff1024]

Sadly I have just gotten used to the 10R80.

Last week I rented a 2025 Tahoe for a family road trip. The two main takeaways coming from my 2022 Ecoboost were that the 5.3L is ok but it needs to rev and I missed the low end torque of the 3.5.

Second is that I never felt the transmission in the Tahoe shift. Didnt matter the situation, downshifts to climb hills, low speed shifts in traffic no jerks no clunks no studders, it just found the right gear.

Sadly I have driven my truck so long I just assumed all modern 10 speeds shift like garbage. I know GM and Ford were sharing transmissions at one point, if the Tahoe has any variant of the 10R80 in it then I cant believe how poorly Ford's implementation of that transmission is. It was night and day between the Chevy and my truck. Enough of a difference that I looked a towing guides to see if a Tahoe would pull our boat. I would need the 6.2 the 5.3 was under powered, but it would be worth it for the smooth shifting alone.

 

[Jerome10]

I have a 2021 F150 FX4 5.0 with 10 speed transmission with 36000 miles. Sometimes the downshift from 6-5 is pretty harsh. Anyone else having these problems?

yup. This exact shift is the worst on my truck. It’s almost a lurch a lot of times. If I continually apply slightly increasing brake pressure or a little throttle it’s smooth.

EDIT: I have a Powerboost which I think is more prone to rougher shifts.

I’ve had the transmission tech ride with me twice with his diagnostics hooked up. He says zero issue with trans operation, pressures all good, times for solenoids all good. He thinks it’s just a slight delay between the torque converter unlocking and the shift.

I’d see if there is a software update. Also id try a relearn/reset and then do the relearn procedure if possible (get up to speed, brake, the procedure is floating around the internet).

First reset he did didn’t help much. Second one seems to be better but I ensured I was driving the truck a bit harder during the relearn. Still happens but not as bad or frequent.

with that said the trans is worst thing on my truck, by far. I like basically everything else. I’m still considering a tune possibly.

my truck was built April 2023 so I have the updated CDF.

I do not understand one iota how this trans has been out for 7 or 8 years or whatever at this point and still be such a headache. As the other poster mentioned, GM version seems to be sorted. So why on earth can’t Ford duplicate that?! My experience with Toyota 10 Speeds is that it very rarely slightly trips too but still basically butter 99% of the time.

Frankly I’ve often wondered if I’d have been happier in the RAM. The F150 and RAM were neck and neck for me. I know every truck has its known issues but at least driving the RAM I didn’t get constant reminders of the transmission. I can just drive it like any other vehicle and the transmission fades out of your brain… like a transmission should.

I keep my cars a long time but I really really hope Ford has a serious overhaul of this thing coming for the next gen trucks. My opinion it’s borderline unacceptable the way it behaves. Especially when you realize the GM unit is basically identical and works fine. My only other thought is that the trans tolerances or parts quality has too much variation and that’s why many have issues but others have perfect transmissions. But again, other automakers worked this out of their production systems, absolutely zero reason Ford can’t do it if they wanted to.

 

[Mosey]

GM has their own set of issues. I believe Ford and GM have ironed a lot of these out. You really can’t compare a 2021 to 2025 with all of the improvements that have been made. Well you can, but that is not a fair comparison.

 

[jkosh22]

Ford led the engineering of the 10 speeds, they share some of the same parts but valve bodies and tuning are the major differences. Which is why shifting and reliability is different. GM must have gotten a better combination than ford did and customers are paying for it. For what it’s worth, if I’m hard on my truck, it behaves a lot better. Almost like they were designed to be beaten on.

 

[NVRANUF]

@Rockman5159 Get a suction device from Harbor Freight (for oil exchanges or brake fluid exchanges etc...) suck out the pan and refill with the exact same amount of Ford ULV fluid then do a Transmission Adaptive Table reset using ForScan and enjoy your truck again.

 

[Rockman5159]

@Rockman5159 Get a suction device from Harbor Freight (for oil exchanges or brake fluid exchanges etc...) suck out the pan and refill with the exact same amount of Ford ULV fluid then do a Transmission Adaptive Table reset using ForScan and enjoy your truck again.

wow Ill give that a try thanks

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