Back in 2017, GM and Ford joined forces to co-develop a new 10-speed automatic transmission for rear-wheel-drive applications. Both automakers jointly developed the basis of the transmission, but then finalized development independently. The end result is GM produced the 10LXX transmissions, and Ford producing the 10RXX transmission. However, a recent class action lawsuit brought against the Ford transmission raises questions over whether or not similar issues will be found with the GM unit.
According to a recent Ford transmission lawsuit, the 10R80 10-speed automatic equipped in Ford F-150 models can exhibit “harsh shifting, jerking, hesitation and slipped gears,” creating a potentially “life-threatening” situation. The lawsuit even alleges some owners have suffered whiplash due to the poor shifting quality of the Ford transmission.
One plaintiff reports that his recently-leased 2018 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5L EcoBoost will make a loud “clunk” or “bang” when starting the engine. The transmission will also hold onto gears for too long, and show significant power loss while shifting when the vehicle is “cold.” The truck is just five months old with 6,000 miles on the clock.
Further issues included an error message that read “drive mode not available” on the dash, accompanied by an inability to accelerate or shift. Ford has two multiple service bulletins to address the issue, but neither has fully remedied the problem.
All of these Ford transmission issues no doubt raise concerns for those GM models equipped with the GM 10LXX 10-speed automatic, given its inclusion in a large number of GM models, including:
- Chevrolet Silverado
- GMC Sierra
- Cadillac CT4, CT5, CT6
- Cadillac Escalade
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Chevrolet Suburban
- GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
- Upcoming Cadillac CT5
- Upcoming Cadillac CT4
Should the GM 10LXX family of transmissions start to exhibit similar issues, GM could be in for a world of hurt. After all, The General is already facing a number of issues with its 8L90 and 8L45 eight-speed automatic transmission, including shaking, jerking, and “hard shift” characteristics that it seems to have addressed via a service bulletin.
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Source: carcomplaints.com
Comments
Everyone hated on GM for not rolling out the 10spd like Ford did. Look where we are now. Everyone hated on GM for doing a slow rollout of the 2019 half ton trucks, look at the recalls and issues the rushed out 2019 Rams had.
GM knows product rollouts, they’d rather lose a couple sales today than risk a lot, and huge expenses, later.
Not saying they are perfect, but their cautiousness atleast pays off here. And other areas it’s activating, like performance trucks (ZR2 half ton, SS)
So it sounds like Ford is experiencing the same things as the 8L90,wrong fluid!Flush it,run compressed air through it for 3 hours,refill with the new Mobil 1 transmission fluid that was newly developed.My car was the ginuea pig and it worked flawlessly.The transmission shifts perfectly and awesome ever since.The original fluid was somehow causing moisture contamination and causing torque converter slippage.Amazing.
I think GM learned a lesson on the 8 speed and applied the time for tuning development to prevent a repeat.
The 8 speed is now getting the fix.
Note while there was a joint development they are tuned very differently. Time will tell but I wager this one is right.
Doesn’t matter if there are real problems or not….somewhere a dirt bag lawfirm will magically connect the dots and launch a suit as well…just because they can. I hope Ford fights this one hard.
There’s so much to go wrong on these new transmissions. I miss my old 4L80E. Just a bulletproof TH400 with overdrive essentially. Over 300k miles of heavy pulling a not one single issue ever. Perfect shifts, reliable as the day is long.. I’d much rather have that than the 6 speed I have now. I Highly doubt I’d notice a dimes worth of difference in gas mileage and I guarantee I won’t see the life out of this 6 speed that the old 4 speeds had. I can’t imagine what the guys with these 8 and 10 speeds must be thinking. All you read about anymore is transmission issues in nearly everything on the road.
Hopefully Ford and GM work together and figure it out ASAP before it gets out to the General Public.
I have driven a Cadillac CT6 with the 10 Speed and I personally did not have any issues.
Gotta love my good ‘ol, tried and true 6L45!!
My neighbor just out a new f150. He was a long time Chevy guy. He said he switched to Ford because Chevy wouldn’t fix his 300k mile trucks bad instrument cluster. ( A known issue with Chevy trucks). LOL. Have fun with all the dozen known f150 problems Ford won’t fix. He didn’t do his research apparently
I’m pretty sure this is due to the fact Ford did not do nearly as nice of a job with the trans tune as GM did. They each use their own software for it, and likely in their rush to expand it out to all of their fleet, they did not take the time to calibrate it properly.
Ford Forded it up…
Exactly why I wait a good 3-4 years into the run before buying anything with an all new designed engine or transmission. By doing this I have basically dodged a bullet by never having any issues with any of my GM drivetrains over the years. That and good service make the difference.
Same Here. My 2019 Silverado’s 8-speed has been amazing so far. Glad I waited until the 8L90 had been in production for 4 or 5 years to buy a vehicle with it.
Ford is facing more transmission issues with their dual clutch version on the Focus and Fiesta cars.The report said Ford knew it and released them anyways.This is why Ford should change their name to FRAUD.
I have been a Ford transmission technician for 25 years maybe longer. I am senior master technician . all my certifications everything that four requires and more. Most of the issues we’ve seen with that 10-speed has been from customers altering the vehicle. Let me rephrase that that I’ve seen. Don’t want to speak for anybody else. Whenever you alter it you need to have it programmed to the transmission and engine if you don’t do that then those are the problems that you have. Yes some of them are failing but in the numbers game that I’m seeing It’s the customers fault not fords. And when you tell them that they look at you like you got the plague the days of the 470w and ax4n are a thing of the past. It’s all programming and computers. So be sure you get your facts straight before you throw stones at Ford. Even if you change the rim size you need to have a program to the vehicle. Just food for thought.
Mark,
In my case I have the 2018 Expedition, my wifes vehicle, its bone stock, all maintenance up to date. The only thing i’ve changed is the tires and they are the same size as the stock ones. It only has 40k miles on it and the trans started slipping. Fords had it for 8 weeks now saying the CDF drum needs replacement and is on back order. Upon more investigation and reading message boards and talking to Ford technicians the CDF drum issue is a known issue with this transmission. One tech says they keep as many as they can in stock because that’s the first thing they check. While modifications in your experience might be the cause more often than not, as a whole I seriously doubt that’s the root cause of the majority of ford transmission issues. I will agree after reading and researching my issues, the ford transmission does have a harsh shift and in my experience it has been known to slip or miss a gear. I would agree with a lot of the commenters here that the software probably has a lot to do with it. I’m looking at the Chevy taho now and the transmissions are night and day different, much better and smoother ride. I predict GM will have fewer issues out of their version of the 10 speed. I honestly hope ford takes a serious look and updates the software as well. While the ford service department has been helpful through this issue is still wont be buying another Ford after this experience.
not buying this. or any ford for that matter. Improper tuning and careless rollout. here we are
Thanks for all the comments. I purchased a 2018 f150 in December 2021. Since the cold weather arrived, my tranny slips until the truck warms up.
It sounds like it’s user error, only a fool use a tool in extreme cold and expect it to work with no issues right of the bat, give it time to warm up. The truck is protecting itself like it was designed. I don’t think GM will have the same issues because they tuned it differently, and GM focuses more on smoothness, that’s the whole reason Ford abandoned GM’s 9 speed FWD transmission, it didn’t get the fuel economy gain they required/demanded because GM chose to focus on smoothness more than fuel economy.
Well my 2021 Tahoe is now 7 weeks in the dealer at 16k on the ticker due to a failing 10L90. First attempt to fix was the valve body and I think that was just a guess. New decision is torque converter and another new valve body. GM is acting as if this is the only vehicle sold having this problem. Symptoms are as follows:
Hard downshift at highway speeds with a loud bang then a hard upshift back to 10th with same bang. After the first dealer replaced the valve body I made it ten miles down the road and it started all over. This time it had additional issues such as searching in RPM from 1500 to 2000 and on the 6th time the speedometer would drop five to ten MPH without actually loosing speed. With cruise on it would accelerate back to the set speed and then when the speedo and tach corrected it would show that I was actually doing 80 MPH. Not to mention the transmission went from an operating temp of 135-140 while driving to 195. The trans was starting to slip on the drive with the service manager at the second dealer who now has it. At this point the transmission should be replaced but the engineers at GM are in control of what gets replaced and they only want to do the converter and valve body. In my opinion, they just want to get this thing out of warranty and wash their hands of the problem. Toyota here I come.
Sounds kinda like my 2020 Ranger with 13,000 miles on it. Was going 67 mph with cruise set and all of a sudden on flat ground it dropped 2 or 3 gears. rpm’s went from 1700 to 2400 so that’s likely 3 gears it dropped. Reset it at 67 mph and in about 2 miles it did the same thing. Has not done it any more, but I do have an appt with a Foed dealer to have it checked out.