10 speed transmission issues

[WV4Life]

I’ll go one step further and blame the 7.3/4.30 combination. The vast majority of issues I read are from this configuration, which leads me to believe a lot of the issue is programming. I guess time will tell if my diesel develops the same issue.

100% agree about the 4.30 gearing and just not jiving with the the shifting. I always have to be cautious putting it in drive from park because every once and a while it about bucks me off the seat when it lunges forward. No light brake touch here. I think that's the 4.30 gears doing it.

 

[Slippers]

100% agree about the 4.30 gearing and just not jiving with the the shifting. I always have to be cautious putting it in drive from park because every once in a while it about bucks me off the seat when it lunges forward. No light brake touch here. I think that's the 4.30 gears doing it.

3.73 gears do this as well. It’s most noticeable if I start the truck and immediately throw it into gear. If I wait until the engine comes down below 1,000 rpm, it is much smoother going into gear.

I did have the transmission module updated earlier this year while in for service and since then it seems the truck uses the auto-hold brake function when switching from park to drive or reverse to drive, which eliminates the lurch forward. You can hear the brakes groan as the load is applied, even if my foot is only lightly pressing the pedal, and then they release as soon as I blip the throttle.

 

[MT N8IV]

My learning experiences tend to say it's part of the adaptive learning process as well as how it's currently being driven.
Example :
Let's say you do tons of driving; long distance, hauling. The transmission learns this. Then you start driving in stop-n-go.....WHOA...this is new to the learning process so some things start feeling wonky.

I tend to find any change, like an on pedal-then off pedal-then back on the pedal will make a weird shift start happening.

It is what it is...now IF one really wants it to change you got options. EZL3 is now our good friend.

From my experience, I wholeheartedly agree with you. The other thing to go along with this is that if you are very dainty on the accelerator, it actually has a negative effect on the learning and performance. I have nothing but the seat of my pants to substantiate this, but I would expect that if you are very light with the accelerator, line pressures are significantly lower and such. Then when you go to give it a little fuel, it builds the line pressure which is contrary to what it has stored in the KAM and the shift will then be harsh or vice versa.

Circling back to what I posted earlier, though, the pedal monster seems to substantiate my above assertions as well. I won’t recommend the pedal monster for everybody but for me it has absolutely done what I wanted it to do and then some.

 

[Dusty_bones]

100% agree about the 4.30 gearing and just not jiving with the the shifting. I always have to be cautious putting it in drive from park because every once and a while it about bucks me off the seat when it lunges forward. No light brake touch here. I think that's the 4.30 gears doing it.

Ive wondered the same thing, although I will say 37s likely made a difference. Ive noticed my 7.3 4.30 geared truck on 37s loves highway time and is very confident consistent and smooth between 50-80, but adaptive cruise is rough, and In town it struggles to make a good pull when being rowdy. Turned out, damn thing was trying to shake the tires all the way up to 25-30mph depending on inputs. Moral here: I turned off tc and totally revolutionized my trans behavior below 50, tc interferes with shift logic heavily, also became very dangerous. Ill keep my wacky shifting in town and leave the TC on for now . Im probably gonna break something and then cry hundred dollar bills till its fixed but such is life.

 

[surfscottydog]

I keep reading on other forums how bad the 10 speed is from Ford. These are not people saying they have experience nor citing specific models just saying in comparison to other brands Ford has issues.

Am I missing something? Because I haven't seen many threads on issues with them here.

I've been quite happy with mine.

Me too, so far……

 

[MelonPicker]

In a prior life, I was a transmission R&D engineer. All I can say for sure is that my ten speed feels like it needed another 3 months of development work. Shift quality is often poor, amongst other calibration and software issues that are readily addressed.

The wife’s expedition is not this way. Ford has the capability to do better, they just seem to have elected not to because it is a heavy duty pickup.

 

[Dusty_bones]

In a prior life, I was a transmission R&D engineer. All I can say for sure is that my ten speed feels like it needed another 3 months of development work. Shift quality is often poor, amongst other calibration and software issues that are readily addressed.

The wife’s expedition is not this way. Ford has the capability to do better, they just seem to have elected not to because it is a heavy duty pickup.

I agree with this, Im an automation engineer for CBRE. 100% feel every 10spd ive had ('21 Tahoe, '25 pilot, now '24 f250) has had logic relat3d latency issues with shifting. However, im yet to see a genuine failure or mechanical problem. A victim of its own sophistication for now im afraid. Ill still take this one over both the GM and Honda 10spds on logic alone. The Honda is a herky jerky nightmare below 15mph. Tahoe was just a complete and utter POS.

 

[Blade420Play🔪🏆]

well, that's good to know about the 10R140, anyway.

The '140 is what is now used in the Tremor package (at least for my '25).

Knock on wood, but the 140 in my new truck works very well. I have over the years (used to drive all kinds of Super Duty trucks for work over the last 30 years) witnessed the evolution of these things. I do still prefer the six-speeds, such as the one behind my 400HP 5.0 Coyote in my F150, even WITH the "lead frame" issues affecting at least 1.5 million rigs (F150s, Mustangs, Transit vans). That fix is straightforward, anyway, and does not require transmission removal from the vee-hickle.

I am a transmission aficionado, and since the advent of the decent Manual interface for Ford transmissions have learned to use that in conjunction with the then-decent automatic shift mapping Ford had developed.

To the OP's point, these 10-speeds were to have been a joint effort between Ford and GM. That there are now three variants, those being the 10R80, 10R100 (the "G") and the 10R140 I no longer know which is done by whom.

That said, I use a combination of shifting for my 7.3 gas Tremor and it's 10R140 trans... I typically lock out 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6th to run around the neighborhood's 35 MPH zones as a 5-speed trans.

For 50 MPH zones, I lock out only 10, 9, and 8th to run as a 7-speed.

Regardless, whenever I want one more gear, it's ready to go at the +/- toggle.

Anyone who's ridden motorcycles and their sequential transmssions will know how to do this without a second thought.

Using M for Manual on the street will keep you very busy trying to anticipate the delay from the shift "call" to it's actual execution. It'd be sweet if that signal were faster processed, but I digress.

So, I tried this today.... Fekin love it around town driving! It's like the truck is ready to bolt anytime I need to quick-pass/lane change

 

[AZsurveyor]

In a prior life, I was a transmission R&D engineer. All I can say for sure is that my ten speed feels like it needed another 3 months of development work. Shift quality is often poor, amongst other calibration and software issues that are readily addressed.

The wife’s expedition is not this way. Ford has the capability to do better, they just seem to have elected not to because it is a heavy duty pickup.

Indeed - the 10-speed is not done being invented yet for proper use and application.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[WV4Life]

In a prior life, I was a transmission R&D engineer. All I can say for sure is that my ten speed feels like it needed another 3 months of development work. Shift quality is often poor, amongst other calibration and software issues that are readily addressed.

The wife’s expedition is not this way. Ford has the capability to do better, they just seem to have elected not to because it is a heavy duty pickup.

I will jump on the opportunity to ask you a question based on your prior life. Honest question. Why do manufacturers no longer have a manual trans option? User error and warranties?, engine management and technology?, no one wanted them anymore?

 

[MelonPicker]

I will jump on the opportunity to ask you a question based on your prior life. Honest question. Why do manufacturers no longer have a manual trans option? User error and warranties?, engine management and technology?, no one wanted them anymore?

Fair question. I love a well-executed manual vehicle. Options exist to move units and/or make money. Manuals don’t do that in most segments. I interned for Navistar in the 6.0 era (don’t hate me). The take rate for manuals was abysmally low then.

For the North American market, manual vehicles are not cheaper to build. I worked on a certain sports sedan that had a manual option. It was rumored to have cost the company a lot of money, but this was back when an MT got you a couple tenths to 60 and solidified perceptions as a sports car. The understanding was that marketing gain was worth the loss they were taking on every unit.

MT cars cost more than autos for a few reasons. One, the economies of scale aren’t there. Secondarily, when you have an MT, the entire powertrain can move a lot more when the driver dumps the clutch or lets the car lug and buck. That creates interference issues for EVERYTHING down to the exhaust tips. Innumerable components must be stiffer and/or relocated. If you design a car from the onset with those accommodations, you are adding cost and weight to the AT units. There can also be emission considerations for manuals that do not exist for autos.

Then there is the other side of the coin. Automatics cost less and are better at absolutely everything. They are faster. They are more fuel efficient. They do not let the driver do dumb stuff. They accommodate unskilled operators. For diesels, they reduce particulate emissions. They allow everything downstream to be downsized.

The only exception to this might be the mustang where uptake rates for the MT are high and the platform was designed from the ground up with the MT in mind.

 

[ramv]

Back in the 6.0 I drove several Zf-6 trucks. The engine just never seemed to like shifts (lost boost) or even starting out, almost always had to start in first. My buddy had a 5R110 truck with 4.10s and it was amazing (when it wasn't broken.) I drove several G56 CTDs (and a few NV5600s and 4500s) and they were good, and the Ram autos have always sucked until they went to third party. (Aisen/ZF).

 

[Apples]

Thank you, Melon Picker, for your post!

So, I tried this today.... Fekin love it around town driving! It's like the truck is ready to bolt anytime I need to quick-pass/lane change

Yeah, baby! YEAH. I love it when someone else gets it. Once we learn to use the Automatic shift map, the ability to Lock Out/turn off any upper ratios and master the +/- toggle these trucks can be more fun to drive.

Not to mention we may save the trans from shifting too much for what we're doing.

I appreciate your reply! Cheers!

 

[avocadofarmer]

Someone on here said it well...it seems to shift pretty damn good when you've got your foot to the floor. So I guess I'll just give it more of that.

 

[mrmag00]

Tows great run great hot rodding it, but drive around town and it’s so erratic shifting. Wife even notices it and she doesn’t drive it. Wish I had the ability and knew how to reprogram it. I think its all in the tranny programming.

 

[MVI]

I keep reading on other forums how bad the 10 speed is from Ford. These are not people saying they have experience nor citing specific models just saying in comparison to other brands Ford has issues.

Am I missing something? Because I haven't seen many threads on issues with them here.

I've been quite happy with mine.

here's the link to another trans fail

2024 - New Transmission at 8000 miles

I took my 2024 F350 in for its second oil change at 8000mi and told them it was shifting funny at 1-2, 3-4, and 7,8,9,10 Two days later i get this text message. Am I lucky there was no discussion and Dealer says a new Trans is the solution>? So what is the process here? Let...

www.fordtremor.com

 

[Phil314]

Thank you, Melon Picker, for your post!

Yeah, baby! YEAH. I love it when someone else gets it. Once we learn to use the Automatic shift map, the ability to Lock Out/turn off any upper ratios and master the +/- toggle these trucks can be more fun to drive.

Combine that with a paddle shift steering wheel and the real fun begins...

 

[Blade420Play🔪🏆]

Combine that with a paddle shift steering wheel and the real fun begins...

That's what I want! But it'll never happen!
I'll just stick to buying some 5-speed beater vehicle when it's time to train the kids

 

[Apples]

Combine that with a paddle shift steering wheel and the real fun begins...

Might be one of the only ways I can get a real, oem, leather-wrapped steerin' wheel. That or a Plat version. Then again, wouldn't the F150 Raptor be the only option? I doubt it'd work on the Gen 5 SD.

I ordered a new Lariat wheel, but it's pleather. It has two obvious defects in the wrap, too, at 11.30 and 1:00 on the front, even. So it's going back.

I cannot abide the hard plastic the XLT gives you. It's smooth, I'll give it that, but almost slippery.

The other thing that I mentioned in my prior post that makes a paddle shift in this case not really worth the price of admission is the delay from call to shift execution. It's a looooooooong time. And the +/- on the column lever is always in the same spot no matter what degree of rotation the steering wheel is in.

I do appreciate paddle shifters. I just don't find it necessary on this setup. Cheers!

 

[JTredway]

I will jump on the opportunity to ask you a question based on your prior life. Honest question. Why do manufacturers no longer have a manual trans option? User error and warranties?, engine management and technology?, no one wanted them anymore?

Another big reason is all the safety aids today all integrate with many options such as engine and trans, braking systems. Just look at our trucks if you pay attention being hard on brakes or panic stopping the truck with start downshifting very quickly and even seems to throw in some exhaust brake.

I do like a good manual but auto transmission (and all their variants) are typically more efficient and faster. They can also offer close to the engagement and excitement of a manual without a good risk of a money shift.

Example, my b8.5 S4 is absolutely faster in dsg/stronic than manual but there's something about rowing your own gears sometimes. You just can't get the same from a paddle flip or shifter bump