TSB 20-2277 2019-2020 Ranger - Shudder/Vibration When Accelerating From A Stop

[navsnipe]

but...how accurate is that 20% in identifying their problem?
there comes a point when you convince yourself of an issue even if you dont have it, or its something else. Alot of these people arent experts.
you cant take that 20% of a forum poll as gospel....

What sucks is a technician that can't execute a TSB properly. Some of that 20% would be much smaller if people could read, understand, and do. I work in the building automation industry and we have the same problem. Hell, if the factory had done the proper quality control these trucks with issues would have never left the plant.

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[rdgallo]

Fixing all product In the field? According to the poll above 79.2% don’t have any problem at all.

"All the product in the field" means fixing all the product in the field with the issue. I know the poll on here shows about 80% don't have the issue. What I don't understand is why when I went back to the dealer about mine, I drove two others on their lot and both had the issue. One would think the odds of that would be pretty slim if 80% of them don't have the issue.

 

[silverflash]

my 2021 does it as mentioned previously. And i drove my sons 2021, with 500 miles on it. his does it too. not quite as bad as mine i think. but i noticed it.

 

[rdgallo]

my 2021 does it as mentioned previously. And i drove my sons 2021, with 500 miles on it. his does it too. not quite as bad as mine i think. but i noticed it.

You would think Ford could take one of the 80% that does not exhibit the problem and one of the 20% that does and figure out what is different.

 

[Rangerguy]

You would think Ford could take one of the 80% that does not exhibit the problem and one of the 20% that does and figure out what is different.

My thought is that after so many generations of trucks over the past 100 years that drivetrain vibration would not be a problem at all. But it doesn't appear to be isolated to Ford trucks.

 

[silverflash]

Me thinks they all do it until you complain. Perhaps some are less noticeable then others or some people are less sensitive to it than others.

 

[Silverfox]

Me thinks they all do it until you complain. Perhaps some are less noticeable then others or some people are less sensitive to it than others.

I agree. I’ve driven three Rangers and all had it. My dealer knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned it to him. He said it will get better. It is a lot better now after 6000 Km. Sometimes non existent. Theirs also many YouTube reviews that noticed it.

 

[ChiefQM]

I have done that for a couple of days now and that makes all the difference. Smooth shifts and the RPMs are held above 1500 RPM. Starting a long trip tomorrow and will use the Tow mode in town, normal shifting on the highways.

I got home from an 1800 mile trip to the mountains yesterday. In town and on mountainous roads, I used the tow mode and had no shudder or shaking at all. The RPMs stayed above 2000 and it was very smooth. For anything above 40 mph, I used normal driving mode and had no issues. I had the wheels balanced while I was away and that smoothed out my ride as well. Sad that you have to find a way to 'trick' the vehicle into performing properly, but I will likely keep it now.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Folks,

This whole TSB thread is about start up shudder...not continuous operation. If you have a vibration that is steady state, not from a stop...this thread and your problem is something else... An from what I can tell on these forums...it is mostly tire/whee related.

 

[rdgallo]

I have posted several times on here about the startup shudder on my 2020 Lariat. You all probably think I hate my truck and should stop complaining. For the record I really like this truck and I am a Ford person. I actually would love the truck if Ford would fix this shudder. I just want to share some more info on this subject with everybody. Most of the time my truck has the shudder in varying degrees. A couple of days ago, I drove it and had zero shudder. I was amazed and starting wondering what was different. The only difference was the truck was down to 1/4 tank of gas, which this is the first time since I have owned it that I let it get that low. The next day I filled the tank and the shudder is back but is not as noticeable as its been since I bought the truck. I wish an engineer could tell me why this shudder is inconsistent. Also, this inconsistency to me would not be correctable by performing the TSB. Anybody have any ideas why this problem is inconsistent?

 

[Sashimi_Moto]

Hi Folks,

This whole TSB thread is about start up shudder...not continuous operation. If you have a vibration that is steady state, not from a stop...this thread and your problem is something else... An from what I can tell on these forums...it is mostly tire/whee related.

I thought it was about shudder when taking off/accelerating from a stopped position, not starting up the vehicle. I didn't know there was shudder when people start their trucks.

 

[quangdog]

I thought it was about shudder when taking off/accelerating from a stopped position, not starting up the vehicle. I didn't know there was shudder when people start their trucks.

When @P. A. Schilke says "start up shudder" - he means when accelerating from a stopped position, not when starting the engine of the truck.

My truck exhibits this start up shudder behavior... here is my best description of the sensation:

Let's say I'm driving normally down a road with a speed limit of 40 mph. Truck is smooth while cruising, only feeling typical road sensations. Drivetrain is fine. Approach a stop light, and slow to a stop. As soon as the truck stops completely, the engine shuts down with the auto-start-stop feature. So now I'm sitting at a stop light in stealth mode - engine not currently running, just waiting for the light to turn green. When the light turns green, I let my foot off the gas and the engine immediately starts again. This produces a VERY NORMAL shudder in the truck as the engine starts - no problem, completely expected. Then my foot gets over to the accelerator pedal, and I pull away from the light with easy to moderate throttle input. Up until the truck hits about 7 mph the drivetrain is perfectly smooth, but between 8ish to 15ish mph, I experience a "shudder" in the drive train that *feels* exactly like the way the truck shudders when the engine starts up as described above. As soon as I'm moving faster than 15 mph, the shudder disappears.

The stronger the throttle input, the stronger the shudder, but the shorter the duration (because I accelerate faster).

As Phil said, if you feel a vibration while cruising at any constant speed above about 15 mph, it is NOT due to this "start up" shudder. This shudder is specifically caused by driveline angles being slightly out of spec, and is very common with 2 piece drive shafts, and specifically happens when accelerating from a stop somewhere around 10-15 mph.

I tried to get my truck into a dealer, but had a terrible experience with the service advisor lying about loaner car availability and misunderstanding / incorrectly documenting the actual issue I wanted checked. Attempted to drop the truck off once, but wound up leaving the dealer astounded with how I'd been treated. Just living with the shudder... but it bothers me.

Currently planning to attempt shimming the center bearing myself, just as soon as I have a spare few minutes to do so.

Mine is a 2019 Lariat FX4, with about 13k miles on the clock now. The shudder has been there since day 1, and was not altered at all by installing a 2" front leveling kit (Eibach) and new rear shocks (also Eibach).

I'm 100% convinced the root cause is driveline angles. I'm also 100% convinced none of my 3 local(ish) Ford dealer service departments will apply the TSB correctly.

 

[rdgallo]

When @P. A. Schilke says "start up shudder" - he means when accelerating from a stopped position, not when starting the engine of the truck.

My truck exhibits this start up shudder behavior... here is my best description of the sensation:

Let's say I'm driving normally down a road with a speed limit of 40 mph. Truck is smooth while cruising, only feeling typical road sensations. Drivetrain is fine. Approach a stop light, and slow to a stop. As soon as the truck stops completely, the engine shuts down with the auto-start-stop feature. So now I'm sitting at a stop light in stealth mode - engine not currently running, just waiting for the light to turn green. When the light turns green, I let my foot off the gas and the engine immediately starts again. This produces a VERY NORMAL shudder in the truck as the engine starts - no problem, completely expected. Then my foot gets over to the accelerator pedal, and I pull away from the light with easy to moderate throttle input. Up until the truck hits about 7 mph the drivetrain is perfectly smooth, but between 8ish to 15ish mph, I experience a "shudder" in the drive train that *feels* exactly like the way the truck shudders when the engine starts up as described above. As soon as I'm moving faster than 15 mph, the shudder disappears.

The stronger the throttle input, the stronger the shudder, but the shorter the duration (because I accelerate faster).

As Phil said, if you feel a vibration while cruising at any constant speed above about 15 mph, it is NOT due to this "start up" shudder. This shudder is specifically caused by driveline angles being slightly out of spec, and is very common with 2 piece drive shafts, and specifically happens when accelerating from a stop somewhere around 10-15 mph.

I tried to get my truck into a dealer, but had a terrible experience with the service advisor lying about loaner car availability and misunderstanding / incorrectly documenting the actual issue I wanted checked. Attempted to drop the truck off once, but wound up leaving the dealer astounded with how I'd been treated. Just living with the shudder... but it bothers me.

Currently planning to attempt shimming the center bearing myself, just as soon as I have a spare few minutes to do so.

Mine is a 2019 Lariat FX4, with about 13k miles on the clock now. The shudder has been there since day 1, and was not altered at all by installing a 2" front leveling kit (Eibach) and new rear shocks (also Eibach).

I'm 100% convinced the root cause is driveline angles. I'm also 100% convinced none of my 3 local(ish) Ford dealer service departments will apply the TSB correctly.

That is a very good explanation of what this start up shudder is. Thanks for posting it!

 

[Rp930]

I’ve been reluctant to admit I had a tiny bit of shudder. Today in an effort to improve the ride for my wife, I put two 70 lb bags of sand at the front of the bed. Shudder gone, ride improved. Win-win.

 

[jamo147]

Question for Phil Schilke…. I had the TSB done to adjust pinion angle. It made it better but not fully fixed. I noticed that shudder is nearly negligible when you don’t stomp on accelerator and it is worse when you are an incline. I also recall reading a comment where a user upgraded springs to help fix start up shudder in an F150. Got me thinking, is it possible that the shudder comes back because the rear leaf is so flexible that you get torsional rotation of the axle upon acceleration, basically creating an excessive pinion angle? That may explain why so many rangers have it. I’m wondering if upgraded leaf springs would improve/fix it?

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