Probable transmission failure on my 2021 Lariat Tremor with 30,526 miles.....being repaired under warranty today!....

[ctechbob]

I agree with the possibility of overfilling. You can drive the truck quite a while before you may see the issue, esp in winter. It is difficult to get the fluid hot enough to correctly set the fluid level.

To get an accurate fluid level reading, the fluid temperature must be between 206F - 215F.

During winter you may not see the fluid temps reach 200F, and if you check it then, the dipstick will read low.

It is very easy to overfill the 10R80 transmission.

After reading it again, it may have been overfilled. Would be curious to know what the fluid level was after the 'event'. I suppose it would be possible to overheat it and blow enough fluid out that it is now low.

For the rest of the people reading this, @TJC is right, these things are VERY sensitive to overfill, and usually don't have a problem until you run high(ish) speeds constantly. So usually on a highway.

Mine didn't act just like the OP's, but I did end up blowing the overfilled fluid out the vent.

My symptoms were. Driving up I85 out of Florida, running 75-80 with the trailer in tow. Everything was fine until the trans shifted from 9-8, there was a massive flare and it banged into 8th. I wasn't monitoring temps at the time, but when I popped into Torque the trans was reporting above 250 deg. Immediately slowed down and let the temps come down back into the 210 range and the trans was back to acting normal. When we stopped for gas is when I noticed the fluid had blown all over the place.

What appears to be happening is that with a slight overfill, and elevated speeds/higher temps, the fluid is expanding/foaming just slighty and making contact with the rapidly spinning internals of the trans. That puts even more heat, and even more air into the fluid. Now you have foamy fluid being pumped through the control circuits in the valvebody. Aerated fluid makes a TERRIBLE hydraulic fluid and all hell breaks loose.

Why it doesn't set a DTC I have no idea, you'd think with so much going sideways it would, but I had nothing on the scanner afterwards, and that trip was last September and everything has been good since.

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[Jackpot Tremor]

I truly appreciate everyone's input and that's what makes this forum great! I honestly have no idea if it was overfilled but I drive that same toll road ALL the time and like I said previously, I drive the snoot out of the truck so I'm sure it would have done it prior to now and it's been 5,000 miles since the fluid exchange and new pan. I know I've driven countless times up the same hill on the toll road like a bat out of hell to get around the clueless slow ass Prius and Telsa drivers who never stay in the right lanes. Yep, I'm the guy flying by you in the right hand lanes doing 75+ mph cuz you're going slow AF and I'm flipping you off at the same time. (Why do Prius and Telsa drivers all drive slow AF in the fast lane??!!)

I'm kinda done "overthinking" it as I'm just causing myself undue stress and will "try" to wait to hear from the dealership and I'll let them diagnose it and tell me what it needs and go from there. I LOVE this truck and this probably won't make me get anything else.......unless they can make me a smoking deal on the Ranger Raptor in their showroom floor which is listed $15,000 OVER msrp........and we know that's not gonna happen!...LOL

 

[ctechbob]

I truly appreciate everyone's input and that's what makes this forum great! I honestly have no idea if it was overfilled but I drive that same toll road ALL the time and like I said previously, I drive the snoot out of the truck so I'm sure it would have done it prior to now and it's been 5,000 miles since the fluid exchange and new pan. I know I've driven countless times up the same hill on the toll road like a bat out of hell to get around the clueless slow ass Prius and Telsa drivers who never stay in the right lanes. Yep, I'm the guy flying by you in the right hand lanes doing 75+ mph cuz you're going slow AF and I'm flipping you off at the same time. (Why do Prius and Telsa drivers all drive slow AF in the fast lane??!!)

I'm kinda done "overthinking" it as I'm just causing myself undue stress and will "try" to wait to hear from the dealership and I'll let them diagnose it and tell me what it needs and go from there. I LOVE this truck and this probably won't make me get anything else.......unless they can make me a smoking deal on the Ranger Raptor in their showroom floor which is listed $15,000 OVER msrp........and we know that's not gonna happen!...LOL

You would think that, but I had many many miles on mine as well before it decided to act up. We drove the whole way down to FL, same roads, same speed, little bit hotter temps. Why it decided to do it on the way back is a mystery.

Not saying that's what's up with yours, just that the damn things aren't always logical.

I will say this though. I monitor temps EVERY time I travel with the trailer now and 95% of the time I'm not towing.

 

[awd.nv]

I'm curious what mode do you normally drive in? Drive, Tow/Haul or Sport?

Don't these trans like to let things slip in normal drive for smoother shifts? I'm wondering if those who drive in tow/haul or Sport have better luck with their trans lasting?

Isn't there a class action lawsuit on the F150 10spd? Hearing something about that has had me cautious about my trans but the truck has been awesome so far.

LITERALLY the only reason I have not put the tune on my truck is because I do not trust my local dealer to give me the benefit of the doubt on a major issue and it being related to the tune. Even a radiator and intercooler update that SHOULD only increase reliability I am hesitant to do because the advisor seemed like he would use any mods against me when I brought it up.

Sounds like you have a good dealer you are working with.

 

[Jackpot Tremor]

I'm curious what mode do you normally drive in? Drive, Tow/Haul or Sport?

Don't these trans like to let things slip in normal drive for smoother shifts? I'm wondering if those who drive in tow/haul or Sport have better luck with their trans lasting?

Isn't there a class action lawsuit on the F150 10spd? Hearing something about that has had me cautious about my trans but the truck has been awesome so far.

LITERALLY the only reason I have not put the tune on my truck is because I do not trust my local dealer to give me the benefit of the doubt on a major issue and it being related to the tune. Even a radiator and intercooler update that SHOULD only increase reliability I am hesitant to do because the advisor seemed like he would use any mods against me when I brought it up.

Sounds like you have a good dealer you are working with.

I mostly drive in regular mode.....but when I "need" to get around slow drivers I use sport......so maybe 20%-25% sport mode.....not sure if that helps it or hurts it but it really shouldn't matter and the trans should be able to handle it.......that goes for the mild Ford Performance Tune.....the truck should be able to handle it without worrying about it otherwise Ford should never offer it.

I'm just hoping the dealer does the "right" thing whatever that may be......if it needs to be replaced then hopefully they'll replace it....

Yes it an aftermarket Trans pan with an actual drain plug and yes it's tuned but with a Ford Performance Tune.......hopefully that wont be the reason they say "pound sand" and tell me to f*&%^ off!......I don't want to think about it anymore until I hear from the dealer hopefully tomorrow sometime and I'll take it from there.....the truck is paid for and I don't want truck payments but I also don't want to feel like every time I drive this thing that it might break.......this situation sucks especially because I've tried my damnest to do everything in my power to maintain the crap out of it and do MORE then what the manufacturer requires!

 

[Brett Fields]

I'm curious what mode do you normally drive in? Drive, Tow/Haul or Sport?

Don't these trans like to let things slip in normal drive for smoother shifts? I'm wondering if those who drive in tow/haul or Sport have better luck with their trans lasting?

Isn't there a class action lawsuit on the F150 10spd? Hearing something about that has had me cautious about my trans but the truck has been awesome so far.

LITERALLY the only reason I have not put the tune on my truck is because I do not trust my local dealer to give me the benefit of the doubt on a major issue and it being related to the tune. Even a radiator and intercooler update that SHOULD only increase reliability I am hesitant to do because the advisor seemed like he would use any mods against me when I brought it up.

Sounds like you have a good dealer you are working with.

I was an avid Tow/Haul user around town. I replaced my trans at 37000.

 

[JDG]

I have a 2021 Tremor. The same thing happened to me this past winter with very similar symptoms at 43K miles. I had the dealership replace the transmission fluid at 36K miles.

My transmission was replaced under the powertrain warranty. The technician did a full teardown and the CDF drum (unsurprisingly) was the culprit.

 

[JoeDop1]

Bill,
This sucks! Best of luck with the dealer. Hope the aftermarket trans pan doesn't bite you.

 

[Jackpot Tremor]

Bill,
This sucks! Best of luck with the dealer. Hope the aftermarket trans pan doesn't bite you.

My service advisor, Jack, called this morning and asked about the aftermarket pan. I told him I was being proactive and did a "drain and refill" along with a new filter and the new pan because the OEM one sucked and didn't have a drain plug. He said, "ok, no problem just was checking because the transmission tech asked whether I had previous trans issues". So the aftermarket pan didn't make any difference to them.

They already started to replace the valve body, whatever that is??....and it's covered under warranty and the part(s) are in stock so they're already working on it and it should be done tomorrow morning. They also will reinstall the aftermarket trans pan so that's also good news! I don't know if they will also replace the CDF drum...whatever that is but it's mentioned a lot in these forums......is it part of the valve body? and what does it do?....I don't want to make a big deal out of it because I'm just glad they're coving it under warranty and it'll be done tomorrow.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

My service advisor, Jack, called this morning and asked about the aftermarket pan. I told him I was being proactive and did a "drain and refill" along with a new filter and the new pan because the OEM one sucked and didn't have a drain plug. He said, "ok, no problem just was checking because the transmission tech asked whether I had previous trans issues". So the aftermarket pan didn't make any difference to them.

They already started to replace the valve body, whatever that is??....and it's covered under warranty and the part(s) are in stock so they're already working on it and it should be done tomorrow morning. They also will reinstall the aftermarket trans pan so that's also good news! I don't know if they will also replace the CDF drum...whatever that is but it's mentioned a lot in these forums......is it part of the valve body? and what does it do?....I don't want to make a big deal out of it because I'm just glad they're coving it under warranty and it'll be done tomorrow.

The CDF drum will be the next step if the valve body doesn’t take care of your issues. Transmission has to come out and tore down to do the CDF repair. Valve body is done with the just the pan dropped. A CDF repair also has the option to replace the transmission depending on certain time /mileage criteria.

 

[rang19ca]

The CDF drum contains the c,d and f clutches as far as I understand. There is a bushing that get loose and causes issues with the shifting according to a video I watched with a tech explaining the problem. A new design CDF drum is supposed to cure the problem. I hope that is correct cause my trans. has been done.

 

[Jackpot Tremor]

The CDF drum will be the next step if the valve body doesn’t take care of your issues. Transmission has to come out and tore down to do the CDF repair. Valve body is done with the just the pan dropped. A CDF repair also has the option to replace the transmission depending on certain time /mileage criteria.

Thanks so much for the info! I just called the service advisor and he said there was no code for the CDF drum so they will only be doing the valve body repair. I assume the code (whatever the code was) made them think that the valve body was all that was needed.

I hope this takes care of the problem!....I haven't really had any issues with hard and/or delayed shifting prior to this episode.....but I'll keep an eye on it as time going on. He did say that it will have to "relearn my driving habits" so I'll need to drive it for a while so the trans can do that. I won't be babying it thou cuz I want it to "learn" how I really drive. and I'm hoping the tune helps the "relearning" process....

 

[Stevedbvik1]

Thanks so much for the info! I just called the service advisor and he said there was no code for the CDF drum so they will only be doing the valve body repair. I assume the code (whatever the code was) made them think that the valve body was all that was needed.

I hope this takes care of the problem!....I haven't really had any issues with hard and/or delayed shifting prior to this episode.....but I'll keep an eye on it as time going on. He did say that it will have to "relearn my driving habits" so I'll need to drive it for a while so the trans can do that. I won't be babying it thou cuz I want it to "learn" how I really drive. and I'm hoping the tune helps the "relearning" process....

And your fluid level will be set properly.

 

[ctechbob]

He did say that it will have to "relearn my driving habits" so I'll need to drive it for a while so the trans can do that. I won't be babying it thou cuz I want it to "learn" how I really drive. and I'm hoping the tune helps the "relearning" process....

Well, he was good right up to that point. These and other transmissions with adaptive learning do not learn your driving style. All they are doing is 'learning' how the particular valve body and clutch pistons apply and release.

There isn't a transmission on the market right now that 'learns' the way you drive. Think about it. You'd have car rental agencies having all kinds of issues with every single car if they were all running around confused about what driver was driving them and their 'style'

This is also why there is a VERY specific procedure to do an adaptive relearn.

https://gearsmagazine.com/magazine/...0r140-10r80-and-10r60-the-same-but-different/

From the article.

The Adaptive Learning Drive Cycle is performed on a level road as follows:

1. Record then clear DTC’s
2. Drive the vehicle until the engine and transmission reach normal operating temperature.
3. Accelerate from a stop with light throttle (15%), ensuring that upshifts 1st through 8th occur at engine speeds between 1300-1600 rpm.
4. Continue to accelerate (may apply slightly more throttle after 7-8 upshift at 32-38 mph (51-61 km/h) until you achieve 55 mph (88 km/h) and the 8-9 and 9-10 shifts complete.
5. Brake gently to a complete stop and hold the foot brake for five (5) seconds.
6. Shift the transmission to Neutral. Wait 1 second.
7. Shift the transmission to Reverse. Wait 2 seconds.
8. Shift the transmission to Neutral. Wait 1 second.
9. Shift the transmission to Drive. Wait 2 seconds.
10. Repeat Steps 3 through 9 six (6) additional times.

After the final step, place the vehicle in park and cycle the ignition key off. Wait 3-5 minutes before driving to ensure enough time for the coding to be written to the module.

 

[TJC]

I wrote that procedure in my Ranger maintenance book long ago when I first read it. That process works.

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