F-150 downshift investigation EA26-001 stays open after the recall
Ford recalled 1.39 million trucks three months after the analysis opened. NHTSA's testers also found that a truck can roll forward when reversing uphill.
What NHTSA is examining
NHTSA opened engineering analysis EA26-001 on January 30, 2026, upgrading a preliminary evaluation, PE25-002, opened in March 2025 (NHTSA investigation document, EA26-001). The subject is unintended downshifts and rear-wheel lockup in 2015–2017 F-150s with the 6R80 six-speed. The case began before either: Ford's chronology says NHTSA sent Ford a batch of owner complaints in October 2024.
What the record shows
The analysis identified 329 owner complaints and interviewed about 60% of those owners; around 43% described at least one rear-wheel lockup. 114 owners said the lead frame or the whole valve body had already been replaced, and 80 of those repairs were confirmed by invoices. NHTSA's test center found a second risk: if the range-sensor signal drops while the truck backs up a slope, the transmission can go to neutral and the truck can roll forward.
Ford filed recall 26V237 for 1,392,935 trucks on April 14, 2026, two and a half months after the analysis opened. Since 2010 the median engineering analysis has taken about a year and a half to close, so this one moved fast. The federal investigation file still lists EA26-001 as open, which is normal: NHTSA often keeps a case open while a remedy reaches owners, to see whether it works.
In the federal complaint file as of September 21, 2026, we count 844 complaints for these trucks that describe a downshift or lockup in the owner's words, 554 of them filed before the recall. About 30 mention the truck rolling or slipping into neutral, the second risk the testers reproduced. That second risk is the part to watch: the recall filing describes the downshift, and whether the software remedy also settles the rollaway is what an open analysis can still test.
What could happen next
The analysis can close on the recall as filed, or lead to a wider or second remedy if complaints continue from repaired trucks. Our guide to how NHTSA investigations work explains how recall queries follow up on remedies. The 2015, 2016 and 2017 F-150 pages carry each year's record.
What this page cannot tell you
What NHTSA will decide, or when. Owner complaints are unverified, and the investigation's own figures are NHTSA's.
The vehicles this covers
Sources
This piece reads recall, complaints, investigation, NHTSA ODI resume EA26001, Ford Part 573 report 26V237. Investigation EA26001. How every figure on this site is counted is set out on the methodology page. Whether a particular car is affected by a recall depends on its VIN.
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