I love my 2019 F150 3.5 Ecoboost. It's fast, it's quiet, it tows everything I need it to, and it's very comfortable to drive, riding more like a car than a truck. However, this love affair is starting to end.
At 60k miles I figured it was time for a fluid and filter change. I went to a highly reputable local transmission shop (ATS) to have the transmission fluid changed and they had it done in a day. The cost was $800 but from what I'm told, that's an average price to service one of the 10R80 transmissions on one of these things.
I spend the next few days driving it and I notice it shifts smoother. Everything seems fine and I'm a happy customer.
About a week after getting it back I'm driving home from the rec center and all of a sudden I notice it starts losing power intermittently and the gear indicator shows it hunting for gears at an erratic pace. The gear wrench icon comes on the display. Fortunately I'm not too far from home so I make it back. I get out my FORscan app and connect to the OBDII port. It's giving me a TCM code, P07F7, "Gear 10 incorrect ratio".
I notice when I turn it off and start it back up the gear icon is gone and it drives fine for 30 minutes or so before it starts doing the same thing again, hunting for gears.
First thing I do is call the transmission shop and ask him if there is anything that could have been disturbed while he was in there. He tells me definitely not, but that the 10R80 has some TSBs from Ford where they reprogram the TCM to adjust shifting. I told him I thought it was a bit odd that this problem didn't exist until I had the fluid changed.
ChatGPT gave me the following explanation:
Here’s why that happens, broken down clearly:
Ford’s 10R80 is extremely sensitive to fluid characteristics — the friction modifiers, viscosity, and thermal behavior all affect how the clutches grab and release.
The 10R80 uses a fine screen internal filter. When replaced, the new filter allows freer fluid flow — which changes pump output pressure characteristics slightly.
The transmission control system uses solenoid current to regulate pressure based on expected flow resistance.
If that flow changes suddenly, clutch apply timing can be off by milliseconds — enough for the PCM to detect “incorrect gear ratio.”
This is the most common culprit after a service.
The 10R80’s fill procedure is very specific:
If your transmission had clutch material or varnish buildup, a fluid change can loosen debris that then clogs a valve or solenoid screen.
Even if the fluid and level were perfect, the adaptive tables still hold old “clutch fill times” and pressure maps.
So the PCM might be commanding slightly too short or too long clutch fill times for the new fluid — which leads to ratio errors.
That’s where the TCM Adaptive Learning Reset you’re planning comes in — it’s literally designed to fix this exact scenario.
I performed the TCM adaptive table reset about an hour ago using FORscan. So far it hasn't acted up since, but I've also been driving it like a grandma since I did that since it specifically states to avoid hard driving for the first 100 miles.
The internet is afoot with horror stories of the 10R80 transmission and all the failures. The stories of people having to have them replaced at 50k miles (and sometimes less) are all over. Ford did what they did with virtually every other vehicle they've ever made, built a crappy transmission.
This thread is more-or-less a rant. I'm just beyond sick and tired of not being able to buy anything that is built to last. All of it is built with planned obsolescence in mind. It's all built to fail because they want you to keep coming back. Finding anything quality these days seems damn near impossible and it's ubiquitous. It isn't just cars, it's appliances, electronics, etc.
I don't think there is any vehicle made after probably 2005 that isn't littered with problems.
What grinds my gears even more is the fact that they don't build things simple anymore. The transmission has to be electronically controlled, it has to "adapt" to the way you drive, and in order to do so requires layers of complication.
This isn't like the old 700R4 in my 1973 Chevy K10. I can't just go out to my garage and work on it myself. You need some sort of advanced training to work on these new vehicles and it sucks the life and fun out of owning them. All of this they would say is a trade for more "efficiency" or "better driving manners". I don't care! Like @Zorba, I'd rather they sell me some basic truck with an old school engine and transmission so that when it does break I can fix it myself.
Anyways rant over. I sure as hell hope that this TCM adaptive learning table reset fixes the problem because a new transmission is in the ballpark of 8-10k. If I end up needing a new transmission I'm just going to dump the truck. I'm not paying that much money for a new transmission that might not even last any longer than the last one. Why would I? In fact, I'd be a fool to pay that much money for a piss poor designed transmission.
At 60k miles I figured it was time for a fluid and filter change. I went to a highly reputable local transmission shop (ATS) to have the transmission fluid changed and they had it done in a day. The cost was $800 but from what I'm told, that's an average price to service one of the 10R80 transmissions on one of these things.
I spend the next few days driving it and I notice it shifts smoother. Everything seems fine and I'm a happy customer.
About a week after getting it back I'm driving home from the rec center and all of a sudden I notice it starts losing power intermittently and the gear indicator shows it hunting for gears at an erratic pace. The gear wrench icon comes on the display. Fortunately I'm not too far from home so I make it back. I get out my FORscan app and connect to the OBDII port. It's giving me a TCM code, P07F7, "Gear 10 incorrect ratio".
I notice when I turn it off and start it back up the gear icon is gone and it drives fine for 30 minutes or so before it starts doing the same thing again, hunting for gears.
First thing I do is call the transmission shop and ask him if there is anything that could have been disturbed while he was in there. He tells me definitely not, but that the 10R80 has some TSBs from Ford where they reprogram the TCM to adjust shifting. I told him I thought it was a bit odd that this problem didn't exist until I had the fluid changed.
ChatGPT gave me the following explanation:
ChatGPT said:
Excellent (and important) question — and you’re not alone. Many F-150 owners report that their 10-speed (10R80) transmissions began slipping, hunting gears, or throwing codes like P07F7 only after a fluid and filter service.Here’s why that happens, broken down clearly:
1.
Ford’s 10R80 is extremely sensitive to fluid characteristics — the friction modifiers, viscosity, and thermal behavior all affect how the clutches grab and release.- When you replace old, worn fluid (which had degraded additives and a higher friction coefficient) with fresh, low-mileage Mercon ULV, the new fluid can cause clutch apply timing to shift slightly.
- This means the TCM’s learned adaptive tables — which had adjusted over tens of thousands of miles to the oldfluid’s feel — are suddenly “wrong.”
- Result: harsh shifts, flare-ups, hunting, or “incorrect gear ratio” codes (like P07F7 for 10th gear).
- That’s why Ford’s own TSBs explicitly say:
2.
The 10R80 uses a fine screen internal filter. When replaced, the new filter allows freer fluid flow — which changes pump output pressure characteristics slightly.The transmission control system uses solenoid current to regulate pressure based on expected flow resistance.
If that flow changes suddenly, clutch apply timing can be off by milliseconds — enough for the PCM to detect “incorrect gear ratio.”
3.
This is the most common culprit after a service.The 10R80’s fill procedure is very specific:
- Truck must be running, in Park, level ground.
- Fluid temperature must be between 185–200 °F (85–93 °C).
- Level is checked with the overflow standpipe plug on the bottom of the pan — not a dipstick.
- Slipping or shudder in higher gears (especially 9th–10th)
- Delayed or hunting shifts
- TCM codes like P07F6 / P07F7
4.
If your transmission had clutch material or varnish buildup, a fluid change can loosen debris that then clogs a valve or solenoid screen.- The valve body in the 10R80 has tiny hydraulic control passages.
- Debris here can stick a valve partially open, causing the PCM to see a mismatch in expected vs. actual gear ratio.
5.
Even if the fluid and level were perfect, the adaptive tables still hold old “clutch fill times” and pressure maps.So the PCM might be commanding slightly too short or too long clutch fill times for the new fluid — which leads to ratio errors.
That’s where the TCM Adaptive Learning Reset you’re planning comes in — it’s literally designed to fix this exact scenario.
I performed the TCM adaptive table reset about an hour ago using FORscan. So far it hasn't acted up since, but I've also been driving it like a grandma since I did that since it specifically states to avoid hard driving for the first 100 miles.
The internet is afoot with horror stories of the 10R80 transmission and all the failures. The stories of people having to have them replaced at 50k miles (and sometimes less) are all over. Ford did what they did with virtually every other vehicle they've ever made, built a crappy transmission.
This thread is more-or-less a rant. I'm just beyond sick and tired of not being able to buy anything that is built to last. All of it is built with planned obsolescence in mind. It's all built to fail because they want you to keep coming back. Finding anything quality these days seems damn near impossible and it's ubiquitous. It isn't just cars, it's appliances, electronics, etc.
I don't think there is any vehicle made after probably 2005 that isn't littered with problems.
What grinds my gears even more is the fact that they don't build things simple anymore. The transmission has to be electronically controlled, it has to "adapt" to the way you drive, and in order to do so requires layers of complication.
This isn't like the old 700R4 in my 1973 Chevy K10. I can't just go out to my garage and work on it myself. You need some sort of advanced training to work on these new vehicles and it sucks the life and fun out of owning them. All of this they would say is a trade for more "efficiency" or "better driving manners". I don't care! Like @Zorba, I'd rather they sell me some basic truck with an old school engine and transmission so that when it does break I can fix it myself.
Anyways rant over. I sure as hell hope that this TCM adaptive learning table reset fixes the problem because a new transmission is in the ballpark of 8-10k. If I end up needing a new transmission I'm just going to dump the truck. I'm not paying that much money for a new transmission that might not even last any longer than the last one. Why would I? In fact, I'd be a fool to pay that much money for a piss poor designed transmission.
