Symptoms
The truck downshifts into second gear without being asked to. Ford's wording for what that means: "unexpectedly downshifting into second gear may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash." At motorway speed a forced downshift into a low gear takes the drive wheels with it, which is why this is filed as a safety recall rather than a driveability complaint.
Likely cause
Given in the campaign as "a loss of signal between the transmission range sensor and the powertrain control module". The range sensor is what tells the control module which gear position has been selected; when the signal drops, the module falls back to a default. Ford's remedy is software, not a new sensor, which says the fix is in how the module handles the lost signal rather than in stopping it being lost.
How should it be checked?
Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls today. Because this recall is only weeks old, an open result is the normal result — it is not a sign that the truck has been neglected. Book it at a Ford dealer; the software update is free and there is no age or mileage limit on a recall. If you are buying, this is a reasonable thing to ask the seller to have done before handover, and it costs them nothing but the trip.
How can you check it yourself?
Nothing to feel for — a fault that appears without warning is not something a test drive can rule out, and trying to provoke it would be unsafe. The VIN check is the whole check, and on this one it is worth doing before you go and look at the truck rather than after.
The question to ask the shop
Has recall 26V-237 been completed on this VIN? If not, will you have the dealer do it before I collect it? Has the truck ever dropped a gear on its own, and was that ever reported to a dealer?
