Did Ford finally fix the transmission issues in the 2024 models?

Thinking about pulling the trigger on a new 2024 Expedition XLT. We plan to keep this for a long time, so reliability is a big deal. Have they finally worked out the transmission issues, or is it still a concern?

Following this—also looking at 2024s.

Same here!

Curious about this too.

I drove my family member’s ‘24 Max for a month, and honestly, it drives terrible. It lags, stays in high gears under 40 mph, and feels jerky when you need quick acceleration. For the price, I expected way better. I’ve driven a diesel Suburban, and it’s night and day—way smoother, better shifting, just an all-around better drive.

@Nash
Yeah, but there’s a huge price difference. Where I live, you can get a 2024 XLT Max for $65K, while a Duramax Suburban will run you $85K–$90K.

Wade said:
@Nash
Yeah, but there’s a huge price difference. Where I live, you can get a 2024 XLT Max for $65K, while a Duramax Suburban will run you $85K–$90K.

You’re not wrong. Just saying, for $65K, I expected a better drive. Feels more like a $40K SUV.

@Nash
Which Max did you drive? What trim?

Just adding my experience—bought a brand-new 2024 Limited on Dec 18. It’s been sitting at the dealer since Jan 20 due to a cracked transmission housing.

They told me it’s not safe to drive since they don’t know when it might fail completely. New transmission is backordered, and they’re saying it’ll be at least another month before they can get one. Really disappointed in Ford right now.

Honestly, it’s way too early to know if the 2024s are truly reliable. We’re just now starting to see how the 2018s have held up.

A lot of this comes down to luck. Some Expeditions run over 200K miles with no issues, while others are on their third transmission. Ford seemed to get the cam phaser issues under control around 2020, but you’ll still hear of some cases popping up. GM has had its own problems with engines, and even Toyota (which used to be the ‘safe’ choice) is dealing with issues on the new Sequoias.

Generally, the last years of a vehicle generation are the most reliable. So in theory, the ‘24s should be the best version of this gen. That said, the transmission issues are a bit overblown—yeah, they shift rough, but most of them still work fine. It really depends on what you consider ‘reliable.’ Some people think clunky shifting is a failure, while others just accept it as part of how these SUVs drive.

If you want something that’s guaranteed to be issue-free, buy a 2022 Sequoia and call it a day.

@Fane
I have a 2018 Suburban that’s been nothing but problems. That’s why I’m looking at a 2024 Expedition now.

Wade said:
@Fane
I have a 2018 Suburban that’s been nothing but problems. That’s why I’m looking at a 2024 Expedition now.

5.3L engine? LT trim? I gave up on Suburbans after those 5.3s started falling apart before 70K miles.