6R80 Navigator Common Problems and Fixes

The Navigator is where this gearbox family started in the Ford world. GEARS Magazine notes that Ford first used the ZF 6HP26 in the 2005 Expedition and Navigator behind the 5.4L, and that design became the 6R60, 6R75 and 6R80. On the Navigator, the 6R80 runs through the 2017 model year: Ford's own fluid chart lists the 2017 Navigator as a 6R80 behind the 3.5L EcoBoost on MERCON LV, and every Navigator from 2018 on as a 10R80 on MERCON ULV. If the Lincoln in your bay is 2018 or newer, close this tab and pull up a 10R80 guide.

Mechanically the Navigator fails like an F-150 or an Expedition, and our Expedition guide covers the Ford twin. What is different is the paperwork. Ford wrote the Navigator into its 6R80 recalls and coverage programs with its own build-date windows, and in at least one program the Navigator window closes months before the Expedition window does. Quote a Navigator off the Expedition dates and you can tell a customer they are covered when they are not, or the other way around.

So the first job on any Navigator transmission complaint is the door tag: model year and build month. Every bulletin quoted below is linked in the Sources section at the bottom.

Recommended 6R80 parts

The parts behind the Navigator fixes on this page: the current AL3Z-7G276-D style lead frame for OSS faults and 5th-gear starts, a valve body repair kit for worn bores instead of a full valve body swap, and a master rebuild kit when the clutches are already burned. Secure checkout on site.

6R80 Lead Frame Connector with Valve Body Seal AL3Z-7G276-D

$275.99View part

Transgo 6R80 VBT-NT Valve Body Repair Kit for Ford 6-Speed (No Reaming Required)

$73.99View part

6R80 Transmission Master Rebuild Kit, Ford F-150 Expedition Mustang

$383.99View part

Navigator 6R80 recall and bulletin map

Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup or a Lincoln dealer's OASIS before you write anything up. These are the Ford documents that name the Navigator with a 6R80:

Look at the second row against the Expedition. Program 16N02 covers 2012 Expeditions built at Kentucky Truck from August 26, 2011 through June 6, 2012. For the Navigator, the same program stops at February 29, 2012. A spring-2012 Navigator is outside 16N02 while an Expedition built the same week is inside it.

The lead frame problem, from the Navigator's side

The 6R80's output shaft speed sensor is part of the molded lead frame, the plastic-and-copper harness that rides on top of the valve body inside the pan. The PCM uses OSS to know how fast the output is turning. When that signal drops out at highway speed, the PCM sees the output slow down, decides the vehicle is nearly stopped, and commands 1st gear.

Ford's Part 573 report for recall 16V-248 describes the result plainly: depending on vehicle speed, the unintended downshift may cause the rear tires to slide or lock up until the vehicle slows. In some cases the signal recovers and the truck goes back to normal on its own. In others the driver has to stop and restart to get the transmission back. Ford listed Continental Automotive Systems as the component supplier, put the total population across F-150, Expedition, Navigator and Mustang at 184,000, and reported three accidents and no injuries at the time of filing. Ford's own April 27, 2016 announcement of the same recall gives the Navigator window as August 19 through December 17, 2011, two days shorter than the Part 573 filing, so let OASIS settle any truck built in mid-December.

Here is the part people miss. The 16V-248 remedy is software only. The reprogram changes how the PCM reacts to a bad OSS signal; it does not fix the signal. The lead frame itself was handled under the separate extended coverage programs, 16N02 and then 19N01. Under 19N01, Lincoln dealers were authorized to replace the lead frame free only when P0720, P0722, P0731 and/or P1500 were stored in the PCM, with 2.2 hours allowed on the Expedition and Navigator and the part superseded to AL3Z-7G276-D. The coverage ran 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, and Supplement #3 states that vehicles over 150,000 miles are customer pay.

Ten years have passed on every 2012-2013 Navigator, so a lead frame today is a paid repair. Confirm the recall calibration was done; if not, that part is still free at the dealer.

The 5th-gear start

The second lead frame symptom on these years looks nothing like the first. TSB 13-6-8 covers 2012-2013 Navigators built on or before April 8, 2013 that engage 5th gear when pulling away from a stop. The wrench light or the seat belt minder may come on, the speedometer reads zero and the odometer shows dashes while driving. Codes P0720 and P0722 may or may not be stored, and the symptoms can clear on a key cycle, which is why these trucks often leave a shop with "could not duplicate" on the ticket.

The bulletin's repair is a molded lead frame, AL3Z-7G276-A at the time, with 2.1 hours allowed on the Navigator. The bulletin states it directly: replacement of the shift solenoids is not required. If a customer brings you a quote for a solenoid pack on a 5th-gear-start Navigator, that quote is wrong.

How I check a Navigator for a lead frame fault

You do not need to drop the pan to make the call. You need a scan tool that can graph, a road test, and a little patience, because the fault is intermittent by nature.

1. Pull codes from the PCM, including history. P0720 (OSS circuit), P0722 (OSS no signal), P0731 (incorrect 1st gear ratio) and P1500 (vehicle speed sensor) are the four Ford tied to the lead frame. A P0731 alongside an OSS code usually means the PCM calculated a bad ratio from a bad speed signal, not that 1st gear is slipping.
2. Graph OSS against the ABS wheel speeds. They should track each other smoothly at every speed. An OSS trace that drops to zero or spikes while the wheel speeds stay flat is the lead frame or its connector, full stop.
3. Graph turbine (input) speed and transmission range at the same time. Turbine speed comes off the same lead frame. A range position that flickers out of Drive while nobody touched the selector points to the same part.
4. Heat-soak it. These faults like temperature. Road test after the fluid is fully warm, then let it idle and test again. A cold-only test misses a lot of them.
5. Check the case connector before condemning anything inside. Fluid wicking past the connector seal and a loose or corroded connector will produce the same intermittent dropouts. It is a five-minute look.

When you do replace the lead frame, Ford's own service instructions in 16N02 and 19N01 call for transferring the six long bolts to the new lead frame and tightening them to 53 lb-in (6 Nm) in the published sequence, then installing the main control per Workshop Manual section 307-01. That is inch-pounds. Run those bolts in with a ft-lb wrench and you will crack the new part. The 16N02 parts list called for 9 quarts of MERCON LV (Motorcraft XT-10-QLVC), and a filter (BL3Z-7A098-A) and pan gasket (BL3Z-7A191-C) as required.

Shift quality problems after valve body work

The other big Navigator complaint is not a fault code at all. It is a harsh 1-2, a 2-3 flare or a bind-up, often right after somebody replaced solenoids or a valve body.

Sonnax technical specialist Jim Dial explains why. The 6R80's variable bleed solenoids tend to lose their calibration, or banding, over time. Each solenoid carries a band rating from 1 to 5, and the PCM has to be told the solenoid strategy and body ID codes, found on the valve body and on a tag on the transmission case, so it knows each solenoid's band, its position and which clutch it controls. A band 3 solenoid that has drifted to act like a band 5 or a 1.5 changes how fast a clutch applies or releases. On the 1-2, slow or overly aggressive output through the C/26 regulator valve gives you a slide or a harsh shift. On the 2-3, it changes the release and you get a flare or a bind-up.

Ford's own position, in SSM 46451, is that there is an updated main control overhaul procedure for every 2009-2017 6R80, 6R100 and 6R140, and that not all valve bodies require replacement. Inspect the bores, springs and valves during diagnosis. In practice that means a worn bore or a stuck valve can be repaired, and a valve body swap without entering the correct codes into the PCM will often make a Navigator shift worse than it did before.

After any solenoid or valve body work, enter the codes, clear the adaptive tables and do a relearn drive. Dial notes the relearn can sometimes finish within three to five shift cycles, but a heavy three-row SUV that sees mostly short trips can take longer to settle.

Know which internal design you have

Ford changed the 6R80 internally for 2011 by adding a one-way clutch to the rear planetary. GEARS Magazine documents what went with it: a new case, C and D clutch support, rear planetary, valve body, molded lead frame, wiring harness and PCM strategy for the D clutch. On the early design the D clutch applies through all of 1st gear. On the 2011-and-later design, the SSD (D/E) solenoid energizes at about 3 mph and the D clutch releases. That solenoid is normally high: about 50 mA applies the D clutch and about 850 mA releases it, which is a useful number to watch on a scan tool PID that reports commanded solenoid current.

For a Navigator, that means a 2009-2010 truck takes early-design parts and a 2011-2017 truck takes late-design parts in every one of those areas. Order by model year and the case tag, not by "6R80 Navigator."

2015-2017 EcoBoost Navigators

The 2015 refresh put the 3.5L EcoBoost in front of the 6R80. None of the coverage programs above reach these trucks, and the April 2026 range sensor recall, 26V-237, lists 2015-2017 F-150s only. A 2015-2017 Navigator owner who read about that recall may expect a free repair. As filed, the Navigator is not in it.

The lead frame in a 2015-2017 Navigator is the same kind of part, though, so the same sudden-downshift and range-flicker faults can still show up. Diagnose them as above, check solenoid codes and adaptives before selling hard parts on a shift complaint, and keep it on MERCON LV per the Ford chart.

Need parts for this job?

Navigator 6R80 lead frames, valve body repair kits, valve bodies by year, master rebuild kits, filter and pan gasket kits and MERCON LV are on our 6R80 parts page, with checkout on site.

FAQ

Is there a transmission recall on the Lincoln Navigator 6R80?

Yes, for some 2012 trucks. Recall 16V-248 covers 2012 Navigators built August 19 through December 19, 2011 for an intermittent loss of the output shaft speed signal that can cause a sudden downshift to 1st. The remedy is a PCM reprogram. Run the VIN through NHTSA or a Lincoln dealer to confirm it was done.

Why does my Navigator start off in 5th gear with the speedometer at zero?

That is the condition in Ford TSB 13-6-8 for 2012-2013 Navigators built on or before April 8, 2013. The fix is a new molded lead frame on the valve body, and the bulletin says the shift solenoids do not need to be replaced. Codes P0720 and P0722 may or may not be stored.

Will Lincoln still replace the lead frame on a 2012 or 2013 Navigator for free?

Almost certainly not. Program 19N01 extended lead frame coverage to 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, and required P0720, P0722, P0731 or P1500 to be stored. Ten years have passed on every 2012-2013 Navigator, so the repair is now customer paid.

Is the 2015-2017 Navigator part of the 2026 6R80 recall?

No. Recall 26V-237 for false range sensor signals and sudden downshifts lists 2015-2017 F-150s only. The Navigator uses the same type of lead frame, so the same fault can still happen, but it is diagnosed and paid for as a normal repair.

What transmission fluid does a Navigator 6R80 use?

MERCON LV. Ford's fluid chart lists the 2017 Navigator 6R80 with the 3.5L EcoBoost on MERCON LV, while 2018 and later Navigators have the 10R80 and use MERCON ULV. Ford's lead frame program ordered 9 quarts of MERCON LV for the repair.

Related guides

• 6R80 Expedition Common Problems and Fixes
• 6R80 Common Problems and Fixes
• 6R80 P0720: Output Speed Sensor Circuit Fix
• 6R80 Valve Body Wear Fix
• 6R80 Harsh Shift Causes