June 25 (Reuters) - Ford Motor ( F ) is recalling

552,188 of its 2014 F-150 vehicles in the U.S., due to an issue

which may lead the vehicle to unexpectedly downshift into the

first gear, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

said on Tuesday.

A loss of signal between the transmission output shaft speed

sensor and the powertrain control module can cause a downshift,

regardless of vehicle speed and lead to a loss of vehicle

control, the regulator said.

As a remedy, dealers will update the powertrain control

module software, free of charge.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru;

Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)