We just purchased a 98 Contour SE with 99K original miles on it, and it's in terrific condition. All fluids look and smell clean, the engine runs smoothly, the automatic transmission shifts smoothly and doesn't seem to slip, bump, or make strange noises, EXCEPT....

When at normal operating temp, at highway speeds, it will slip out of gear, the rpms run up, then it shifts back into gear. It seems as if it was going to shift down, and then thought better of it. It doesn't do this unless you are in top gear at highway speeds, and it doesn't matter if you are manually controlling the throttle, or if it's using cruise control. Hills don't trigger it. Usually happens when on the straight, level roads. It doesn't do it constantly, but you can usually have it happen once on a 15-20 mile trip.

I had seen something on another forum that this could be due to the shift position sensor, or possibly the wiring harness that connects to it.

Can anyone tell me what the problem may be, and if it's something I could do at home? I don't need to drop a grand or more right now, but I would like to get this fixed.

Thanks!

 

yes, check the wires and the position switch. Get the Haynes manual.