Ford Escape 2010 Trans issues V6
 

Hi guys,

I need your help with something.

I've been driving about 10 miles per hour and approaching a street light so my foot was just resting on the gas pedal, perhaps i was slowing down abit than suddenly, it felt that i hit something. I was sure i hit something but it wasn't the case. The bang, It does looks and feel like related with the tranny. It felt like it downshift gear really hard.

After that, the car would start on second or third gear instead of first. Just turning off the car and restarting it would correct the issu for a while. (would start on first gear as normal)

I changed 2 weeks ago the tranny fluid because it was overdue ( brown in color). I had the car for about 6 months.

Is somebody have any idea of what just happened ?

I've brought the car at a shop and they check the car out. Scan for code - P2704

thanks for your input on this

Danny

Hi Danny,

I can't say if this is the problem with the trans in your vehicle, but it is only one of many possibles!
There is usually an accumulator piston applied with hydraulic fluid with a spring under it to cushion the application of a band for example , and if the spring is damaged and the piston applies the band too harshly, it can feel like you just got hit from behind. That is only one possibility, and there are several others. Guessing with a problem like this can get expensive if not checked out thoroughly. A thorough inspection is the better way to get to the bottom of this problem.

Ouch, that doesn't sound like to be an easy fix. I just brought it to the dealership and they will be able to check it out thursday. I like better seeing it parked for couple of days than taking risk to drive it...

Will come back and tell you guys the diagnostic...

Danny

The mechanic at the dealership told me that the codes means the transmission Solenoid is probly bad. He will need to open up the transmission to check it out. About 1000$ in labor plus parts. That seems pretty much fair.

I didnt ask him much info but is there more than one solenoid?

I told him that because the trans need to be open that it would be best changing the filter? Would it be good to change something else while being there as a maintenance?

Pretty sure that mechanic is qualify for the job but i thought of just shooting that question for your comments and idea / experience :)

Thx guys,

Danny

There are several solenoids, and while it is open we usually replace them all.
It is best since if another solenoid were to go shortly after , a lot of repeat work is involved. Depending on the mileage , condition of the rest of the trans, which might be better to see once opened you have a few choices.
Repair what is the cause of the present problem, replace whatever parts that are questionable,or even replace the trans with a remanufactured trans. Each one of these step comes with a higher pricetag. Again depending on what is found , how long you want to keep the vehicle, financial situation,etc. A reman unit costs the most, but also provides the most for the $$$. Best to wait and see before jumping to any conclusions, just good to know some of your choices.

Thanks Hanky for your fast reply. He's going to call me back on monday when the transmission will be open and will know more about the situation. He will probably suggest me to change all solenoids, if he doesn't, i'll ask him if he can do that. I better off paying an extra let's say... 500$ than needing to open up the transmission again in 6 months because solenoids #2 is acting up. I guess there is a solenoids per speed ?

I bought the escape last november 2016. It had 140 000km when i bought it. Now it got 146000Km. The engine work perfect. The transmission worked nicely all the way until last month or so. The only thing it got back than was when i was driving at highway speed and let go the gas, i would say when it downshift from gear 6 to gear 5 (around 70km/h), it downshift a little harder than the other but i thought it was the way the trans worked so i didn't do a thing.

I've checked the transmission level a while back and find out that the color was brownish so i told to myself that i will change it sooner than later. Well, i got myself ready to do this and found out that the filter is inside the transmission so the only thing i change was the oil. About a month and a half later i'm in that mess. So i don't know if changing the oil mess something up or maybe just a coincidence. I've read somewhere on internet that changing oil from a transmission which is overdue is not a good idea at all. What do you think about this ?

If i can save myself from a rebuilt and save couple of 1000$, i'll do that. I have the feeling that the transmission is not in a really bad shape. Just need to have it working properly again. I would like to keep that car for many years to come so i don't mind the investment.

For people out there wondering what was my symptom...

- One or two times, i shift from park to drive and i felt a terrible bang all across the frame of the vehicle, feel like the gear slam really hard on first gear.

- couple of times, i was driving at about 15-20km/hr and my foot was barely on the accelerator than suddenly, BANG! it felt like i just hit something hard. Felt like it downshift hard again, i thought i broke something off after that. Just terrible..

Thanks again Hanky and will keep you in the loop. Appreciate your input on this.

Danny

ps: Oh yeah, i've read somewhere on the web that ford have a technical service bulletin saying to flash the ecu to newer version to improve shift point, i'll ask him if he can check if that was done earlier, if not..that would be nice if that can be done...

Finally i had news from dealership thursday morning. They dropped the trans and open it up to see if only solenoid need replacement. According to the tech, the transmission is toast. All clutch are burned and he provide me with two options:

1. Get a transmission from a scrapyard at the cost of 1500$ with no warranty.

2. New transmission from ford with a 3 year warranty with a price tag of 5000$.

First i thought of using option #1 but i thought it over and i call back the dealer ship and decided to go with a new trans. The reason is because i heard so many problem with 6f35 transmission that i didn't want to take chances of putting a transmission in bad shape in my car and having issues again in 6 months. Just dropping the trans and putting it back cost about 1000$ so ...

I still can't put my head around the idea that i've been using a burned down transmission during those months. All seems working fine and stuff until i change the oil in it. I thought a bad transmission or one with burned clutches would perform real bad but i learn that it's not necessary the case.

So you cannot see the shape of a car by just driving it. But if i would of remove the dipstick and smell the oil on it...that would be a different story.

Take it easy guys and will come back with you when the transmission is installed and after the test drive with the new trans.


Danny

So i picked up my escape with the new ford remanufactured transmission installed and i wasn't able to get out the parking lot that the same problem happens. Park it back and drop the keys.

Waiting to know what's up... ahhrrrggg..

To give more detail... i put it on drive and drive about 50 feets. My feet was just lightly on the gas pedal driving at about 10km/hr that suddenly it felt that i hit something at the front again...harsh downshift.

Put it on reverse...took at least 4 seconds to drop into gear and park it back...

According to ford the new remanufactured transmission is defective. They will need to open up the trans to see what's wrong with it. Am i glad i took the one with 3 year warranty?

Will come back with results...

Danny

Thank you for the update Danny.
Sorry that you had such a problem with the trans. Most if not all dealers will just replace that trans with another reman unit. It gets too cost prohibitive to have local techs do other than minor trans work anymore. Not trying to make excuses, but it is getting more difficult these days to get quality new parts and I wouldn't be surprised if there may be one in there that everybody thought was good and only to find they too rec'd questionable new parts.

Hey Hanky,

Yeah, having a remanufactured transmission and having a chance of getting issu is part of the deal i guess cause not all parts are new.

They open the transmission and some solenoide are faulty and need to be replaced. They will try to get a brand new ford transmission instead of changing the faulty part. That would be nice.

does they normally change the torque converter when changing the trans ? Could a bad torque converter do that kind of issu ?

I'll ask tomorrow if it has been changed.

Later

Danny

When installing a reman trans certain things have to be done to keep the warranty in effect. The torque converter is part of the reman and the trans cooler must be flushed or replaced to insure the warranty. Have seen so many rebuild jobs crap out . Once a reman was installed ,correctly, had no further problems. have seen a reman plowing mountain roads with deep snow and steep hills for several years and still going strong.
The addage of do it right and do it once paid off really well here.

Ah that's cool and nice to hear. Just like you confirmed, they did changed the torque converter. Also they changed the ac condenser which is the trans cooler, right? They change also both hoses to the condenser also. They said those part overheated and needed to be changed.

The part which is defect on the remanufactured trans is the solenoid body. But instead of ordering the part they will go with a ford's new trans. The downside ? Backordered two weeks... Heck, i don't mind waiting two extra weeks and have piece of mind after.

Thanks again for your profesionnal fact and knowledge hanky.

Will come back with the great new when the new trans will be installed and hopefully all will be good related with the trans itself :)

Danny

Just for info purposes,
the air conditioning condenser is located in front of the radiator covering the top half. The trans cooler is similar to an air conditioning condenser ,but is half the size and is located below the air conditioning condenser and is supposed to remove heat from the trans fluid. It does sound like they are trying to do the job right and you should have peace of mind when the job is done.

So we are on week 3 now on hold for that new trans. An extra week cause the tool to reprogram the computer transmission is defective. Now it suppose to be shipped from usa... 1-2 week waiting again...

Am i glad i kept my ford mustang 05 when i bought that suv ? but just not so pratical with a 1.5 year and 3.5 year old daughters...

Starting to lose some patience now...

Hard to beleive that there are only one tool out there to program transmissions...cmon...

anyways..done with my bitching lol

have yourself a great weekend

Dan

now fixed
 

Hey guys,

I thought of giving you guys an update. I send an email and the lady just couldn't help me out. She just ask me to repeat whatever i was doing...contact my local dealer. So i decided to give ford a call and the gentlemen was more helpful.

Finally i got back my escape on october 10th. 4 more days and it would been 2 months without my escape...

With the new transmission, everything is perfect. Nothing bad to say up to now. I have a 3 years warranty...that's good.

Cheers guys

Danny