After having my car serviced my transmission seems to be faulty. My 2002 Explorer is having trouble getting into first gear, and sometimes third. I asked the mechanic, and he said everything was OK. It is not OK! I would like to check the transmission fluid myself to make sure that they put enough in, but for the life of me I can not find where to add fluid. Is Ford forcing me to seek professional service for a minor maintainance checks? Thanks to anyone who can advise me. sewser

 

Trans operation was completely fine before the regular service? How many miles between it's service intervals?

The trans pan is fitted with an internal'stand pipe' andwill have a drain plug with a center level plug.. Hold the larger hex and remove the center plug.. Do this with the trans warmed, and run the selector through all the range positions prior to checking.. Once the plug is removed you'll get a short release of fluid from the accumulated fluid in the pipe, then it should give you a steady drip or thin stream of fluid if the level is correct.. Generally a short fill would cause the unit to slip...