I do apologize for the length of this post, but I am desperate.

Took my 2003 Windstar to a local mechanic when the "check transmission" light came on. He got the following codes:


P0731 Gear 1 Incorrect Ratio
P0733 Gear 3 Incorrect Ratio


A little history....well, no a lot of history..... It is a loooong read, but worth it...

In July 2010 with less than 120,000 miles, I got the "Check Transmission" and "O/D off" flashing dashboard lights about two hours into a six hour out of town trip. Contacted a national transmission company (Mr. Transmission) thinking if there were problems I would have a warranty covering if I am out of town. Returned immediately and had the vehicle in the shop when they opened on Monday. $1,700 and a one-year warranty. That may not be a lot of money, but for a single mom on a teacher's salary, that's a month's salary for me, a huge hit. Within six weeks I started on my next out of town trip, same problem: "check transmission." Aborted trip, returned home and returned to Mr. Transmission. Again they have my vehicle for a week. I'm assured all is repaired. Received my vehicle and noticed more than 1,000 additional miles on my vehicle. I called the local Mr. Transmission owner who stated my vehicle was only at his shop or his brother's house during this week. He denied putting those miles on my van. I am positive of my mileage because I remember as I filled up the odometer showed 120,000 miles - I remarked to myself it was neat to look down and see all those zeros. When I questioned the owner of the local Mr. Transmission, who had "repaired" my van, he denied putting the miles on my car, stating he was a Christian. I asked for the paperwork from where he took in my van. He got the papers but the paper had NO mileage listed!!

Less than two months later I had the same problem. It always would happen when I traveled more than an hour from home. The vehicle was in the shop the first week of September (when somehow it got more than 1,000 additional miles) then I took a trip to a class reunion in mid-October. While out of town it felt like metal scrubbing metal as I went around a curve at 30 mph (it is a steep curve in town). Called and back to the shop again. The owner said they had put a part in backwards and that was the problem. He said he was trying to help out an employee who had a drug problem and he made a mistake by letting the guy work for him. He apologized. A week later my van is repaired.

The next spring again more problems with "check transmission" when I went out of town. This was in March of 2011. I took the car in and this time the owner yelled because there was water in the transmission fluid. How could that happen? Sheesh, I never take my mini-van, nor have I EVER taken a car swimming! He asked if my yard had flooded. No way, my yard's high and dry. He kept accusing ME of getting water in the transmission. I thought if I even drove through a normal water puddle on the road, like every other driver, wouldn't everyone have problems with water getting in their transmission? Anyway he repaired it - again (another week in the shop) and said this was the last time. (My one-year warranty would expire in July). By this time I've had it. I'm between a rock and a hard place because I cannot afford to pay another $1700 for repairs, and this should be fixed so I can drive more than 100 miles at a time!

I know I had my car to his shop five times in one year, each time he would have it for a week. After the year was up, I just didn't go anywhere for fear of more problems. Then I had to make a trip out of town that following November. Again more problems. Returned to the shop. I talked to a mechanic who went with me to the shop, saying there is a bypass or something that is probably causing the problem. I called Mr. Transmission and told them I would be there to get my car to have it ready for me to go, not to touch it. He stated the car was sitting in the parking lot ready. I arrived with a mechanic to find my car up on a lift! At this point I just didn't know what to do. I did not trust this guy and had no idea what he was doing.

The mechanic suggested I take the vehicle to another repair shop. I did and another $1700 later, plus my car in the shop another week, I get my car. The new repair shop said there is a bypass or temperature thingy (sorry, I am not good with transmission mechanics) that the other mechanic had bypassed. This is what prevents water from getting into the transmission. I asked how long this had been on there. He stated it was hard to tell, it was clean but he could not say for certain. He repaired the transmission and gave a 2-year warranty. During this two years I continue to have problems to the point they put in a new transmission. Now that two year warranty has expired and again I am getting the "check transmission" light if I drive any further than a few miles. Fortunately I only live 2 miles from work, but this is enough!

It shifts fine, sometimes a bit hard between 1st and 2nd and may not immediately shift to 3rd without having to back off a little, then it shifts fine (meaning the rpm revs like it is in neutral, when I back off a little it goes into 3rd and the rest just fine. Yes it is an automatic transmission with an overdrive button on the shifter column.

Is this mechanical or electrical? We've replaced the brain and the whole dadgum transmission! I drive like a granny - haven't had a speeding ticket in more than 30 years. I regularly maintain the vehicle - oil changes and so forth. The only thing that has happened recently, a few weeks before this last episode is the alternator was replaced. Could this have reset things so it is not registering properly? I took the vehicle out of town just after the alternator was replaced. At the end of the six-hour trip, I got the "check transmission" error.

I cannot afford another transmission repair bill. I cannot afford a new car. I'm beginning to hate having a Ford. I'm just biding my time until summer to get another vehicle, but in the mean time I've become a prisoner to a few mile radius of home.

The mechanic I know does not work on transmissions. He's as stumped as I am. I need serious help with this, not jokes. I am beyond frustrated.

Tonight I drove the van about four miles and got the "check transmission" light - OD Off flash. When I turn off the car and crank it again, the check transmission goes away. It seems to shift fair, sometimes a little hard. Got home, then about an hour later I drove the car less than a mile. Got the check transmission again. The van would not go into reverse. Turned off the engine and it went into reverse. THe van is parked. There is no way I can afford another huge repair bill right now. I have no idea what to do!!!!

I now have 167,000 miles on the vehicle. Too bad there are no cliffs in Florida.

 

This may or may not apply to your situation, but sometimes a little info can be helpful up the road .
Whenever you need to have a Ford transmission replaced, "Get a Ford Remanufactured Trans".
There is a difference from ,
A rebuilt, a repaired and any other description you may come across.
Just about any shop that will remove and reinstall a trans for you, can get the trans from Ford.
A remanufactured trans has all the latest modifications and has the usual warranty as if replaced by Ford.
Many rebuilt transmissions only have the defective parts replaced and borderline parts go back in.
With the problems that seem to come from many trans shops it really leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
A lot of mass marketer trans places sometimes have one guy that knows about transmissions and the rest just remove and replace them. If that person is busy you could get one he didn't do. That you will find out soon enough.

 

Thanks. At this point I cannot see sinking more money (I don't have) into a transmission for this vehicle.

I am wondering if the problem could be electronic, not mechanical? I honestly am not sure the van will make it for me to drive it to a Ford dealership or any place else. Plus, I cannot afford any more repairs. The number of times it's been to transmission repair shops in the last three years total at least 10 weeks.

For now I can't do anything but use the vehicle for work and back - or walk, two miles each way, and hope for the best.

 

There is a transmission range sensor which could make trouble like that.