Hoping this isn't the start of a nightmare....

[Deleted member 35644]

At 3600 miles, on my way home from work, I got the orange wrench, with the message "See Manual". On my previous car (Mazda CX-3), this meant it was time for routine maintenance. I guess it means something a little scarier on this car.

Dropped it off at the dealership this morning. I'm wondering if all the strange transmission behavior I've been having has finally come to a head. Hope I don't end up regretting trading a perfectly nice '17 V6 for this car.

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[Barrel]

Bad luck happens bro. Ford will fix it under warranty and get you back on the road.

 

[Zathras]

I think I remember reading that on Fords the orange wrench often (but not always) means a problem with the drive by wire stuff being out of sync (like, the gas pedal position sensor or the throttle body motor, or maybe the MAF showing conflicting or contradictory data). Like when the measured airflow based on one sensor or device is off by more than a certain amount, compared to what the car expects based on the gas pedal or throttle position. Is your car stock? Did it go into a "limp" mode where it drove with really low power?

 

[Deleted member 35644]

There was absolutely no difference in behavior for the 12+ miles home. Shut it down, re-cranked about 1/2 hour later, wrench still illuminated. 2 hours after that, drove to the gas station to fill up, and the wrench went off. They've had it all day and I haven't gotten a phone call, so it was either something really simple (or nothing at all, or they've torn it apart and I won't be getting it back today. Heading to the dealership now to get the update.

 

[CFUG]

The only thing I managed to find in the owners manual, under maintenance, was "SEE MANUAL" (on the Info Display)>The powertrain needs service due to a powertrain malfunction. I wonder what it is that Ford thinks owners should be looking for in the manual but you did the right thing by heading straight to the dealer. Keep us posted.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Stopped by the dealership after work thinking it may be done, and it turns out I have a transmission issue. Something about a "ring sensor" ,(never heard of that)or maybe the valve body, but they have to do more testing. As soon as he said "transmission", I said I knew this would eventually come to a head, and I described all of its weird behavior, and he added it to the technician's notes. Hopefully this will lead to a resolution of the problem that's existed since it was new.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Stopped by last night for an update. They can't find anything mechanically wrong with the transmission. The fluid looks good. The really good news is that they've ruled out the valve body, because I believe they're on national back order. They've flashed the transmission control module in conjunction with calls to Ford Technical Support, and are taking it for separate drives, and reading it to confirm that it's learning the way it's supposed to.

Supposed to get it back today, but we'll see.

 

[ahl395]

What is the weird transmission behavior that you were having?

 

[Deleted member 35644]

A few days after I bought it, I let it warm up for at least 5 minutes in the garage before getting in to leave. It was at it's normal idle speed. My normal m.o. in any automatic is to push the brake long enough to get it out of park, and release the brake as I shift into the desired gear, so the car can just start easing forward or backward on its own. Instead of giving me the normal, slow, easy engagement it would normally give, it SLAMMED into reverse the millisecond the shifter hit "R", and the car lurched backward, similar to a 2,000 rpm clutch drop. I arrested it with the brake, but it was very alarming.

It's done this several more times since April, all at times when the engine was fully warm, having sat for 20-30 minutes, re-started and idling normally. It has launched like a rocket out of a parking space at the dentist's office, and out of the car wash bay. I can't even imagine how it's applying this much force to the wheels at 650 rpms, but it's scary when it happens. I imagine the loud noise I hear is the engine and transmission slamming against their mounts. This behavior can't be good for the drive train.

It's also very indecisive on the highway, when slowing for traffic, and re-accelerating. I often feel an abrupt shudder through the whole car while if figures out what to do. The delay between reverse and drive also seems abnormally long, when compared to my other 2018 (convertible), and the 2018 loaner coupe I'm driving right now. I've now driven 3 different Mustangs in all sorts of different situations, which really helps to highlight the problems mine seems to be having. The loaner is very smooth, decisive, takes an appropriate amount of time to transition from R to D, and has yet to lurch out of a parking space.

 

[BluePonyGT]

Sounds a lot like a throttle position sensor issue. The transmission is going to shift according to how much throttle/vacuum the engine is experiencing. If either of those are being interpreted incorrectly it will shift badly. Definitely a "take it back to the dealership" type of thing. Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Got it back, so far so good. Time and miles will tell if it sticks.

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