Cold Weather Transmission Weirdness

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- Stephen Read
  
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posted
20 years ago

Wed, Jan 21, 2004 5:57 PM

We are experiencing some very cold sub zero weather around here and I notice that my 2000 Explorer Sport has developed some strange shifting habits which may or may not be related to the cold. The 5 speed auto seems to miss the 2 to 3 upshift (feels like a missed shift or a brief downshift to 1st before finding 3rd). Also, the trans will not shift into overdrive until its warmed up a bit which seems pretty logical if a computer is managing the shift.

Does anybody have any similar experiences? Does the shifting problem sound like it might be solved by replacing a sensor, etc? Thanks for the help. This is my first winter with this vehicle.

Steve Read

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- Bryan L
  
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posted
20 years ago

Sat, Jan 24, 2004 9:51 AM

I'm not sure if our problems are related but I'll share some advice with you so you might avoid the pitfall I stepped in. I have a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport with 82000 miles and recently have had problems with the gears slipping between second and third. My O/D lights comes on and blinks on ocassion also. I took it to a dealership and after a hundred dollars all they could tell me was that I need a new transmission $3000 BAM. So I took it to a friendly transmission shop which told me that Ford doesn't repair broken transmission they just replace them. But at least they didn't charge me. They said the repair would cost somewhere between $1500-$2200. Pretty steep but better then $3000. I have to say I'm pretty dissappointed with Ford on this one. You'd think for close to thirty thousand dollars the cars transmission would last at least 100k. Oh well. Let me ask you a question... Has your gas mileage fallen drastically? I hope your not in the same boat as me. Good luck.

Bryan Larimer

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- Justa Bum
  
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posted
20 years ago

Fri, Feb 13, 2004 9:20 PM

Hey Bryan My Trans has started to "act up" my gas mileage has dropped drastically and the trans doesn't drive the same. It feels like the torque converter is slipping. Is this some of the same type of problems you were having? Mine started When I took my 2001 Sport to the dealer and had them "service" the trans. I thought the dealer had played with the computer to give it a smoother shift when I complained of a "shift shudder into OD". But you've got me thinking it's something else. Any information will be a big help.