GEN2 Transmission Out

[Fifty150]

In PARK and NEUTRAL, everything seems okay.  In REVERSE and DRIVE, gear does not engage, no power to the wheel, and very loud noise.  No codes or dash lights.  It looks clean under the hood.  No visible transmission fluid consistent with a line bursting or a leak of any sort.  No odor of transmission fluid.   Into the dealership it goes, since it is still under warranty. I suspect the issue is internal.

[G B L]

Wow ! Were you driving when this happened? What kind of noise does it make? How many miles?

Edited November 17, 2018 by G B L

[Fifty150]

In my driveway. Could have been worse. Could have been on the freeway.  Clunking. Sounds almost like trying to shift into gear without using the clutch.  Metal on metal.  

[BobbyP]

let us know what happens. mine has a hesitation when going from park to gear sometimes for 2 secs. had ford look at it and they didn't find anything.

[Fifty150]

The transmission is a 6F35.  A 6 speed transmission jointly developed by Ford & GM.  Ford offers the 6F35, 6F50, & 6F55. 

 

These transmissions have been in use for about a decade now.  And a lot of people have had problems with them.  I see a lot of Highway Patrol Explorer Police Interceptors in the service bays, on lifts, with the transmissions dropped.  I don't have any real statistical data on the failure rate of the 6F series 6 speed transmissions.  Obviously, since it is not a 100% failure rate.  So there are 6F transmissions on the road,, since 2006, that are still in service.  Some of those being fleet & commercial vehicles.  

 

Hesitation & hard shifting are indicators that there may be something wrong with the transmission.  Sometimes, a transmission fluid exchange solves those issues.  But more often than not, by the time you experience transmission failure, new fluid will not help.  Fluid exchange, performed regularly, is simply a part of maintenance.  And when fluid exchanges are not performed, the transmissions will fail because the dirty, contaminated fluid is no longer performing at optimal level.  No amount of clean fluid will help is there is a design flaw, assembly line mistake, or if you stress your transmission by overloading your vehicle, modifying your engine to produce more horsepower and torque than the transmission was intended for, and/or racing.  

 

Impossible to speculate.  But I suspect that there is one guy on the job, on the assembly line, who is doing something wrong.  And trying to isolate his piecework, is like trying to find "Patient X",  the 1 flight attendant who carried HIV to Europe & North America.  So there you have it.  My theorem, with no findings, and no facts; that there is one person doing something wrong.  And every transmission he touched has failed.  I figure that if his part of the assembly process is that he is one of 25 people who are doing the exact same thing next to him, then he is responsible for the 4 out of every 100 units that fails.  The only real solution is to fire everybody and hire new workers.  At least new people would not be making the same mistake repeatedly.  Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers, hired new people to do their jobs, and no catastrophe happened.  Planes did not have mid-air collisions and/or fall out of the sky.  

[G B L]

Did this happen when you were returning into your driveway, or was the first symptom after a start up?

 

[Fifty150]

At start up. 

 

The vehicle drove fine.  Never experienced any symptoms of failure.  No hard shifting.  No delay of gears engaging.  No driveline shudders.  No leaking transmission lines.   I drove the car to my house from the apartment downtown.  No problem.  Parked in the driveway.  No problem.  I noticed that a parking space became available, and figured I might as well move the car.  Hours have passed.  Got it the car, started it, shifted into D to pull out.  Gears are clashing.  It sounded just like someone trying to shift a stick shift without using the clutch.  I found the same result in R,D,&S.  P&N were both quiet.  No power to the wheels in any gear.  Park did not engage either, and the vehicle rolled just like neutral.  

 

I wonder if they will give me the detailed findings......or simply, "we're sorry about your new car's transmission, don't worry, we will fix it under warranty and we appreciate your business".  With my luck, "we noticed aftermarket equipment and modifications, so we will not be able to honor your warranty."

[Fifty150]

Looks like someone else had a transmission failure at low miles.

 

 

 

On 8/29/2017 at 7:46 PM, TheGearGeek said:

Hi,

With my Tranny failure in my 2014 TC at 4500 miles,  it started with sitting at an incline and it would tick out of gear and a violent down shift slam again usually on the incline as well.  Then a major overhaul was done, which the dealer said there a few issues in my transmission.  Took 10 days to fix...sigh.  The dealer service departments were over all nice, but now the van is doing it again.   So far Ford has been very cooperative, lets see what happens.

Chris

[G B L]

It sounds like something major in the final differential came apart . that would affect all the gears and the park function. 

How many miles on your rig?

[Fifty150]

21,000 miles.

[G B L]

This issue had nothing to do with you.  You are just the unlucky guy who happens to own the TC. 

Is the 3 year 36000 warranty still good or will it be the 5 year 60000 power train be the cover?

[Fifty150]

3/36 is bumper to bumper.  That is everything including things like seat tracks, hinges, windows, et cetera.  I believe that the paint warranty is something different.  Just like tires & battery are "pro rated".  5/60 is the powertrain.  First, the techs have to diagnose what the issue is.  They have to make sure that I didn't do anything to modify or effect the transmission.  In the Transit Connect, there are no aftermarket transmission mods, engine mods, or custom tunes available.  So, assuming that the customer did not do something like overfill or underfill the transmission fluid, disconnect anything and reassemble it incorrectly, or do anything else to cause the issue; the transmission should be covered under warranty.  At this point, I am just waiting for them to diagnose the problem and determine that I did not do anything to cause it.

[G B L]

I am sure that they will find the cause .  I am very interested in what they find.  I  hope  that Ford finds the cause  and they put in a new transmission and don't waste time with the old one.

Keep us posted.

[Fifty150]

I am sure that once they take the transmission apart, they will determine what's broken. Then it's a matter of if it will cost more to repair or replace.  The real problem is "why?".   When they replace, it's usually remanufactured.  I doubt it will be new.  

[Fifty150]

The tech got the van up on the lift today.  First thing that he saw was a broken passenger side axle.  Part has been ordered.  Once the axle is replaced, they will attempt to test drive.  It could just be the broken axle.  

[G B L]

That sounds promising. The passenger side axel is long and has a hanger bearing so it could raise a racket.

Looking forward too the answer

[PhotoAl]

IMO I think you have a good solution at hand.  Good to have a repair shop that gave you a straight answer, or you now know about the broken axel.  The broken axel would not let you go anywhere.  The TC doesn't have a limited slip differential so all the power goes to spinning the broken axel and making noise.  It takes very little power to make lots of noise. :-)

 

Eagerly waiting to hear the outcome

[zalienz]

My first question is why did the axle break? CV boots fail from time to time, never seen a FWD axle actually break. It will probably be the solution to your issue. Better that than the tranny. And yes, if it was the trans, you would get a reman, not a new one. The only time you get a truly new one is if it fails before delivery to the customer.

[Don Ridley]

I am confident Fifty will resolve this. All this hills in the City* are to blame for the broken axle. 

 

* Residents of San Francisco call it the City.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Don Ridley

[Project bike truck]

https://ford.oemdtc.com/1621/harsh-reverse-engagement-andor-harsh-or-delayed-shift-into-3rd-andor-5th-gear-2014-2016-ford-lincoln

 

Known problem with the solenoids on these transmissions. There is an S/B on it. I'm trying to get it performed as we speak. 

 

But sounds like a broken axle will solve your issue. 

[Fifty150]

On 11/29/2018 at 8:02 AM, Don Ridley said:

 

 

* Residents of San Francisco call it the City.

The City.  Capital "T".  Manhattan is also referred to as "The City".  San Francisco is also known as "the only East Coast town on the Left Coast".  

On 11/28/2018 at 8:21 PM, zalienz said:

My first question is why did the axle break?

 

Awhile back, I did battle with a pothole on the freeway.

 

My suspicion is that the damage was done at that point.  Axle was not completely broken yet.  But over the course of a few months, it finally gave out.  

 

 

 

Axle was replaced under bumper-to-bumper warranty.  I only told the service advisor that it was fine when I drove it home and parked in the driveway.  When I went to move the car, it was broken.

 

 

 

 

[Fifty150]

On 11/28/2018 at 7:28 PM, PhotoAl said:

 

 Good to have a repair shop that gave you a straight answer,

 

 

 

 

It was a dealership.  I know how people hate "stealerships".  I admit I've had mixed results with sales & service.  But all that depends on who your contact is as you walk through the door.  You get a good salesperson, parts counter guy, or service writer, and your experience quickly becomes positive.  At this very same dealership, I had a bad sales experience.  Which is why I bought my car from another dealership, an hour away from home.  I would rather take public transportation for 100 minutes, then drive a new car for an hour to get home, rather than allow that guy to book my sale into his commission for the month.  

[davidparker]

Glad to hear you got it fixed.  Also, glad it did not totally fail while driving.  Sitting on the side of the road in traffic is always a miserable experience...  

[Fifty150]

No worse than........

[G B L]

Neat! No chance of a picture of the failed part?