2004 Expedition Eddie Bauer acceleration and reverse troubleshoot

sanseg

I was driving my 2004 Expedition and all of sudden it reached 35-40 mph and would go no higher. The car slowed to that speed and would not go any faster when I tried to accelerate the engine would rev like it was in neutral and not go over 35 mph. I pulled off the road. Tried to put it in reverse. NO REVERSE. Checked the fuses everything seems ok there. It seems to be stuck or something. This happen over a year ago. I had it towed and by the time it got to the garage it was fine. This time we've had it towed and it still is not working. Any suggestions out there as to what this might be.

alwaysfords2

How many miles? Ever do a tranny service?

sanseg

111,000 miles. I don't think we've ever had anything done with the tranny, but I'll have to check with my husband. It seems to me it is something electrical. It was in 4WH when I noticed the problem. I switched it to 2W but the problem continued.

alwaysfords2

The service interval for the transmission is 30k, if you have owned it since new it is almost 4 intervals behind. Sounds to me like it is slipping. Did you have it towed to the dealer? What have they found?

bigboy45

Having the same problem. Did your OD light start blinking? Checked the fuse relays and such, still having the same problem. I have pretty much had my 99 limited edition sitting in the garage since 2007.

sanseg

Did not find out what caused it, but the transmission is shot and are in the process of having a new one put in. Hoping to get mine back next week.

alwaysfords2

So you never answered my question - had the transmission previously been serviced in the 111k miles??

sanseg

I asked my husband and as far as we know it has never been serviced.

alwaysfords2

That might explain why it's shot. The dealer can confirm it's never been serviced when they drop the pan - if there is a rubber plug rolling around in the bottom of it it has never been serviced. The plug is used to block the dip stick tube hole during assembly, when the tube is inserted it pushes the plug into the pan and it gets thrown away at the first service.
A regular service will run you around $150, so you would have been out about $450 as opposed to what must be a couple of thousand. Sorry to hear that, but it is a case of pay me now or pay me big time later. Bet it won't happen to you again.