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On yours it could be some piece of metal or something that may have been inadvertantly left in or on the frame during assembly or something that's worked it's way loose. Are you still under warranty, if so take it back to the dealer ?
I've read on the web stuff about Tributes that are made in US vs. Japan -- any specifics to that?
Thanks all.
So the procedure is to do the drain, refill it, run the engine for 5 minutes while shifting through the gears and repeat once or twice more or until the drained fluid look fresh. I just did mine using 3 gallons of Dexron III/Mercon. This is a very simple procedure and you can do this yourself, no need to spend money and have someone else do it for you unless you want to. Doing this procedure will flush and change about 80% to 85% of the tranny fluid including the torque converter. The new fluid will mix with the fluid in the torque converter. Even though you can't drain the converter completely unless you have the proper equipment, this is next best method. Use a good brand of Dexron III/Mercon also, Motorcraft is good, but I prefer Pennzoil brand.
Remember only use DEXRON III/MERCON no matter what the dipstick or the manual says.
I plan on doing this every 40K miles AND at every other oil change drain the almost 4 qts of tranny fluid and replace with almost 4 qts.
The Escape auto trans is problematic. Any type of preventive maitenance will keep it running better and longer.
i have a 87?
you wouldent happpen to know the fireing order on that would you?
Any ideas what needs to be done to get electic system working properly?
The light for the gear selector on my wife's Escape went out. Can this be fixed by replacing a fuse or is it more likely to be a bulb that needs replaced?
I pulled my battery terminal off last night just to see if something needed to reset. I too am stumped as to why everything worked before the bad battery, but not after the bad battery.
Like another person said, the trans that failed in afew hundred miles is a factory defect. Most other stories about trans failing (like at 60,000 - 80,000 miles) are usually because the fluid and filters are never changed. I change my engine oil every 3,000 - 5,000 and trans fluid and filter every 30,000 - 35,000 miles.
All Escapes have the CD4E automatic transmissions. This transmission has NO servicable filter. Inside the transmission there is a screen that provides some sort of filtering. The only way to access this screen is take the transmission apart. Some mechanically inclined owners have installed their own outboard filters in the return transmission coolant line from the radiator.
After reading the message below I called Ford and they did confirm that only Dexron-III/Mercon made from natural oils (no synthetics)should be used in the CD4E transmission which is used in all Ford Escapes.
Ford Special Service Message 16896:
SPECIAL SERVICE MESSAGES 16896
2001-2004 ESCAPE USE ONLY 'MERCON' -- NOT 'MERCON V' OR 'MERCON SYNTHETIC' FOR THE CD4E TRANSMISSION ALL 2001-2004 ESCAPE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A CD4E AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE EXCLUSIVELY USE 'MERCON' FLUID -- NOT 'MERCON V' OR 'MERCON SYNTHETIC'. MERCON IS THE ONLY FORD APPROVED AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE FLUID FOR USE IN THE CD4E. MERCON FLUID PART # IS XT-2-QDX (QUARTS) AND XT-2-DDX (55 GALLON DRUM). FOR CANADA MERCON FLUID PART # IS CXT-2-BM FOR BULK, CXT-2-4LM FOR 4 LITRE BOTTLES, AND CXT-2-LM12 FOR 1 LITRE BOTTLES.
Do not use synthetic Dexron III/Mercon or Mercon V in the CD4E transmission. Use Dexron III/Mercon made from natural oil. The is a case where the cheapest is better, no additives or inhibitors added, the trans does not like those things.
Unless you DON'T have a CD4E transmission, read the above. The dipstick and handle were changed in 2003 or 2004 to read "USE MERCON"...
Do NOT use Mercon V or synthetic Dexron-III/Mercon. Just regular Dexron-III/Mercon...it's not that hard to remember..
This fluid is sold as Dexron-III/Mercon....I have yet to see just Mercon on any bottle of this fluid...reason is the fluid can be used in some GM transmission as well as Ford and other types of transmission requiring either Dexron-III or Mercon...
I talked with a very reputable transmission shop in town. The owner stated that the CD4E is problematic and usually has had a history of cratering at 75-80K miles. Ford did some modifications to the CD4E to bolster it a bit before it went in the Escape or so I've heard. I'm banking on my average of every 25K+ miles flushing the transmission to avert problems. May or may not happen, but if I go over 100K miles (probably by EoY 2006) with the transmission functioning as normal, then there may be something to be said for the Mobil 1 syn. trans. fluid changeover. I firmly believe flushing the main fluids in any car should be done as matter of course every 30K miles. At least I'm sold on it.
I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of trannys that went south because Ford or the owners used Mercon V or synthetic Dexron-III/Mercon...
www.escape-central.com...engines and transmissions
My transmission-questions experience with Ford corporate and the purchasing Ford dealership were not great, because my Escape was out of warranty. The dealer told me not to worry about the Mercon V dipstick (out-of-sight, out-of-mind) and Ford corporate did not seem too terribly worried one way or the other. So based on a good mechanic's advice I went with the Mobil 1 Synthetic tranny fluid at 45K miles (I posted 25K in a previous post.
I too have a 2002 Tribute. I didn't buy it new but used in August 2005. I strongly suspect that it is a cracked Exhaust Manifold. Are you having a lot of fumes coming into the car when the heater motor is running? That is my problem. My car has 53,000 miles on it. I'm told that if you have a 3 way valve Catalist on your manifold you are under warrantee up to 80,000 miles. It is a difficult job that will take some time to fix. Let me know more about what you experienced with your problem. Good luck!
PS. Today, I went down to the dealership and the service manager was very courteous and tried to smell the gases under the hood. I felt sorry for him because he had been sick with a head cold and couldn't smell. He offered to have another Mechanic look it over. I respect that. But after he said that we started to just touch the throttle under the hood and speed up the Rpms. He noticed the exhaust lead through sound. It is now being going over. I don't know where they will find the leak. Pleas respond if anyone has had this kind of problem with their Mazda or Escape. Thank You
Next thing that occurred was the radiator fluid light is on constantly. The fluid was full when I check it, and the car never gets passed the middle mark on the thermostat, infact it never budges at all. Had the radiator flushed, still does it.
The most recent and the BIG BIG problem that worries me is that the overdrive light has started flashing. The speedometer started acting erractic around the same time, jumping from around 20mph to 60 although going the same speed. Got the transmission fluid changed.. it didnt do the overdrive light thing for a week. Fiance called today and said it started flashing again.... Haven't noticed any performance changes cept that today she said it seemed like it was changing gears a lot more than normal.
Please help, there is no possible way I can afford a new transmission... and I fear that is what it is coming too
2nd problem I had when my '01 Escape was new, but filling the overflow tank to full mark cured the light coming on. In your case this could be the overflow tank sensor or possibly another sensor. You'll need to take this into a shop for them to diagnose or scan.
3rd problem may be a big one as you say. I'd take the Escape to a reputable tranny-shop instead the dealer if you can help it. The dealer will probably recommend complete replacement to the tune of $3K+. It may need it anyway, but at least a good tranny-shop can give you a few options. The CD4E transmission is known to be problematic if not pampered but maybe so anyway. I've done flushes about every 25K miles since new. Kind of expensive over the long-term, but I think it's provided some peace-of-mind and maybe some actual preventative help.
I'm not a mechanic, but have been on this board long-enough and have owned my Escape long enough to have seen quite a few of the same issues / fixes crop-up over the last several years.
anyway...about that od light -- you need to get that thing into a tranny shop FAST!!! escapenut is right, the CD4E really ought to be called the CD$E. We see a LOT of car owners replacing these-- at low mileage, as compared with other domestic transmissions. But, if you go to a shop where they actually repair the transmission onsite, and if you catch the problem as early as possble, you can save yourself some money. Just FYI: the base price including torque converter should be $2621.18 or less (depending on labor rate)... most places will give you this information if you push for it -- ask @ least 3 times. As far as worst case goes... just hope you don't get there. I honestly think it was some kind of joke that ford stuck this transmission into this vehicle... it really does not seem appropriate given the other transmission options they have.
Have you tried the IAC replacement, and did it work ?
I have basically the same problem.
I have had to change my PCM because of a burned out capacitor. Does anyone know if this is common, and what causes it ?
The capacitor is the largest or 2 beige w/ a brown stripe surface-mounted capacitors w/ markings 476/10k/125 near the back of the PCM.
J.D.
My problems were more serious... transmission was slowly going out on top of all the other things I mentioned up above.
Is there a need for a flush and refill for the power steering system? The price quoted is Can. $139. I don't remember having this (or the transmission work above) done in all my previous cars.
Thank you again.
As far as the power steering system, I have never done this on any car I owned. I am not saying it might not be a bad idea to do it, but it really isn't necessary. The Ford service manual says nothing about flushing the power steering system. It just tells you to make sure the fluid level is where it is suppose to be.
On a normal car with a good transmission, you are right, all this flushing and refilling is unnecessary, but the Ford Escape CD4E transmission is very problematic and even with extensive maintenance with the flushing and refilling thing, the trans still will likely go before its time. From what I heard, the CD4E is not engineered sturdy enough for the weight and V6 engine of the Escape. Ford used this trans in their smaller 4 cylinder cars and did some minor modifications so it could be used in the Escape. Ford needs to use a better and stronger transmission in future Escapes.
I think it best to describe my experience of my visit to the Ford dealership this morning. I brought the Ford work estimate dd Mar. 29 which is -
headed "Flush Automatic Trans CD4E"
QTY PART NUMBER PART DESCRIPTION PART PRICE EXT.PRIC
10 FOCXT-2-LM12 FLUID-TRANSMISSION 4.33 43.30
(Plus labour $81 and shop supplies $8.51) 89.51
=132.81
As the actual bill came to only $119, I asked and was told that they only do draining and refill (about 5 litres)which they claim to be the maintenance service required by Ford. Since 50% of the fluid would be old oil, I protested and the service manager helped me dialed Ford.ca.
The lady at Ford.ca told me that the ford dealership service staff are the technical experts on maintenance services and if they say "flushing" means draining, Ford.ca backs them 100%.
The service manager asked me for my proposal and when I said I was prepared to pay the bill but that they should omit "flush" and correct the quantity of 10 to 5 litres (to prevent misunderstanding by other customers) in their estimates, he said that "flush" was in their computer system and difficult to change but that the quantity of 10 was incorrectly entered in my works estimate. He then graciously offerred to wave my payment entirely and also rejected my offer to make a charity donation giving him the donation receipt - he said he wanted his customers happy.
I post this message because I feel that the works estimate was misleading (indeed, I would never have questioned such maintenance bills had I not been reading this column) and this might alert some other owners.
I visit this room often to see problems people may be having. I visit other Escape/Tribute/Mariner chat rooms around the net. I am wondering where the data is coming from about the Escape/Tribute transmissions? I called both an AAMCO and A Cotman transmission shop and they both told me they have seen very few Escapes/Tributes. I also called 1 large Ford Dealership and spoke to the service manager and they said the transmissions are rarely a problem. I visit other net chat rooms, and yes there are some transmission issues but not nearly as bad as what this room makes it out to be. I am not trying to be-little anyones problems. I don't have any transmission issues on my Escape and its been worked pretty hard. Granted, I have had my fluid changed at every 25-30K.. It just seems to me that what I read around the net the transmission is actually pretty reliable. I also visited MSN reliabiltiy data and they don't mention any transmission issues.
I do not know what has happend to the motor yet as this happened on April 7th and by the time the truck was towed to the nearest dealer it was closed. However oil was draing from a large hole in the oil pan. Has any one had this happen to them and any luck getting Ford to cover an engine replacment under and expired warrenty (just under 29 days)?
thanks
sdale
Ford Recalling Nearly 150,000 SUVs (Chron.com)
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