Help!

[MidLifeBird]

Re: Help!

I just got back from a 500 mile trip in the car. I eased around under the speed limit most of the time, but I don't think there is anything wrong with how the transmision functions. It goes in and out of overdrive exactly when you would expect it to. I'm going to have the 'later' program loaded and see if that makes to error code go away. If not, flushing the transmission will be next. The valve that so many people have had to replace must be working, because as I said, the transmission shifts fine. In fact, it's much better than the '02 that I had.

BTW - The avatar photo is my first car.

Trent

[MidLifeBird]

Re: Help!

I finally made it to the local Ford dealer this morning. The parts and labor estimate to fix my car is $1400.
Every vehicle I've owned in the last twenty-seven years has been a Ford, Mercury or Lincoln except for one Chevy truck. They seem to come in two varieties, either you never work on them or you constantly work on them. Hopefully after this fiasco this car will fall into the 'never work on them' category, but I'm not very confident. Can someone explain to me why I keep buying Ford products?

[Ski]

Re: Help!

Can someone explain to me why I keep buying Ford products?

Because they're not bankrupt?

[MidLifeBird]

Re: Help!

Neither are Honda or Toyota.

[Ski]

Re: Help!

Let me clarify - they are the only American car company that's not bankrupt! Buy American - someone has to!

[Sumerbird]

Re: Help!

Neither are Honda or Toyota.

Well I did buy a new SAAB 95-2006 its a nice car$$...When it will start and the last one for me. I will go Back to FORD or CHEV.

[MidLifeBird]

Re: Help!

I'm just a little irrate right now. Neither I, my wife, my parents, her parents or my sister's family have ever bought a foreign car. My father-in-law is even a retired Ford engineer. My entire career has been as an engineer in the paper and chemical industry, so I am 100% in agreement on the 'Buy American' sentiment. I'm just aggravated that Ford won't stand behind one of their premiere products when it has a widespread factory defect such as this trasmission problem. Plus I don't want to spend $1400 on a car my wife didn't want me to buy in the first place.

[SixPac]

Re: Help!

Do we need to start a poll to see how many TBN members have had this " widespread factory defect such as this transmission problem " ?

[Tony007]

Re: Help!

I BOUGHT MY 007 NEW CHARLIE IN JUNE 03, HAD ABOUT 2000 MILES ON IT AND GOT THE DREADED "E" WHICH I READ ABOUT ON OUR TBN SITE...BROUGHT IT IN AND SHE WAS OUT THE SAME DAY, THEY HAD TO RE-PROGRAM IT...DONE DEAL...THANK GOD NO PROBLEMS SINCE...HAVE 18K MILES ON IT NOW...

[Sumerbird]

Re: Help!

I'm just a little irrate right now. Neither I, my wife, my parents, her parents or my sister's family have ever bought a foreign car. My father-in-law is even a retired Ford engineer. My entire career has been as an engineer in the paper and chemical industry, so I am 100% in agreement on the 'Buy American' sentiment. I'm just aggravated that Ford won't stand behind one of their premiere products when it has a widespread factory defect such as this trasmission problem. Plus I don't want to spend $1400 on a car my wife didn't want me to buy in the first place.

. Buy North American ..eh

Ron (Sumerbird)

[FEsTbird]

Re: Help!

I too have had the E problem. It was at about 6000 miles. I think if you do a search on the E, you will find a thread or two about it. My off hand guess is that probably about 1/2 the 2003 cars built could be eligible to have it. Sales were slowing down after March 2003, so they could have slowed the production down some. I think it is one of the type of problems that cannot be diagnosed until it happens.

You might take a look at that extended warranty. The one that I got is for 75,000 miles but we estimated that it would be mid-2010 before I got there at the mileage I was driving the previous car. OR--if the 5 years follows the 1 year standard warranty, that would be 6 total, you might be in luck.

[MidLifeBird]

Re: Help!

Oh, well. The transmission and brakes are now as good, actually better, than new. Nothing that 11% of what I paid for the car and three days in the shop couldn't fix. At least now I can start to enjoy it.

[RED03BIRD]

Re: Help!

It looks as though the dreaded E code has struck again. My 2003 redbird is afflicted with only 25xxx on the odometer. MY RAVEN's post about Ford receiving a batch of bad transmissions in late 2002 and early 2003 reminds me of a similar experience with my F250 diesel: Ford installed bad transmissions for a 6 month period thne also. No help from Ford other than to thank me for buying a new transmission from them. Fords are getting to be very expensive to maintain. No wonder my wife insists on driving Hondas.

[snowbird]

Re: Help!

It looks as though the dreaded E code has struck again. My 2003 redbird is afflicted with only 25xxx on the odometer. MY RAVEN's post about Ford receiving a batch of bad transmissions in late 2002 and early 2003 reminds me of a similar experience with my F250 diesel: Ford installed bad transmissions for a 6 month period thne also. No help from Ford other than to thank me for buying a new transmission from them. Fords are getting to be very expensive to maintain. No wonder my wife insists on driving Hondas.

[snowbird]

Re: Help!

Trying to respond to this post but my posts do not seem to be getting on the site. This is a test.
MB

Will try again - had a similar problem over the weekend with our 2003 with the small "engine" icon coming on. l hd this once before - in the spring and both times I put in a bottle of "injector cleaner" and after a few starts and short runs, the icon went away. Not sure if this may work with and "E" code, but may be worth a try.
MartinB