NHTSA Complaint #10523196 — 2006 FORD FUSION

WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE AT A HIGHWAY SPEED, WHICH CAUSED THE CAR TO DOWNSHIFT, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD "SLIP" OUT OF GEAR, CAUSING THE RPM'S TO REV UP TO AN UNSAFE LEVEL. TO GET THE CAR BACK INTO GEAR, I HAD TO REMOVE MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR AND LET IT COAST FOR A BIT. ONCE THE RPM'S RETURNED TO BETWEEN 1000-2000, IT SLAMMED HARD INTO GEAR AND BEGAN DRIVING AGAIN. THIS OCCURS REGULARLY EVEN AT REGULAR STREET SPEEDS, WHEN YOU NEED TO ACCELERATE WHERE A DOWNSHIFT IS NECESSARY. THIS COULD EASILY LEAD TO A CRASH. FORD MOTOR COMPANY KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS IN THESE CARS, BASICALLY IT IS DUE TO VALVE BORE WEAR IN THE MAIN CONTROL. THEY HAVE A DEFECTIVE CONTROL BODY WHICH HAS EXTREME SPOOL BORE WEAR. A TSB WAS ISSUED: TSB BULLETIN DATE: FEB 2007 VARIOUS DRIVEABILITY/TRANSMISSION SYMPTOMS - PCM/TCM CALIBRATION UPDATES 3.0L - AISIN F21 AUTO TRANS. ( NHTSA ITEM NUMBER - 10021277 ). NO RECALL BY FORD TO DATE. IF YOU CATCH IT BEFORE THE CLUTCH IS BURNT UP, YOU CAN GET BY WITH REPLACING THE MAIN CONTROL VALVE BODY FOR AROUND $800-$1000, HOWEVER IF YOU'RE BEYOND THAT POINT IT'S A $4500+ NEW TRANSMISSION. *TR