NHTSA Complaint #747781 — 1994 FORD THUNDERBIRD

THE TRANSMISSION OF THIS VEHICLE HAS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND MANY MILES WILL WITHOUT WARNING EITHER DOWNSHIFT FROM OD WITHOUT ANY ALTERATION IN ACCELERATOR PRESSURE OR WILL JUMP INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE RPM WILL RAPIDLY INCREASE AND THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL PULLING POWER. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS WHEN CLIMING A HILL ON AN INTERSTATE OR IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AS THE VEHICLE DECELERATES WITHOUT ANY WARNING TO TRAFFIC TO THE REAR. REPAIR ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN FILTER AND FLUID CHANGE, FLUID LEVEL CHECKS ON A REGULAR BASIS, LINKAGE LUBRICATION, AND ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF THE VEHICLE IN GENERAL. I AM WONDERING IF THERE ARE INHERENT ISSUES WITH THIS STYLE OD TRANSMISSION. THE OTHER MAJOR FAILURES WERE LEFT SIDE HEAD GASKET AND SEVERE FRONT BRAKE PULSATION. THE DEALER FINALLY REPLACED THE BRAKE ROTORS WITH WHAT SEEMED A BETTER UNIT, AND I CONDUCTED THE REPAIRS ON BOTH SIDE HEAD GASKET REPLACEMENT. PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY KNOWN ISSUES REGARDING THIS TRANSMISSION AND WHAT, IF ANY, RECOURSE FOR REPAIR I MIGHT EMPLOY. I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. GKW. *AK