1994 FORD THUNDERBIRD Power Trainautomatic Transmission Problems

TRANSMISSION WOULD SHIFT IN AND OUT OF OVERDRIVE FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THIS WAS CORRECTED BY REPLACING TWO SPEED SENSING SWITCHES. THIS IS NORMALLY DONE WHEN EVER THE TRANSMISSION IS WORKED ON BY FORD. *TR

I OWN A 1994 FORD T-BIRD WITH A 5.0 V8 AND AS I AM DRIVING(NOT ACCELERATING, ETC.) THE CAR IT UNEXPECTLY DOWN SHIFTS FOR NO REASON. IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN MORE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS WHEN IT IS HOTTER. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO LAKE CITY FORD IN COEUR D'ALENE AT LEAST 4 OR 5 TIMES OVER THE LAST 4 OR 5 YEARS AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME THAT SOME PART "JUST NEEDS CLEANING" THE PROBLEM KEEPS COMING BACK. I FEEL THAT IT IS A DANGER AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

TRANSMISSION BEGINS SHIFTING FROM OD TO LOWER GEARS FOR NO APPARENT REASON. A TRANSMISSION FLUSH SEEMS TO CLEAR UP THE ISSUE FOR APPROX. 6,000 MILES AND THEN THE PROBLEM IS BACK. THE PAST WEEK HAS BEEN VERY BAD. THIS MORNING ON MY DRIVE TO WORK (3 MILES) THE ISSUE OCCURED 6 TIMES.*AK

I NOTICED IMMEDIATLY AFTER BUYING THIS CAR THAT THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED THAT WAS 11/98 IT TOOK SEVERAL CALLS TO THE DEALER AND A COARSE OF A YEAR FOR THEM TO FINALLY FIX IT. SECOND TIME I BROUGHT IN TO SHOP REPLACED WHOLE TRANSMISSION THAT WAS 12/99. NOW IN 6/03 THE TRANSMISSION IS STARTING TO SLIP AGAIN. ALSO HAD RECALL LETTER ABOUT HEAD GASKETS, FORD REFUSED TO WORK WITH ME ON REPLACEMENTS, HAD TO BE REPLACED OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. PRIVATE DEALER LIED ABOUT CONDITION OF VEHICLE, IT HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHEN I BOUGHT IT. FORD MADE NO ATTEMPS TO HELP RESOLVE PROBLEMS. *AK

THE TRANSMISSION WILL MAKE UNCOMMANDED AND UNEXPECTED DOWNSHIFTS FROM OVERDRIVE TO 3RD AND SOMTIMES TO 2ND GEAR ANY NEARLY ANY SPEED ABOVE 35 MPH. THIS OFTEN OCCURS AT FREEWAYS SPEEDS OF 70 TO 80 MPH AND CREATES A HAZARDOUS, AND UNEXPECTED SLOWING. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION MAY EITHER UPSHIFT AND DOWNSHIFT REPEATEDLY OR GO INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN BACK INTO GEAR. THIS RESULTS IN THE RPM CHANGING WILDLY AND, AT TIMES, GOING HIGH ENOUGH TO POTENTIALLY CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE.*AK

TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND FIXED TWICE DUE TO SHIFTING LATE AND SHAKING WHILE DRIVING. DEALER HAS ALSO REPLACED SEVERAL PARTS IN VEHICLE, BUT SOLUTION DID NOT WORK. CONTACTED DEALER. *AK

TRANSMISSION SLIPS OUT OF GEAR AND JERKS THE CAR AROUND AND THE STEERING HAS A LOT OF SLACK IN IT ABOUT AN INCH. *AK

I THINK MY ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION WAS STOLEN BY MY DEALERSHIP. LATER, I THINK ANOTHER DEALER FRAUDUANTLY CHARGED MY EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACT TO REMOVED AND REPLACED MY TRANSMISSION WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. *AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

TRANSMISSION WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY AND NEIGHBORHOOD SPEEDS. SPEEDOMETER WILL RACE, BUT WILL GET IN GEAR. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

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...

TRANSMISSION LURCHES, ENGINE SOUNDS LIKE IT WILL STALL, RPMS GO UP, BUT VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCELERATE. *AK

AT 56000M HAD TO HAVE TRANSMISSION OVERHAULED, AT 91000 HEAD GASKET OR INTAKE GASKET BLEW HAD TO BE REPLACED, UNDERSTAND THAT OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES HAVE HAD RECALL ON HEAD GASKETS BUT WAS TOLD BY FORD THAT MY MODEL NOT INCLUDED IN THESE RECALLS.*AK

TRANSMISSION IN THESE THUNDERBIRD IS TERRIBLE THE PERSON I BOUGHT IT FROM HAS ALREADY HAD IT FIXED AND I HAVE TOO. IT IS STARTING TO ACT UP AGAIN FOR EXAMPLE I WILL BE DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND MY CAR WILL SLIP GEAR AND WILL CAUSE ME TOO TEMPORY LOSE CONTROL. I FEEL AS THOUGH THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER DRIVERS. *AK

AUTO TRANS SHUDDERS SHIFTING 3-4 AND 4-3. SPEED CONTROL FAILED AT 15,000 MILES, FRONT DISC BRAKES PULSATE AND STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES.

I RECEIVED A LETTER OF RECALL FOR THE HEADGASKETS ON MY CAR WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN REPAIRED AND, FORD REFUSED TO HONOR THEIR RECALL. APPARENTLY THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO PREVENT THIS PROPLEM CONSIDERING THEIR HAVE SEVERAL MAKE AND YEARS THAT HAVE BEEN RECALLED. ALSO I THINK IT IS ODD TO HAVE A TRANSMISSION COMPLETLY REBUILT 2 TIMES. FIRST TIME WAS 93000 MILES NEXT WAS 106000 MILES. SO FAR I HAVE SPENT MORE MONEY ON THIS CAR THAN ANY OF THE REST OF THE CARS I HAVE EVER HAD. GOING BACK TO THE HEADGASKETS, I TRIED TO TRADE MY T-BIRD FOR ANOTHER T_BIRD AND THE DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT DEAL WITH ME PERIOD. THANK YOU TINA TROUT. *AK

THERE ARE ACTULLY TO MANY OTHER THINGS TO LIST BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAIL COPIES OF ALL MAJOR SAFETY RELATED PROBLEMS THAT IVE HAD WITH THIS CAR.IM STILL HAVEING ENGINE ,TRANSMISSION,AND OTHER PROBLEMS NOT TO MENTION THE GAS SMELL THAT THE FORD DEALER SWEARS ISNT THERE. *AK

CONSUMER IS GETTING A SHUTTER OR VIBRATION WHEN SHIFTING TO 3RD GEAR, CONSUMER HAS NOTICED THIS FOR ABOUT 9 MONTHS. CONTACTED DEALER AND HAD FLUID CHANGED. PROBLEM HAS NOT REOCCURRED SINCE. *AK *ML

CAR SHIFTS INTO NEUTRAL FROM ANY GEAR UNEXPECTEDLY. *AK

ROUGH 3-4 UPSHIFT WITH INCREASE IN RPMS, WHEN DRIVING AT 55-60MPH RPMS WILL SUDDENLY GO UP AND DOWN. *AK

THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS OUT OF GEAR BY ITSELF. IT HAPPENS AT ALL SPEEDS SPORADICALLY. WHEN IT SLIPS THE CAR SLOWS DOWN,WHICH HAS CAUSED A COUPLE OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. MORE DANGEROUS STILL IS THAT WHEN IT SLIPS THE R.P.M.'S JUMP HIGHER AND SOMETIMES THE TRANSMISSION THEN GRABS AND THE CAR LURCHES SUDDENLY FORWARD.THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSED US TO CRASH TWICE;ONCE ON THE FREEWAY AND ONCE ON A SHARP TURN.*AK

WHEN VEHICLE WARMS UP IT GOES INTO NEUTRAL SPONTANEOUSLY AND WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED AT ALL. ALSO, VEHICLE LURCHES TO 1000RPMS, AND THEN GOES BACK TO NORMAL*AK.

TRANSMISSION SLIPS OUT OF GEAR, RPMS RUN HIGH, AND THEN IT GOES BACK INTO GEAR, AND JUMPS FORWARD. *AK

LOSS OF FORWARD DRIVE ON INTERSTATE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC ABLE TO PULL ONTO SHOULDER CAR WENT INTO DRIVE BEFORE I STOPPED. PROBLEM CONTINUED TO DO THIS EVERY 40 OR 50 MILES . I HAVE YET TO TAKE IT TO BE REPAIRED. THIS HAS STARTED TO DO THIS AT SPEEDS OF 40-50 MPH AFTER ONLY DRIVING 10-12 MILES *AK

TRANSMISSION EXPERINECES VIBRATION AND DIFFICULTY IN LOSS OF POWER DURING SHIFTING. MJS

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DEVELOPED A SEVERE SHUTTER AT APPROX 45,000MILES.VARIOUS FORD SEVICE MANAGERS HAVE STATED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. WHEN ASKED IF THIS COULD BE A SAFETY PROBLEM IN CONTINUED USE, NO POSITIVE RESPONSE OTHER THAN IT IS MOST LIKELY THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND NO INFO ON SAFETY IS KNOWN. REPLACEMENT OR OVERHAUL IS ALWAYS AN OPTION, HOWEVER THE COST IS EXCESSIVE AND THE NEW UNIT COULD FAIL AGAIN. THE TRANSMISSION HAS NOT FAILED, THE FLUID AND FILTER WAS REPLACED AT 35,000 MILES. *AK

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE SHUTTERS BETWEEN THIRD AND FOURTH GEAR. IN THE MORNING, WHEN WARMING IT UP, IT WILL NOT MOVE TO GO FOWARD OD BACKWARDS. *AK

HAVE HAD TWO TRANSMISSION IN LAST 4 MONTHS. MULTIPLE PROBLEMS, SHUTTERS, "ZIP" NOISES WHEN ACCELTERATE, RPM JUMPS WHILE DRIVING CAUSING THE CAR TO FEEL LIKE IT IS IN NEUTRAL, NOW MY OVERDRIVE LIGHT FLASHES OFF AND ON. LESSON HERE...NEVER BUY FORD!!!

TRANSMISSION DOES NOT SHIFT PROPERLY BETWEEN FIRST AND THIRD GEARS WHICH MAY RESULTIN A CRASH. COMMON PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

TRANSMISSION WILL DOWN SHIFT FOR NO REASON BETWEEN 50 & 70 MILES PER HOUR. SOME TIME IT WILL KEEP SHIFTING UP AND DOWN THEN GO BACK TO NORMAL.

TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE GEARS WOULD NOT SHIFT ON THERE OWN. *YC

6 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, TRANSMISSION FAILED, WAS REBUILT. IN 1998 HAD TO HAVE THE ROTORS, PADS AND CALIBERS REPLACED. ALSO, IN 1998, HEAD GASKETS BLEW, HAD TO REPLACE. IN 1999, PCV AND PCP VALVE REPLACE, OIL SENSOR, DASHBOARD GUAGE MODULE REPLACED. NOW IN AUGUST OF 1999, TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AGAIN. NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

FIRST COMPLAINED TO DEALER THAT TRANSMISSION SHIFTED HARD ON 11/04/1994 @ 10378 MILES: DEALER RESPONDED NO PROBLEM FOUND. NEXT VISIT TO DEALER ON 09/20/1995 COMPLAINT VIBRATION IN DRIVELINE AT UPSHIFTS - DEALER RESPONDED NO PROBLEM FOUND. CONTINUED TO TAKE CARD IN TO DEALER COMPLAINING OF INTERMITTENT PROBLEM - ENGINE REVS (TACHOMETER INCREASES) AND VEHICLE NOT MOVING FORWARD. DEALER SAID CONTINUALLY THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. FINALLY CAR GOT TO POINT WHERE PROBLEM WAS OCCURRING AT NEARLY EVERY SPEED EVERY DAY. HAD TRANSMISSION REBUILT AT AMERICAN TRANSMISSIONS, ROYAL OAK, MI. PROBLEM STILL NOT SOLVED. AFTER SEVERAL RETURN VISITS, PROBLEM WAS FOUND TO BE FAULTY ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE, FORD PART NO. F3LP-7F293-BA, WHICH ESSENTIALLY PUT TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL WHILE IN DRIVE. THIS FAILURE IS WHAT I TRIED TO RESOLVE UNSUCCESSFULLY WITH FORD DEALER FOR APPROX. 5 YEARS. PROBLEM WAS THE SAME EACH TIME, AND WAS FINALLY IDENTIFIED AND REPAIRED BY SOMEONE...

DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, TRANSMISSION WILL DOWN SHIFT, ENGINE WILL ACCELERATE & RPMS GO UP, USUALLY AFTER ENGINE IS WARMED, 10-15 MINUTES OF DRIVING. *AK

TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS TO NEUTRAL AT ANY SPEED. *AK

INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WOULD JUMP INTO NEUTRAL UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH MIGHT HAVE CAUSED A CRASH. BEEN TO DEALER, BUT DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK

WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH TO 70 MPH, VEHICLE WILL DOWNSHIFT, TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP, AND VEHICLE LOSES POWER. POWER WILL COME BACK ON, AND THEN THE VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE. *AK

TRANMISSION GRINDS AND SLIPS IN AND OUT OF OVERDRIVE AND LOW AND HIGH SPEEDS. TRANMISSION WAS FIXED ONCE BEFORE BY DEALER. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED NOW.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTS OUT OF OVERDRIVE AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 40-60 MPH . CAR LOSES ALL POWER AND ACTS LIKE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE INTO NEUTRAL. WHEN THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS YOU CAN PUSH SOMETIMES ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO FEEL LIKE IT SLIPS AND THE TACH RPMS GO TO ALMOST 6000 RPM BEFORE THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES SHIFT BACK INTO DRIVE. CAR HAS HAD THE MAIN COMPUTER REPLACED TWICE, AND THE TRANSMISSION VALVE BODY HAS BEEN REPLACED AT THE TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP PER THEIR ADVICE BUT THE PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS. .........PLEASE TRY TO ADVISE ME OF A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. I HAVE A FRIEND THAT HAS THE SAME MODEL OF CAR AND THE SAME YEAR WHO IS EXPERIENCING THE SAM SORT OF PROBLEM. *AK

TRANSMISSION GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY. PROBLEM OCCURRED FOUR TIMES. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED THE THIRD TIME AT OWNER'S EXPENNSE. PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

TRANSMISSION SLIPS IN AND OUT OF GEAR WHEN IN 1, 2, 3, AND 4 GEAR. *AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE. *AK

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, RPMS ARE OUT OF CONTROL. TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO SLIP OUT OF GEAR, SHIFTS DOWN GEAR. DEALER NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING WHILE DRIVING WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE DEFECT. *AK *ML

PREMATURE WEAR OF FRONT BRAKE ROTORS AND PADS. ALSO, REPLACED 2 ALTERNATORS/FOUR BATTERIES/BURNED OUT BRAKE LIGHT SOCKET/WIRING/TRANSMISSION. ALSO BATTERY GAUGE JUMPS ALL OVE RWHEN USING TURN SIGNALS OR ELECTRIC WINDOWS.

TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED.

A MALFUNCTION OCCURRED WITHIN THE TRANSMISSION THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN BETWEEN 35-40 MPH, IT SHIFTS FROM 3RD GEAR INTO OVER DRIVE. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

DELAY IN SHIFTING MECHANISM DUE TO FAULTY TRANSMISSION.

VEHICLE HAS HAD TWO REPLACMENT TORQUE CONVERTERS AND OVERHAULED TRANSMISSION, VEHICLE TRANSMISSION IS STILL NOT WORKING PROPERLY.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DRIVE TRAIN FAILURE.