Ford Fairmont Gearbox & Transmission Problems

FIRSTLY, you have a responsibility to read and understand the warranty that comes with the new car, which covers it for three years or 100,000km, whichever comes first. There's no point arguing the toss later when the car is outside the time boundary of the warranty. Ford has also come to the party by covering part of the cost of the second repair, so they have honoured their part of the deal. That said I do have a problem with the way many car companies deliver service. They do seem to have an us-versus-them attitude once you've bought the car. You appear to have been messed around by the dealer who couldn't solve the issue with the gearbox.

It has to be an automatic transmission fluid. Your local auto parts and accessories shop would be able to offer you a choice of suitable fluids, but one you could use is Castrol Transmax TQ 95.

Sometimes, the codes spat out by the on-board computer can be quite vague. But this isn’t one of them; in fact, it’s quite specific. Checking the code against the translation reveals that code 0705 refers to a faulty signal from the transmission-range sensor. This sensor sends information to the engine and/or transmission control module and is responsible for those computer modules knowing what the driver is asking for via the gear selector. Without a correct Park or Neutral signal from the transmission-range sensor, the engine won’t crank and start. Beyond that, the gearbox may select the incorrect gear thanks to the incorrect signal being sent. Replacing the range sensor is probably the fix you need to look at.

TRANSMISSION specialist John De Sensi of Gear-Matics says he hasn't heard of your problem. He says the main issue with the Falcon auto is it's not well enough cooled and this leads to problems at 150,000-190,000km. The auto oil pan is too small and doesn't contain enough oil, which leads to the oil overheating. The best solution is to fit an oil cooler, which adds to the volume of oil available for cooling. The other problem is that the tiny brass oil cooler in the radiator breaks down and flakes of brass pass through the system and clog the filters in the transmission. This also causes overheated oil. One possible cause of your problem is a high idle speed. To check this you need to see a Ford specialist and have them run their diagnostic program over the engine.

IT'S nice to know your Ford dealer is looking after your interests. It's unusual to find a dealer as forthright as yours appears to be, and helpful to boot.

Carmakers claim that you don't need to change the fluid or service the auto trans for "life", but what "life" means is anybody's guess.  Auto trans service specialists strongly suggest that the fluid be changed as often as every 20,000 km, much as it used to be. It's more critical if you are towing regularly, but 40,000 km on a car that is being driven normally would be a good guide to when you should consider having the fluid changed.

I'd say the transmission cooler failed in the old radiator and allowed coolant into the transmission. Replacing the radiator has fixed the coolant leak, but it sounds like it's too late for the transmission. Try a transmission service, you might be lucky, if that doesn't do the trick you could be up for a transmission rebuild.

It sounds to me like a fault with the transmission ECU. By turning the engine off and restarting you are rebooting the computer, which suggests it's a fault with the computer.