Ford Territories fall into two categories when it comes to transmission checks. The earlier cars with the four-speed automatic transmission had a dipstick at the back of the engine bay near the firewall. This can be used to check the fluid as with any other dipstick.

However, your car is a later model with the six-speed automatic, and in that case, there’s no physical dipstick. Instead, you have to get under the car and remove a plug from the side of the transmission. When the fluid is lapping at the bottom of the plug hole, you know it’s at the right level.

This is not an easy thing to check at home unless you have a car hoist. Why did Ford delete the dipstick? Possibly to avoid owners tampering with what is a sealed system (adding too much fluid or the wrong type). But you’d have to imagine there was a cost saving, too.

Transmission problems in Ford Territories are far from unknown. That said, 64,000km is very low mileage for major problems to occur.

But the real answer to your question is yes; it’s unwise to continue to drive a car with a noisy transmission as you risk doing more damage to the unit. The actual cause could be any number of things from a low fluid level to damaged or worn internal components. Either way, it needs to be sorted before extra carnage occurs. A transmission specialist should be very familiar with this gearbox and its quirks.

Fundamentally, this message is telling you that the vehicle’s charging system is not working to its proper capacity, or not working at all. Keep driving it like this and eventually the battery will run flat and you’ll be going nowhere.

The cause is likely to be a failing alternator which has the job of charging the battery while you drive. If this component gets slack or dies, the battery won’t be charged and eventually it will run out of volts and the adventure stops right there.

Other possibilities are a battery that is failing itself, a loose drive belt (that drives the alternator) or even something simple like dirty battery terminals or faulty cables. A single wire having jumped ship from its connector can also create this degree of havoc.

A good auto electrician should be able to diagnose this stuff in minutes, and suggest a proper fix. If you have a multi-meter and wish to test the alternator yourself, the output should be between 13.4 and 14.8 volts (optimally 14.2 volts) with the engine revving a little above idle.