2003 - won’t downshift sometimes

[Jimmie]

Occasionally when I try to stop - it seems hard to stop b/c it seems that it has not downshifted- next I noticed that when in D5orD4 - I see a “E” beside the odometer.
What could be my problem?

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[lauracolerowe]

Occasionally when I try to stop - it seems hard to stop b/c it seems that it has not downshifted- next I noticed that when in D5orD4 - I see a “E” beside the odometer.
What could be my problem?

Same thing just happened to me. If your mechanic runs the engine codes (I believe E is for engine?) you may find that your transmission is going. Mine wouldn't shift out of 3rd. Having replaced this week for $6K with 5 year guarantee on new tranny. Guess I'm not retiring soon...

 

[Jimmie]

Same thing just happened to me. If your mechanic runs the engine codes (I believe E is for engine?) you may find that your transmission is going. Mine wouldn't shift out of 3rd. Having replaced this week for $6K with 5 year guarantee on new tranny. Guess I'm not retiring soon...

Transmission seems fine - did this at the end of a 5 hour trip -

 

[JohnS]

I had an 05 mustang and I had a similar problem. A transmission shop replaced all of the solenoids for $1600. That was 10 years ago. It probably only needed one replaced but most of the cost was the labor so we did all of them together and fluid and filter.

 

[Jimmie]

I had an 05 mustang and I had a similar problem. A transmission shop replaced all of the solenoids for $1600. That was 10 years ago. It probably only needed one replaced but most of the cost was the labor so we did all of them together and fluid and filter.

Doubt that it is a major Transmission problem b/c it only had 35,000 miles!

 

[JohnS]

My car had 40,000 at the time. Also, a failed solenoid is not really major or uncommon.

 

[Jeffb1062]

Doubt that it is a major Transmission problem b/c it only had 35,000 miles!

Remember it's 20 years old!

 

[JoelHagin]

2003 Ford Thunderbird. Runs and shifts smooth in normal driving but when you try to pass something and punch it RPM's go up to about 5800 and the transmission does not respond.

 

[biddle]

2003 Ford Thunderbird. Runs and shifts smooth in normal driving but when you try to pass something and punch it RPM's go up to about 5800 and the transmission does not respond.

Have you scanned with an OBDII reader?

 

[JoelHagin]

Have you scanned with an OBDII reader?

Yea. It ended up being a transmission solenoid and a stopped up catalytic converter

 

[Patti]

2004 TBird—-does not seem to be downshifting. I drive it very conservatively and am not mechanical. Shall I go to local mechanic or Ford dealer

 

[jsword47]

Occasionally when I try to stop - it seems hard to stop b/c it seems that it has not downshifted- next I noticed that when in D5orD4 - I see a “E” beside the odometer.
What could be my problem?

I think it might be time to drain and replace trans fluid. You might be low

 

[jsword47]

A lot of people don’t go to the Ford dealership until their local mechanic has tried three of four different things and failed to fix the issue. Retired FoMoCo guy here, with many years on the Parts & Service side of the business, so please understand my bias. The training a certified Ford tech receives is leaps and bounds beyond that of your local mechanic. It‘s your money.


“E” stands for error in this case. The guys at the dealership joked that is stood for expensive, but my repair was not that bad. Had to replace the 2-5 solenoid, which is relatively inexpensive. Labour costs were elevated because the tranny has to be dropped in order to access the solenoids, which is too bad because the tranny is the same as the one used in Explorers of the era, and their solenoids can be accessed without removing the transmission. Things are pretty tight on these Thunderbirds, so it comes with the territory.

I had a similar problem. I removed the center consol. The wires for the shifter are under there. All I did was squeeze the wires. That solved the problem!

 

[biddle]

The training a certified Ford tech receives is leaps and bounds beyond that of your local mechanic. It‘s your money

Many new car dealers, including Ford, won't even work on a car this old.
In addition to that, most current technicians at the dealership did not work there when training was done on these motors and cars and have zero training on it.