Transmission issue

[s197pharo]

Hello, I’m new here to the forums and to the whole S197 world. I bought a 2005 Mustang GT Premium with an automatic transmission last month (yes, I know — I’m sorry I didn’t get a manual; there were none for sale in good condition).
The car has been a blast to own and drive. Yesterday, I drove it to work like usual with no issues at all. The car drove perfectly fine, just like it always has.
When I left work last night, I put the car in Drive and took off. About 0.2 miles down the road, the car suddenly felt like it was in Neutral. I had no Reverse or Drive — only 1 and 2.
I was able to get home by carefully working with the transmission. I had 1st and 2nd gear, but when it tried to go into 3rd, it acted like it was in Neutral. However, if I got up to about 42 mph and then shifted it into Drive, it would move and drive normally. As long as I stayed above that speed, it would shift and downshift, but I still had no Reverse.
There were no grinding, clunking, or unusual noises at all — just the sound of the engine running.
I tried disconnecting the battery to reset the PCM, but that didn’t change anything. At this point, I’m pretty stuck and hoping it’s something minor. I’m also hoping the cold weather isn’t causing the car to act up.
Has anyone experienced something like this, or have any ideas on what might be going on?

 

[86GT351]

Did you scan for codes before disconnecting the battery?

 

[s197pharo]

I did but no codes popped up

 

[s197pharo]

Did you scan for codes before disconnecting the battery?

I did but no codes popped up

 

[86GT351]

Based on what you are decribing sounds like something internal is going on causing a slip

 

[MrBhp]

I'm assuming you have checked fluid. A clogged filter can cause some weird occurrences.

 

[Forty61]

I'm assuming you have checked fluid. A clogged filter can cause some weird occurrences.

This.

Start with the basics for sure.. miles on the car? Any idea on the service history of it?

 

[Juice]

Internal issue.
Whatever clutch/band is common to the gears lost, has failed.
The CEL will come on to confirm.

 

[MrBhp]

The fact that it works at speed is puzzling.

 

[Juice]

The fact that it works at speed is puzzling.

No, It skips over the missing gear by lifting/coasting.

 

[MrBhp]

Odd how it is 3rd and reverse not working. So when he's winding it out in 2nd it jumps to 4th? I don't think 3rd and reverse have any common components. (I'm guessing it's 3rd that isn't working) So I guess the transmission is shot?

 

[s197pharo]

This.

Start with the basics for sure.. miles on the car? Any idea on the service history of it?

168k I'm the second owner first owner was a family friend and from my knowledge he babied the car

 

[86GT351]

168k I'm the second owner first owner was a family friend and from my knowledge he babied the car

Babying a car and doing proper maintenance at proper intervals are very different.

 

[MrBhp]

I've sold a few of my cars to friends over the years. Cars that were very well maintained. But I never babied. I never had problems with the cars. However, as soon as a different driver took over, every one of those cars ended with major problems. Fortunately, the friends who bought the cars knew the cars were solid when they bought them. They didn't necessarily abuse the cars, they just drove them differently. When I buy a used car, I expect issues.

 

[DieHarder]

Likely that your servo bores are worn and need replaced. There's a kit out there that takes care of the problem but best to have it analyzed first to ensure that's the issue... If it is the servo bores it's the least expensive fix available.

Utube:

Also. here's a few links that describe most of the common failures with the 5R55S:

Google Search

www.google.com

Good Luck.

 

[s197pharo]

Babying a car and doing proper maintenance at proper intervals are very different.

I'm highly aware the cars always been taken care of always been maintained when I got the car it came with 2 notebooks of service records dated with milage too

 

[86GT351]

Time to take it to a transmission specialist

 

[JC SSP]

Preferably a shop that knows the 5R55S transmissions.

 

[Autokyrios]

Jeez, the level of round-n-round...

1. Don't ever apologize for buying the car you have. If anyone gives you sh*t about having an automatic, screw them. That's just noise.
2. You can have bad clutch plates in your auto all day long and never see a single error message.
3. If you haven't worked on these kinds of transmissions before, or really any automatic without a dipstick, don't bother, take it to a transmission place (call them first).
4. You can take it to Ford, but they will just replace the transmission.
5. An actual transmission shop is your best bet (call them first to confirm they will know what to do with that transmission). Depending on shop and what needs to happen, you could be looking at probably between 1-3K. "New" one will probably be 3-4. If you have the budget and want something more bulletproof, a built 5R55S will come in around 5k. A good investment, but I'm biased.
6. Age, fluid, driving style, bad luck, butterfly flapping its wings, there's no guarantee the stock 5R55S won't give up the ghost, 5 miles or 500k-miles. Sh*t happens.
7. If the fluid has never been changed, low mileage and baby-driving doesn't guarantee things are still good in there. These cars are 20-years old and that's plenty of time for the fluid to absorb water and have other issues.