bairman Report post Posted June 27, 2011 A few months ago we took delivery of a 2011 Ford Fusion SEL V6 with automatic transmission. We left Phoenix on 6-25 for a 4,500mile trip with the Fusion 4 wheels down following the Ford manual directions of gear selector in neutral and key to accessory. We got around 175 miles when the transmission failed and the car needed to be towed to Flagstaff for repairs. We have been advised by the Ford dealer that a new transmission could take up to a week to get in. Here we sit with no car at a campground that is not close to town and not sure what we are going to do. We could return to Phoenix and wait four to five days for repair and use 50 to 60 gallons of fuel or just stay here and wait it out. Our biggest problem is if we should continue on with this car or just cancel the total trip. I guess the concern is that the service manager has heard of this happening a couple of times. I filed a complaint with Ford Customer Care, but they said it takes a couple of days to be assigned to a representative to discuss the issue. Still wish I had my Suzuki. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grandriver Report post Posted June 28, 2011 That certainly is discouraging. We have a 2011 Escape and have towed it 2500 miles with no problem and total mileage is now 6,000. I have a critical question for you. The Escape requires that the transmission fluid level be lowered to a prescribed range. Since you have, I believe, the same engine and transmission as our Escape, your dipstick should show another bar just above the add fluid bar. If you look at your manual you will find the following on page 207: • Vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission should have the transmission fluid level checked by an authorized dealer. For the correct transmission fluid level when flat towing (all four wheels on the ground), refer to Transmission fluid in the Maintenance and Specifications chapter. • Tow only in the forward direction. • Release the parking brake. • Place the transmission shift lever in N (Neutral). • Place the ignition to the accessory position (refer to Starting in the Driving chapter). • Do not exceed 65 mph (105 km/h) if the vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission or 70 mph (113 km/h) if equipped with a manual transmission. • Vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission need to start the engine and allow it to run for five minutes at the beginning of each day and every six hours thereafter. With the engine running and your foot on the brake, shift into D (Drive) and then into R (Reverse) before shifting back into N (Neutral). Tires, Wheels and Loading 207 Pages 326-327 state: Checking transmission fluid level for recreational flat tow operation Before recreational flat towing your vehicle, the transmission fluid level may need to be set to a lower level. These guidelines are designed to prevent damage to your transmission. Before you recreational flat tow, your fluid level must be verified by an authorized dealer. This fluid level is within the normal operating fluid range and does not require that you have your fluid level readjusted after recreational flat tow operation. So, if you did not have the dealer check it, lower it and certify it, I can imagine what happened. We had our dealer do that (no charge) and perhaps that is why, to this point at least (fingers crossed) we've had no problems. Frankly, if you did not have the level lowered, I think Ford could disallow your warranty claim since you did not follow the instructions in the operations guide which are very clear. If your dealer knew that you were going to be towing flat (I made sure ours did before we purchased) and did not make this fluid adjustment then you likely have a reasonable defense. I can understand what you are going through and that is why we made sure we had the fluid level lowered AND when we had the oil and filter changed we informed the service staff that they were NOT to add transmission fluid - under the penalty of DEATH if they did and it burned out. Whenever we stop I check the temperature of the transmission housing with a infrared thermometer (it can get pretty warm) and pull the dipstick and determine how hot the end is. Also, we make sure that at 6 hours of towing (and usually earlier) we run the engine as described. Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bairman Report post Posted June 28, 2011 Grandriver: Thanks for the information. I do not recall seeing that information in the manual, but when I pick up the car I will check and have the dealer verify that the level is where it needs to be regarding flat tow. I did let the dealer know the reason we were buying a Ford was we could tow flat. Also, if this was very important you would think Ford would put a warning in red at the beginning of that section. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grandriver Report post Posted June 28, 2011 Grandriver: Thanks for the information. I do not recall seeing that information in the manual, but when I pick up the car I will check and have the dealer verify that the level is where it needs to be regarding flat tow. I did let the dealer know the reason we were buying a Ford was we could tow flat. Also, if this was very important you would think Ford would put a warning in red at the beginning of that section. I guess I was not very clear. I went to Ford and downloaded the Fusion 2011 Operators Manual and what I quoted is a direct cut and paste from the FUSION manual - and it looks identical to the Escape. GR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bairman Report post Posted July 4, 2011 It took 5 days but they put the new transmission in and also a new battery and sent us on our way. At 50 miles we stopped just to check and run the engine. We did the same at 150 miles and at 225 when we stopped for fuel. We drove another 60 miles to Santa Fe NM and went to unhook the Fusion only to find a dead battery. We followed everything the dealer said to do and still dead. One we got the car running again we drove into town and it felt like the transmission was ready to go again. It wines and shifts sometimes sloppy and some times hard. There were no Ford dealer available so we have gone on to Colorado Springs and will see a dealer on Tuesday. We are very unhappy with the towing of this car, and now a car with 1600 miles smells like a old oil rag. If The trans is bad again we are just going to leave the car and file a lemon law complaint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
