2005 Ford Escape xlt Tranny problems

I’m having problems with my transmission. When driving it has a hard time shifting into 2nd gear. I run about 4000 rpm going 25 mph. I have to take my foot off gas then put back on to make it shift. My o.d. light is blinking as well. I brought it to Oriellys for code scan and what it comes back with is incorrect ratio 2 and four. What does this mean and what should I do?? It only has 129,000 miles.

You have a transmission problem. A rather serious one, very likely. This is not all that uncommon on a Ford Escape, unfortunately. Google “05 Ford transmission problems” for a reference.

You need a transmission specialist. Look for a local independent. Stay away from the big chains like AAMCO, Pep Boys, ect.

I hate to say it, but it may need a rebuild to the tune of several thousand dollars. Sorry.

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So you don’t think it might just need a transmission flush and filter?? I looked up what the reading said and it came back with codes p0732 and p0734 for that read out. I don’t want to waste the $200 on flush and filter though if that’s not it.

Where would you recommend taking it?? Pep Boys was suppose to do the flush and filter tomorrow.

Well, I wouldn’t use Pep Boys myself. Mustangman has the reasonable thing to do.

I pulled this directly from a Ford Truck site;

P0732 and P0734 indicates gear ratio errors in 2nd and 4th gears, basically no 2nd and 4th gear. Your description of the way it drives it sounds like to me it is shifting from 1st to 3rd. The one thing 2nd and 4th gear has in common is the band, the band is known to break, we see this failure with this transmission on a regular basis.

The transmission will have to come out to be repaired.

A broken band will not discolor or burn the fluid.

This is an answer to an 08 Escape with only 67,000 miles! So a flush and filter would be a waste of time and money. Get thee to a transmission shop posthaste.

And I wouldn’t let Pep Boys do a tire rotation let alone touch my oil drain plug or a transmission.

I’d start by looking up the local independent transmission shops in your area and asking your friends shops they like. Check Yelp, BBB and any and every web resource you can find and then pick the shop. Good Luck.

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Thanks I’m glad I came on here to see first.

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Both codes indicate the input speed is greater than the specified RPM between the rotational speed input sensor and the transmission output speed sensor.

This indicates that the transmission is slipping.

One of the first things recommended to try is change the transmission fluid.

Old/dirty transmission fluid can block hydraulic passages within the transmission causing these codes.

Tester

A little info on how automatics work might be helpful… Inside there’s a series of “gear sets” , each of which has two inputs, yielding 2 x 2 = 4 different possible functions for each gear set. If your transmission has 4 gear sets, then there’s a total of 8 inputs. The inputs are either on or off. So (off, off) might mean neutral for that gearset, while (on, on) might mean a ratio of 1.25:1 , meaning the output turns 1.25 times slower than the input. So when the code says the ratio is incorrect on 2 and 4 , that means when the 8 inputs are set up to select 2nd gear, the transmission’s output is not turning at the correct speed given the engine’s rpm. For example if the overall ratio for 2nd gear is supposed to be 2:1, then when the engine is turning at 1000 rpm, the transmission output should be turning at 500 rpm. If it isn’t , then there’s really only two possibilities why

  • all or some of the 8 inputs are not correct
  • the 8 inputs are correct, but all or some of the gearsets aren’t responding to the inputs correctly

The 8 inputs are hydraulic pressures, and it is possible for a transmission shop to measure some of those or their pre-cursors without too much effort. That might be worth a try at some point. It’s like if your kitchen light bulb suddenly goes dim, you don’t take the bulb apart, you measure the electrical voltage at the socket. Usually tho w/an automatic transmission – after checking the obvious, the fluid level – you’d start with a proper shop inspection and service. There’s a good chance just doing that will get it working again. For a while at least.

Best of luck.

These CD4E transmissions are good, but very finaky. You MUST change the fluid every 30 thousand miles, and it MUST be Mercon V.

I learned the hard way. As I assume you have as well