Brief, falling whirr/groan in transmission when shifting up to 3rd from 2nd without load on engine, usually under 20mph. Dealer can’t reproduce incidence. 2008 Taurus with 15,000 miles. Should I expect early trannie failure?
Expect early trans failure ? NO
Shifting from 3 to 2 is DOWN shifting, not shifting up.
Are you manualy down shifting to slow down , or are you talking about the normal downshift the trans does as you slow ?
at 15,000 miles it’s still warranty if they can prove a problem.
Ken
Read it again. The OP stated, “Brief, falling whirr/groan in transmission when shifting up to 3rd from 2nd without load on engine”.
Anyway, if the OP feels that the dealership is not being aggressive enough in terms of diagnosing and/or reproducing the problem, then Ford should be contacted at the corporate level. If you have a transmission-related complaint on file with Ford while under warranty, transmission failure should be covered for a certain amount of time after the expiration of the warranty.
If the OP makes a good enough case with Ford’s Corporate Customer Service staff, it is likely that a Regional Service Rep will be sent to inspect the car. When you call, just remember to keep it civil and “adult” in nature, rather than shrill, threatening, or looney. A calm, rational person usually gets much better attention than someone who calls and screams. Hopefully, a Regional Service Rep will be sent, because these folks can authorize the dealership to do more than would normally be done in order to satisfy a customer.
Thanks so much for your input. I wrongly assumed a reader would know this is a 6-speed automatic transmission. The noise happens only on occasion. I’m not even sure it comes from the transmission but it does always happen it the same way at the same time under the same circumstances vis a vis the transmission when there is little to no load on the engine.
Your suggestion about Ford Corporate Customer Service is wise and I will certainly do it. I’m 68 and have never heard this sound from a trannie, so it does concern me. I had hoped someone else may have had a similar experience, if not with Taurus, then another car.
I think that ken and I both knew that you were referring to an automatic transmission. Ken’s reference to downshifting is not really bogus, as some of us do manually downshift our automatic transmissions while descending steep hills.
Anyway, I am glad that you will follow up with Ford’s Corporate folks. Contact info is in your Owner’s Manual.
Yes, my bad, reading too fast while combining work and discussions. ( you see how long it took me to return to the post. )
But to “expect early trannie failure” ? Definitely not.
Here at my ford dealer we have had zero transmission work on new body Tauruses (Tauri ?..The plural of cactus is cacti, what is the plural of Taurus ? )
Thanks, Ken. So this is not something you have heard of from other Tauri owners? You make me feel a little better about it. I’m very easy on a car: no jack rabbit starts, no shifting until the car is completely stopped, etc. But, just the same, if I’m the only one with this groan, then I think I’ll just call it to Ford’s attention and wait it out. I should think they would want to know about this. The sound is rather like you’d turn on an electric motor and then immediately turn it off; it barely starts, then stops and its sound is kind of muffled or distant.
’
Tauruses
Alan Mulally got himself “chastized” by other Ford execs for screwing that up at the NAIAS this year.
My 2010 Taurus Limited also makes that sound under light acceleration during
the two to three, three to four, four to five, and five to six upshifts. The noise is
noticeable after ten miles of driving. I took it to the dealer and the service
advisor said it is not loud enough to be covered by warranty. The transmission
didn’t make the noise when new. It started at 3000 miles.
Thanks steve665. I had thought I might ask a dealer to demonstrate for me another car that made that sound but have not done that yet. The dealer in Ann Arbor put what they termed pressure tests on the trannie while it was running and making the noise and deemed the results to be “normal.” No one has been able to tell me what makes the noise and why. Several thousand miles later, I still have it, it now happens (or I hear it) going from 5th to 6th.