All, I just want to share my story and seek some advise. What I have is a XLT AWD which is 2 years old and has 23k miles on it. My XLT was built in Jan. 2011.
Last Friday, when drove my XLT at 30mph, suddenly a 'Fuel Level LOW, _ _ mil to Empty' warning was up and a yellow wrench icon was up too. I also see other warning icons like airbag and fuel icons. I immediately pulled over and after full stop, I shifted the stick from D to P. When I shifted the stick, I can feel strong kicks/bumps. I knew there was something wrong with the tranny. I had my 18 month-old and wife with me so I managed to restart the engine and wish I can still drive it. After restarted the engine, warning signs went away but I can still feel the kicks when shift from P to D. Also when I push the gas peddle, the car won't accelerate. Anyways, about 200 feet drive, the tranny started working fine. After drop off my wife and son, I drove to the dealership near my home. They had a quick test drive with me but found nothing wrong at the moment. They say maybe it is a computer glitch. I believed them. Then the same day, when I drove it at night for about 20 miles, the problem came back twice and even the check engine light came up. I decided not to drive it and had it towed to the dealership (the towing service is good though).
The next morning I went to the dealership and since it was Sat., nobody was going to check my car. They had no courtesy car for me or won't get a rental for me. I researched warranty and was not surprised but still feel frustrated since this is my only car. Anyways, I called Ford 800 number and got a nice agent who said I can get a rental myself first and they may reimburse me later.
This Monday, a nice lady who is a customer service manger called me to follow up and promised to reimburse my rental. Later that day, a tech from dealership called and informed me that the PTU seal is leaking and the fluid is below minimum, which may caused the problem. I asked why the check engine light and low fuel level light are also on and he says they will test drive it later once the seal is fixed. Tech also said the seal is a known issue.
I researched this forum and found only two threads about PTU failure. I also searched internet and seems 2011 EX shares the same powertrain with Edge and there are about complaints about Edge PTU seal.
I'm so worried about the reliability of my EX now even they can fix it this time. Who knows when it will fail again?! If this is a known issue, why there is no recall or TSB against the issue? Also how can I detect the problem earlier since the computer system doesn't give me a warning before. I cannot imagine I need check if there is any oil leak under the body every day nervously and will have concern it may break any time on road.
I know I should not generalize the issue but this is my first American car but I just lost my confidence of driving it. Before this problem, I had small problems like A pillar noise and bumpy tranny issue fixed (there are TSBs). I simply cannot bear the fact that a 2-year-old Ford can be disabled on road and need be towed. I'm even thinking trade in this for a new car but it may not be Ford any more.
