Transmission/Not accelerating Issue | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Transmission/Not accelerating Issue

Vanc

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February 12, 2020
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2020 Explorer ST
I started my ST today, pulled out of my driveway and noticed when I stepped on the gas nothing happened (almost as if I was in N, which I wasn’t). Proceeded to keep driving a bit but still couldn’t go past 7mph with the same issue, when I would go a bit faster the transmission jerked hard. Issue persisted for a solid 10 minutes while I’m trying to drive back home in my neighborhood.
Turned the truck off and back on and nothing worked. A little while later it somehow fixed itself. Going to the dealership in a few but has this happened to anyone?
 



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Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
It sounds a little like this thread; Turbo issues? The end result is that Ford is buying the vehicle back.
Good luck. Please let us know what the dealer found, if anything. Thanks.

Peter
 






Hey! I just went through this issue.

drove fine until 1500 miles and than presto I’m on the side of the road getting towed.
After 2 weeks in the shop, they reflashed the TCM and PCM and it’s been fine since.
They did NOT do a buyback. Got it back last Friday so I’m still waiting. But today I noticed a weird shift issue again going from first to second or second to third. Can’t tell.
There is a active recall out now for the PCM
 






I started my ST today, Pulled out of my driveway and noticed when I stepped on the gas nothing happened (almost as if I was in N, which I wasn’t). Proceeded to keep driving a bit but still couldn’t go past 7mph with the same issue, when I would go a bit faster the transmission jerked hard. Issue persisted for a solid 10 minutes while I’m trying to drive back home in my neighborhood.
Turned the truck off and back on and nothing worked. A little while later it somehow fixed itself. Going to the dealership in a few but has this happened to anyone?
Had a similar experience today after 6,000 miles of trouble-free driving. Pulled out of the driveway to do errands. The throttle would not respond and then it would surge, but it never stalled. Meanwhile the transmission would not shift above 2nd. Since I could get up to about 40 in 2nd gear, I drove straight to the dealer. No codes or warnings in the display. Explained the symptoms to the service advisor who took it for a spin and - of course, it drove perfectly for him. Then we drove a bit with him in the passenger seat and again everything was fine.

With no warning readouts, I decided to take it back home (dealership is just a few miles away) and it was perfect on the drive home. It again ran fine later in the day. For now, will just be on alert and keep the trips local for a while.
 






Had a similar experience today after 6,000 miles of trouble-free driving. Pulled out of the driveway to do errands. The throttle would not respond and then it would surge, but it never stalled. Meanwhile the transmission would not shift above 2nd. Since I could get up to about 40 in 2nd gear, I drove straight to the dealer. No codes or warnings in the display. Explained the symptoms to the service advisor who took it for a spin and - of course, it drove perfectly for him. Then we drove a bit with him in the passenger seat and again everything was fine.

With no warning readouts, I decided to take it back home (dealership is just a few miles away) and it was perfect on the drive home. It again ran fine later in the day. For now, will just be on alert and keep the trips local for a while.
So this sounds like what happened to me. When I took it to the dealership, they thought it was leaking transmission fluid as apparently that’s been a common issue. When they realized it was dry (I would of also noticed if my car was leaking fluid), they said they plugged it in and it gave them a transmission error code that was not displayed inside the truck. Got my car back a few hours later and hasn’t happened since so we will see.
 






Good to know. I’ll post again if I have any further issues.
 






That's pretty much what mine was doing, and it's basically repeatable. When I first bought the vehicle, if I decided to pass someone on the road, I could press the gas pedal and it would slingshot around a car. One day I was passing a vehicle running about 55 ish, on a 55mph road(who does that??? lol) and when I pressed the pedal, nothing.....so, I ended up taking the service tech, and service manager for a ride with me, get running about 50mph on the highway, press the gas pedal to the floor, and nothing....over and over again. I originally was convinced that a turbo was bad, but the more I have dealt with it, the more I'm thinking it's a transmission issue. Ford is buying mine back....
 






That's pretty much what mine was doing, and it's basically repeatable. When I first bought the vehicle, if I decided to pass someone on the road, I could press the gas pedal and it would slingshot around a car. One day I was passing a vehicle running about 55 ish, on a 55mph road(who does that??? lol) and when I pressed the pedal, nothing.....so, I ended up taking the service tech, and service manager for a ride with me, get running about 50mph on the highway, press the gas pedal to the floor, and nothing....over and over again. I originally was convinced that a turbo was bad, but the more I have dealt with it, the more I'm thinking it's a transmission issue. Ford is buying mine back....
Wow! Mine hasn’t happened again but if it does I’ll keep it in the back of my mind. Glad Ford is buying yours back!
 






@cpainter3 and @Vanc has this happened to either of you again?

Just experienced what I think is the same issue. Stopped to get lunch and when I got back in my car and started to drive it would not shift above 1st gear and the pedal was unresponsive at times. Restarted it and had the same issue, then shut it down for a few minutes and when I restarted it that seemed to do the trick. Still feels sluggish but was able to shift through the gears -- although it was not as smooth. Almost feel like the turbos aren't working but not sure. Going to see how it runs tomorrow...leaving for a 5 hour road trip Friday and I need the car so I may unwillingly have to wait till Monday to take it to the dealer.
 






@cpainter3 and @Vanc has this happened to either of you again?

Just experienced what I think is the same issue. Stopped to get lunch and when I got back in my car and started to drive it would not shift above 1st gear and the pedal was unresponsive at times. Restarted it and had the same issue, then shut it down for a few minutes and when I restarted it that seemed to do the trick. Still feels sluggish but was able to shift through the gears -- although it was not as smooth. Almost feel like the turbos aren't working but not sure. Going to see how it runs tomorrow...leaving for a 5 hour road trip Friday and I need the car so I may unwillingly have to wait till Monday to take it to the dealer.
It’s been running fine, including Sport mode, etc., since my one-time experience. I’ve deliberately kept it to short local trips just in case but uneventful so far.

We have a road trip planned at the end of the month and I expect to take the ST. That’s the plan as long as there’s no recurrence before then.
 






If your dealership cannot find the issue with your transmission, it is most likely caused by the TCC Solenoid, wiring harness, connectors, or all. Be advised that the parts are on back order.

 






That's pretty much what mine was doing, and it's basically repeatable. When I first bought the vehicle, if I decided to pass someone on the road, I could press the gas pedal and it would slingshot around a car. One day I was passing a vehicle running about 55 ish, on a 55mph road(who does that??? lol) and when I pressed the pedal, nothing.....so, I ended up taking the service tech, and service manager for a ride with me, get running about 50mph on the highway, press the gas pedal to the floor, and nothing....over and over again. I originally was convinced that a turbo was bad, but the more I have dealt with it, the more I'm thinking it's a transmission issue. Ford is buying mine back....
So did Ford buy yours back and if so what did you get now?

Peter
 






If your dealership cannot find the issue with your transmission, it is most likely caused by the TCC Solenoid, wiring harness, connectors, or all. Be advised that the parts are on back order.
Welcome to the Forum. :wave:

Peter
 












Just had this issue backing out of the driveway. Shifted to reverse fine but while backing down it felt weird and jerked twice. I stopped at the bottom in the road, shifted into Drive, and heard some more nasty clunks. Was very jerky and seemed to jump between 1st and 3rd. Turned around in the neighborhood and pulled it back into the garage.

After sitting for 15-20 min I took it back out and it seemed completely fine. I’m due for my 1st oil change so I’ll call and get it looked at during the appointment. Maybe they can change transmission fluid and ensure it’s not full of metal debris.
 






Just had this issue backing out of the driveway. Shifted to reverse fine but while backing down it felt weird and jerked twice. I stopped at the bottom in the road, shifted into Drive, and heard some more nasty clunks. Was very jerky and seemed to jump between 1st and 3rd. Turned around in the neighborhood and pulled it back into the garage.

After sitting for 15-20 min I took it back out and it seemed completely fine. I’m due for my 1st oil change so I’ll call and get it looked at during the appointment. Maybe they can change transmission fluid and ensure it’s not full of metal debris.

I was told an error code was found stored in the transmission body control module. It will require a software update, but the Ford system was acting up and they didn’t want to accidentally brick my ST. They also didn’t give me any details on the error code.
 






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