I have no idea if CDC logs transmission frustration episodes as it tracks mental stress in America, but maybe they should. I would guess that of 10,000 active S&W Forum members, around 5-10 are having serious transmission difficulty with a vehicle at any given moment. This week I had the automatic transmission on my almost 15-year-old F150 overhauled at a well-regarded local independent shop. It had failed spectacularly while going up a hill with a load of old boxed documents I was transferring to the local Historical Society. At least it failed in the most convenient place possible, because I could roll back into the parking lot of a fire station where my son-in-law, a retired firefighter, used to work. Everybody there knew the truck because it used to be his. How lucky can you get when bad luck is knocking at the door?
I know this particular model of transmission is prone to problems, as my daughter had to replace the one on her Expedition several years ago and friends with other Ford trucks have had to do theirs as well. My truck has about 85000 miles on it -- it's been a kind of low use vehicle for its entire life -- and I had hoped for a few more miles before a major repair after I picked it up not too long ago. But I can't say I am surprised to have had to do something about it. Fix Or Repair Daily, as the old saw has it.
Anyway, the vehicle drives better now than it did before the failure, so I'm happy. I have already loaded it up with a bunch of yard junk and will be heading for the landfill first thing Monday morning to dump the stuff and make room in the bed for the next load. There are a few small things wrong that I can fix myself, and there is an unaddressed recall on the model that never seemed important enough to prior owners to take care of. It annoys me, though -- a single flip of the windshield wipers will occur about once every two hours of operation. Completely nuts. Since that one's a freebie I guess I will get the truck over to the dealer in the next few weeks.
Trucks -- even when they cause you pain, you've got to love them.
I know this particular model of transmission is prone to problems, as my daughter had to replace the one on her Expedition several years ago and friends with other Ford trucks have had to do theirs as well. My truck has about 85000 miles on it -- it's been a kind of low use vehicle for its entire life -- and I had hoped for a few more miles before a major repair after I picked it up not too long ago. But I can't say I am surprised to have had to do something about it. Fix Or Repair Daily, as the old saw has it.
Anyway, the vehicle drives better now than it did before the failure, so I'm happy. I have already loaded it up with a bunch of yard junk and will be heading for the landfill first thing Monday morning to dump the stuff and make room in the bed for the next load. There are a few small things wrong that I can fix myself, and there is an unaddressed recall on the model that never seemed important enough to prior owners to take care of. It annoys me, though -- a single flip of the windshield wipers will occur about once every two hours of operation. Completely nuts. Since that one's a freebie I guess I will get the truck over to the dealer in the next few weeks.
Trucks -- even when they cause you pain, you've got to love them.
