'05 KR Transmission Died!!
 

Hello All,

Well I'm not sure whether to cry or get incredibly mad, but I guess I just need to vent and see if anyone else has had a similar problem...my 5 month old '05 KR 4x4 with 7,500 miles just had the transmission go out this morning on the way to work.

Backed out of the garage and started down the street and suddenly the transmission started slipping into neutral and stuttering. I managed to limp the truck to the dealer, they called late this afternoon with the prognosis - transmission and clutch are completely shot and the fluid is burned up!! So of course now I have to wait while they see if Ford is going to put a brand new trans in or try to push a remanufactured unit off on me.

I just am baffled...the truck has been driving awesome without a hint of trouble. I've had both the 3,000 and 6,000 mile services done on time, I've done no towing or hauling of any kind (I joke that it's my "Executive Truck"), and I practically baby it I drive so carefully; in fact I've been driving conservatively enough that I've finally got the MPG display upto 14.0. The 7,500 miles so far have been equally split between city and highway.

Perhaps I'm just cursed - my previous '99 F150 had the infamous piston slap problem pop up at 75,000 miles and then shortly thereafter the piston gaveway and trashed the engine, this is what led to the KR purchase.

Sorry for the long post...anyone have any words of wisdom?

Thanks - Brian

Well, I may be about to display my increadible ingnorance here, if so, apologies in advance...

There's no such thing as a standard shift '05 KR, so what's the deal with the clutch?

As for giving you anything rebuilt, can I say BS strongly enough? I don't think so. 7,500 miles can't even be considered fully broken in.

My tranny went bad or a least a gear went bad in my 05 xlt screw at 800 miles,they replaced it will a new one not a reman.one.that after they replaced my rear end at 400 miles in same truck..good luck to you

An automatic transmission still needs clutches to work - in fact, an auto tranny will have several clutches - but instead of you pressing a pedal that engages and disengages a clutch, hydraulic pumps do it for you - automatically. And if the fluid gets low, you can/will burn one or more of those clutches up. Many moons ago I had a 1977 Chevy (yeah, well, it was a hand-me-down from dad) Caprice Classic. At about 100K miles, the transmission practically just fell out of it - all three clutches were totally stripped.

I couldn't agree more - I'd be screaming bloody murder. They would be giving me a brand-new tranny, plus free oil changes for a year - or something.

These days, there's no excuse for a tranny going bad that early. One of the reasons I'm glad I got the tow package - tranny cooler will make it last much longer. Heat is the enemy of your transmission (or more specifically, its clutches).

Thanks for the support all!

I certainly intend to demand a brand spankin' new tranny. Right now I'm keeping my cool until the dealership get's back to me. To be fair the dealer is really top notch and has impressed me since I first walked in to buy the truck..can't say that of any others I've ever worked with.

I have the tow package with the tranmission cooler...one more reason I'm so dismayed that the trans went out. I have not noticed any leaks so I presume that the fluid levels were fine, especially given that it's only been about 1300 miles since the last service.

I keep you all updated on the resolution...

Did the dealership at least offer you an '06 to drive until they get your's repaired? It's the least they can do, don't you think?

:thumbsup:

That does suck, but for sure DO NOT take a reman tranny! No freaking way in a truck with that low of miles!

New tranny or New truck

It happens. Although I'll go ahead and tell you, chances are you won't get a "new" transmission. The dealer will more than likely have to do what's known as a "cost cap," where they tear down the transmission, see what blowed up, and weigh the cost of fixing it with parts and labor as opposed to the cost of getting a reman unit. The FQR remans are generally pretty good units anyways, so you won't be at a disadvantage if they choose to install one of those, but with the low mileage you've got, they'll probably overhaul the transmission that's in it.

Never worked on a tranny in my life and never had an automatic go out. I knew there were clutch-like functions in an auto, but didn't realize they were actually called clutches. Thx...

Many clutches make auto trans work...
 

any update?

When I sold parts at my Ford dealer it went like this. A $2300 reman transmission or maybe $250 in parts plus 13-15 labor hours for the tranny tech to replace parts.

BTW the tranny tech at my shop never had to worry about getting less than 60-80 hours a week of work. Sometimes I wonder why I bought a Ford after all of the crap I've seen go wrong with them ... then I remembered driving the competitions trucks.

Update!
 

Hello All,

Well after a week a half in the shop, mostly due to Thanksgiving slowing down the parts order, I have my KR back! I must say that my dealer took good care of me and handled everything professionally (even though my loaner vehicle was only a unassuming Taurus) however I am really a bit disappointed with Ford Motor Co.

As some of you had suggested earlier I did not get a new trans in my Brand New Truck. Instead due to the $2000 cost cap that Ford has in place, I wound up with a repaired unit requiring 20 line items worth of parts!

The short seems to be that for reasons unknown the trans burned up and required the following major work done according to the service order: "...replaced fwd clutch cylinder and clutch pack, replaced reverse clutch cylinder and drum, replaced o/d band and piston, replaced valve body and torque converter and pump..." and of course a host of other smaller items replaced along with the aforementioned.

I've only driven about 50 miles so far, all seems to be ok although in my paranoia there seemed to be a few rough shifts.

I guess my main concern now is if all this work increases the chance that at some point post warranty period I will be stuck with a less than reliable trans than I might otherwise have had,and then be faced costly repairs...any thoughts?

Thanks,
Brian

Have them extend the 3 yr warranty 36k either by the months owned or the mileage before replacement as a minimum. And if you feel that the shift is rough bring it in right away and notify Ford of the lemon law

Because he thinks it shifts a little rougher than it did before, he should scream about the Lemon Law? Good grief, some of you guys are pain in the ass customers. They aren't gonna extend the warranty by no means as long as it's under 3/36, they have no reason to. If the repair was done just as the truck was going out of warranty, you'd probably get an additional 12/12 parts and labor warranty. As much as it sucks, they did exactly what they were obligated to do by Ford Motor Company.

If the trans guy was on his A-game, an overhaul is just as good if not better than a reman unit. In a truck that new, Ford will almost always push for teardown and inspection; occasionally, they use what was learned in that failure, along with others, to impliment improvements in other transmissions further on down the road. Engineering does this with a lot of repairs under warranty.