Ford Taurus Shifting Problem

I have a 2002 Ford Taurus SEL that is having trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. This only happens when the engine is cold and has not ran for a couple hours. Its almost like when the car is about to shift to second gear it falls into a neutral state, Then after a couple seconds throws it into 2nd gear. Could this be a shift solenoid?
Please help
Thanks, Brandon G

Welcome to the forum!

Have you checked the condition and level of the transmission fluid? When was the last time the fluid and filter was changed?

-Rod

The trans oil and filter were changed about a month ago, the oil level is fine and does not smell or look burnt.
Brandon

Welcome.!:)

It could be a shift solenoid issue, but I'd expect that to cause more issue when the fluid is warm and a bit thinner, therefore more prone to slipping past the seals. Of course if the solenoid is sticky I suppose it may act up worse with cold fluid.

If you have access to a professional scan tool that can access the transmission parameters I'd suggest you start by monitoring the Transmission Fluid Temperature (TFT) sensor when cold and at operating temperature to see if it appears to be reading correctly, especially when cold.

Was the fluid and filter changed in an attempt to fix this issue or did the issue crop up since then? Do you know the correct fluid was used?

-Rod

Well about 4 months ago the trans went bad on it and we had it replaced. We got the car back from the shop and it was running fine until about a month ago. This is when i changed the trans oil and filter, which did not fix the problem. When it first started having problems there was little hesitation when it went to shift to 2nd. But now its to the point where if I have not ran it in a couple days the car almost comes to a stop before it will throw it into gear. ( Only shifting to 2nd).

Brandon

Unfortunately a pro scan tool and monitoring what the different solenoids are doing as well as the sensors in the transmission is probably the only way to really determine what's happening. But, keep in mind that I'm by no means a transmission guy.

Have you checked what kind of warranty the replacement transmission has? Have you talked with the shop that installed it? Maybe they didn't get one of the connectors seated quite fully and now it's come loose....

-Rod