2001 Taurus

[jctaurus]

Hello, this is my 1st post, hope to get a some good advice, so I can be somewhat well informed.
My 2001 Taurus, when cold, and always 1st thing in the morning, will not shift into 3rd gear at all. I have to pull over to the side of the road and go through all the gears several times, PRND,D2,D1, even after doing that, I still have to wait till the engine/trans gets warm/hot until the trans starts shifting smoothly.
Once the engine/trans gets warmed the trans runs great, shifts smoothly. I can go the entire day w/o any trans problem as indicated before.
Only on occasion has the Transaxle Light Warning Light come on, and that only happens when we are in a hurry and don't really give engine/trans ample time to get warmd.
Any suggestions would be appreciated, tired of dealing with this now for the past 4-5 months!-Thank You!!!

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you checked the condition of the transmission fluid as well as the level hot idling in Park? When's the last time you had the transmission fluid drained, new filter installed, and refilled?

-Rod

[jctaurus]

I did have the trans flushed w/new filter on Dec 2009 @ 112k miles. I now am @136K miles. I checked the fluid level when hot and level and it was at target level with normal red trans color. What should I check next?
Thank you for your advice!!!

[shorod]

Well, one option for the next path would be to have a professional scan tool connected to see what codes were stored from the transaxle warning light coming on.

-Rod

[FishFind]

Check the fluid level cold also. The fluid expands when hot so that may be why it runs when hot. When you checked it did you drive it first?? you need to run it through all gears before you check it. When you do run through all gears it takes away alot from that fluid level. If you checked it without going through the gears then it may be lower then you think.