At low speeds, my transmission feels like it can’t decide which gear to be in. It’s like it’s shifting back and forth between second and third, making the car feel jerky. If I give it a little gas, it smooths out, and if I floor it, it’s fine. It’s just at low speeds.
I’ve seen some people on this forum say a fluid change fixed it, while others say it’s a software issue. The dealer says there are no updates for my vehicle, and they want $350 just to diagnose it. Has anyone here dealt with this problem before? Any advice before I start spending money on fixes?
I’ve been looking into Ford Edges for my next car, so I can’t speak from experience with the Edge itself. But I bought a 2015 Ford Fusion in 2016 and have put nearly 250,000 miles on it since then. The whole time, it’s had the same low RPM behavior.
This seems to be common with Ford transmissions. From what I can tell, it’s not a mechanical issue but more of a computer quirk. Try changing your transmission fluid. Ford uses a lightweight fluid that loses viscosity faster than most. Once it thins out, the computer has to adjust RPMs to maintain pressure.
This question has come up a few times. My 2019 had the same issue. I had the transmission fluid changed at the dealer around 60,000 miles, and I haven’t noticed any problems in the 15,000 miles since.
Dorian said:
It might be your spark plugs misfiring. That’s an easy $50 fix you can do yourself. At worst, you’ll have new spark plugs.
I had the same issue as the person who posted this, and the dealership replaced all my spark plugs. The problem stayed. I’m taking it back today, thinking it’s a computer or transmission issue like others have suggested.
Every time I’ve had spark plug issues with Fords in the past, I’ve gotten a check engine light with a misfire code.
@vincentorange
Years ago, I bought a 2005 Expedition with a slightly rough idle and a light ticking sound. Months later, the check engine light came on for a misfire on cylinder 3. Changing the plugs fixed it.
That was with older OBDII software, so it took a while to throw a code. With this Edge, I doubt it’s the plugs. What year is yours?
@Jo
I brought this exact TSB to the dealership when I first dropped it off. They changed my spark plugs instead, and surprise, nothing changed. I’ll insist they follow this bulletin this time.
The only difference is my stuttering happens up to 40, sometimes 45 mph.
It sounds like the transmission is struggling at low RPMs, maybe due to fluid or software adaptation. Since it’s fine when you accelerate, it’s probably not a mechanical issue but more of a tuning problem.
I have a 2008 Edge, and while it’s probably not the same issue, I had gear timing problems with the transmission. It wouldn’t shift right and would rev the engine. Not all the time, but enough to know it was a problem.
My mechanic did some major work, about $3,000 in repairs, including new fluid. It works perfectly now. You might have to spend the money on a good mechanic to look at it. I wouldn’t necessarily trust a dealer.
It could be the torque converter. This happened to my 2015 SEL. If you end up replacing the torque converter, make sure you also get a new ATF pump and transmission filter.
I have a 2019 Titanium and had the same issue. It was most noticeable between 15-40 mph, especially in stop-and-go traffic or uphill. Ford did some troubleshooting and replaced the torque converter. The problem is gone, and it was under warranty, so I’m not sure what it would’ve cost.
My 2015 transmission gave out at 167,000 miles. It was the torque converter, but I was advised to do a rebuild since it had high miles and was making noise. It cost around $4,000.
I had the same issue with my 2019 Titanium. The shop found a TSB related to it and fixed it. The problem kept coming back every 3-4 months, though, and I had to keep getting it fixed.
Eden said:
I had the same issue with my 2019 Titanium. The shop found a TSB related to it and fixed it. The problem kept coming back every 3-4 months, though, and I had to keep getting it fixed.
What’s a TSB? If you said TBS, I might have thought it was a throttle body sensor.
I had the same issue. I thought it was spark plugs or a misfire, so I replaced the plugs and changed the fluid at 105,000 miles. I ended up replacing the transmission at 115,000 miles.