I have a 2001 S-Type, 98000 miles, 4.0 . went on a short trip and on the way the display said transmission fault, shortly after that I lost drive. drive is now just like neutral. I moved the shifter to " 3 " and got home. Called the local Jag dealer and they told me they do not work on transmissions, they replace them. They want $7000.00 to replace it[:@]. Called a local AAmco transmission shop and they said about $2000.00[:@] . Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong with it? I dont want to spend alot of money if it is not necessary. I have not had it scanned for codes. Thanks for any help !!

 

Did the transmission give you any warning? Anyways, Checkout this link... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRANS...spagenameZWD1V

 

The only thing i noticed was a delay in the trans going into drive when shifting from park. also the loss of overdrive when the transmission fault occured. Thanks!

 

I'm scared. I have the same year car but with 63,000 miles. I try to be gentle with the tranny. But i use the 2,3, 4 gears respectively to much. I love the manual side. These trannys from 99-02 were made in France the same ones used in BMW and Benzes. It is surprising why they seem to have a bad rep only in s-types.

 

cometgold did you decide on what to do?

 

I am curious about the 2-3-4 gears. Do you actually manually shift the trans? Does it extend tranny life or hurt it? I always just put it in D and stay there. Thanks

Cajun

 

Have you replaced your gearboxfluid?

 

I shift manually all the time 85,00 miles and the only thing on the car that has not been fixed. ( now that I said that as I leave work today I will probably need a tow truck) $2,000 from Aamco is not a bad price and you'll get a warranty.

 

The first time I ever shifted past the drive " D " was when I was stranded on the interstate. I have never changed the fluid due to the fact of it being a sealed unit. I bought the car with 73000 miles and it had never been changed, so I thought it best to leave it alone. maybe a bad idea....... Not sure what I am going to do, got the car in the garage and the wife is in the backup car ( 1992 toyota corolla ). try going from a Jag to a corolla! Tom

 

they all tend to go eventually.. nobody every changes the fluid on them or changes the filter or adjust the bands on them.. it's just a plain ford trani .. nothing special.. probably get incorrect gear ratio codes.. or solenoid failure codes..

 

Hi Guys
We all know the 5r55n in our car is really crap. There must be another trans we can use.3.0 is a Ford engine. Theremust be be a better Ford trans we can use that bolts in or small mod to the mount.
Anyone know?
Regards

 

Very good point, most vehicles are able to take another version of trans with minor mods. I know Corvettes and Mustangs can use other trannies with some mods to brackets and connectors. I dont see why the Jag would be different since Ford makes it.

Cajun

 

4 real
Your so right. I use the 4L80E in my 93 vett.

 

Funny how the Lincoln guys never complain. Nor the Explorer guys...

Change your fluid. Service your car. $2000 is reasonable to replace a trans. and peopel wonder why all my cars have been a 5 speed.

 

cosworth
I have seen were the 5r55n trans go's in 10,000 miles. So I don't think servicing is the problem. The trans is crap. Had mine replaced at 48,000 by dealer, no cost to me thank god. I always baby the trans. even now with only 5,000 miles it. Can't see at 10,000 or even 20,000 miles were a trans. would need any service. The trans is crap and the industryknows it. The trans shifts to soft burning the clutches andbands up and no one makes any kind of shift kit for this problem. Stoppingthe soft shift would help most of the problems. To get a soft shiftthe trans must slip. This trans has given the Jag. a bad rap. in the early years. I have owned BMW, Merc. and most other brands and the trans was never a problem. The 5r55n is just crap. Just my opinion.

 

There is a kit from Transgo that solves a lot of complaints for $68. If it were not for electronics, you could easily put in the 5r55s.

Merc and BMW transmissions can't be found as readily nor can you buy them for $1100 and get some kid to swap it in for cheap. To drop $1100 on a reman'd tranny and bolt it in (for xxx $) is pretty cheap in my books. If trannys scare you stay away from slush boxes and go stick. I've killed a couple T5s, T9s and a couple A4Ld's in my day. Motors? Well I've had 4 let go on me. One was my fault.

Cars break down. I'm not sure what magical star trek universe people think we live in but service, chance and $$$ makes cars go. Don't be fooled, there are BMWs, Mercs and etc that have had trans failures at 10,000.

 

Cosworth
I've alway taken you to be a sharp guy on the forum. I can't believe you would think the 5r55n trans is a good trans. This has nothing to do with money or fear of auto's. It has to do with replacing the 5r55n with something better. My vett is one of the few vetts in the country with the 4l80e trans in it, so itsure isn'tthe money. It cost me 200.00 to in and out a5r55n at a friends shop. Sure 1100.00 isn't bad for a rebuilt trans, but not every one on this forum may want to replace a 5r55n trans 2 or 3 times if they could have a better trans to replace the 5r55n. Iam sure Ford makes a better trans that would work inour Jags. I now have 6200 mile on my reman. trans fromJag. and its starting to act up. There is no way I would or will replace it with a 5r55n again.When I asked you about a 4.6 mustang engine and would itfit in my car your ans. was yes. I sure wouldn't put the 5r55n trans. to it. This is all I hear about on the forum, trans. going bad 5r55n 99-02. This has nothing to do with service, its just a bad trans. and it was changed in 03. I'am not trying to get your goat. You have helped me out many time here and many others forums members also. So I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I will need your opinion and helpin the near future.
Regards Gene

 

cometglod have you solved your problem, if so what did you do?

I have some sort of the same problem. First, the car had a 5-10 second delay and I would have to put it in 2nd gear for it to kick in, it would get stuck on reverse when we were on a hill and while my mom was driving it was slowing down like it was losing power or it wasn't in gear. I read a post to change the shifter and I did. I also changed the fuel filter, oil filter, new oil, air filter, and a fuel injector cleaner. After I did all that the car ran like a beast. I drove it around and everything went fine. the delay was quicker and I didn't need to put it on 2nd gear, it would get stuck in reverse.It felt like the problems went away. so the next day I decided to take it back to my mom since it was ready. 80 miles non stop and it was running like a champ. I wanted to keep the car myself. But as soon as I got off the freeway and made a stop at the stop light the car went out and turned off. I was pissed. I would turn on the car and put it in drive or the other gears and it would shut off. I turned it back on and put it in reverse and it worked and I had to back up to a safe spot before I hit a car. I towed the car to AAMco and they charged 700 hundred just to take the transmission out to check it out and guy with transmission knowledge offered help and charged 1500 to rebuild it.I'm just wondering if I did something wrong? I made sure everything was connected right nothing loose. my guess would be that the transmission fluid is bad or low. Sorry for making my story long, but did you fix the problem.

Note: I do not have codes.

 

Quite often the 'transmission fault' message is really telling the driver that there is perhaps something else wrong with the vehicle. The computer controls for the gearbox are tied to the engine, so if the engine has a misfire, the gearbox goes into a 'limp home' mode, which is really not the problem at all.

To correctly diagnose what is wrong with the vehicle(s) in question, one should begin with the basics and determine if the engine is operating correctly. A misfire or bad coil-pack(s) can cause the gearbox to go into the 'limp home' mode, so any issues with the engine should be addressed prior to condemning the gearbox.

 

NBcat I will look into that. the car was running amazing till that incident happened.

thank you for responding to my posts.