Hi all!

I’m posting about my 2005 XType Wagon 3L! Recently took a trip from LA to Tucson (roughly 450 miles) with a full car of people and trunk full of luggage, so lots of extra cabin weight... I suppose I was just excited to let the cat purr, so I was cruising at 85-95 through the desert hills and plains. It was a fun drive, and nothing stood out, but the next day I noticed what I thought was a very minor transmission slip in the third gear during moderate acceleration (but not during light or heavy acceleration).

By the next day, the slip was noticeable in several gears and at several engine speeds, but actual shifting didn’t change MUCH. As a result, my trip back was far more modest, and I took it in to my mechanic first thing when I got back. As soon as I got back to LA the slip sensation almost disappeared so it was hard to show the mechanic. He said it had nothing to do with my tranny because the shifting seemed fine. Instead, he thought I might have a minor misfire problem due to worn ignition coils ( I had my spark plugs replaced 1500 miles ago...)

after all this I WAS GETTING NO CODES

I thought about how Tucson’s altitude is higher than LA (2300)... could this be an issue for timing?

I now have 73000 miles, and will be replacing the tranny fluid soon... I’m also suspicious of the AWD transfer case.
what do you all think? Do I have the early stages of a transmission failure, or is there a more obscure thing I should think about?