Q: My 99 ford Taurus won't engage when put in drive or revers, neutral works fine and it starts and everything. Whats wrong??
My car won't drive or reverse but neutral works fine including the speed and rpm. When put into gear it slides not even an inch as if it wants to take off but nothing. Put in new transmission fluid after finding it was low, changed spark plugs and oil. Before we put the trans fluid in and before it stopped engaging it would jerk and often stall when coming to a stop or pressing on brakes. Also after cranking it up it would show the rpm going up a little even though we were not on the gas. What could be wrong? I don't think I will need a new transmission, I heard it could be the trans strainer.
My car has 180000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hi There, You are correct in that a this may be caused by a clogged transmission filter. This may also be caused by a faulty transmission control solenoid. As you know, automatic transmissions use pressurized hydraulic fluid to change gears. Every time a gear change is required, the car’s computer activates a transmission solenoid, which directs transmission fluid into the valve body to engage the correct gear. When this is faulty or not working properly, this can cause a delay in gear shifting or in some cases cause the car to not shift at all. This type of problem is amplified any time the transmission is low on fluid creating a drop in hydraulic pressure. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.
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