Ford Escape w/6F35 transmission issues

[Don_M]

My wife's 2013 Escape (2.0 turbo, 6F35 transmission, FWD, bought with 59,000mi - current mileage, 93,000) is showing some issues. I was driving her to work, and while accelerating to get on the highway, the engine hit 4k rpms during acceleration, but then didn't upshift when I let off the gas. It hung at 4k for a few minutes, eventually shifting and the rpms went to normal (2 - 2.5k). It also had what initially seemed like a low rpm engine shudder upon acceleration after getting gas (it wouldn't shudder in neutral though).

I broused YouTube and found that the 6F35 needs regular fluid changes, and I had no idea if or when the fluid had been changed, so I did it myself using Valvoline Extended Performance ATF, following all the recommendations from the how-to videos.

Initially, the light shudder seemed to have lessened, and was slightly more spread out in the RPM range. After ~1,000 miles, it SEEMED much smoother, but it suddenly started shuddering worse, making noise and there is a definite "grinding" feel to the gas pedal. It became so obvious, that even my wife started to notice.

I'm going to take her to work today, so I can get underneath and double check the fluid level (....'sealed, non-serviceable transmissions'), but if that checks ok, then I only have 2k miles to get it to the dealer (our extended warranty expires @ 95k).

I take her to work @7am, so I should be crawling under the car by 8am - anything else you guys think I should look at before I call the 'Stealership?'

 

[dogememe]

If the fluid level is correct, best take it in for warranty ASAP if you still have warranty.

 

[Don_M]

If the fluid level is correct, best take it in for warranty ASAP if you still have warranty.

My exact plan for today ... take the wife to work and check out the noises/vibrations. Put the car up & confirm fluid level, if properly filled, make appointment w/dealership.

 

[dogememe]

I should add that I had no issues with the 6f35 in my Escape at 130k miles when I sold the vehicle. I changed the fluid every 30k miles though starting at 60k when I bought it.

I did have major driveability issues that felt like a failed transmission when my MAF sensor failed though.

 

[Hall]

(.... 'sealed, non-serviceable transmissions')

It's clearly non-sealed and completely serviceable since you changed the fluid and are able to check the level.

These transmissions are hit or miss when it comes to reliability. My wife's '14 Fusion had 150k trouble-free miles on it when we traded it in, though I did a few drain and refills. Yours might have had just the one change you did in 93k miles. Another fluid change will probably help the shudder but with the warranty ending so soon, proceed that route at this point.

 

[dnewton3]

As for the issue itself, when the trans was released in 2010 (IIRC) there were flared shift issues, etc. In 2013 they made some updates, but not all were successful to deal with the issues. This isn't Ford's best trans by a long shot. There is no magic bullet here. It's a marginal trans even on a good day. And, as mentioned by others, it's a crap shoot; some hold up well, some do not. Routine service is certainly key to helping, but it's not a 100% assurance that all will be OK.

I have no idea if Sonax and others have good fixes for the problems; it's not a transmission I have in my fleet so I don't follow the aftermarket updates. But it's likely that if you want to keep the vehicle working, you're gonna have to spend some money on significant maintenance/repairs at some point.

 

[ka9mnx]

The 6F35 had the known problems you are experiencing. It was only the transmissions that came out of a certain plant, I think in Kansas. You might be able to still check the serial numbers of affected units on line. Mine fell into that range. If I remember it was a software re-flash and/or valve body exchange. Ford refused to fix mine so after six months I sold it. Otherwise, great car.

 

[Don_M]

It's clearly non-sealed and completely serviceable since you changed the fluid and are able to check the level.

Apparently, but they did away with the dipstick and "easy" fill-ability through the dipstick tube, to discourage a Do-It-Yourself type person from doing maintenance on the transmission. Had it not been for YouTube, I never would have known about the "vent cap" that doubles as a fill port and taken it to a shop for a fluid change ($200+ VS $65).

 

[Kruse]

I recently inherited my mom's 2013 2.0/turbo Taurus with the 6F35. It currently has 120K miles and I know the tranny fluid has never been changed. That will be my priority in the next few weeks. The owner's manual says that the fluid should last 150K miles.
The most-viewed Ford tech on YouTube says you need to change the oil MUCH sooner.
The tranny on this car has one weird feature. If you drive it with the cruise control on, it constantly changes between 5th and 6th gear, even driving down a straight, flat highway. You can feel it and you can see it happening on the tach.
With cruise control off, it drives fine. The filter on this tranny cannot be changed with routine maintenance.

 

[Marcozi]

I wonder if there are firmware updates for the transmission computer.

 

[brages]

I have no idea if Sonax and others have good fixes for the problems; it's not a transmission I have in my fleet so I don't follow the aftermarket updates. But it's likely that if you want to keep the vehicle working, you're gonna have to spend some money on significant maintenance/repairs at some point.

Here is a thread about the Sonnax Zip Kit which a person installed in a 2014 Fusion with 6F35: http://www.2gfusions.net/showthread.php?tid=6530

Summary: the Zip Kit didn't help and Sonnax later said it wasn't applicable to the 1st generation 6F35.

The 6F35 clearly has some problems but in my experience with a Fusion it wasn't precisely clear how or if it could be fixed. Some thought there were metal check balls that would bash on and damage the "separator plate" ?? My Fusion was a 2013 with 175k miles, a slow 2-3 shift that would slam into gear when it finally shifted.

My in-laws have a 2013 Escape 2.0 with this transmission and over 200k miles. I can feel a sloppy 2-3 shift but I guess they haven't noticed it.

 

[zzyzzx]

I did have major driveability issues that felt like a failed transmission when my MAF sensor failed though.

That's every car, not just an Escape.

 

[zzyzzx]

I wonder if there are firmware updates for the transmission computer.

This (and a Sync update) is why I connected the vehicle to the house Wifi. I may not leave it that way, but I figure just leave in on for a couple of weeks to see if any other updates come through.

 

[KCJeep]

My son has a 2014 my DIL drives, it just shot craps at 165k. Never serviced, no issues prior to that. Replacement was less than I would have expected.

 

[Klutch9]

The 6F35 is a toss up honestly. We had a 2011 Fusion that had its 6F35 rebuilt twice under warranty. It also had at least one shift logic update along the way. Our 2016 Explorer also has this transmission (why do I keep buying vehicles with the 6F35?) and it failed in a different way at 44k miles. The torque converter failed. This type of failure is more common in that model year range. Both were/are maintained well.

 

[Hall]

I have no idea if Sonax and others have good fixes for the problems

Here is a thread about the Sonnax Zip Kit which a person installed in a 2014 Fusion with 6F35: http://www.2gfusions.net/showthread.php?tid=6530

Summary: the Zip Kit didn't help

I used to frequent that forum and that was the overall consensus - the kit didn't work. Almost everyone said it was "better" at first, but that can almost certainly be attributed to fresh ATF.

The tranny on this car has one weird feature. If you drive it with the cruise control on, it constantly changes between 5th and 6th gear, even driving down a straight, flat highway.

Not sure if you mean "your" car or this transmission, I've never heard this before and it never happened with ours.

This (and a Sync update) is why I connected the vehicle to the house Wifi.

Did you ever get a Sync update OTA ? I know Ford said they could offer OTA updates but don't know that they ever did. They definitely are not updating the TCM via OTA. It even took years before FORScan offered the ability to do module updates and even then, they'd only allow it with a small number of OBDII adapters.

 

[zzyzzx]

Did you ever get a Sync update OTA ? I know Ford said they could offer OTA updates but don't know that they ever did.

I used a combination of a USB stick and wifi. The wifi definitely did the update back to Fords website, but I think the actual update was done via USB stick. It took like 3 attempts. I first tried via wifi, then USB stick (turned out one of the files was bad), then USB stick with good files after redownloading. When I got back into the house to potentially upload the XML file to Ford's website it has already been updated, so I skipped that part. This was on a 2018 Escape Titanium. I was updating SYNC Version 3.0.18093 to 3.0.23219. I might go to Sync 3.4 from CyanLabs using a USB stick method at some future point in time. Actual USB stick was a USB 3.0 32GB Microcenter brand USB stick. When I checked for updates initially, the vehicle had never been updates (last update date was in 2018).

I had a weak wifi signal which is why I switched to a USB stick. I had read about other people doing what I said and using a combination of wifi and USB stick, so I knew it was possible, even if the wifi part only uploaded the XLM file part.

When I initially tried the wifi method I got the downloading file message like the one shown here:
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/153751-sync-update-3023219-2018-fiesta/

I have never tried updating and module firmware with Forscan. Should I be doing that? I have the paid version. I might try updating the APIM firmware with it at some point.

 

[Don_M]

UPDATE:

You're supposed to be able to check the fluid by lifting the car up just enough to remove the LF tire/wheel, then lower the jack so that the car is at its correct ride height (for me, that's having the side trim @ 16.5" from the ground).

However, Ford is STILL using those TRASH, aluminum-capped lug nuts that have been famous for decades for having the caps "slip & strip." So when the proper sized lug wrench slipped and rounded the cap, I gave up (for now). So, right now, I'm cruising the Summit Racing website for PROPER, chome-plated steel lug nuts and hopefully a speciality socket to remove the stock garbage that's currently on the car. Hopefully without too much drama & expense.

 

[Elroy the Brave]

Here is a thread about the Sonnax Zip Kit which a person installed in a 2014 Fusion with 6F35: http://www.2gfusions.net/showthread.php?tid=6530

Summary: the Zip Kit didn't help and Sonnax later said it wasn't applicable to the 1st generation 6F35.

The 6F35 clearly has some problems but in my experience with a Fusion it wasn't precisely clear how or if it could be fixed. Some thought there were metal check balls that would bash on and damage the "separator plate" ?? My Fusion was a 2013 with 175k miles, a slow 2-3 shift that would slam into gear when it finally shifted.

My in-laws have a 2013 Escape 2.0 with this transmission and over 200k miles. I can feel a sloppy 2-3 shift but I guess they haven't noticed it.

Good summary of the situation.

I have a 2014 Ford Fusion with the 2.0 Turbo, with the 6f35. The obnoxious 2-3 shift delay is there, and changing the fluid has not entirely eliminated it, but has maybe stopped it from "slamming" into gear.

There isn't much that can be done to fix this transmission, as I have tried everything with the fluid and some additives.

I guess as long as it is working, just have to live with it.

 

[Hall]

I used a combination of a USB stick.... I might go to Sync 3.4 from CyanLabs using a USB stick method

I was able to do (1) update via USB stick with Sync 2.X. Otherwise, it said "no update is available" or similar. I did do the Sync 3.X swap to get CarPlay/Android Auto. We had a '14 Fusion but I bought the hardware from a wrecked 2020 Fusion and was able to get to Sync 3.4 and then kept going with updates using CyanLabs.

I have never tried updating and module firmware with Forscan. Should I be doing that? I have the paid version. I might try updating the APIM firmware with it at some point.

I wouldn't do it. The developers of FORScan give plenty of warnings about doing it, "at your own risk", and so on. It can definitely do it, but if there's a glitch, you can create bigger problems that only a dealer can resolve. They might play you and tell you they can't just re-flash it either and make you buy a new module.