Its actually a preventative put in by Ford called limp home mode. If there is a problem with the box (which there was, as peices of transmission cooler were in there), it will limit slippage and heating, by sticking in third gear, so you can get to where you are going, with out any major detrimental effects. Its actually pretty smart if you ask me. That little annoyance probably just saved you the cost of a gearbox.

Hey Ralph,
I agree, great idea for preventing further damage to the box. Unfortunately it is game over for the box anyway with the cooler pieces having run through it, but yeah you’re right it is a great idea.

Craig

I just suffered the same problem but now have a cooling system full of trans fluid, anyone know how to flush the oil out?
Wayne

buy hq holden i did ya can work on them cheers rob

My EF has a transmission dipstick, its a 94/95.. Maybe it was changed in the later EFs?

Yeah Andrew, apparently all Falcon’s produced after Febuary ‘96 have the factory sealed transmissions without the dipstick.

Craig

Talking about problems..
Mine is a 98 el Auto with only about 135 000 km on the clock.
Out of the blue, and under normal conditions it started losing power (slipping).
Before I could get home, lost power all together and not even one of gear settings would engage.
Imagine getting stuck in the middle of a busy intersection, at night, while lights turning red and car is moving backward instead of forward!!
Bloody dangerous scenario, especially if you don’t expect it.
Now if I turn engine off and wait for a few minutes gears would engage, but only for about half a mile’s drive, and then same thing all over again.
Went looking for dip stick but it looks like designers forgot to put one in!!
Haven’t been to a mechanic yet, but has anyone else experienced same problem?
I would appreciate any feedback..

Hi Craig
I had to totally rebuilt transmission.
Apparently clutches had disintegrated and
transmission fluid turned to sludge, although level was correct.
Limb Home safety feature never kicked in, and never had any warning symptoms prior to catastrophic failure.
This wouldn’t had happened if there was a dipstick there to at least periodically check condition of fluid.
These transmissions are badly designed and have to be serviced (fluid flushed out) every 20k Km’s or so.
My previous Toyota 4 Runner I had done 350k KM and Auto transmission had never been touched or ever needed to be topped up. Fluid was still clean and bright red the day I sold it.
So, a warning to every one out there: While at hoist, get mechanic to check condition of fluid at every service and replace fluid every year. Then you might get a longer than 140K KM life out of it.(!
Thanks for your help.
Regards Zachary.

Forget all these problems listed above & below.I can still remember what cheezed me off most about that car and that is that my brand new standard AU Falcon did not come with a clock.
I did not realize it didn’t have one untill about the day after I took ownership.I know it was way back in 1998..But!!….. Who designed that car,Fred Flintstone maybe?

Graig

I had the same problems with my Ford today, but I write to say …
You made me laugh a couple of times.
Give up your day job and go into comedy.

Ross

Geez thanks Ross…I think?! Best of luck with your Ford.

i have recently bought a second hand 97 EL falcon. and from second to third gear it has been slipping as soon as it gets over about 2700rpm. it will sit in nuetral, but shortly after it will kick back into gear. my EL has only done 107,000 k’s on the clock and has always had recent services done by ford, i have checked all oil in diff, gear box itself and all oils looked fine. does anyone know wat this problem could be?

Hey was wondering if anyone knows how i can put trans fluid into my 96 Ef ive read theres no friggin dipstick…..(Stupid Idea That Was) went looking for the 13mm plug stated at beginning of this blog but couldnt find it please help if you have been able to fill up your trans fluid or do i need to take it to mechanic?

my ef has 460,000klm on the clock and even though i have done a transmission service not long ago I have just encountered the limp home mode senario and flogged it home in third gear,the one it gets stuck in,mind u, for 400ks at 120kph.I have also a perfectly rounded filler plug on the gearbox so access through this is imposible.to fill the box after service I place a hose over the return pipe,the one at the top of the radiator and funel in the fluid like a doc.and it dont take long.I usually put in 4lts and a splash if I got it,but if this is incorrect please corect.To correct the limp mode problem–I flush the transmission throughly,service kit it,threw in an aftermarket trans cooler and eliminate the radiator one altogether,,, as its a temprature thing with all its compications,,and my gears are back and ready to flog for another 400,000 klms.AND dam them front bumpers,pain in the ass to get off.stuff the filler plug,take of the pan,put in a filter kit and doc it in the return line

Hi,
Gotta love a bit of ingenuity! I agree with you on the trans. cooler issue, fitting the biggest aftermarket one you can find and bypassing the radiator seems to help them no-end, even if fitting them is a pain in the backside.
By our book 4 litres is the correct amount of oil needed after servicing the transmission.
Good luck for another 400,000km!

hi,craig,thanks,and i am also surprised that front bumber only took 20min not 4hrs, to remove on ef and have quik instructions if anyone needs them and with the coolers,,yes isaid coolers, I bipassed the the radiator cooler into a ed falcon trans cooler from the wreakers for a measly $35,, then into an smaller aftermarket one to the right and lower than the first one, $50 new on ebay,and back to the return,have photo set up if anyone interested,and they sit clear in the airdam opening with no ajustments or cutting.I would suggest, as i am going to do, is for the sake of a few dollars a transmission service as regular as the engine oil service,which i like to do every before or on every 5000klm.Transmission service kits are on ebay for TWELVE (12) of them about $90. THE taxi fleet knew best………..reguards … TINNTTER

I own an EA falcon and the auto transmission slips when it is cold, will flushing help? TIA Ben Qld

I seem to suffer a different problem to all you guys

For some reason my car seems to whine when it engages 4th gear…..it sounds like a worn out diff, but i later worked out that its actually the gear box, as it would only start when fourth gear engages. And for argument sake, i service the trans every 30,000kms
thats ford for ya….thankfully this will be my last ford…..they have just turned to rubbish from the late 80’s

hi guys me bro inlaw has a ba falcon that slips[flares] when cold, when shifting from 3rd to 4th. local ford dealer claims can be fixed with trans reprogram…..feedback please.

Our 2002 Falcon has the fourth gear whine and also in first and reverse. Ford expert thinks it is the diff and two transmission shops and a diff shop think it is the transmission. Seems the same gear is used for fourth as well as first and reverse, from what I’ve been told, whereas third is straight thru so no whine in third when decelerating from about 80 k’s.
The car has done 114,000k’s with a trans cooler fitted at 80,000k’s.

My 1990 EA Fairmont shudders at 54, 84 and 94 kph when accelarating slowly. Last couple of days, a big clunk heard / felt in driveline. Oil is thin brown. Whole car is vibrating in 1st and 2nd. Backlash felt in reverse and drive when changing gears. My car has lost a bucket load of power when driving, but I have plenty when I need it in park and nuetral. (insert sarcasm here) Trying to figure out if I should service or replace. Engine replaced with 4.0 ltr MPEFI ED 80,000 km (2yrs) ago and is running reasonbly well. What model and type would be reccommended if changed and what amount for supply and fit if so. Liked XD as I could change in 6hrs, but EA, I still dont know where the starter or dissy is. Kind regards, Darren Robinson.

i have a ford ef falcon with trans problems trans oil and filter have been changed. after driving for about half hour engine seems to over rev speed decreases and trans doesnt seem to engage gear.after letting the car sit for a while able to start car and drive

Hi there everyone,
I also have a strange problem with my AU Falcon. It is fine one minute and then without any warning all the lights go off on the dash and the car just starts to lose power and then it just dies on the spot. I have taken my car to Ford and they replaced the fuel pump, battery and the alternater because this is what their computer was telling them the problems were. And l’m no better off after spending over $1200.00 l still have the same problems and it seems to happen more on a long drive on a warmer day. Can someone please tell me if they have had the same problem?? and how to fix it. I’m sick off my car dying in the middle of no where or in the middle of a busy intersection.
Tracey.

My transmission is totally FUBAR at the moment. It fails to engage 2nd gear most of the time and will rev in a netral like state then at certain point will snap into the gear jolting the car. I have a ford falcon forte au 2000 model apparently after about 170 thousand the transmission just goes. I think at a mechanic they charge about 1500=2000 to replace and fix. I feel pain for my bank balance.

I own a EF Fairmont Gia Auto that has developed a whine in fourth gear above 60ks in speed. Does anyone know how to quiet down the whine. I did think at first it was the diff but realised after much checking indeed it was the fourth gear. What actually causes this fault.If it were a diff I would think worn or misaligned gears.
Is there an additive that may help.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks

Hi, I have a 1990 30th Ann. EA II S, and although the title sounds impressive the car is absolutely rubbish. Since i first noticed it staying in third gear on the freeway, I’ve replaced the engine oil, twice. Flushed the radiator and replaced coolant. And changed the Transmission fluid. Yet still When it’s cold it will do nothing but sit in third gear.
It makes for a very bad and slow start off the line and makes dealing with traffic awfully dangerous. It also slips gears occasionally and has just recently started shuddering at random point’s whilst driving. Given im 16 and don’t have a job, I would appreciate some advice on what to do. Please Help Im Lost Here People!

I have a 2002 ford explorer transmission just rebuilt and already slipping I have not done 500Km ford transmissions are pathetic! Ford should have had to do something about these transmissions!

Hi there
Lucky me was returning from Chrissy holidays and my 1998 AU Fairmont decided to stop, Problem was the Tranmission. I had travelled 300 km’s without a problem over taking and sitting on 100km’s without any trouble. I Pulled up to the first set of lights in suburbia went to accelerate and no go. As I was stuck in the right hand lane with a car full of family. My main objective was to get to the left where it was safe.Tried this safety mode in 3rd, yer right this didn’t work. I Rev this baby to about 4 grand and get slight forward movement and limped across three lanes to were this baby was to be left. I’m unable to check the oil level as I don’t happen to have a car jack and stands to check the oil level in the boot, What a great idea to have left out the dipstick when building this car, total dicks.
I have reverse but no 1,2,3 or drive. Let it idle in 1st and there is a noise from the box. I waited for the RACV for a tow truck, 4 hours later to get 18 km’s to home I pulled a line from the cooler and the oil is like motor oil colour. I have booked in for a service so I’ll let you all know what the damage and cost will be. Based that this car is a company car and regularly serviced I’ll have to have a discussion with the mechanic relating to his comments on the service paper work relating to check the transmission

Hey Mark,
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, great way to end your holiday eh?! Sounds like the all-to-common overheating that these late-ish model transmissions suffer from and I dare say it will be time for a reconditioned box.

You’re right about the lack of transmission dipstick, great idea, not! For one it prevents owners from regularly checking the fluid level and condition (and getting it changed if it looks off colour) and second if the mechanic doing the servicing is even a little bit lazy it won’t get checked then either – simply brilliant.

Best of luck with getting it repaired and please do keep us updated.

Just an update on my AU Fairmont that failed on the way home from Chrissy holidays.

The mechanic has inspected the tranny and as we all guessed it, it is no longer in the land of the living. Root cause was that the oil cooler in the radiator had lost most of it’s internal bits and passed it in to the gearbox. The gears that are in the box that helps the car move forward are completly gone. Mechanic has said that it is that bad that they would not even be able to reco this unit. Total damage to replace and re fit reco box and new external oil cooler is just over $2000.00. So if anyone intends on doing some lengthy drives in their AU is maybe wise to fit a external oil cooler at a cost of around $300.00 to prevent you from cooking the tranny oil and have such a large out lay of dollars if you happen to cook your box
Cheers
Mark

Thanks for the update Mark.

there’s an easy solution to all these issues- dont be lazy, drive a manual. i’ve had 3 falcons from EA to AU, done over 250,000km all up and all i’ve changed is 3 lots of trans fluid (about 6 litres) and 1 clutch kit. no shifting issues, you just have to do it yourself…

Yeah, good point Kevin

Very happy EF Falcon owner here (NOT!!!!!!!!!!)

Not happy at all.

Late last year our box started going from 1st to 3rd only. We kept driving it as we didn’t have the money. It eventually failed by not selecting any gears at all.

Got it towed to a repair shop and had them fit a second hand box. Second hand box came with 3 months warranty.

We are now at about the 4th or 5th month since then and this tranmsission is now doing exactly the same thing, 1st and 3rd only.

What a piece of shit. My neighbour has an XF with a 3speed that has been going strong for the past ten years.

My kingdom for a Trimatic.

Hi, After reading about some of you fellow Ford motorists woes with your TQL95Le Gearboxes you may find the biggest problem with the unit sticking in gears is that it has dropped in the fluid level after oxygen has disappated in the convertor causing it to go too the fault mode. More often than not pumping a further 1 litre of oil into it will cease this problem. Over the years i have found having the gearbox serviced every 12 month’s Or 25,000 kms will stop any problems such as the cooler tearing apart and being put through the box and in the process destroying the unit. So far all of my Falcons have been faultless following this procedure and i have put this practice in use in our family workshop with many happy customers. Have a good day

Thank You for sharing that info with us Sandy and I hope you have a great day yourself!

What is wrong with ford?

I have had enough, my 95 ef falcon had the trans cooler fail stuffing my auto. Move forward 10 years to my current drive, a 2005 BA xr6 with 62 ks guess what it has the same problems as the ef !

Ford has know about this problem for years. But i suppose it cheaper for ford to keep bolting the same rubbish in year after year, than it is to design something that works.

It’s time the Australian goverment took on U.S. style lemon laws, to make these bastards accountable !!

Sorry to hear that Alan. Shouldn’t have happened at only 62,000 k’s and you’re right someone needs to be held accountable for problems that are occuring early on in the vehicle’s life.

My father in law had a similar experience with a VS Commodore when it had only 80,000 km’s on it (cooked the auto towing a small caravan even though we had fitted the biggest aftermarket cooler we could), he ended up getting, I believe, the Fair Trading office involved and Holden ‘helped out’ with the cost of the repairs. I wonder if this is worth chasing up with Ford? I can find out the exact details if you’re interested.

Regards,
Craig

Help!

I have a 2002 au seda, recently it had a slight shudder when braking,

so I replaced front pads and discs with new disc.

the car now brakes wonderfully, but!!!!!

at 100kg per hour it develops a front end shudder that feels like the worst corregated road you could drive on. Slow down to 80kph it goes away never to return? Till you drive it the next day same thing.

have checked shocks front alignment calippers bushes wheel balance not berrinings. next on list, but problem not always there, not at any particular distance or time, just some times? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Shane,
I would almost bet that it is a wheel balance or slightly out of round tyre/rim issue seeing as though it is ’speed dependent’ and goes away once you’re back down to 80 kmh.

I see that you have had the tyres balanced, but personally I would be rotating the wheels front to rear to see if it improves before going any further (and spending money!)

I believe the AU has sealed unit front wheel bearings and in my opinion they would be as noisy as hell before there was enough play in them to cause such a problem.

Just my opinion but I would be rotating the wheels front to rear before doing anything else.

Hey, craig you seem to know your ford stuff, My EL coon has all these very similar trans issues. When its cold it runs like a dream, when its finally hot the trans always jolts through the gears. My parents EL does the exact same thing also. My car also does it if its running round town, up and down the hills of brissy. It only seems to like the freeways. My mate says it could be a solenoid issue? does this ring any bells? By the sounds of it, its a hugely common problem with the EF/EL models.. My last car was a 92 fairmont and the trans never missed a beat.I wonder if i service will fix it for a minute. ..

Hi Kurt,
You’re certainly not alone with the ‘jolting’ through the gears when the transmission has warmed up. I’ve seen this problem from the first of the four speed’s used in the EA’s right up to the EL’s. From my somewhat limited knowledge of these transmissions, it usually is only a solenoid problem if the ‘jolting’ is between two ranges, not across every change. i.e. 1st to 2nd is a harsh change but 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th is a nice normal change.

This is only based on what I have seen over the years and I suggest that you have a chat with a trans repair specialist to get a better idea of what might be happening. Servicing the transmission may help the problem, it’s a good idea if it hasn’t been done in the last twelve months, but I have to tell you that we have had cases where it has made little difference and some cases where it has improved the shifts enormously, so I guess it is a bit hit and miss if you know what I mean.

Please let us know how you get on if you do decide to have the transmission serviced.

1998 au in limp mode when hot good when cold new gearbox radior heat sensor .any body had this promblem .and how did you fix it

hi guys i have just read all of these posts after reciving problems from my auto trans overheating and spitting fluid out.. after servicing it is rough and i blame the mechanics.. although i cant emphaise enough to learn by my mistakes and book it into a ford dealaship where they can pin point and digonise the problem with past knowledge and technoligy like computers. my old mechanics i suppose just guessed am created a bigger problem at my expence.

Ive got an ea 30th series II Lemon, and the auto has done 360000km’s!!!!!!!, unbelievable.

there not that bad people

My auto did go into limp home mode once, a mechanic told me to unplug and swap around the plugs connected to the cfi injection, which control the engine and auto trans, and the fault with the auto dissapeared and worked normal again, sometimes i have a rough idle problem fault, though from doing this, so an electrical fauly is evident somewhere, but hay it’s a ford, electrical faults come standard. The auto has always been periodically serviced.

Mmm googling how to change my gearbox fluid I found this thread.. Thought it could use some positivity. My 97 EL has 380,000km on the clock and original box still going strong, apart from a jolt from 1st to 2nd when warm. Once I replace the fluid, this goes away for another 18-24 months. Had the car since early 200’s. Figured rather than pay $120 for a gearbox flush id save some $$ and do it myself. Looks like a bitch though.

Perhaps its the way some of you drive? Although Im certainly no driving saint, its food for thought.

My car started changing gears randomly on my way to work this morning. From drive to neutral, to drive, to 3rd, to neutral – even reverse. I pulled my car over as soon as I could & tried to initiate the limp home mode by moving the gear lever into 3rd – but this only seemed to work for 6 seconds before it began changing gears erratically again. I pulled the car over again as soon as I could & turned it off for 2 minutes – then tried again. (I was only 90 seconds from work at this time) The car started, I shifted it into drive & it stayed in drive for the last 90 seconds of my journey.

Is it possible that my transmission may just need a service or do you think that it’s stuffed?…

Any contructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,
This erratic shifting of the transmission can often be caused by the selector switch on the side of transmission failing and doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s stuffed completely.

What year model Falcon are you driving?

Regards,
Craig

My 1998 falcon Ute transmission is behaving like the torque converter is locked up, when you shift in to drive or reverse it just bangs into gear stalling the engine when you can get the car moving it seems to shift normally though recently it appears to not shift out of or higher than third gear when you put the brakes on to stop the car in drive it stops but is viberating with the engine under load it does not do this as badly in reverse. I have cleaned all the electrical plugs on the left hand side of the box and changed the transmission oil and filter this seemed to fix the problem until it got hot.There was no bits in the pan or filter. Is there a procedure to reset the ECU or what could be the problem.

Hi Christopher,
Does not sound at all healthy mate! You can try resetting the ECU, it may help. To send through the instructions I need to know if you have an XH or an AU model ute?

Regards,
Craig

hi, my 1996 EL falcon is very sluggish, when in neutral the car revs easily so im left to think its my gearbox that is the problem.driving casually it changes gear ok, but if you put your foot down it doesnt accelarate, it just makes this one constant rev and wont change gear, it even blew my radiator once. i took it to a mechanic and he said it was my CAT, so i got that replaced, but this still didnt fix the problem. some in laws of mine told me its the torque converter but i’d like to get a second opinion before i spend hundreds of dollars on a torque converter i might not need.

any feedback back would be greatly appreciated,
Rob

Hi Rob,
From what you have described it sounds like the transmission is slipping rather than a problem with the torque convertor. This could be due to a fluid level or band/clutch issues in the transmission.

I think your best bet would be to have a transmission specialist take the car for a test drive to get their opinion on things. They should be able to tell pretty much straight away if it’s a transmission problem or related to something else.

Regards,
Craig

it was a transmission specialist who told me it was the cat, obviously he’s not as good as everyone seems to think he is, i think its time for a second opinion. thanks for your help craig.

Oh ok, I think you might be right, a second opinion might be a good idea. Although it is hard to understand a problem just from an email the first thing I thought of as I was reading your comment was a slipping transmission. The symptoms seem to fit that sort of an issue.

Hopefully another automatic specialist will be able to shed some light on it for you. Let us know how you get on, I guess there is the possibility that it may be an engine related issue and I may be able to help you sort it out if the transmission checks out ok.

Regards,
Craig