Used car game

[XKontour98]

Pontiac Bonneville SLE

[CSVT#49]

Aren't those transmissions horrible?

Well it is a CD4E

In all honesty that was what I viewed as one of the weakest points of the Escape (I owned a 2002 XLT V6 4WD). I never had any major problems with mine, but it was certainly the one major component I was worried about failing, and there certainly are enough horror stories of the CD4E out there. Around town I routinely had to keep the O/D off, otherwise it would upshift far too early and the gas mileage was not impressive. Thankfully they have replaced it on the 2009+ models.

I still think it comes down to proper owner maintenance. If you do the routine tranmission flushes and follow what they state in the owners manual for use, you should be fine.

[Pete D]

I still think it comes down to proper owner maintenance. If you do the routine tranmission flushes and follow what they state in the owners manual for use, you should be fine.

I disagree.

There are plenty of contour owners that had CD4E failures despite better maintenance than what the manual suggests (their change interval is what 100k? lol) including myself. Same goes for Escape owners. I didn't experience a transmission failure in my Escape but I did have the shuddering issue from the torque converter and figured that if anything major would go on that vehicle (it was generally quite reliable, much better than my contour) it would be the CD4E. I had a tranny cooler too, fwiw (I believe they came standard on all earlier models with the tow package, and later V6 models with the CD4E)

[zorrex]

I disagree.

There are plenty of contour owners that had CD4E failures despite better maintenance than what the manual suggests (their change interval is what 100k? lol) including myself. Same goes for Escape owners. I didn't experience a transmission failure in my Escape but I did have the shuddering issue from the torque converter and figured that if anything major would go on that vehicle (it was generally quite reliable, much better than my contour) it would be the CD4E. I had a tranny cooler too, fwiw (I believe they came standard on all earlier models with the tow package, and later V6 models with the CD4E)

When he says "routine transmission flushes," he means WAY WAY WAY more often than stated in the manual, but as for everything else, go by the manual. But sometimes it's just luck, too. I beat the crap out of my car and have only drained/refilled the tranny fluid twice (at one time), and that was at 85k miles. I'm up to 145k now...I have absolutely zero problems with my transmission except it doesn't like to downshift in subzero temperatures from 2 to 1 if it isn't warmed up (fixes itself really quick), and the TC doesn't like to engage in cold weather if I start it and shift immediately into gear without letting it idle down.

[Pete D]

When he says "routine transmission flushes," he means WAY WAY WAY more often than stated in the manual, but as for everything else, go by the manual. But sometimes it's just luck, too....

Which is way I stated "despite better maintenance than what the manual suggests"

Both here and on Escape-Central everyone recommends changing the fluid much more often than what the manual recommends. On both of my CD4E vehicles I did it every 30k, despite that being a fraction of what Ford recommended because the ATF is far cheaper than the transmission itself. IMO, however, I think that it is the manufacturer's folly to recommend an interval that might result in increased failure rates.

I kind of agree with you on the 'bad luck' thing if you read my post in the MB thread about reliability statistics.

[CSVT#49]

Yes, I typical recommend it is a good idea to change fluid every 30k, which is what I meant by routine maintenance.

[ZoomZoom Diva]

Yes, I typical recommend it is a good idea to change fluid every 30k, which is what I meant by routine maintenance.

Agreed. The manual is not designed to optimize the lifespan of components, as less maintenance is a selling point, and an adequate but not optimized lifespan is better for the manufacturer and its dealers. That said, in looking at the big picture (bigger than any car forum), Escapes do not have an unusually high number of transmission problems.

[Smokinjoe]

Some transmissions just have an inheriently crappy design. Look at the 96-95 Ford Taurus automatic transmissions. They were GARBAGE.

[FauxhawkFox]

Ended up with a 2002 Jeep Cherokee Laredo, RWD, 42,000 miles for $5k!

[99blacksesport]

Ended up with a 2002 Jeep Cherokee Laredo, RWD, 42,000 miles for $5k!

Sounds like a good deal.