Last week I started my truck and, 5 seconds later, heard a beep. I looked down at the dash and noticed a message in the console.
TRANS FAULT no O/D
I shut it down and restarted it, hoping it was a glitch. The same message popped up. I backed out, didn't hear or feel anything unusual, and parked it so we could pull our car out.
The next day I drove it to the nearest Ford dealer to have someone take a look at it. The truck drove and shifted fine. From what I had read after seeing the message, I expected a sensor would need replacement. Investigating the transmission codes would cost $99, and it'd be another $99 if they needed to look in the transmission pan.
The service department called later to say that there were metal chunks in the transmission pan. They recommended installing a remanufactured Ford transmission ($2800) or installing a new torque converter ($1330 labor + any parts that turned out to be necessary). The second option was a little more open-ended price-wise, and was the more invasive of the two options.
Now, some details about my truck. It's a 2004 F-150 with a 4.6L V8, 2WD. I towed a small U-Haul trailer years ago during a move. It only has 58,000 miles, and most of that is highway. When we lived in midtown Atlanta, it remained parked for the better part of two years.
I contacted the Ford Customer Service department to tell them about my problem. I also wrote to @FordService on Twitter. The Twitter team is fast and responded within minutes; they noticed I had already filed an issue using the contact form on their website. I heard back from someone in the Customer Relationship Center (CRC), but it wasn't what I had hoped for. My truck is out of warranty, and though they wish they could help, they can't.
(I wish all companies could be like Apple - with any major failures we've had, Apple handed us brand-new equipment, even when out-of-warranty)
The person at the CRC did say that if a recall or Customer Satisfaction Program is initiated in the future based on any discoveries, I'd obviously be eligible for a refund.
I did come across a few posts in the forums at ford-trucks.com and f150forum.com mentioning similar issues and early transmission replacement. There were also a few listed at CarComplaints.
The problem is that if people are randomly posting to forums or not posting at all, Ford may not know how extensive the issue is.
I took my truck to Bobby Jones Ford in Augusta for service. Ford CEO Alan Mulally visited this dealer just a couple months ago during Masters.
The person that handled managing my service was nice; she would check on my truck occasionally and give me status updates. The new transmission was installed a day ahead of the original estimate and cost a bit less than originally quoted.
Unfortunately, ten minutes after driving away, the check engine light came on and I entered limp mode. After waiting around for the tech to get back from lunch, the diagnosis was that the ignition timing was off after a battery disconnect. That should not have happened, and forgetful things like that are the reason I stayed away from the labor-intensive torque converter replacment - just more that can go wrong.
They reflashed my PCM to get the latest timings and things, so far, have been fine.