BA XR8 Lag in change from Park to Reverse - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Komungla · 03-29-2004, 20:12

I have an issue with the change in gears on my auto XR8. Bought the vehicle in June last year and have accumulated around 20,000km so far. Over the past few months have noticed that when changing from in Park to reversing their is a noticeable lag in the changing of gears. When parked nose to the gutter this can cause some issues when you take your foot off the break and the car roles forward and then decides to change to reverse. This is not happening all the time but often enough to scare the bejesus out of you when you think your about to thump the gutter. The vehicle has been back to the dealer who has been fantastic in chasing up Ford about this. Ford then advised the dealer to contact BTR(?) and they sent down one of their guys to have a look. The guy from BTR took a couple of vehicles including my own for a drive(?) and said that they were all operating normally. Prior to his arrival in a previous discussion BTR had mentioned an issue with a solenoid(?) and about a new one being designed. The impression I had of this is that yes they knew of the issue and a fix was under way. Let me state that the car drives fantastic. It's only when you park and then change to reverse that you hope that everything works together.

To say that I was less than impressed with the BTR visit is an understatement. He chose not to talk the issue with any of the owners just took the vehicles for a drive. Again let me state the dealer and his service department have been fantastic in following this up. I spoke with Ford Customer service who looped me back to the dealer and advised that the area manager for FORD would be in town to discuss. The service manager is now back in contact with Technical Services and is awaiting a response.

My previous vehicle to this was an AU Fairmont Ghia which never exhibited this tendency and I have driven numerous Ford vehicles and have not come across this.

Has anyone else experienced this problem ,as their seems to be a number of vehicles in this area and other owners that I have spoken to who have the same issue.

russellw · 03-29-2004, 21:33

Have experienced it and had the valve body replaced which is the current suggested fix.
Some earlier ones were just replaced but it appears that the willingness to fix, what is an already overstressed box, has reduced with the failure rate climbing.

Just keep pushing.

Russ

GT BLOKE · 03-29-2004, 23:15

Mines got this. I thought it was normal untill last Satdy when I got the first service done. They said to keep an eye on it (don't know what that will do). Now I can point them in the right direction.

davway · 03-30-2004, 00:01

similar in my AU. park to reverse or even drive to reverse (yes i did stop) and it would take a while to kick in. ford said 3 seconds its sposed to take. if you didnt wait and just went to reverse there would be an almight snap, thump and wheels spinnin everywhere. i always waited the 3 secs for it to engage but eventuall i ran out of reverse altogether. it would in the end only reverse at idle speed. you could sit there and floor it and it would still only putt putt back. ended up getting a new box under warranty. funnily enough the new box didnt have that 3 second lag either.
dont know if any of this is even relevent but in the end it may just be what your all looking at.

bossxr8 · 03-30-2004, 03:09

Both of the XR8's i've owned have done this. I've been told thats its there to help durability but its really a pain in the ass. I scratched the bumper on a kerb when it rolled forward waiting to go into reverse. Wasn't impressed. Crap idea Ford.

Toolman · 03-30-2004, 03:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossxr8

Both of the XR8's i've owned have done this. I've been told thats its there to help durability but its really a pain in the ass. I scratched the bumper on a kerb when it rolled forward waiting to go into reverse. Wasn't impressed. Crap idea Ford.

I was told my my service manager to wait 5 to 10 seconds before engaging the selector... LMAO... obviously he doesn't do 3 pt turns in the city...

Komungla · 03-30-2004, 23:43

Gents, thanks for the replies. Since I posted yesterday Ford are now sending a SOC(?) to have a look a the vehicles in town that are experiencing the same problem. I'll mention your experiences when he turns up and will advise the outcome as soon as known.

You can understand that their would be a normal 1-2 second delay in change but not the delay that I'm currently experiencing. Anyway here's hoping that a solution is not to far off.

Will keep you posted.

Komungla · 04-02-2004, 00:19

Latest update, Have had to take service manager and show what it's doing. This after showing technician and Dealer principal what the car was doing. FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE suggested that I should keep my foot on the brake when changing gears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(What the......., Gee I wished I had thought of that!) FORD are not willing to send out their "Expert" until this had been done. The impression that I get is that FORD ( not the dealer and his service department as they have been great)are washing their hands of it as the supplier of the transmission said it was operating under normal parameters. 1. He never spoke to either myself or the other customers who are experienceing the same problem. 2. He's not driving the thing everyday with this happening. I wonder if I send FORD the bill for a new XR front when the vehicle rolls FORWARD in REVERSE into a gutter , will they then say hey we might have a problem. Irritation level is rising. Let me not start on the FORD regional service manager who was in town on Thursday , advised of the issue and didn't think it necessary to even drive the vehicle or discuss it with me. Can't wait till Monday morning to call the Customer relations dept. Hope I get a customer service survey real soon!!!!

mongrelEB · 04-02-2004, 06:27

This is why Holden usually outsells Ford. They don't seem to be able to understand that though.

BOON250 · 04-08-2004, 02:16

My old mans AU1 did this ages ago. It took Ford 6 months and TWO boxes under warranty to fix it for good! And because the car was up to 75000km they were very reluctant to do anything.