snett,
Unfortunately, there are a lot of members here who have had transmission problems. Most the the problems have occurred on early 2001 and 2002 Sport Tracs, and most of them occurred at 50K miles or more, so they are well out of the standard warranty.
There are several problems with the 5R55E transmission that even goes back to it's 4 speed predicessor.
The transmission frequently has problems with slipping while shifting between 2nd and 3rd gear. The source of the problem is sticking solenoid operated valves in the valvebody. Ford added a 2-3 gear speed sensor to identify when the slipping occurs, however slipping becomes severe long before the sensor triggers a blinking O/D light, and that usually means the transmission needs to be rebuilt.
Another problem is that the valvebody gasket in the transmission tends to leak and cause fluid pressure losses that can make the transmission slip, or shift harshly, as well as not engage forward or reverse drive gears or slow to engage drive gears.
Finally, some 2004 and perhaps some early 2005 models were found to have the wrong transmission fluid installed at the factory and there was a recall to have a fluid friction modifier added. If the transmission was damaged because of the wrong fluid, Ford would make repairs, but I don't think they would do anything except add the friction modifier if your vehicle was out of warranty.
As previously stated. I don't think Ford sees this as a problems since most of the transmission problems have occurred after the warranty had expired and many transmission were fixed by Non-Dealer shops.
When I say that Ford does not see this as a problem does not mean they are unaware of these transmission failures, it's just that if the transmissions fail after the warranty expires, then that's no longer their problem. If the same number of transmissions failed while the vehicles were still under warranty, then that would be a recongnizable problem for Ford.
...Rich
