TexTheTruck

Last Friday I jumped in my truck and she wouldn't start. Battery was fine, fuses and relays are all good. When I would turn the key NOTHING would happen. The lights all came on but the starter wouldn't engage or anything. It was almost like I turned the key to the acc position. I tried about 10 times and nothing. So I threw my stuff in the wife's care since I was heading to an early morning meeting. For whatever reason I decide to try it ONE more time and she cranked right up. I didn't have an issue for the rest of that day or Saturday.

On Sunday I jumped in and had the same issue. I tried banging on the steering column hoping there might be a loose wire. I disconnected the battery, checked the fuses and relays again, etc. I ended up calling AAA for a tow. The guy showed up and tried cranking it a few times. Then he put it in neutral, let it roll for a foot, put it in park and tried again...nothing. He made the point that the starter wasn't pulling any juice because the radio didn't dim like it does when you crank up a car. He said, "Like this, watch the radio" then he turned the key and it cranked right up!

So I drove the truck to my mechanic Sunday afternoon. He called me first thing on Monday and said that the truck wouldn't start so they put it on the diagnostic machine. The error came back that the Transmission Range Sensor was bad. He didn't want to mess with it because it's a pretty tricky fix from what he could gather (another one of his customer's tried to fix it on their own and somehow ended up damaging their transmission). So he suggested that I take it to the Ford dealer right next door, so I did. He also said there is a recall on this part for 2011 F-150s with the 5.0. Guess what I have. A 2011 with a 5.0.

When I went to the dealership I asked about the recall and he said that my truck didn't have any pending recalls. Once they looked at it, they said that they couldn't replicate the error...but said that my mechanic was probably correct about it being the transmission range sensor. They charged me $119, didn't diagnose the problem but said that they would replace the sensor...for $1,205!

Here are my 3 issues. Let me know what you think.

1) This part is currently under recall for trucks just like mine and I am having the same issues that the recall specifically mentions (reverse lights not coming on), yet my truck isn't covered by the recall. This seems crazy to me. I called Ford and they told me to keep my receipts in case they expand the recall.

2) My mechanic looked up the part needed and the estimated time it would take to do the repair. He said that Ford would probably charge me about $600 based on their labor rates. Now, this dealership tried to screw me before, so I should know better. But I spoke with a different service advisor this time hoping I would get a straight answer/quote.

3) My truck has started with no issue for the last couple of days AND Ford can't replicate the error. So it seems like a gamble to bring this to Ford and have them replace the sensor. If the same issues happens 2 days later, I could see them coming back and saying, "Well, we didn't diagnose the sensor the first time. The actual problem is (fill in the blank) and it's going to be $1,500 to fix it.

What are y'all's thoughts?

SALEEN961

iTrader: (1)

This is a common problem and I've had customers who were just a few days outside of the date range window get told that it's their problem and that they'd receive no assistance from Ford.

To do the most complete job possible you need the molded lead frame above the valve body, roughly 7 quarts of Mercon LV, a pan gasket, a filter, and the bulkhead connector o-ring kit. All the parts can be bought online for about $220 shipped or maybe $320 at the dealer, and 4-5 hours of labor at $125/hr. The Ford literature says to cheap out and reuse everything outside of the molded lead frame that failed, including the old fluid because who cares as long as it makes it out of warranty, but that's not how I would treat my own truck.


All together doing it "right" should cost you about $1000 with tax out the door at a dealer, maybe $250 to do it yourself if you have the tools, skill, time, and space, or maybe $900 at an independent shop.

TexTheTruck

This is the EXACT kind of answer I was looking for.

I've been using my mechanic for about 15 years now and they are very good and very straightforward. He didn't want to tackle it because it sounds like there is a very specific way to do this repair and doing it any other way can result in big problems. That's why he sent me to Ford. If there would only be a couple hundred dollar savings taking it to an independent shop, I guess it would makes sense to take it to Ford. But I HATE taking my truck to a dealership and I especially dislike this particular dealership.

Maybe I'll call another dealership in town and see what they say.

Thanks again for the reply.

TexTheTruck

It's happening again. Would you trust a local transmission shop to do it or should I only take it to Ford? I REALLY don't like my local dealership and the next closest one isn't much better from what I understand.

SALEEN961

iTrader: (1)

Any good shop should be able to handle this job, you just want to make sure they're familiar with how the transmission needs to be filled and internal transmission repair in general.

Any problems you would run into would probably occur out of ignorance so just making sure it's something they understand or better yet, something they've done before should be enough to ensure a good result at any shop you choose.

diegoo.jayjay

any specific how tos on how to fill the transmission?

SALEEN961

iTrader: (1)

You have to fill it from underneath the vehicle using the dipstick hole on the passenger side of the transmission and some sort of fluid pump. The transmission fluid has to be at full operating temperature (roughly 180*F) to set the proper level, and the transmission cannot be flushed using the cooler lines.

diegoo.jayjay

oh I knew that. Lol I thought there was a certain manner in which to fill.

1986ew

I'm having the same problem. I'm getting a "P0705 TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION (PRNDL Input)" code. The dealership can't take my truck until next week, but I'm worried the sensor isn't the problem. I searched all over the internet and found a few people with the same problem with no solution. The only post I found with a solution was from this thread, but Im not sure if its the exact same problem. Thoughts?

http://www.fordforums.com/f536/p0705...w-6r80-235210/

2011 F150 5.0 6r80
I removed the Mechatronic unit (valve body) and replaced the connector assembly part number AL3Z-7G276-B. The "connector" bolts to the top of the valve body and contains the hall effect Range Sensor (TRS) and it also looks to contain the temperature sensor. This fixed the p0705 code. There were/are no other issues. Drives normal.

- Part was around $125 from Ford. No one else had it.
- "connector" does not require any reprogramming. Bolt and go.
This was done on vehicle.

TexTheTruck

UPDATE:

Yes the battery is good and the cables are tight.

My mechanic (not a Ford dealership) said that he thought it was a computer issue possibly so I disconnected my negative battery terminal for 30 minutes it hopes it would reset the computer. Well, I'll be darned but I haven't had the issue since.

It got to the point where every time I would turn the truck off, the next time it would NOT start for several minutes so I began scrutinizing everything my truck was doing during the startup process. What I noticed is that when I would insert the key, nothing would happen on the PRNDL. Specifically the P would not illuminate. When I would turn the key one click over the PRNDL would flicker a bit. Sometimes the P would illuminate and sometimes it would not. When it did illuminate the truck would start when I cranked it. When it didn't illuminate it would not start. this was tru 100% of the time. So, without even trying to crank the motor I could tell if it was going to start or not based on the illumination of the P.

After I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes and went to start it, I noticed something different immediately. As soon as I put the key into the ignition the "P" would illuminate. I no longer has to turn it one click to see what would happen.

I'm no mechanic or computer engineer, but this tells me there was some sort of glitch in the startup sequence that was causing my no start issue.

So, if you are having this same issue I would suggest disconnecting the battery for about 30 minutes and see if that helps before you fork our $1,200 to a stealership to fix this issue.