Dear friends,

Yestery my ford fusion semi-automatic did not start and brake pedal was very stiff, the dash board shows ''transmission malfunction'. I tried very hard to push brake pedel down and started the car. But this morning it happened again: not starting and brake pedal was very stiff, ''transmission malfunction' on the dash. I tried many times to start the car by pressing the brake hard but it did not start.

I tried again at the lunch time by pressing the brake very hard down and it started and worked normally. 

It seems it will happen again tomorrow ... Any comments on such an issue? Do I need to change the brake pedal? Is the transmission system with problems? It is well known that Ford semi-automatic durashift transmission system are with a lot of issues. 

Thanks.

Does the brake pedal drop once the engine starts?

The pedal will be stiff without any vacuum assistance from the servo.  But there should be some servo assistance left after switching the engine off.

I suspect the engine will not start because the pedal can't be pushed far enough for the brake switch, rather than having a transmission fault.

10 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Does the brake pedal drop once the engine starts?

The pedal will be stiff without any vacuum assistance from the servo.  But there should be some servo assistance left after switching the engine off.

I suspect the engine will not start because the pedal can't be pushed far enough for the brake switch, rather than having a transmission fault.

Thanks for your comments - Tom.

Once the engine starts, the brake dedal worked normally, soft not stiff, and easy to press. After car running 5 minutes, I turned off the car. Wait 10mins, then started the car with no problems and brake pedal is not stiff. I will try this everning to see what happens.

It seemed to me that some reasons causing brake pedel stiff, and then can not start the car. But not sure what causing the pedal getting stiff ater the car was turned off for some time. There was no such issue (stiff pedal) previously.

Thanks again for your helpful comments.

 

If it goes stiff again after a few hours without use, there is probably an air leak in the servo or the vacuum hose to it.

Check battery voltage for "transmission fault" warning

As Tom says, check servo for leaks or one way valve in servo feed pipe has failed

Just an update on the issue:

As expected, this morning the car did not start and the dash board with ''transmission malfunction', strangely brake pedal was not stiff.

Forscan scanning results are below. Any further comments on this issue? Thanks.

Oh dear.  Looks like there could be an issue with the TCM or wiring.  But those first two are both old codes and not the ones preventing it from starting.

The current code is the one for PATS (immobiliser).  Do you have a spare key you could try just to rule out the fob chip?  Assuming it is still the same with a spare, then it could be an issue with the pickup around the key barrel, or the dash cluster, or the PCM, or wiring.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Oh dear.  Looks like there could be an issue with the TCM or wiring.  But those first two are both old codes and not the ones preventing it from starting.

The current code is the one for PATS (immobiliser).  Do you have a spare key you could try just to rule out the fob chip?  Assuming it is still the same with a spare, then it could be an issue with the pickup around the key barrel, or the dash cluster, or the PCM, or wiring.

Many thanks - Tom.

I tried the spare key but the same: not starting.

When the keys are 'Ignition on', no error on dash board; then press further to start engine. No any response and a few seconds later, the dash board shows ''transmission malfunction', just like power cutting off ...

The car battery was measured to be 12.16V.

Also there is a weak beeping from the fuse board located under storage box in the passenger side (not sure this is a problem). 

Thanks for suggesting the issue with the pickup around the key barrel, or the dash cluster, or the PCM, or wiring. I will do searching to see if I can check the items mentioned by myself; if not, I will contact garage to pick up the car to workshop.

Thanks.


 

Check the GEM

43 minutes ago, ford2188 said:

Also there is a weak beeping from the fuse board located under storage box in the passenger side (not sure this is a problem). 

Which is this, for water ingress damage.

Check the clutch arm position sensor on the gearbox

Another update:

I just tried to start the car. It started with no error messages on the dash board. I drove for 20mins (using different speeds) and no problems, just as before. It seemed to me, the car could be started afternoons NOT morrnings (need warming up?). Very strange!!!

Tomorrow morning, it will not start again. ...
 

Change the battery

13 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Change the battery

Thanks - Dave. The battery is one year old. I will think about changing the battery. 
 

That gearbox mechanism needs a lot of power

You could be going off on a wild goose chase. I've had a "transmission malfunction" and quite a number of other random messages pop up on my daughters 2010 Kuga. It was as I suspected it would be, the usual dry solder joints on the back of the instrument cluster.

On your 2010 fusion I'd suspect that you have the same problem with the instrument cluster.

@rd457 can probably advise you on repair/refurbishment

Which of these units do you have?

3 hours ago, unofix said:

You could be going off on a wild goose chase. I've had a "transmission malfunction" and quite a number of other random messages pop up on my daughters 2010 Kuga. It was as I suspected it would be, the usual dry solder joints on the back of the instrument cluster.

On your 2010 fusion I'd suspect that you have the same problem with the instrument cluster.

@rd457 can probably advise you on repair/refurbishment

Many thanks for the very helpful comments and suggestions - unifix.

Will check the instrument cluster.

 

2 hours ago, rd457 said:

Which of these units do you have?

Many thanks - rd457.

The unit is 2f type I think. A photo of my car is shown below:

 

Okay, well that one doesn't suffer from the common cracked connector solder joint problem.

Another update:

This morning 7:30am, car not starting with dash error 'transmission malfunction' as expected. The battery was measured to be 12.60V at the time.

I checked both fuse box and GEM areas and no visible signs of water ingress damage.

There is a beeping noise from fusebox (recorded sound (relay noise?): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wiazxe603b6r98py8gbzn/4-Jul-07.41.aac?rlkey=lfuel3xnn0kxs6rka55r0q05c&dl=0).

 

I did another Forscan:

Two DTCs present at Time of Request below:

 

Any further comments and suggestions, please. Thanks.

18 hours ago, ford2188 said:

It seemed to me, the car could be started afternoons NOT mornings

I've known people like that.  

 

Sadly I don't have much experience with this gearbox, and I suspect there aren't many members on here that do.  I know it's effectively a manual gearbox and clutch just with automatic clutch and gearshift actuators to change gear for you.

If it was a standard manual I'd be focussing on the PATS fault.  But with it being semi-auto and showing a Transmission malfunction, it is possible that the clutch sensor doesn't work intermittently, and that's confusing the PCM, preventing it from reading the PATS chip within a certain amount of time.

I think charging the battery is the first thing to do.  Though as it hasn't been very cold this week, I'm sceptical about that getting 'warmed up' during the day.

After that, I would want to check or change the clutch position sensor.  I don't know how easy that is on this gearbox but can research that if you want to try doing it yourself.

If it's neither of those then we're back to the PATS issue.  We've ruled out the keyfobs.  So the only other options are GEM, dash cluster, possibly PCM, or wiring.  All of those would probably require an auto-electrician to check methodically rather than being able to do yourself.

11 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I've known people like that.  

 

Sadly I don't have much experience with this gearbox, and I suspect there aren't many members on here that do.  I know it's effectively a manual gearbox and clutch just with automatic clutch and gearshift actuators to change gear for you.

If it was a standard manual I'd be focussing on the PATS fault.  But with it being semi-auto and showing a Transmission malfunction, it is possible that the clutch sensor doesn't work intermittently, and that's confusing the PCM, preventing it from reading the PATS chip within a certain amount of time.

I think charging the battery is the first thing to do.  Though as it hasn't been very cold this week, I'm sceptical about that getting 'warmed up' during the day.

After that, I would want to check or change the clutch position sensor.  I don't know how easy that is on this gearbox but can research that if you want to try doing it yourself.

If it's neither of those then we're back to the PATS issue.  We've ruled out the keyfobs.  So the only other options are GEM, dash cluster, possibly PCM, or wiring.  All of those would probably require an auto-electrician to check methodically rather than being able to do yourself.

Thanks again - Tom.

I will try the two things you suggested (this morning the battery was measured to be 12.60V when I tried to start the car, though not starting) and if the issue is still not solved. Hopefully I can start the car afteroons and drive to the nearby garage. 

Have a nice day - Tom.

As Tom says, it's a totally standard manual gearbox.

It just has an electric motor to operate the clutch mechanism and the shift mechanism, which all have sensors.

They also need to be kept well lubricated and (I believe I've read somewhere before) adjusted for play/wear, especially clutch bite.

Once you've proved out the battery voltage, I would be suspecting the clutch position sensor, which will be on the clutch arm on the bell housing.

The CAN issues could be a broken damaged wire somewhere or it could be due to the clutch sensor not talking.

The system was woefully unreliable though, made worse by poor maintenance. Typical Ford

It was a stop gap until the awful DCT250 was available

The clutch position sensor (Hall sensor) is part of the clutch motor that drives the hydraulic master cylinder, it is integral to the TCU
FYI see link for repair info.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282098161144?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Yy0G2IxdQ_e&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=aPfTNc76RVC&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Sunlight is good today in my area. It seemed the sunlight warmed up the car.

I just started the car as normal with no error message and running as normal. Very strange ...

In the last 3 days, my car only started afternoons NOT mornings. Really do not understand what is happening within the car ...

Sounds a bit like me. Sorry Z nothing to joke about really. At least you know you can get it to a garage in an afternoon.