[Audrettap]

Hello everyone. I just became a member of the Ford Fusion community today. I recently purchased at 2012 Ford Fusion FWD 2.5L from my oldest sister 2 months ago. After 3 weeks, I began to notice my car shifting hard. After doing some research on YouTube, I realized that the hard shifts that I was feeling was caused by low transmission fluid. The following week, me and my uncle were working on repairing my broken door handle in an AutoZone. While we were there, we asked an AutoZone employee did they sale in any transmission fluid that was compatible with my vehicle and he showed the name of the brand and how many quarts it would take to fill up my transmission. When he first looked at the dipstick, he said that there was very little to none in there. He proceeded to added the 2 quarts. After pulling off from the lot, I noticed that the hard shifting had stopped. At this point I’m thinking everything is fine. Two weeks later, I noticed that the car wasn’t riding as smoothly as it did when I first got it. I notice that the engine revs when I accelerate, the gears tend to hesitate when switching, and the transmission slips when from 1st to 2nd gear. I called the dealership to see if I had put the right transmission oil in my Car and they said no. They told me that Mercon V goes in it and it takes 9 quart. So I took my car to the dealership on 3/8/22 to have the transmission flushed and put the correct fluid in it. As I was driving home, the car seemed to be shifting fine. However three days later, I noticed that the car began experiencing the same transmission related issue it once did before I took it to the dealership. I looked under the hood of my car and checked the transmission fluid level and it seems like the dealership didn’t add enough fluid and they might have put the wrong one in there. On the tip of dipstick it’s says, use mercon LV. At the dealership, they told me they used Mercon V. I don’t know a lot about my car because I don’t have an owners manual. What steps should I take moving forward to fix this issue?

 

[bbf2530]

Hi Audrettap and welcome to the Ford Fusion Club. Sorry t hear you are having problems.

First you can download the PDF version of your Owners Manual here: https://www.fleet.ford.com/parts-service/resources/owner-manuals/

You can find the proper transmission fluid specification, (along with oil and others), in the Maintenance and Specifications section of the Owners Manual.

If you find the Dealership filled with the wrong fluid specification, you should bring it to their attention immediately and have them correct it.

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

 

[Audrettap]

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to update you on how my dealership visit went yesterday. When I arrived at the dealership, I should them the transmission fluid specifications and correct levels from the owners manual and they said that they followed all of Fords factory procedures by adding the correct fluid and making sure it’s at the right level. After getting my spare key and alignment done, I had two tech walk me to my car and show the the fluid level on the dipstick. Both tech told me that the fluid is where it should be. They also mentioned that the type of transmission my car has a tendency to cause my fluid to appear darker than what it is when I pull the dipstick out. Although the type of fluid and level are confirmed to be correct, my transmission is still slipping, hesitating in between gears and causing the engine to rev sometimes. Sometimes the car rides smoothly and sometimes it doesn’t. I was thinking about purchasing this product called Lucas Transmission Fix as a temporary solution until I can get enough money to take it to a transmission repair shop to have it looked at. Hopefully this product will help. If I decide to purchase this product, how many bottles do you think I’ll need for it to work effectively? How do I apply the fluid correctly? I have a 6F35 transmission that takes up to 8 quarts of transmission fluid.

 

[lynx1021a]

Sorry to hear you are having trouble. I have a 2010 Ford fusion SE and the dipstick says Mercon LV and My manual says do not use anything but Mercon LV! I noticed mine was a hair low a couple of weeks ago so I started my research. Found Auto zone does not carry the Mercon LV and I wouldn't use any so-called compatible Fluid they had. By them putting the wrong fluid in that probably aggravated the problem and The dealer putting in Mercon V made things worse! Did they specify what they put in on the ticket? Anytime you run one low on fluid it can cause damage. Also the Dealers here don't do flushes anymore, just drain, change the filter and refill because they found the flushes were causing more failures! To use that Lucas Transmission Fix you may have to let a little fluid out or what ever the oz's are of the bottle so it doesn't get over filled. The make some hand siphons that you could use to get some of the fluid out. O'reillys auto parts usually carries the Mercon LV. Here is what I found on a website "All Mercon fluids are incompatible with Mercon LV." That means mixing Mercon V with LV that they are incompatible!! Also I found my 2010 needs special "green" antifreeze coolant in the radiator!

 

[fordfusionjohnny]

The Trans filter is inside the trans. Most dealers don't mess with it.
Audrettap
Go to a different dealer. I have read where sometimes it takes 2 or 3 fluid changes to make it right again

 

[lynx1021a]

The Trans filter is inside the trans. Most dealers don't mess with it.
Audrettap
Go to a different dealer. I have read where sometimes it takes 2 or 3 fluid changes to make it right again

You are probably right, I remember seeing a video where you have to take a good bit apart to get to the filter! I haven't drained a transmission since my 1966 Plymouth Fury, It had a fiber filter and at 90,000 miles it quit so I dropped the pan and changed the fluid and filter, had to do it 3 times before I filtered all the junk out of it! It would always go again after I changed the filter. Then the engine blew up at 118,000 miles😥😥