Tourneo won't start gearbox issue

I'm having a weird issue with my 2003 Ford Tourneo, gasoline engine. It's got about 35k km on the clock. Basically, it won't start sometimes. The check engine light is on, and I've noticed the gearbox feels a bit clunky, like it's slipping or not shifting smoothly. I plugged in an OBD reader and there's an error code stored, but the most annoying thing is that it seems to be related to the parking position. It's like the car doesn't know it's in park, so it won't let me start it. Anyone else experienced something like this? I've checked the obvious stuff like fuses, but no luck.

4 comment(s)

Sounds familiar! I had a similar headache with my old Renault Scenic. Different make, I know, but the symptoms are almost identical. Engine wouldn't start, lights on the dash, gearbox acting up. Turned out to be a faulty sensor in the transmission. Is the error code you pulled related to the transmission or a sensor?

Thanks for the reply! The error code does point towards the transmission, something about an issue with the park/neutral switch. So, if it was a sensor on your Scenic, was it a big job to fix? And did it also stop the engine from starting?

Yep, sounds like the same issue. It completely stopped the engine from starting because the car didn't 'know' it was in park. It wasn't a simple fix, I'm afraid. It needed a visit to the workshop to get the sensor replaced and the system recalibrated. I'd suggest taking yours in; messing with transmissions can get expensive quickly.

Thanks so much for confirming my suspicions! I was hoping it was something simple, but it sounds like a trip to the garage is unavoidable. I'll share the resolution when I get it sorted. They are estimating around 1000€, saying the control unit is defective and needs replacing.

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