2013 Ford Edge 2.0L w/ EcoBoost & Automatic Transmission stalls in drive/reverse only at idle when warmed up.

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City
Fullerton
State
CA
Country
United States
What I Drive
2013 Ford Edge 2.0 w/ EcoBoost
#1
Hello and thank you in advance for any knowledge you could kick my way.

In addition to the info in the subject line, it is a 4 cyl & FWD with 140,000 miles. It is driven in Southern California.

Problem started months ago when driving on freeway. If I was driving say 65 MPH and wanted to speed up to pass someone, the Edge would go into what I've now learned is called limp mode. Service Engine Soon light would start flashing and Edge would feel bogged down, I would have to feather the gas pedal to maybe go 45 MPH at best. The AC would get warm-ish and humid. If I pulled over and turned off the motor, I could turn the key back on and everything would be fine, no flashing light, no weak engine, and AC was cold. This problem would also happen if I was on the freeway and driving up a grade. So basically whenever there was significant load on the Edge it would go into "Limp Mode". Occasionally the wrench light would go on as well, but neither ever remained after turning off the Edge, and turning it back on. Code reader never gave a code. Nothing.

BTW, this is probably a good time to announce that my automotive mechanical abilities have been self-taught thru the use of Haynes Repair Manuals for the Edge and other versions for past vehicles. So basically, I know enough to be disastrously harmful to the vehicle and sometimes myself.

I researched and thought I definitely needed to start with a transmission fluid change (Mercon LV), I had never done one on this vehicle before. So I drained, filled to side hole, drove to warm, parked and shifted, drained, filled, drove, drained, filled, drove, drained, and filled. Drained a total of four times and fluid was still coming out looking like a Starbucks Expresso. It didn't smell burned and I didn't see any metal suspended in it. It didn't help the problem.

After more research I thought I would clean the MAF sensor with MAF spray. I drove on the freeway for 20 minutes to a friend's house and I didn't have any issues. I drove it hard too! I was so happy! I stayed there for about 2 hours and drove home. When I got off the exit and came to a stop at the light at the end of the ramp, the edge began to shudder and stalled. It felt like I was driving a manual transmission and came to a stop in 2nd gear and never pushed the clutch in. It shudders and bucks and stalls.

I decided to replace the MAF and this didn't help at all. I dumped and filled the tranny four more times, which gets to be expensive at 4-5 quarts a fill! What stinks is that the filter is inside the tranny, so unless you pull the tranny, the filter is just mucked up.

For the past two weeks when I have to come to a stop I just shift the auto trans into Neutral. When the light turns green, I feather the gas pedal from say 750 to 1000 RPM's and shift into drive, and I'm good. I've gotten pretty good at it. But If I'm going up a hill and have to stop and try this, it's not the best, it just feels like it's not good for the tranny.

I've learned about the Torque Converter, I never knew there was something between the engine and the tranny. So to me it sounds like the Torque converter is not unlocking which then causes the car to stall at stops/idle, which is a safety feature so you don't destroy the tranny or the engine, or both. I've heard that there are solenoids in the tranny that control the functioning of the torque converter and maybe it's not that the Torque converter is bad, but just a solenoid. So now I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pull that off. That is beyond the scope of the Haynes manual. Does anyone have to step by step instructions from a Ford Shop manual they could forward me. What do you guys think? Am I barking up the wrong tree? Any other suggestions?

Thanks again for any time or help, I appreciate it very much!
 
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