Transmission began shifting poorly at 30K miles. Dealer service did not improve the shifting. A trans fluid flush at a local transmission shop fixed the problem. It is still shifting OK. A letter that accompanied the new car explained that the 46 miles were from a factory performance test. They must have paid careful attention to this one, it has run flawlessly for over 72K miles.
This car is a good balance between comfort and performance at a very good price. For me seats are exceptionally comfortable, the ride is reasonably smooth with the sport option. The handling is a cut above most other passenger cars, but definitely not sports car level. The car has been exceptionally reliable. This is fortunate since the service by the dealer is so poor.
On the recommendation of my mechanic (who was chasing down a miss caused by a faulty spark plug wire around 20,000 miles), I had the transmission fluid replaced in my 1997 T-Bird. Apparently the transmission fluid Ford used was prone to thicken and generate a lot of noise while driving. A mechanic at a local dealership made a comment that basically supported this story. The rough shifting may have been due to the same problem.
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