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" Transmission failure" after battery replacement
I have a 2012 Ford Fiesta SE. Last night the battery went dead, so I got it replaced by AAA. This morning I thought the warning lights that I was seeing were on because the battery had been disconnected. There's an orange wrench light on the instrument panel (I assume that's the check engine light, didn't look it up yet) and the radio screen gives a message saying, "Transmission malfunction." It will shift into drive, but it doesn't seem to want to shift from first to second gear. So I parked it. BTW, the reverse also worked. I have tried leaving the battery disconnected for about 40 minutes and then reconnecting it, but I'm still getting the same error. After Googling the problem, I learned that the car is more than likely in "limp home" mode. I also read from multiple sources that the car should reset (or go back to normal, for lack of a better term) after 20-30 minutes of "normal driving."
Should I drive it around at 10 miles an hour for a while? Just pay to have it towed to the nearest dealership? My powertrain warranty is up. I can't exactly afford a bill from the dealership, but of course, it's better than making the problem worse and more expensive to fix. I'd just rather not pay Ford to "fix" my car if there isn't anything actually wrong with it. Any advice from someone who has experience with this error is very much appreciated.
I have a 2012 Ford Fiesta SE. Last night the battery went dead, so I got it replaced by AAA. This morning I thought the warning lights that I was seeing were on because the battery had been disconnected. There's an orange wrench light on the instrument panel (I assume that's the check engine light, didn't look it up yet) and the radio screen gives a message saying, "Transmission malfunction." It will shift into drive, but it doesn't seem to want to shift from first to second gear. So I parked it. BTW, the reverse also worked. I have tried leaving the battery disconnected for about 40 minutes and then reconnecting it, but I'm still getting the same error. After Googling the problem, I learned that the car is more than likely in "limp home" mode. I also read from multiple sources that the car should reset (or go back to normal, for lack of a better term) after 20-30 minutes of "normal driving."
Should I drive it around at 10 miles an hour for a while? Just pay to have it towed to the nearest dealership? My powertrain warranty is up. I can't exactly afford a bill from the dealership, but of course, it's better than making the problem worse and more expensive to fix. I'd just rather not pay Ford to "fix" my car if there isn't anything actually wrong with it. Any advice from someone who has experience with this error is very much appreciated.