2001 Ford Ranger 4.0 automatic. Erratic shifting during cold weather until the vehicle warms up. Have talked to many others and the problem according to some dealers is the transmission cooler is placed to far foreward of the radiator and the transmission fluid gels during cold weather. Talked to our Ford dealer in town and they say alot of the escapes that use the same transmission and cooling system have lost transmission due to this. The same transmission is also used in the Mazda and my boss at work just had his go out at 15,000 miles on the vehicle. It seems Ford knows about the problem but is not inclined to do anything about it. My vehicle during cold days ( below 30 ) acts like someone is putting the clutch in and out very rapidly when the automatic transmission attempts to shift when it is first driven. Had it at the dealer last year before my Ford warrenty expired and they found nothing. Of couse if was above 40 that day. Any influence that could be brought to Ford to address this issue would be helpful. It seems on the vehicles they are fixing now, Ford is putting in another safety valve in the cooling system to address this issue so all of the transmission fluid won't blow out. Thanks for listening and I hope you can help. Ford won't.

- Coon Rapids, MN, USA