A 2018 Ford Expedition with just 84,043 miles has already burned through its original transmission, and now appears to be headed toward transmission number three, as the replacement unit is showing signs of failing. The SUV otherwise looks remarkably healthy for its age, which makes the drivetrain trouble stand out even more.
Its 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 is running properly, the suspension and brakes appear to be in good shape, and the transfer case fluid looked clean during inspection. The transmission, however, told a very different story.
According to the Car Wizard on YouTube, the Expedition’s original gearbox failed and was replaced by a dealership roughly 20,000 miles ago. Now the replacement transmission is overheating, leaking slightly, and circulating fluid that the shop described as badly burned.
The owner brought the SUV to Omega Auto Clinic for an independent assessment after becoming increasingly concerned about transmission temperatures. What the shop found suggested that another replacement may eventually be difficult to avoid.
The Original Transmission Already Failed
The Expedition is an XLT Max equipped with Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. Car Wizard host David Long said the original transmission suffered a major failure at around 65,000 miles and was subsequently replaced by a Ford dealership.
That means the current transmission has accumulated only about 20,000 miles. Despite its relatively short service life, the owner had already noticed unusually high transmission temperatures and wanted to know whether another failure was developing.
Long’s initial inspection found little else wrong underneath the Expedition. The transfer case fluid was clean, the driveshaft and differential showed no obvious problems, and the suspension components appeared serviceable.
The Transmission Fluid Was Nearly Black
The biggest warning sign came when the shop drained a small sample of transmission fluid. Fresh fluid intended for the Expedition should be bright red, but the sample removed from the replacement transmission was extremely dark and smelled burned.
Long said that was not what he expected to see after only around 20,000 miles. Combined with the reported overheating and the transmission beginning to leak, he concluded that the unit appeared to be deteriorating.
The owner also told the shop that the replacement transmission had allegedly been severely overfilled when the dealership installed it. Another shop later corrected the level, although Long said it was impossible to know whether damage had already occurred by that point.
The Owner Is Trying To Keep It Alive
Rather than immediately installing another transmission, the owner supplied a heavy-duty aftermarket transmission pan with additional cooling fins. The plan was to service the fluid and fit the new pan in hopes of reducing temperatures and extending the gearbox’s remaining life.
Long warned that modifying the transmission could complicate any remaining warranty claim and suggested taking the Expedition back to the dealer first. The owner declined, saying he was tired of dealing with the situation and simply wanted to keep the SUV running while deciding what to do next.
The shop agreed to perform the requested work, although Long made clear that it could not warranty a transmission it already believed was failing. A fluid change might help temporarily, but he cautioned that there was no way to predict how much life the unit had left.
Checking The Fluid Isn’t Especially Convenient Either
The Expedition’s transmission fluid level is checked using a small dipstick mounted underneath the vehicle rather than a conventional underhood dipstick. It sits close to the catalytic converter and must be checked with the transmission at operating temperature.
Long criticized the arrangement because it puts the technician close to an extremely hot exhaust component while checking the fluid. He recommended performing the procedure with the vehicle safely raised rather than attempting it while lying underneath the SUV.
For this owner, however, accessibility is now secondary to the larger problem. At only 84,000 miles, the Expedition has already lost one transmission and appears to be heading toward a third, leaving its owner deciding whether another replacement is worth the trouble.