I find there's sometimes an unusually long delay when shifting the tranmission into Reverse. Backing out of a parking spot after first starting the car and shifting from Park to Reverse, there's no problem. Try making a 3-point turn (or K-turn) in the middle of a street, and after shifting from Drive to Reverse, there's about a 4 or 5 second delay before the transmission engages.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

I test drove an auto v6... didnt notice that when i shifted from drive to reverse (putting the car back in its spot).

 

no I havent noticed, I always back up into my driveway I will have to pay attention when I park later

 

I've noticed that too, though in my case, it's more like a 2 second delay.

 

Am I right in thinking that the shifter is electronically controlled, rather than a mechanical link?

 

Connected by mechanical linkage. Internal controls are electronic.

 

while backing into my driveway last night I did not have a delay.

 

No delay - but definitely a loud "clunck' sound.

 

i have the same 3-5 sec delay

 

Glad to hear mine's not the only one. I wonder why it does that?

All this week I've only needed to shift from Park to Reverse (not from D to R) and there was not much of a delay at all.

 

When I mentioned this delay to my brother-in-law, he said maybe the transmission is filled with the wrong type of fluid. Any thoughts?

 

No way on the wrong fluid I have an idea it's a precuationary thing to keep from jerking u joints around or damaging gears. Since some people like to be rolling and throw it in reverse to back into a spot or vice versa. Instead of just stopping for second and changing the gear.

 

A short delay between shifter positions is normal, like maybe 1-2 seconds at the most. 4-5 seconds is a bit too long. I would get that looked at by the dealer.

 

The "wrong fluid" thing probably got started here (link below), but I doubt that's the problem in this case.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthrea...p?t=2379&page=2

 

Is the car still moving when you shift from D to R? Might explain the delay, I know when I drive an auto I never let it come to a complete stop when doing that.

 

While my Taurus was having new brakes installed at my closer Ford dealer (not where I bought my Stang), I asked my service advisor about this.

He told me it's a good thing. Electronic sensors in the transmission are waitng for the pressure of the fluid to reach a certain level before shifting from drive to reverse, and this can take from 2 to 4 seconds. It's a new self-protection system.