Hello Mr. Kilmer.

After your high praise of the Ford Five Hundred, I bought a used 2005 model with approximately 45K miles on the odometer. It is an automatic AWD version with the CVT transmission. I bought the car from a private owner in Boise, ID and drove it home to Grand Forks, ND.

The vehicle ran beautifully until I had a small mishap. I found myself caught in the middle of a winter storm and, due to near-whiteout and blizzard conditions, ran off the highway and into a snowbank at about 60 mph. The bank itself was soft, freshly-fallen powder; so the impact was relatively gentle and cushioned. There was no body, structural, or cosmetic damage, and I had the vehicle winched out the following morning.

Still having about 400 miles left to travel, I got back on the highway. As you might expect, there was some snow that had found its way into the engine bay. After about 20 miles, my check engine light came on and began flashing. The engine was also running rough. I knew I had a misfire and assumed that it was electrical in nature because of the melted snow/water in the engine bay.

When I got home, my local mechanic confirmed a misfire in cylinders two and four due to a short in the coils. I had those replaced and the engine itself hasn't had a problem since.

I drove it for one day with no problems after picking it up from the shop. Then out of nowhere, while I was sitting in park at my local store, my check engine light came on and stayed on (no flashing). The wrench indicator came on and stayed on. I had a notification telling me to check the traction control system. The vehicle revved high at modest speeds (50 mph or above) almost as if the transmission wasn't adjusting. The vehicle shifted roughly (almost violently, with a hard jerk) into reverse and forward. No engine misfires, but now a whole new set of problems had manifested. I'd like to note that, strangely enough, even though the check engine and wrench light were both on along with the text "check trac control" being displayed in the dash, when I plugged in my $49 OBD II scanner, it showed no DTCs..

Frustrated, I just decided to drive it for a while to see if anything would change. Just as suddenly as the problem came about, it resolved itself. All the lights went off and the vehicle is back to operating normally as if nothing ever happened. It runs with no issues to this day, and it's been over two weeks. I haven't had a problem since.

Now, I'm faced with another upcoming long-distance road trip. The Five Hundred is my ideal choice because it gets the best fuel economy of all of my vehicles. I'm driving from Grand Forks, ND to Houston, TX with my wife and two toddlers. Even though the vehicle is running great and has been with no issues for short while now, I'm still hesitant to put it on a long road trip. I'm afraid that I'll get it out on the open road, hundreds of miles from home, and the issue will reoccur with my family in the car. On the other hand, I'm not made of money. With it running flawlessly with no lights, I don't want to waste cash either if there's no need.

Mr. Kilmer, what do you suspect the issue is? How likely do you think it is to reoccur? Should I take it on my trip? What should I do?

Thanks for all you do!