Hi everyone, during a long drive in my 2018 ford explorer limited 45,000 miles v6 all wheel drive, my dashboard gave me a message, it said ALL WHEEL DRIVE DISENGAGED. After I got home I checked it with my Autel diagnostic tool and it gave me TFT transmission fluid temperature (FLUID OVERTEMPERATURE). My tranny fluid is HOT! Please what does that mean and what can I do to fix it it?
can you please describe what you were doing at the time of the message? The road conditions, terrain, speed, gear selected etc...
The freeze frame data would help too.
Is the front of the radiator clean and not full of leaves, insects debris etc?
I agree with MountainManJoe that data is needed (hence the usefulness of a pending Diagnostic Trouble Code and the associated freeze frame data).
And, the environmental conditions matter: Stop-and-go (lots of shifting, particularly on a eight or ten speed), stretches of hill or mountain driving, and so forth.
Because it's a Ford, to get Ford and Ford dealers to acknowledge a problem often takes a class-action lawsuit, such as the current F-150 transmission class action suit).
If you know a good diagnostic mechanic (and you're looking for a diagnosis only), take it to him (or her). Have them drop the pan, and take a look at whether there's a lot of metal in the pan. If there is a lot of metal in the pan, the problem is internal to the transmission. And then, if it's still under some kind of factory warranty, extended or not, have pictures taken and a document prepared, by the independent technician, before going back to a Ford dealership.
If not, then it may be a software issue, as well, or a malfunction of part external to the transmission.
As MountainManJoe makes clear, there are a lot of unknowns, in your narrative. Accurate diagnosis and evidence is what you should be engaged with, before the problem becomes more frequent, and you'll end up with a very expensive replacement remanufactured transmission, on your dime.
