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Hello all, I am a young aspiring side mechanic who recently took my car (2010 Ford Fusion S - 113,000 Mi) to a Ford dealership nearby and got my brakes done. I tried everything to fix it (i.e. master cylinder change, total flush of everything, tested booster and ABS/HCU, etc.) but somehow a brake switch was causing my brake pedal to not work. Anyways, I pick it up and begin having transmission problems while driving it home. Check engine light, powertrain wrench light, battery light, the whole kabam. I experience various engine sounds such as booms, rattles, and clunking, and my engine slips making it almost impossible to drive over 2000 RPM without losing my acceleration. I took it to Autozone and got a free plug-in scan done on it and it came back with an error code P0976 reading "Shift Solenoid 'B' Control Circuit Low". Upon some research, that solenoid interacts with the transmission control module and allows for shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear - makes sense since I only have troubles driving in the city rather than highway driving. I experienced something similar to this whenever my alternator was going out, except in this scenario my car suspiciously starts perfectly and I have no other electrical issues, but this is all besides the point. I know taking it to a shop, they will probably tell me that the transmission is shot and needs to be replaced for thousands of dollars. Being a DIY mechanic, I take pride in being able to save a lot of money and learning all about car mechanics. Seeing little to no information on the issue other than some videos of solenoid removals from similar cars, I figured I try to buy a Haynes repair manual for my car. Alas, that still had no information regarding my problem; though, it was still a neat repair manual for what it was. I am fairly confident in the problem since I am missing about a pint of transmission fluid and, getting the car from my grandma, I know the fluid has never been changed. My plan of action consists of changing what transmission fluid comes from the plug and pan, somehow determining which circuit is supposed to be "B" and changing the corresponding solenoid. I purchased a new transmission filter, some RCV sealant just in case, and a transmission pan gasket from rock auto. Again, Autozone claims all these different shaped gaskets fit my transmission pan and many different videos do different things so I am trying my best with what information I have. I will try it later on in the week and see what progress I can make with it. I know whatever amount comes out (plus whatever I measured to be missing) must go back in with fresh Mercon LV, so hopefully nothing goes wrong. Fingers Crossed! If anyone wants to provide some tips or feedback it would be greatly appreciated. I post also knowing others with similar issues will be able to use this in the future. IMG_7220[1].HEIC

Hey guys, so I am a relatively new Fusion owner, I have only had mine for a year, bought used with 55k miles on it. I previously owned a fleet of lincoln towncars, so I am generally familiar with ford vehicles and their nuances. That said, I've never had an issue like what I'm having now, and I am not a mechanic, I simply used to own a towncar business so I've experienced a wide variety of problems, but never this. Pre-cursor: I recently had an oil change, and when done, the mechanic told me that I had a minor leak that appeared to be somewhere near the oilpan. I don't know the first thing about the underside of any vehicle and what seals are which, etc, and the mechanic was very vague but told me it was nothing to seriously worry about. He just said to keep an eye on the oil level, and if there's a serious drop, to have it checked immediately. That said, I've been checking the oil every day, and never had a noticeable change, until today. I drive professionally, and had driven about 300 miles today without issue. I pulled up to a stop light, and when green, began to turn left into a parking lot when the car stalled out. It would not turn over after it stalled out. I was able to push the car into the parking lot, and popped the hood. First, I checked the oil because of the previously stated warning about the leak, and that was my first concern. The oil was drastically low, despite at the beginning of my day having no noticeable change from the day before. So, that's indicative that the oil leak has become dramatically escalated, and that whatever seal (i think) was damaged has now experienced complete failure. So my first course of action was to purchase some oil, and see if that would do the trick to top it off and get the car going again so I could nurse it home. The car is is spec'd to take SAE 5W-20 oil, but it's Sunday at 8pm, all my local auto stores were closed, and all I could get was gas station 5W-30, which I read can invalidate a warranty (doesn't have one) but shouldn't pose any major problems to the engine for limited use. I planned to get an oil change tomorrow if this corrected the issue, but it did not. The engine turned over and started without a hitch, and the car appeared normal, it reversed out of the parking spot normally, but upon being but into Drive, sputtered and died almost immediately. I pushed the car back into the parking spot, placed the car back in park, and started the vehicle again. And again, it was able to shift into R and N with no issue, but even being shifted into D without moving, still caused the car to sputter and die. Each time the car sputters out, all of the electronic systems stay on without issue, no dimming lights, no accessory power loss, etc. When I put oil into the car, I only put 2 quarts in, because there was still a significant portion of oil left on the stick. I'm wondering if more was required, or if 2 quarts should have done the trick, just to get the car going. Also, I have never run into an issue like this before, I've never had a vehicle that had a significant loss of oil like this, so I don't know what to expect. The general consensus on pages that are non-specific to ford vehicles seem to run the gamut of issues that it could be, so I'm hoping that someone on here can help me narrow this down a little, and possibly help me locate a cause to the problem prior to having it serviced. I'm on a limited budget, so any insight is definitely appreciated before turning a mechanic loose on it. Also, if any of you have any information on a reliable mechanic in the Philadelphia or surrounding area, that would help greatly, I'm located in Folcroft and the car is currently parked in Upper Darby. Thanks in advance for any insight you may have. Please let me know if there are any additional details I can provide. Currently, I do not have pictures of the vehicle, and won't be able to provide any until tomorrow. Cheers.