Transmission problem
1997 Mercury Sable 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 125000 miles
----------------------------------------------------------------
My 1997 Sable wagon with Duratec engine will occasionally have the transmission disengaged (5 times already) from Drive after stopping for the traffic lights. There are two ways to have the transmission engaged again; 1)move the shifter to Neutral and then back to Drive. 2)tap the gas pedal a few times and wait until it engages again. Otherwise, the car runs well. The transmission fluid level is sufficient and has no burnt smell and <30000mi since the last fluid and filter change. Would you advise me what is going on and how to fix the problem? It is a bit dangerous to have the car not moving at intersections.I will try to fix it myself before sending to the mechanic.
P.S. I took the pan off and replace the fluid and filter today. It was clean inside the pan with only very small quantity of iron filing on the magnet.