2007 Ford Explorer Hesitates and Slams Hard and Loud Into Gear

Posted for Jen

2007 Ford Explorer, 6 cyl, automatic…it has a sealed system, and I am unable to check/refill the fluid myself, but I just took it in and had that done. As it turned out, the fluid level wasn’t very low and was told that leak is probably up in the bell housing. I had hoped refilling the fluid would fix the reverse issue, but it only lessened it just a slight bit…when I put it in reverse, the transmission hesitates before slamming very hard and loud into gear.

This comes after having loaned my car to a friend (lesson learned!), and I’m wondering what can happen to turn a perfectly fine vehicle into one that all of a sudden has a leak and transmission problem…is it a naturally occurring car thing, or is it caused by stress on the vehicle?