I have a 99 Ford Contour Automatic 4 speed. The car starts and idles fine and when I press the brake you can put it into any gear but it will not catch. It acts as if its in neutral. There is a Whining noise in every gear and when you press the gas in reverse or drive, drive 2, and drive 1 it idles up and stays like that even after you let off the gas but when I push the brake it idles down. My fiance' bfore we found the problem put it in reverse and backed out of the drive way, stopped, put it in drive, and the car jerked, then started whining and didn't move. I would really appreciate any insight on this problem. Its her only way of transportation to work and we have very little money to take to a mechanic. The fluid was a quart low and I added some but it did nothing. Again Thank You for your Insight.

If you have not dropped and cleaned the pan and magnet, replaced the filter, and refilled with Mercon V ATF every 30,000 miles, the clutch packs are likely shot. This will likely require rebuilding or replacing the transmission.

If the fluid is brown or has a burnt smell, the transmission is likely damaged. If you drop and clean the pan and magnet now, replace the filter, and refill with Mercon V, it may or may not help. You need to honestly reflect on the condition of the transmission to see if this would be worth the money. Automatic transmissions are the weak link in most FWD vehicles.