The ignition key heats up. The car sometimes hesitates on take off and jerks on small downhill inclines where I have to ride the brake. The transmission has been diagnosed as OK. My mechanic mentioned a possible solenoid problem. Is there a solenoid for the starter? Could this be part of the problem or is there a solenoid in the transmisison even though transmission checks out O K? Car also will have small mild jerk when coming to a stop. Present mileage is approx. 114,000. Thanks for any help you can render

Most automatic transmissions are engineered to go 125,000 to 150,000 miles, before needing to be rebuilt, even if you properly maintain them by changing the fluid and filter every 30,000 miles.

If you think the jerking could be engine-related, you may want to replace the spark plugs (Motorcraft only). I have a 2000 Taurus and needed to replace the platinum plugs at 50,000 miles, even though Ford recommended changing them at 100,000 miles. This is common on many cars. Go back to the mechanic and ask him which solenoid he was referring to. If it's a shift solenoid on your ATX, you might want to replace the transmission. ATXs are the weak link on most front-wheel drive cars. The AX4N transmissions on many Taurus' is no exception.