PowerShift Transmission: Needs Replacing < 25,000km

[istan]

Kung ganun lng, eh di dapat tinanggal nila yun option na yan sa tranny. Nanjan yun option, means we can use it. Loko loko yun nagsabi sa iyo yan

[Tj_abs]

Kung ganun lng, eh di dapat tinanggal nila yun option na yan sa tranny. Nanjan yun option, means we can use it. Loko loko yun nagsabi sa iyo yan

Investigation finds hundreds of complaints about Ford transmissions

Their new cars shudder, jerk and slip out of gear. And they say they cannot get the problem fixed.

A Channel 4 Action News investigation found hundreds of people around the country saying transmissions on some recent-model Ford sedans are a safety concern.

VIDEO: Watch Paul Van Osdol's report

This is an issue that first showed up in 2011 when Ford redesigned the transmission on the Focus and Fiesta. Ford tried to fix the problem but the complaints keep coming in. But the government has not ordered a recall.

For Pat Bittler of Mercer, driving can be an adventure full of surprises.

“It's like it doesn't want to shift and then that hesitation you feel and it'll kick in,” she said.

This is after Bittler took her 2012 Ford Focus back to the dealer multiple times, all for complaints about the transmission. At first, it was having problems shifting at lower speeds.

“It wasn't shifting. It wouldn't go. It would literally bog down,” she said.

Now, she says that has been fixed, but she still has problems at higher speeds. It's bad enough that she is afraid to take the car on long trips.

“My biggest fear is that this car's not safe,” she said.

That's why she filed a lemon law complaint against Ford. (Click here to read more about lemon law protection)

She has plenty of company. WTAE checked court records and found 36 lawsuits filed in just the past seven months, alleging defective transmissions on the Focus or the Fiesta. And this is just in Allegheny County.

Attorney Zachary Kappel's firm, Kimmel & Silverman, has filed more than 100 lemon law suits about Ford transmissions on behalf of clients in Pennsylvania, including Bittler.

“It is a very serious problem and a serious safety concern for many of these consumers,” Kappel said.

Court records reveal many of those concerns mirror Bittler's. Complaints include a shaking or grinding noise; the vehicle hesitating and vibrating; a noise in the transmission; and the transmission not shifting properly.

“Banging, jumping, slipping, skipping and it's become an issue that's now affected the drivability and safety of the vehicles,” Kappel said.

Hundreds of complaints about the Ford transmissions have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some cases involved crashes.

In one case, a Focus took off in a lurch, the driver lost control and then hit two cars and tore down a fence.

In another case, the car accelerated rapidly and crashed into a cement wall.

Reporter Paul Van Osdol tried calling and emailing Ford. The company refused to do an on-camera interview but instead sent a statement that says in part: "Ford's PowerShift automated-manual transmission uses an advanced configuration that provides exceptional powertrain efficiency, along with a potential for unique shift-feel compared to conventional automatics. We take customer concerns seriously, and are committed to investigating those concerns and responding to our customers."

Bill Visnic, senior editor at Edmunds.com, says the Ford transmission is basically a hybrid of an automatic and a manual, aimed at improving gas mileage.

“In a dual-clutch, automated-manual sometimes you do feel those shifts and you do feel a little bit of roughness and maybe jerkiness because you're just going directly from one gear to another,” he said.

Like a manual transmission, it's trickier on hills, which may explain why Pittsburgh drivers have had a tougher time with it. Some drivers have complained their cars roll backward when they're stopped on a hill.

“I do think roll-back has been one of the biggest problems with this transmission. It's a very,very difficult thing,” Visnic said.

He said Ford has improved the transmission in the last two years and it's issued technical service bulletins to help dealers make it shift more smoothly. But some drivers may never be satisfied.

“To them a fix means it's going to be just like the automatic transmission in my brother's Buick and it's not. And it's never going to be,” Visnic said.

Tracey Shearer of Hopewell has had problems with her Focus transmission ever since she bought the car last year.

“It's like a weird grinding, crunching sound, like the shuddering of the engine when it was going through first and second gear phase,” she said.

She also said the car occasionally jolts forward when shifting at low gear. She took the car back to the dealer multiple times but they kept telling her it was normal.

“When I bought the car I didn't sign up to have a car that made weird noises,” she said.

So she filed a lemon law complaint against Ford. She says the company needs to be held accountable.

“Obviously I'm afraid of rear ending someone,” she said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not ordered a recall of these transmissions. The agency declined to say why. A spokesman said NHTSA carefully reviews all consumer complaints and investigates when the data warrants.

[Carlo Castillo]

I don't know what to do here and would appreciate any suggestions. It looks like the transmission of my focus is finished before the car has reached just 25,000km:

My second hand focus TDCI started to occasionally shudder when accelerating and violently bucking when backing up. It's a 2009 model with under 25,000km (warranty expired earlier this year) and was a joy to drive up to that point.

When this started happening back in September, I immediately took it to the Casa. They found that the transmission fluid was black, said it might be the cause and that it should be changed (at a cost of P16,000). That didn't solve the problem. Seems the bottom line is there is some unspecified problem with the transmission and it will likely need replacing. They're trying to isolate exactly what it is but haven't yet been able to do so. Since the powershift DCT transmission is a sealed unit, unless I'm lucky they think i need a new one- which will cost P375,000(!).

I see no way that this problem could be caused by the driver/owner. The dual clutch transmission is a sealed unit and doesn't require regular maintenance. It's an automatic- and so can't be abused by over-revving, misuse of clutch, etc. I think there may be a problem with the focus powershift design itself (try googling "ford focus DCT vibration" if you're interested).

More than a month ago, I wrote executives at Ford Group Philippines to ask whether they would consider extending the warranty to cover this. Apart from an initial response that they would give this their "utmost attention", I haven't heard from them and they haven't responded to any follow up emails.

So where I am now is:
-My Focus has been sitting in the Casa for over 2 months
-I've spent P16,000 on really expensive fluid, which I guess has a good chance of getting thrown out together with the transmission
-Ford can't say exactly what's wrong with it except that the solution is probably a ridiculously expensive transmission
-I can't get a response out of FGP
-It looks like there is no end to this in sight, and I am much less confident now that Ford has a solution than when this whole ordeal began

In summary after 2 months my car is still broken, and I still don't know exactly why. The only things that have changed since the time I brought this problem to Ford is I'm down a lot of cash, have lost use of the car since September, and have become extremely frustrated.

The casa has been responsive and I think is genuinely interested in figuring this out, but it seems they've been having problems getting parts they need from the plant to isolate the issue because the car doesn't have complete service records covering it's time with the previous owner. (none of those service intervals by the way have anything to do with the transmission- essentially filter changes and engine oil replacement).

Would any of you have suggestions on what I can do, or better yet experienced something similar and been able to solve it? I don't have anywhere near P375k to spend on on this. Even if it cost much less, I think it's crazy to have to change a transmission at under 25,000km. Especially one supposedly as advanced as the Powershift.

I'd be very thankful for any advice that could help me out of this mess.

I sympathize with you on this. We almost had the same problem, luckily we did not buy the car. My sister and I was looking for a second hand car she can afford having recently become a doctor. Our cousin had a 2009 focus hatchback a/t power shift. He was having financial problems so he was pushing us to buy his car immediately. We test drove it and fell in love with it, at least 'im sure I did. However, my sister wants a full size sedan with a conventional trunk, she did not like the hatchback design, she was eyeing a 1.8 2008 model civic. I was trying to convince her that the focus is a lot better option since I fell for its expensive looking interior and build quality plus the fact that it way more economical than a 1.8 liter gasoline civic. Anyway, since my sister will be the one to ultimately use the car, she decided to buy the civic instead. Luckily she did not listen to me to go for the focus. A month after turning down the focus, my cousin told us that the focus was sold to a friend who immediately experienced problems with the transmission, according to my cousin when he test drove it to confirm the problem it was not shifting properly and revving erratically. When they had it checked at a dealership they were told that the dirty transmission oil destroyed the transmission, my cousin was dumbfounded, all the while he thought and was made to believe when he bought the car brand new that the powershit (power shift) transmission was a sealed unit and did not need any maintenance including any oil change. The dealership was asking hundreds of thousands to have it replaced. My cousin maintained that car religiously, did not abused it and it had only around 50k on the odometer. Anyways, Im glad we bought the civic instead, although admittedly it is a gas guzzler at city driving. The funny thing about this is that Im still in love with a focus hatchback, i still dream of getting one, however im terribly apprehensive that I might end up buying one with a problematic transmission.

[dandang]

This is the reason why i am also having SECOND THOUGHTS about buying the ecosport Trend AT for my wife, she might end up having the same problem and blame me for it. But i really like the looks and features of the ecosport. Nasisira lang talaga ford sa transmission pronlems nila. Haays.

[jayren]

Same here. I really want that ecoboost fiesta kaso 1st car so dun na lang sa sure muna.

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[jasonub]

Then get a manual trans if they have one


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[Tj_abs]

My friend at ford told me that the supplier of the powershift transmission of ford vehicles ( focus, fiesta and ecosport) is not "GETRAG" anymore. Bago na daw. Mas safe pa din ang manual.


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[mrjeff]

Sa atin kc sa pinas walang rebuilder ng automatic trans. Kahit sa casa di nila gagawin un... Uunahin nila Gawin mga quick service... Kc Pag Sakit na sa ulo ang DTC sure ang technician mangangayaw hehe

[[archie]]

^^ or hindi nila talaga alam gawin.

[jasonub]

gusto ko sana ng tdci na automatic focus. madami ba talagang horror stories? Baka kailangan lang ng additional oil cooler?