Going to lemon our Focus - what to expect...?
- Thread starter ElscottHavoc
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I expected 100% to see RDJ in here.
These are not issues with people uninformed as to how a DCT should work/feel.
These are issues people are having because bottom line drivability of them is garbage. You can leave the line at half throttle and itll put you in 2nd and bog, then figure out halfway through the intersection to downshift to 1st and then throw you back into the seat, then magically shift back into 2nd a few seconds later. Or you can leave the line at almost zero throttle and it hangs in 1st all the way to 5k. You can be on the freeway and mash it to pass someone and it will just go "yeah, no" and stay in 6th gear or you can be cruising with cruse and itll downshift to 4th for no ****ing reason whatsoever.
And the noises that thing makes, holy shit, it makes a 3650 sound quiet.
My parents have given up trying to get theirs fixed, luckily its a lease and at the end of their term its just going back to the dealer and they are walking away from Ford. Sadly I tried to get them back onto the Ford wagon after bad cars in the 90's and told them it was a new Ford with much better quality, and they get utter junk. Ford should have kept the 6f35 in their econoboxes, I have that in my fusion and its probably the best automatic ive ever driven in terms of it knowing what gear to be in when commanded by the throttle.
The law is written as a consumer protection, but also protects the manufacturer from unwarranted claims. It's definitely BS, but unfortunately that's kind of the way it is. If it was easy or cheap, people would use it because their cigarette lighter was busted, just to get a new car.
If you haven't yet, talk with Ford CS 1800-392-3673. When I was going through the process on my GT, they did make two payments for me due to non-use of the vehicle. It's a bit after the fact now, but you can always ask.
However if you're lawyer has already issued a subpoena, they may not even speak to you on the case as it would be going to arbitration. If you haven't done that, yet, talk to them and see what they can do for you.
Have you spoken with Ford directly at all on the matter, or have you gone strictly through the dealerships? In my situation, after the second time I received a "this is normal behavior" from the dealership, I immediately called Ford directly. We moved the car to the next closest dealer and had them look at it. Ford also sent their field engineers as well. If you haven't gone through that process yet, it might be worth while. An engineer may be able to help in repairs that would ultimately fix the underlying issue. Based on what you're symptoms are, more than likely something with the car itself is causing the transmissions to eat themselves up. Could be an engine cradle or transmission mount misalignment etc. If you could actually get the car fixed properly, you'd save a LOT of time, money and frustration.
If you have documentation about how long the vehicle has been in the shop, you'll have some leverage to ask for a payment or two from Ford. They did that without hesitation for me when my vehicle was in the shop from October 1st to January 25th.
I've only just talked to attorney, no official representation of me has occurred from him.
I've already contacted Ford CS directly on multiple occasions. The regional rep was helpful in forcing the dealer to actually do something, but in terms of the problems the CS response has been "you have anextended warranty plan until 75000 mmiles, so at this point you have plenty of time". But just because my transmission repairs are covered doesn't mean I should accept the fact that I might have continual transmission repairs.
It was sort of like a "you have 60,000 miles left on your warranty, so no need to get your panyies in a bunch" type of response. The reality is, I only have 24000 miles or 2 years per Iowa law to lemon, so even if I have 50000 miles of warranty beyond that im afraid it'll 50000 miles worth of problems. Not to mention past 36000 I paid $2000 for the extension and will require $100 deductible per warranty service.
So, yes I've contacted CS, but they ultimately work me back to the dealers. Thus far, CS has been helpful for getting the dealer to be proactive about repairs/diagnosis and also securing me a loaner car when the dealer said they had none available.
I mean, besides being procrastinators, the dealer has done the repairs - which is what I've requested of them and what Ford CS was ultimately trying to achieve. At this point, the problem is just that the repairs (including an entirely new DCT) aren't lasting over 500-600 miles. That's hardly even enough time to trade the car in to another dealer while its being quiet and acting normal cause I sure has hell won't get top dollar the way this thing drives and sounds - it literally feels like its taking off from a stop in 3rd gear.
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I've already contacted Ford CS directly on multiple occasions. The regional rep was helpful in forcing the dealer to actually do something, but in terms of the problems the CS response has been "you have anextended warranty plan until 75000 mmiles, so at this point you have plenty of time". But just because my transmission repairs are covered doesn't mean I should accept the fact that I might have continual transmission repairs.
It was sort of like a "you have 60,000 miles left on your warranty, so no need to get your panyies in a bunch" type of response. The reality is, I only have 24000 miles or 2 years per Iowa law to lemon, so even if I have 50000 miles of warranty beyond that im afraid it'll 50000 miles worth of problems. Not to mention past 36000 I paid $2000 for the extension and will require $100 deductible per warranty service.
So, yes I've contacted CS, but they ultimately work me back to the dealers. Thus far, CS has been helpful for getting the dealer to be proactive about repairs/diagnosis and also securing me a loaner car when the dealer said they had none available.
I mean, besides being procrastinators, the dealer has done the repairs - which is what I've requested of them and what Ford CS was ultimately trying to achieve. At this point, the problem is just that the repairs (including an entirely new DCT) aren't lasting over 500-600 miles. That's hardly even enough time to trade the car in to another dealer while its being quiet and acting normal cause I sure has hell won't get top dollar the way this thing drives and sounds - it literally feels like its taking off from a stop in 3rd gear.
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We have a customer that comes to my shop with an early run 2012 focus with the dct he has just over 100k on his and I asked him if he ever had any trans issues and he said not any problems at all. I myself bought the 5 speed and couldn't be happier with my choice.
The DPS6 trans is riddled with some problems, however I have never seen one come back so frequently. Have you tried a different dealer, just to get a different tech to work on it? I know if you don't torque the clutch nuts to the flywheel properly you will have premature failures and NVH concerns.
I'm glad some owners are not having issues. Its apparent RDJ and others are very much enjoying their cars and that's wonderful - overall, the Focus is great.
That said, from my experiences in talking with other DCT owners, off the record chats with service techs and advisors, and my own experiences above, it has given me a strong impression that owning a Focus is like playing Russian Roulette - very hit or miss.
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That said, from my experiences in talking with other DCT owners, off the record chats with service techs and advisors, and my own experiences above, it has given me a strong impression that owning a Focus is like playing Russian Roulette - very hit or miss.
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my brother had this issue on his 6f35 fusion....turns out the tps sensor in the throttle body was going haywire and would change its readings at random so the car would think you floored it or let off the gas when you didnt.
I've been to 3 dealers. Only one has done repairs as the other two just gave us the run around, told us the problem was too intermittent to identify, or that since Charles Gabus had done the repairs so far, they didn't want to work on it since the issue could be a result of improper repair.
Basically, Noble Ford and Jensen Ford said, "we agree something is wrong, were not exactly sure what it is, but if its an error on Charles Gabus part than that poses issues for our reimbursement" as Ford apparently wouldn't work with them if the error is from another dealer.
What a second and third opinion did do is add more documentation to my service record for which helped get Charles Gabus to do something. On this most recent repair, Charles Gabus Ford spent two weeks going over issues with a fine tooth comb before Ford said go ahead and put in a full, new transmission. They wanted to take their time to make sure they checked everything and Ford is stumped by why our car is plagued, but they've yet to send out field engineer despite my pleading to do so. I mean, my wife does a lot of city driving, so admittedly its a lot of stop and go traffic, but regardless of that and being an "auto" shouldn't be chewing up bearings and eating clutches like this.
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Basically, Noble Ford and Jensen Ford said, "we agree something is wrong, were not exactly sure what it is, but if its an error on Charles Gabus part than that poses issues for our reimbursement" as Ford apparently wouldn't work with them if the error is from another dealer.
What a second and third opinion did do is add more documentation to my service record for which helped get Charles Gabus to do something. On this most recent repair, Charles Gabus Ford spent two weeks going over issues with a fine tooth comb before Ford said go ahead and put in a full, new transmission. They wanted to take their time to make sure they checked everything and Ford is stumped by why our car is plagued, but they've yet to send out field engineer despite my pleading to do so. I mean, my wife does a lot of city driving, so admittedly its a lot of stop and go traffic, but regardless of that and being an "auto" shouldn't be chewing up bearings and eating clutches like this.
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No, with the Boss she used to have. Different car, same process.
Hit the nail on the head. LULZ on "you just need to know how to drive it" what utter horse shit. The DCT is the largest automotive paperweight in the history of the wheel.
omfg lol
Sounds like to me someone at that dealership is not programming the trans after repair/replacement. I have done a few of these and
never had one come back. If the tsb is followed correctly,cleaning and replacing the clutches and programming there should be no
issue. Pcm/tcm must be programmed and a trans drive cycle performed so it can "learn" shift points. If this is not done properly
it will cause noises and bucks because trans is "confused". Good luck to you in whatever avenue you take.
never had one come back. If the tsb is followed correctly,cleaning and replacing the clutches and programming there should be no
issue. Pcm/tcm must be programmed and a trans drive cycle performed so it can "learn" shift points. If this is not done properly
it will cause noises and bucks because trans is "confused". Good luck to you in whatever avenue you take.
Yeah that sucks, but thats not the transmissions fault its getting wonky data from the tps/ecu.
Youd imagine he would have other drivability issues seeing the ecu seeing incorrect data too.
I lemonded a 2004 GT...you would think I would have hated mustangs after that.. but nope.. bought 10 more after that.
it was an easy process if you have the facts/ documentation backing you up
it was an easy process if you have the facts/ documentation backing you up
I'll upload relevant service records later tonight, just so you guys can see what they've done.
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Here are some of the relevant service docs. I believe they start from most recent (having the transmission replaced) to roughly 1200 miles when we had the first repair done. Note, it looks like I scanned the first couple backwards so page 2 is on top and page 1 second. Same thing with the second repair, page 2 is on top and page 1 below.
2013 Ford Focus DCT Repair Record pdf
2013 Ford Focus DCT Repair Record pdf
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Sounds like the get it fixed and immediately trade it is the right advice. Just move on, it's not worth the frustration especially if your going to get screwed with "usage" fees anyway.
+1
Ford simply CANNOT "fix" the transmission because the design itself is a complete failure. Ford opted to use a dry clutch to mask their inefficient engine lineup to stay competitive in fuel mileage, and then compounded the problem with calibrations written by a team of inept retards. Their updates generate far too much heat, and slightly improve driveability at the expense of the clutch, which is the main problem to begin with!
What Ford is good at however, is getting around the lemon law by stating that the shitty driveability is completely normal and claim no fix is required. They've been doing this for years.
Also, RDJ is delusion. His car has transmission problems. THEY ALL DO.
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