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The Focus spent a week in the shop...

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  miuzi05 
#1 ·
...and it appears they got it right this time.
I had two issues:
-the jerky/juddery/harsh clutch engagement, with odd traction control involvement that either contributed to the juddering or sometimes cut the power altogether; I had been complaining about all this for months, and it had already spent time in the shop; the problem continued to get worse, and was coupled with computer/gear selection issues
-steering wheel controls issues; cruise, infotainment, etc either wouldn't work or worked oddly or intermittently.

The fixes included replacing the clutches in the tranny and the clockspring in the steering column. Both seem to have done the job; the transmission now engages smoothly (as did the tranny in the 8K SE loaner I had for a week), and usually selects an appropriate gear. The steering wheel controls now seem to work all the time.

So we shall see; I've had enough trouble to make me a little hesitant about the car, but I'm hoping happier days are here.
So a belated 'thank-you' to Ford Customer Service and my local Ford garage; a belated thank-you because it took 'em awhile to fix it; I'm pleased all the same.
Moon
 
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#3 ·
Both seem to have done the job; the transmission now engages smoothly (as did the tranny in the 8K SE loaner I had for a week), and usually selects an appropriate gear.
"Usually?" I hope you mean always!

What kind of symptoms were you seeing, regarding inappropriate gear selection? While my Focus is a 5-speed, my partner's mother just took delivery of an auto. I'll be riding in it and driving it from time to time, and I'm trying to get a feel for some of the issues others have seen with them. Being that my lady (who will be driving it probably once a week) and her mom aren't really into cars, I hope to help her maintain it well and avoid any serious issues.

Basically, I keenly read any automatic issue threads, and appreciate all the great info from this forum.
 
#4 ·
"Usually?" I hope you mean always!

What kind of symptoms were you seeing, regarding inappropriate gear selection?
How exactly do you determine what the "appropriate" gear is?

My point is that what is deemed appropriate can be highly subjective.

My transmission often selects what could be called an inappropriate gear simply because it cannot read my mind.
 
#7 ·
Pepper, I suspect that the 'abrupt' shifts caused by oil-contaminated clutches were causing the traction control to kick in, either as a juddering from the anitlock pumping, or in a total power cut from the engine. I had an event last summer when I thought, for a moment, it was going to let me sit due to a power chop. Since the repair, mine has been fine, but I've only a couple hundred miles on it. I really like so many things about the car, so I hope it stays sorted out.
Among the maddening things about it was the absence of a consistent problem, leading the Ford garage to claim that 'they couldn't replicate the problem.' Whether that was actually the case of if Ford has said to stonewall on it because the problem is so widespread, who knows. It has to be costing them beaucoup bucks to handle the problems, and 'customer service' from the mothership was heavily involved in finally getting it fixed.

'05, the 'inappropriate' gear thing is where my problems first began (the juddery starts and shifts came later as the clutches degraded); the computer controlled shifts reminded you of a rookie driving a standard, and getting caught in too high a gear; to provoke a downshift, your really had to cane it. I have to presume that they did the most recent reflash as part of the work, as the car now seems to be in the right gear nearly all the time, and gentle throttle will give you another gear as necessary. The loaner Focus had its poop together on that score, and now mine does as well; smooth pullouts and shifts.

Full sympathy on liking real manual transmissions; I've a 10 year old Wrangler that I love to drive; I'm the only one in the house who can use it. If the Focus ends up getting traded, I wouldn't be adverse to another manual.
Moon
 
#8 ·
That's a bummer, but I'll cross my fingers that your tranny stays properly sorted. Thanks for filling in the details.

I totally get the decision to choose an auto over a manual to give family the ability to drive it. My dad makes the same sacrifice for my siblings and my mum, none of whom drive standard. But he misses it big time, so he's always itching to drive my cars.
 
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