I've had my new Ford Focus for less than 2 months. I'm about to take it back to the Northside Ford Service Center in San Antonio, which will make my fourth time to have it back in service since I bought it. At very low speeds, like in stop-and-go driving, with light breaking pressure, the car shakes and shutters. At first I was told it's just the way the new transmissions are. I drove to another dealership and drove another Focus. The problem was not there. So I took it back in and was they given a copy of a service bulletin that says the shuttering problem will soon clear up and the clutches needed time to break in. The problem got worse. I took it back in a third time, and on the way a cooling fan motor burned up, and after a week they said the cooling fan motor was replaced and the shuttering couldn't be felt. Well I drove it off the lot, turned around, and asked the service rep to go for a ride. When I showed him what I had been experiencing he was wide-eyed and went back in to get the transmission expert who also took a ride and said that's a real problem because our legs were shaking inside the car. The tech then agreed that he would not be happy paying $21,000 for a car that acted this way. So now, I'm leaving it at the service center again. Oh, and the trans tech now says he thinks if may be a braking problem. Has anyone experienced the same thing? I'm very, very close to just parking it and hiring a lawyer. I feel taken for a ride, and not in a Ford Focus.
In this video... they make a comment about the 6 speed auto shaking and stuttering... but they also mention that the trans. works very well for them...
Realize too that these 6 speed autos are only 1 year old... there is bound to be problems with the new technology... this is the primary reason i generally DO NOT buy the first model year of any car... I would love a new Fiesta or Focus 5 door hatch and although I am looking into getting one of these newer models... a good recommendation would be for some people to wait a few years before purchasing the new model car. I bought my 07 in 08 and passed up the 08 because it was the first model and did not come with a handling package. In a few years the new Gen Foci will be more refined with less problems and PROBABLY get even better MPG. I know its a hard draw not to get the new model but being an early adopter doesn't always pay off...
I've owned two Audi's with DSG dual-clutch gearboxes. I never had any issue with them displaying ANY odd shaking or vibration. It is quite simply not "normal" operation for any properly running/designed transmission.
This is Ford's first go-around with this kind of transmission so I'm not terribly surprised that they're having issues like this. It's early and there will be a learning curve. The good news is that these are highly dependent on software and problems with early production models *should* be fixable as software upgrades.
I believe they'll get it sorted out eventually. But I'm ever-so-glad I stuck to a good ol' 5-speed rower (which incidentally shifts like buttah).
I had the bad luck to rent a 2012 Ford Focus from the Enterprise rental car in Morristown, NJ. The car had 3000 miles on it, and, I later was told, had been in the shop six times for transmission problems. I was told this after I drove a horrifying hour through rough shifting and terrible shaking, only to have the Focus finally give me the dashboard readout "transmission failed, seek service immediately," or something like that. When I shifted into reverse it sounded like something was going to fall out the bottom of the car! Luckily I was able to switch to another rental car. But I will never buy a Ford Focus if that's the kind of junk Ford is selling.
I know that must have been aggravating to have such issues in your rental car. I urge you to test drive a new Focus at the dealer to see how great they can be. Please let me know if I can answer any questions.
That person rented a car and had a problem with it. What do you expect Ford to do about it? A dissatisfied rental customer is the rental company's concern, not Ford's. [dunno]
My car has about 900 miles on it. I experienced a little roughness one time when I was running on E (on my way to the gas station!). After I filled up it was fine... And it's been great ever since. Take offs are getting smoother and smoother the longer I use it... I love it!
Jamie B, The rental car is a completely new design... somebody rented it and paid the insurance then proceeded to take the car and beat the piss out of it before it was anywhere near broken in. This is most likely what happened.
Ok ,
So let me get this straight.The car went to the dealership six times for transmission problems.So according to your logic,the six previous person who rented that car "beat the piss out of it" and then Jamie B,must have done the same because he also some transmission issues.For a guy who doesnt know sh!t about a situation ,you are pretty quick to jump to conclusions.My car has a drivetrain vibration since the day one.So, according to your "expert opinion" if I wasn't the one who "beat the piss out of it " probably a Ford employee did on the 20km that were on my car the day I bought it!
Wow dude. You got a [][][][][][]g attitude and need to stop jumping on everybody's shit. What are you 12? I didn't say Jamie B beat the piss out of that car, did I? I didn't say you beat the piss out of your car, did I? The answers to both those questions are "NO". As for your car, it can burn for all I care. I wasn't even referring to or directing my statements toward you at all and you give me this shit. You obviously have no clue what goes on with cars before they're purchased or while they're rented.
Let me give you this for an example. My car had 247 miles on it when I got it because it was driven from a dealership roughly that far away. All highway. When I got it it was averaging 32 mpg. Oddly enough once I started driving it that shot all the way up to 40. That tells me it wasn't driven to easily, especially since I'm a very spirited driver (several years of autox and road courses) and still getting the mileage I'm getting.
Go ahead and let your head exit your ass would you.
Grimlock, people do tend to abuse rental cars. I'm not suggesting the poster who posted here abused the car, but it's certainly possible that previous drivers did. Again I say, a disappointing rental experience is the rental agency's problem, not the manufacturer's.
I get it, you're pissed off about your new car being less-than-perfect, I would be upset too... but I don't think you need to carry the torch for "JamieB" who will most likely never post here again, and you certainly don't need to be rude to people about it.
Where, oh where, did I ever say abuse is a major cause? I was speaking directly to Jamie B about his RENTAL experience. It's not a random theory. It's a logical theory. U mad?
How do You know what action was taken against other people on this forum? Who is to say that BOTH parties weren't given warnings/infractions? Keep acting like a troll and You will find Your tenure on FF to be very short lived, simple as that. If You want to personally insult people, You will find out that this is not tolerated Here, by anyone. You(and every other member on FF and every other forum on the web) were supposed to read the Forum Rules as a requirement to join, and I recommend You do so again. We on FF try to get the best, most relevant info to folks, and We also do Our best to guarantee a certain amount of positive discourse among Our members, but if people can't play nice, it is recommended that they play somewhere else.
Considering that I'm not getting better answers here,I'm already in the process of closing my account ,but I'm still waiting for answers on how to do so.
You haven't even contacted Ford. What do you want anybody here to do (especially after insulting everybody)? What do you want the dealership to do? CONTACT FORD OF CANADA CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTRE.
You're telling me that the dealership can't do nothing for me? Man,you are getting smarter by the minute.And fyi ,I'm not insulting everyone.I'm only answering back to someone who thinks he knows everything!If everything was so simple,me,Ford and everyone else having the same problems wouldn't be wasting time on this problem.
I'm honestly trying to unsubscibe from this place but can't get any answers on how.
What I can say is that I called Warnock Ford after I switched cars, and they said that they had told Enterprise that the car just needed to be driven more. Although it seems to me that the readout I got about transmission failure meant that in this case, the problem was more serious than just a few bugs to be worked out.
I wonder whether, if a Focus needs to learn the driving style of one driver, then it is a bad car to add to a rental car fleet, since it's going to have multiple drivers.
I also wonder whether, given the number of reports of transmission problems I've seen online with this car, there is a recall or service advisory in the works?
The customers with ongoing transmission concerns represented online are not necessarily an indication of a large-scale issue. Many shift differences have been resolved with software updates, as well as better explanation of the transmission technology upon delivery.
I was thinking of buying a focus so I drove one. The shudder you all describe didn't bother me that much. What bothered me, was that when I wanted to use the toggle switch to change gears manually, it was very slow in responding. It took about half a second or maybe more from the time I pushed the toggle switch until the gear changed. I can do that faster in my manual transmission car with my left foot operating a regular clutch. Is this normal for a dual clutch? Isn't the whole idea of two clutches to make the shifts very fast? Was I driving a lemon? Does any one else think this toggle switch is too slow?
I was thinking of buying a focus so I drove one. The shudder you all describe didn't bother me that much. What bothered me, was that when I wanted to use the toggle switch to change gears manually, it was very slow in responding. It took about half a second or maybe more from the time I pushed the toggle switch until the gear changed. I can do that faster in my manual transmission car with my left foot operating a regular clutch. Is this normal for a dual clutch? Isn't the whole idea of two clutches to make the shifts very fast? Was I driving a lemon? Does any one else think this toggle switch is too slow?
Natasha sounds like a nice, helpful sort of girl. But her advice is pretty blah. Has she actually helped any of you guys resolve your problems or is all this just soothing PR
She has worked wonders, and there are lots of people on this forum that value and appreciate all she does and has done. There are lots of people who will vouch for her.
Umm...thanks, I think. [] If you look around the forums, you'll find plenty of people I've helped, and I'm sure moderator whynotthinkwhynot will be around to vouch for me shortly. Please let me know if I can help you with anything!
I read on one of these threads that Ford is replacing the Fiesta dual clutch transmission with an 8 speed regular torque converter transmission. I think this is a smart idea because it seems to me that the dual clutch transmission has a hardware issue that cannot be solved with software updates. To me, it sounds like the two clutches do not engage and disengage alternately, in a syn. There is too much of a delay from when one clutch disengages and the seconds one engages. This is why the toggle switch is slow and it also partially explains the hesitation on starts and when slowing down. What does Ford engineering say should be the maximum time between disengaging one clutch and engaging the second? Should that occur simultaneously? Thanks Jake1
My 2012 also has a weird vibration on the front axle.So far the dealer replaced one driveshaft,bearings,the tires and the transmission and nothing changed.They now told me that many 2012 have shown the same noise and vibration between 50 and 80 mph,and Ford engineers are now working on the problem.Was anyone else told the same?
It is beneficial that your dealer has thoroughly tried to stop your vibration. While Engineering is working to resolve noise concerns for affected customers, I am not able to speculate on any solutions they may be testing. I suggest keeping in contact with your dealer for updates.
We just bought our 2012 Focus last month... it has 2500 miles as of today... and the shuddering you all are talking about is getting progressively worse!!!! We felt it the first test drive and were told thats how these new transmissions are.. blah blah blah. The salesman who sold it to us had been driving it himself (his kids carseat was in it) and he said he didn't feel it and I just needed to get used to it. Well that didn't sit well with me. So I have called and talked and had it in once already... the service manager took it for a spin in the garage..... and he said he felt it... So he asked me to wait a few hours till he could contact ford and ask a few questions... I had to call him back a week later to find out he had heard from ford and needs to run a few tests! Well thanks to this forum I have a clearer idea whats up! I know mmmoose says it is just how a manual transmission works but mmmooose .... this isn't a manual transmission I paid for an automatic.... Sooooooooooooooo It needs to run and shift and decelerate like an automatic! Also before I bought I did a bit of reading and I liked the idea that this isn't a new transmission.... It had been in use overseas in the focuses they were selling elsewhere. So I felt pretty good that there were no new item bugs to work out.... wrong I guess. I am taking this car tomorrow as a matter of fact to get the tests run that ford suggested to my service manager at C Harper Ford in Belle Vernon, PA Wish me luck!!!![thumb]
You did not buy an automatic transmission. What you bought is an automated manual transmission. This transmission will never behave like what you are accustomed to in an automatic transmission.
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