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DCT / PowerShift Transmission Update TSB Thread

1M views 4K replies 556 participants last post by  rczrider 
#1 ·
Well, I just scheduled an appointment on Monday to get my update for my 6-speed dual clutch. Seems like some dealers are willing to hand over the update (another poster on this board did), some dealers will still give the ole "its not a torque converter" mantra, and some dealers (the one I just called) don't know that there's a TSB out there, and when researched will come up with it. And the dealer I called fell into the latter (after I went to another dealer who gave me the mantra).

I'm happy with my DCT but I'm willing to see what this new update does for the transmission (in terms of smoothness and less hesitation). Hopefully, I'll have some noticeable difference. Did anyone else get an update? If so, how'd it work out for you. I'll let you know my thoughts after a good drive on Monday.
 
#925 ·
unlike a year ago ... we now have options to see what a "current" 2012 drives like ... to compare against some of the "production faults" during the 2012 first year.

we should have every expectation that our cars from the "early run" should drive equal to or as well as an Enterprise rental or a new demo on a dealer's lot. [and if the first enterprise rental is a bit off ... take an option of changing out that car for another test one]

and to answer a prior note in this thread ... it is ON Topic ... to talk about options to test a "theoretical normal 2012" against what we own.
 
#927 ·
3/19/12 Build Date

I rented a Titanium 5dr in Canada which I put roughly 1500 miles on in 2 weeks. Liked the car so much I bought one last week. The rental I had did have some DCT issues in stop and go traffic. The one I bought seems ok as far as I can tell after all of 300 miles. With a build date of 3/19/12 are there any TSBs I should be aware of???
 
#928 ·
I rented a Titanium 5dr in Canada which I put roughly 1500 miles on in 2 weeks. Liked the car so much I bought one last week. The rental I had did have some DCT issues in stop and go traffic. The one I bought seems ok as far as I can tell after all of 300 miles. With a build date of 3/19/12 are there any TSBs I should be aware of???
Welcome. Wow, so Ford's relatively high presence in rental fleets has paid off for them; they snagged your sale because of it. I'm sure that's what they're hoping for.

I'm not aware of anything more current than the January TSB for builds before early December. And if it's performing as you expect, I wouldn't have a TSB applied anway. Don't fix what ain't broken. But don't think you're home free yet. My shudder started around 300 miles.

Maybe I'll see you on the road. We go to Holmes Beach once in a while.
 
#929 ·
Guess their marketing did pay off since this is our first ford ever and I have said on numerous occasions "I'll never own a Ford". It was time for a more fuel efficient ride for the wife so we opted for the Focus. Really liked the style, feel, and overall bang for the buck. Figured with it being a new model i'd opt for the 125k mile ext war to be on the safe side. Hope with the 3/19/12 build date they have applied all the updates.....

We are nearly neighbors. In Tampa quite a bit.
 
#931 · (Edited)
Now on day 3 without my car. If I don't get a call in the next hour, it will be day 4 at least since I won't be able to pick it up today due to work. Bolts have apparently still not come in, but they stated they put in an "emergency shipment request" for them. This makes 7 days (well, no, 6 days. I can't count the accessory installation) that I will have been without it since I bought it due to it being at the dealership. Fun times.

EDIT: Well, was informed that I got a message a couple hours ago that the bolts STILL are not in. They "should" be in tomorrow morning and my car "should" be available tomorrow afternoon. Of course if it isn't before 1 (actually sooner than that since I have an early meeting) I won't have it until Friday. Thanks, dealership.
 
#939 ·
Just purchased a SE Hatch w/ DCT on March 22, 2012.

The car drove smooth during the test drive (37 miles at the time) and for the first hundred miles or so. Now, with 677 miles on the odometer, I have definitely noticed the above mentioned issues (shuddering in 1st gear, uneven acceleration etc.). I have a build date of October 2011, so I am hoping the 12-01-04 TSB will fix the issue. I am going to schedule an appointment with the service department today. Hopefully I have a positive experience. I will let you all know if I hear anything different/unique.

Thanks for all your input and comments, very informative. Besides the DCT issue I love the Focus. I traded in my 2006 Audi A4, and so far I am not missing it.

Cheers.
 
#945 ·
The car drove smooth during the test drive (37 miles at the time) and for the first hundred miles or so. Now, with 677 miles on the odometer, I have definitely noticed the above mentioned issues (shuddering in 1st gear, uneven acceleration etc.). I have a build date of October 2011, so I am hoping the 12-01-04 TSB will fix the issue. I am going to schedule an appointment with the service department today. Hopefully I have a positive experience. I will let you all know if I hear anything different/unique.
Cheers.
The update fixed those issues for me. It's still not perfect, but much more manageable. Good luck!


I have to wonder... Some of you may have seen the "adaptive procedure" that is supposed to be performed after the DCT software update has been done.

It involves driving the car up to a certain RPM, coming to a stop, and repeating that process a few times. Then you accelerate to 60 mph, while keeping the RPMs below a certain point, and then braking. That step also has to be repeated many times.

I can imagine that it's a very annoying procedure for a tech. to perform. I'm not sure what impact an improperly performed "adaptive procedure" would have on the final product, but it could explain the varied success we are experiencing. Maybe some techs are skipping that step, or simply driving the car without performing the steps. [dunno]
 
#942 ·
Guess ill update my situation in this thread:

Had the TSB applied to my vehicle 2 days ago, stuttering/jerking is still there and possibly even worse than it was before.

Told my dealer I was gonna drive it for a couple weeks to see what happens otherwise back to the shop it goes.

I know it will never be butter smooth, but it should not jerk/shudder as much as it does.
 
#947 ·
I go back and forth a lot in my head on the actual severity of the issue. Seeing people say that their shifting got worse after the tsb doesn't help. I don't have intense whiplash between first and second but it's enough to make stop and go traffic something hat I dread. Also today I had to roll up a parking garage in first and the car felt like it was going to stall the entire time.

I need the steering tsb, so next Monday or so I may call my dealer to see what they can do for me. By then I will have 800 miles or so, so hopefully they won't give me the break-in runaround.
 
#950 ·
I go back and forth a lot in my head on the actual severity of the issue. Seeing people say that their shifting got worse after the tsb doesn't help. I don't have intense whiplash between first and second but it's enough to make stop and go traffic something hat I dread. Also today I had to roll up a parking garage in first and the car felt like it was going to stall the entire time.
I know exactly how you feel. It was to the point that I was not looking forward to getting back in the car and driving home, which is sad for a new car. But after the 5 hard starts and more aggressive driving since, the shudder definitely got better and is now just more of an uneveness.

I feel that having the car rev a little bit is necessary in order to break in the transmission and get it working smoothly.
After my clutch was replaced and the update applied I drove aggresive as well. Made it rev up as far as it would go for a few days. Not sure it helped but it sure was fun.
AGREED!
 
#948 ·
Picked up my new 2012 two days ago, didn't have much shudder the first day... second day I had the occasional hard shudder... and today it's almost completely nonexistant. It's so subtle the shudder, it feels like a manual now... and very smooth. 350km's or so, and it feels incredibly smoother than yesterday! I didn't put the car into 'sport' mode until today, and I feel that having the car rev a little bit is necessary in order to break in the transmission and get it working smoothly. Also taking the car on some inclines to get the motor actually working and the gears actually pulling the car rather than level ground has helped the break in process along. I'll update if I feel there are any changes (good or bad). So far though, I am really impressed!
 
#953 ·
This is a good question ... I think in test mode the eeprom code should tell you what PCM software version you are using. If anyone with the newest software and someone with older software can check and compare we could find out. Or if any Ford tech's know the answer please post! Thanks!
 
#954 ·
I have driven mine as if the transmission was a manual not an automatic. I use higher revs to get started and do not creep forward while at a light. I will also say that I probably drive on the aggressive side as my last two cars were Mustangs (with automatics). I have noticed when I do get lugging, it is in situations where I would have gotten it with a manual transmission. Primarily when I have to accelerate very slowly and cannot generate enough revs or brake quickly when the car is in high revs.
 
#957 ·
Before I bought my Focus I was told to get the latest DCT software flashed. So the Saturday after I bought it, they did the new car prep and flashed the DCT. Plus while I was waiting I had a nice leather chair to sit in with 60 in. TV in front of me and fed me some hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill while I was waiting.
 
#959 ·
Hello everyone,

There are some threads that are growing by leaps and bound; this be one of them! [:D] So I'm going to post in general and answer questions as well as concerns as best as I can.

If you are a U.S resident, I will be more than happy to escalate your concern to the Customer Service Manger in your area. Please PM me with the VIN, current mileage, your personal contact info, and dealer name/location.

For our Canadian owners, please contact Ford of Canada's Customer Relationship Center at 1.800.565.3673. The representative will document and provide you the best assistance for your concern.

If you have already sent me the necessary info, I'm diligently working my way through your cases and thank you in advance for your patience.

Have a GREAT weekend! [:)]

Noemi
 
#962 ·
I just bought a used 2012 Focus SFE. Built in April-2011. It had the shuddering issues when coasting in drive from a dead stop. Local dealer did the computer upgrade (TSB dated 4/1/12). The problem is now fixed. It drives wonderful now. You have to understand that it is a totally different transmission than what we are use to. Theres no torque converter. Its electronically controlled to smooth out the shifts. Its really a pleasure to drive now. Youy cant expect it to act like the regular trannies. Also all the newer ones (built in Nov-11 and later) have an upgrade. thank you Ford engineers for fixing the annoyance. Some of this is known and is old news, but if anyone else is having this problem, this should help you. Get the fix. And after they do it drive normal, the car memorizes your habits for a bit and adjusts the trans accordingly. If you mess up and drive too rough, disconnect the negative battery terminal and that will reset the computer. Never tried it though, but was told it will work. You can teach the trans how you drive again.
 
#965 ·
Assuming the dealer applies the fix. Mine was built in December 2011, but the 12-1-4 (Jan 4 2012, please correct me if I'm wrong on that?) was not applied to mine. (I asked and was told Ford doesn't hand out fixes to be blindly applied to all cars... to make that story short...)

I think I might try the battery disconnect trick and see what happens. Can't make things any worse than what's happening now, which is sufficiently random. Thanks for the info!
 
#964 ·
Just some links for people to explore -- the more people who report incidents means a greater chance of proving this is a design flaw.

http://www.mycarstats.com/reports/fo...omplaints.aspx
(look at the numbers with the highest values - I can only vouch for the transmission issue, but I do recall the steering issue being addressed in 2011... the other issues are more likely due to one-off problems than a design flaw. )

http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2012/...n/problem.aspx

As of this time of posting there are 19 complaints.

It might help to sign up and file a complaint - when doing so that site links to NHTSA:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

There are lemon laws at the State level as well. But tell your story on these sites. Many people are.

What bugs me is that this same design is sold in Europe - if they are not having the same transmission problems but US drivers are, what's the difference and the fix can probably be found within.
 
#966 ·
Both of mine are pretty smooth, but they are both driven vigorously. I can still make them do the shudder if I want to, at low speeds from a start, by going too easy on the gas.

I think the low speed shudder is like having manual trans, but not being able to slip the clutch while adding a few more rpm at that low speed like we would would normally. The computer won't let us rev a little, then let the clutch out. Those who haven't ever driven a manual probably won't get what I'm saying.
 
#968 ·
I perused the complaint links and couldn't believe what I read from MO, about left foot braking.

This clueless driver had the audacity to post potentially fatal consequences because of his dangerous braking habits! In essence, blaming Ford for whatever happens due to his ignorance.

Unbelievable!

MY WIFE DOES THIS! She will not listen to reason, so I drive her car when we are both in it, and she does not drive my car, period.

The more I read, the more I shook my head. While there are very real and legitimate complaints, many of them appear to be rambling-on about their issues, real or imagined.
 
#969 ·
Yep, They always say be careful buying a brand new design in the first year of production. I didnt realize the car was a year old already when I bought it. I figured it was the second year. I just forgot about it. But luckily i dont have any complaints anymore. If you guys are still having issues with the trans after an older upgrade, try getting the latest TSB (Technical Service Bulleten) computer update, And/Or try a different dealer maybe? Your warranty will cover it. [rofl]
I heard that these trans designs are not a new thing. BMW has used them, but they are refined. Ford probably will refine theirs, so right, I expect the future to correct any trans issues. All said, I love my 2012 Focus SFE and would not let this distarct me from buying the car. [wave]
 
#971 ·
I took my car into the dealer this weekend to have them take a look at the transimission. Ironically while driving the car earlier that morning, the 1st gear shuddering was almost unnoticable. I took it to the dealer anyways, and had a service tech take the car for a test drive with me. The car drove perfectly smooth we both only felt a slight shudder once or twice while accelerating from a stop. Hopefully the transmission just needed to be broken in. The tech was very helpful ans eager to help if i had any other issues. He explained all about how the transmission worked, as well as any issues he has seen. He has fixed 1 or two, but most that were built in later 2011 that he has seen have been fine. He has worked on transmissions for numerous manufacurers for the past 30 years and he said that ford is by far the best quality; which is why he chose to work at Ford. The tech also said that this transmission, while new relitively new to ford, is a good transmission, and any issues should be able to be resolved by any dealer. So I was fortunate enough to have my DCT issue work itself out, and hopefully I dont experience any other issues going forward. I had a great experience at the dealer and they were more than willing to listen and help out with any issues I had. I would higly recommend Walnut Creek Ford if you are in the SF Bay Area.
 
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