DCT Complaints Thread

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by Joeywhat

Well, there's probably a ton of people who still have their cars serviced (outside of warranties) at the dealers...so why bother taking care of someone where you might not make as much money when you've got that cash cow going for you?

Sucks, but that's what these guys seem to be telling us through that behavior.

When I bought my car, and had it serviced, I was given an online survey from Ford Corporate. From what I've heard dealers actually give a damn about what gets said on those...and at Village Ford they had a sign up that said if for whatever reason you couldn't give them all 100% ratings in every area to talk to the manager...could just be feel good BS (I had a good experience so I had no need to discuss anything with them), but perhaps a couple bad reviews to corporate will light a fire under their ass?

By not taking care of someone under warranty in preference to higher paid retail service work, and or feeding the company enough misinformation to deny that the vehicle should be fixed not only ticks people off, but it turns them against the car, the dealership and the company that produced the vehicle.

I wanted to be happy with the car, after all that's part of why I ordered it a certain way, but then it wasn't built with much care apparently as otherwise the hood to head lamp interference issue would never have occurred in the first place. Nor the frequent report of tail lamp interference to the body, but that one is relatively common, the head lamp not so much.

Village Ford's body shop refused to look at the car and evaluate it for me. (3.5 miles from WHQ no less).

Ford Customer Service Divison doesn't care about the actual customer so much as it seems to be a front for pretending to care while at the same time defending the moronic dealer network who save them money by submitting false and misleading reports to prevent them from actually servicing the car under warranty. If I had known it would be such a problem to get things resolved under warranty I definitely would not have considered the extended service plan, or possibly wouldn't have bought the car in the first place, despite having ordered it. I'm sure they could have found some other sucker to buy the car from Taylor Ford.

Sorry to go off topic as far as DCT complaints, but it is a complaint about the dealer network and Ford corporate / FCSD.

[Sprint]

This discussion is just endless.

Bottom line - what's the worst case scenario (ie possible future repair costs) and can you live with it. If yes, take your chances, otherwise sell the car. From what I've seen here, Ford will avoid/evade until more serious issues start occurring.

[jdetzel]

Originally Posted by Joeywhat

When I bought my car, and had it serviced, I was given an online survey from Ford Corporate. From what I've heard dealers actually give a damn about what gets said on those...and at Village Ford they had a sign up that said if for whatever reason you couldn't give them all 100% ratings in every area to talk to the manager...could just be feel good BS (I had a good experience so I had no need to discuss anything with them), but perhaps a couple bad reviews to corporate will light a fire under their ass?

At my place of business we survey all of our customers with an independent company. If we get a negative survey the company notifies us right away. We contact the customer and make some sort of effort to resolve the issue. Not saying we always do, but we always try. And we always acknowledge the issue.
I got my survey in the mail from Ford and filled it out online. I did not give either the dealer or Ford a 100% rating.
Told them what the problems were in the comments. That was about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Haven't heard a word.
Either they really don't care if it is after the fact or they are so busy following up negative surveys they haven't gotten to me yet.

Sorry, I missed what was said. I the post I quoted was a reference to the survey from the dealer after service. I was referring to the survey I received in the mail from Ford regarding my new car purchase.

[unfocused1]

Originally Posted by Sprint

This discussion is just endless.

Bottom line - what's the worst case scenario (ie possible future repair costs) and can you live with it. If yes, take your chances, otherwise sell the car. From what I've seen here, Ford will avoid/evade until more serious issues start occurring.

It's depressing that a company trying to keep a reputation of "quality" let something like this be avoided and evaded, wouldn't you say?

All I know is, if I ran a company I'd manage it to ensure something good went out the door, and provided warranty options that covered all components. If I had to subcontract, I would hold them responsible for their issues as well. Since branding is everything and being a larger company doesn't give out a carte blanche...

Having said that, since that's a basic generalization, I've read enough to feel very comfy with Ford - they have replaced transmissions as needed and did not charge the customer.

if something big happens, I do think Ford would do the right things. I just hope nobody dies because of a design flaw that was pushed out the door, one seemingly small but built up over time...

[jdetzel]

Originally Posted by Sprint

This discussion is just endless.

Bottom line - what's the worst case scenario (ie possible future repair costs) and can you live with it. If yes, take your chances, otherwise sell the car. From what I've seen here, Ford will avoid/evade until more serious issues start occurring.

Problem is I can't afford to get rid of the car. It would probably cost me 5 grand to bail out of this thing now. So I am stuck with keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't wind up costing out of pocket the price of a clutch or transmission. Or what ever it is, we will find out when Ford figures it out.

Also, I like the car. Right now at 3200 miles mine is working pretty well. I have experienced most of the issues that have been posted. Except the one where the clutch seems to just disengage for no reason.

I get a little bump or jerk or shudder when I take off. It is akin to letting my foot out on a clutch pedal. Most of the time it shifts like it should. So I'll just keep on whistling in the dark.

[Sprint]

Originally Posted by unfocused1

It's depressing that a company trying to keep a reputation of "quality" let something like this be avoided and evaded, wouldn't you say?

All I know is, if I ran a company I'd manage it to ensure something good went out the door, and provided warranty options that covered all components. If I had to subcontract, I would hold them responsible for their issues as well. Since branding is everything and being a larger company doesn't give out a carte blanche...

Having said that, since that's a basic generalization, I've read enough to feel very comfy with Ford - they have replaced transmissions as needed and did not charge the customer.

if something big happens, I do think Ford would do the right things. I just hope nobody dies because of a design flaw that was pushed out the door, one seemingly small but built up over time...

Well, I'm not so depressed about it - it is what it is. I'm hoping Ford is right and these issues will not affect overall reliability or parts lifespan, though I can't help but have doubts each time I hear the grinding and rattling as my car shifts though 2,3,4. If something big happens, they'll have to do something for us if everyone starts having major issues at aome point.

[Sprint]

Originally Posted by unfocused1

It's depressing that a company trying to keep a reputation of "quality" let something like this be avoided and evaded, wouldn't you say?

All I know is, if I ran a company I'd manage it to ensure something good went out the door, and provided warranty options that covered all components. If I had to subcontract, I would hold them responsible for their issues as well. Since branding is everything and being a larger company doesn't give out a carte blanche...

Having said that, since that's a basic generalization, I've read enough to feel very comfy with Ford - they have replaced transmissions as needed and did not charge the customer.

if something big happens, I do think Ford would do the right things. I just hope nobody dies because of a design flaw that was pushed out the door, one seemingly small but built up over time...

Originally Posted by jdetzel

Problem is I can't afford to get rid of the car. It would probably cost me 5 grand to bail out of this thing now. So I am stuck with keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't wind up costing out of pocket the price of a clutch or transmission. Or what ever it is, we will find out when Ford figures it out.

Also, I like the car. Right now at 3200 miles mine is working pretty well. I have experienced most of the issues that have been posted. Except the one where the clutch seems to just disengage for no reason.

I get a little bump or jerk or shudder when I take off. It is akin to letting my foot out on a clutch pedal. Most of the time it shifts like it should. So I'll just keep on whistling in the dark.

I hear ya but we're already taking the financial hit since many looking to buy a used Focus will read this forum (+ other references) and offer less due to this issue regardless of it's overall affect on the lifespan of the transmission. Your equity is already reduced (though talking about equity with cars is silly to start with since they are largely a waste of $ (buy a 10 yr old civic for 5k$ every 2 yrs and you'll likely be farther ahead in the lomg run)). I love my fully loaded Ti but I'm paying the price. Knowing what I know now I should have waited a bit and bought a 13 Fusion - oh well - hind site is 20-20 eh!

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Sprint

I was going to start a new thread for this but will begin here:

Like many I've got the same DCT behaviors that many here are complaining about (Mar 11 build Ti). Before someone comes at me with the "you should have done your research" comment: YES I knew there would be some quirks, BUT, the real questions that I think are not yet answered within ant of these threads are:

1 - Are these ”normal" DCT noises going to wear out transmission parts prematurely?
2 - Are these ”normal" DCT noises going to damage transmission parts?
3 - How likely is ford to extend transmission warranty if the answer to either of the above is YES? If ford won't extend, what kind of repair bills are we looking at down the road?

If the answer to 1,2 above is no, I'll happily drive the car with these behaviors knowing that it should last a full lifespan. If the answer to 1 or 2 is YES then even a DCT expert is going to be concerned.

What are your opinions on 1,2,3?

Hi Sprint,

I would suggest that you reach out to the fine folks at Ford of Canada; they'll be in the best position to assist you. You can reach them at 1-800-565-3673.

Thanks,
Crystal

[BetaDnB]

I saw the need for this thread mentioned in this thread. I'll just bump this little guy right to the top then.