A better understanding of the 2012 ATX

[84Camaro_L69]

Yes! That's it. You described it well. So its normal, for now, until its broken in? About how long is the breakin period?

[Rudel]

So is it possible to upgrade the clutch if available and then upgrade the hp?

[Twitchboy]

I got my car in February and already have 17,547 miles on her and I do no think that will go away even after its been broken in, plus these new engines usually arrive relatively well broken in when new so if it was suppose to go away it would have by now. So I am not sure if it will er go away due to its mechanical design. I think the only ting to do is work on the technique of how you accelerate from a stop , it just suchs when I'm in a drive thru and I forget about it and then when I hit the gas nothing happens, then 2 seconds later the car lunges forward along with all of my french fries lol

[84Camaro_L69]

I found this MotorTrend article while doing some searching. It's a fix/reflash for the 2012/2013 manual/auto transmissions that eliminates the feeling of the manual in the automatic. I'm trying to get a hold of my local dealer service department, but it keeps going to voicemail.

"Starting in October, new transmission control code was rolled out quietly. There's no official recall or service campaign, but anybody who complains or requests an upgrade at the dealership can have their powertrain control computer re-flashed."

"... the changes smoothed his transmission's launch behavior noticeably and finally allowed it to creep up his sloped driveway and into the garage in reverse without his having to nervously dither the gas pedal as before."

"Sure enough, my Focus Titanium's six-speed PowerShift felt much more like a mainstream DSG at launch, creeping with feet off the pedals, and during shifts, and it now handles parallel parking maneuvers with no lurching. The behavior during "low-speed change-of-mind shifts" (when you jump off and back on the throttle) was still a bit jerky, but a further December software tweak (not reflected on my test car) is said to have addressed this, along with improvements to same-shaft downshifts (i.e. fourth to second gears)."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...#ixzz2DRYAfdwr

[cbdallas]

Does any of this address the horrible grinding that some owners are hearing, or is that a seperate issue that doesn't involve how the software manipulates the clutches?

[awsimons]

Originally Posted by 84Camaro_L69

I found this MotorTrend article while doing some searching. It's a fix/reflash for the 2012/2013 manual/auto transmissions that eliminates the feeling of the manual in the automatic. I'm trying to get a hold of my local dealer service department, but it keeps going to voicemail.

"Starting in October, new transmission control code was rolled out quietly. There's no official recall or service campaign, but anybody who complains or requests an upgrade at the dealership can have their powertrain control computer re-flashed."

"... the changes smoothed his transmission's launch behavior noticeably and finally allowed it to creep up his sloped driveway and into the garage in reverse without his having to nervously dither the gas pedal as before."

"Sure enough, my Focus Titanium's six-speed PowerShift felt much more like a mainstream DSG at launch, creeping with feet off the pedals, and during shifts, and it now handles parallel parking maneuvers with no lurching. The behavior during "low-speed change-of-mind shifts" (when you jump off and back on the throttle) was still a bit jerky, but a further December software tweak (not reflected on my test car) is said to have addressed this, along with improvements to same-shaft downshifts (i.e. fourth to second gears)."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...#ixzz2DRYAfdwr

This article is dated December 2011, so this would be referring to an update that came out a year ago.

Alan

[Ox-y-GenIII]

If they had upgrades to this transmission I'd consider it when the warranty nears experiation.

It's crazy looking at the insides of this transmission and how it works. But same with any other though. At least for me.

[greg hazlett]

Wasn't that quiet as Ford send me literature telling me to come in for the reflash...

[84Camaro_L69]

I figured I'd give an update. So even though mine was just bought last month (new) it had the old software loaded on it.

So after a few days of driving around town I can tell you that the manual tranny feel from a stop to 15mph is gone, and the car doesn't roll back on steep grade streets when the light changes or I leave from a complete stop. I hope that helps.

If I were a gambling man I'd say that it appears as if my car sat on the lot for a while (old leaves under the hood in cracks gave it away) the dealer didn't use initiative to check cars for software versions and reflash the 2012 cars. I can understand their point of view because most people probably wouldn't care and accept the odd behavior in the car.

[1turbofocus]

After seeing inside a 2012 ATX I have a better understanding on how it all works

The 2012/2013 trans is best looked at like it has two gear boxes and 2 clutches , these 2 gearboxes work as one tho
One clutch controls the odd gears (and reverse) and one clutch controls the even gears then there is 2 input shafts (one inside another) one for one clutch and odd gear 1,3,5 and one for the even clutch and gears 2,4,6

It looks to me like the ECU activates the gear that coming next even before the clutch is in gauged which would allow for the smooth shifting , this is a very interesting set up and I cannot wait for tuning software to play with this more

This is new stuff for Ford but isnt new to the performance world or even hyper cars like the Bugatti Veyron which works off the same basic ideas

I think it will be a long time before there is a performance clutch for this car and it will be very very very very costly if there is one , I am going to send an extra one I have to a friend that builds clutches and see what he says

Tom