DCT / PowerShift Transmission Update TSB Thread

[peppersmum]

I have an SE and it shifts perfectly. I have none of the issues that others seem to have. And the power is a lot better than I thought it would be. Mine is a real pleasure to drive. My only gripe is I wish I had Sirius in it :-(

[bravesfan85]

Wanted to post my experience. I did it in another thread but since this is the actual one I should have posted in, I'll add it here.

We started having the shaking issues at or around 14k miles. In fact, it was so bad that the entire car would shake and one time it did so for a few seconds. I've been lurking on this forum reading all the posts and such and get very disappointed if I experience any of the issues in the GIANT threads on here. It's definitely not something I wanna see.

We bought our car from Lithia Ford of Boise, ID and even though our credit wasn't in particularly good shape they worked with us (even an hour past closing time) to get us in the car we needed. I had a 97 Mustang that was takin a dump and we decided that it was time to pick something up that would (hopefully) last longer and that we could do more stuff with. We could have bought used I suppose, but after test driving the Focus we decided to go for it.

We have had it for almost 16 months now. It has been in for the windshield wiper recall, a transmission reprogram, and finally this issue we encountered (besides all the oil changes and regular maintenance). Lithia has been SO good to us and after reading so many horrible experiences on here with different dealers, I wish I could share my luck with the rest of you.

When I took it in, they test drove it and found the shaking and shuddering (I'm sure almost immediately). Called me up and told me that they needed to replace the bell housing and the clutch pack (TSB 11-12-13, like many of you here). Took from Friday morning until Weds morning and we had a rental paid for in that period. Got the car back and damn, it felt like it was new again. I did notice ONE new thing and that I could feel it idling this time at around 800 RPM. Never felt that at all in all the time we've had it.

My wife took it on a road trip up to eastern Washington, even through some nasty snow and it has performed nicely. We're happy with our car again, especially because we have such a good dealership that takes care of us. Hopefully, we wont have anymore issues with the transmission. I'm crossing my fingers. Just wanted to share that with everyone. :)

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by flingwing1969

Now at about 18k and I have not had any tranny issues since the reflash...

Originally Posted by 6769MOPARS

Same behavior with ours. Not annoying at all. I love driving the Focus.

Originally Posted by bravesfan85

...My wife took it on a road trip up to eastern Washington, even through some nasty snow and it has performed nicely. We're happy with our car again, especially because we have such a good dealership that takes care of us...

Originally Posted by peppersmum

I have an SE and it shifts perfectly. I have none of the issues that others seem to have. And the power is a lot better than I thought it would be...

I’m sorry I missed these replies, guys. In case you missed my introduction, I’m the Ford Service rep for the boards now. It makes my day to see y’all loving your rides!

Originally Posted by halfmoonclip

...Being in touch with Ford Customer Service will get things moving...

I appreciate the recommendation, Moon.

Originally Posted by .Leda

I haven't been here in a while.... My car which had some things fixed, started acting up again yesterday and today...

.Leda,

I have your contact details from previous messages; get in touch with me and I’ll lend a hand.

Originally Posted by Tonybaloney

...Below is the message I sent to the Ford Reps on the board here. Within minutes I got a message back from Cory in the Service Dept. Same day I received a call from Mark at Ford's Service Dept. with a incident number. They've contacted my dealer and are keeping an eye on things...Crossing my fingers. But seriously, if you're having this issue, PM the Ford Reps on here and they'll get it taken care of...

Thanks a bunch for the kind words, Tonybaloney!

Originally Posted by wkumtrider

...I plan to schedule an appointment at the dealer soon...

Originally Posted by focussel

...If I do a manual first gear shift it is always smooth, it is just the automatic transfer to first that clunks but not every time...

Welcome to the forum, wkumtrider & focussel!

I’m available to help by sending escalations up to your regional customer service managers. Please drop me a line via PM with your full name, mileage, best daytime phone number, VIN, and dealer details.

Originally Posted by SportyChick

...Not sure when I'll get my car back, they're waiting for parts to replace the clutches.

SportyChick,

I’m glad your dealer is working hard to get it fixed; I’m confident they’ll take care of you.

Cory

[Gary_C]

Originally Posted by FordCustomerService

I’m sorry I missed these replies, guys. In case you missed my introduction, I’m the Ford Service rep for the boards now. It makes my day to see y’all loving your rides!


I’m available to help by sending escalations up to your regional customer service managers. Please drop me a line via PM with your full name, mileage, best daytime phone number, VIN, and dealer details.



Cory

Cory, i sent info to Crystal a few days ago. Do i need to send my info to YOU now for assistance?

[Gary_C]

Cory, i received your PM indicating i would be contacted to schedule a service date.
I was not contacted as indicated, yet.

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Gary_C

Cory, i received your PM indicating i would be contacted to schedule a service date...

Gary_C,

I see Allison (your regional CSM) tried to call you and left a voicemail. She scheduled a follow-up; please let me know if there’s a good timeframe to get a hold of you.

Cory

[Gary_C]

So i met with the Mechanic today and drove him in my car. All this was set up by Allison the regional manager. I went through the motions and demonstrated the shuddering to the mechanic and he told me it was normal. i said it didn't act this way when it was new and why does it not act this way when it is cold, only warm and on flat surfaces.
Again i was told this is normal. so we drove around a little while and when i went to park, the car rolled forward when i took my foot from the brake to the gas almost creaming a customers new car, so i rushed to press on the gas and not hit the car, and almost hit the car behind me. the mechanic said this is normal. So i tried to replicate it again and the damn thing would not roll away. the mechanic said this is normal for it to act different ways at different times due to the adaptive learning. So i said if it acts different all the time, and i feel it is hazardous to drive because it changes all the time, how can he say it is normal? DO you need to drive this thing with 2 feet? clearly not an acceptable practice and if done during a test you will fail your driving test.
Lets get back to the shudder.. after some lenghty conversation the mechanic blamed the EPA stating that Ford could fix the programing to solve all the problems but their hands are tied by the EPA. they can only push a re flash out if it is approved by the epa and the FIX is not approved, so the blame now falls on them. Where do i stand? good question. the dealer made some phone call and will try to hook me up with a factory engineer to test drive with me but that may take a while i am told. Mean while, the trans shudders and shakes and i am told this is normal, and some blame was also given to the salesman who should have told me that the car is not an automatic transmision, it is a manual trans with an automatic clutch. I was told by the mechanic it is the same as the old VW beatle that you shift without a clutch. I was fed so much BS today i started to get dizzy.

[VOLDAR]

Gary_C and others like you, I suggest you to go to another Ford shop. I am more than sure that 90% of all the frustration people have with the DCT is due to dealers playing the song "it is normal" and doing nothing to it. I am speaking from my own experience. I changed my dealer from whom I bought the car exactly because of its incompetence and playing the same song "it is normal". Let me say it right now, IT IS NOT NORMAL to have sleeping clutch, excessive shuttering while in crawling traffic. I had those after the ex did a PCM - TCM update and then he said that it is normal what I experienced. I left him and went to another one who reprogrammed everything and since then I never had a problem with the car. I didn't have to fight with him, he just did the update and yes, he told me that is normal to feel this and that, things I already knew. I think most of the Ford dealers in US are using the "it is normal" song because they simply don't want to reprogram the PCM - TCM, which if done by the book, would solve a lot of problems IMO.

[cbdallas]

I wish you lived near me so you could make your technician drive your car, then drive mine & tell you to your face that shuddering is normal. Mine has NEVER shuddered. But then again, it's only got 2800 miles on it. I'm really sorry about your troubles & hope SOME dealer can get it resolved. At this point, I don't know which problem is causing the shuddering...programming, or oil soaked clutches.

[PratoN]

Yeah, I was driving my car yesterday and the car shifted into second while I was turning right and the whole car vibrated for about 2 seconds.

Nikki: “Was that the shifting-into-second-gear noise?”
Me: “Yes.”
Nikki: “It sounds like it’s getting worse.”
Me: “No, Nikki. That’s how this car is supposed to work – remember what the dealer told us?”