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Nothing but problems pt2

17K views 93 replies 30 participants last post by  misfire 
#1 ·
http://youtu.be/xtcIWrMe5sg

I have posted before about the shaky, unstable, and grinding noise my 2012 SE Ford Focus is omitting. Here is a small clip of the "normal noise" that I am hearing numerous times on a daily basis. The car is only getting worse with time.
 
#4 ·
Ashley, are you or John bringing it in tomorrow? I want to make sure that whoever is bringing it in can replicate this noise for us. I can honestly say that I have NOT heard this loud of a noise the two times that I drove your car.
 
#5 ·
I just put the phone on the dash because it's easier. It's making the noise between 2 and 3 RPMs. Will, from my understanding you were never in my car John only drove with the technician but I will be there tomorrow and I will certainly take you for a drive. The noise is even worse tonight I took another video. I'll upload it here in a few.
 
#7 ·
Do you mean 2000 and 3000 rpm? The little scale factor does say x1000 on it. If the car was running at 2 rpm it wouldn't be moving very fast at all. No offense, just trying to clarify the situation. That did sound terrible.
 
#12 ·
Ashley,

The ideal thing is to have the technician who is to work on it hear it as well as the Service Manager. If I hear it, I dont know what to do to fix it and the same goes for Joe Welde (Joe has a sales meeting from 9-10). If Jim hears it, he will know what to describe to the engineers of Ford. Jim can describe the noise to Engineering and the Service Manager is the one in direct contact with your Customer Relations Manager. Like I said before, I will do whatever I can in my power to help. I want you to be happy with your car as I am with mine. Hopefully with this visit we can pass on what is happening exactly to Ford and they will instruct us as to what the game plan will be. Have a great night and we will see you in the morning.
 
#37 ·
How much extra must the customer pay because the customer did not cause this problem, and is well documented amongst many (albeit to differing levels)?

My question is why is this on a public forum to begin with? This seems like a problem between a customer and service provider that's being dragged out for the public to see. We all know we don't need another DCT problem thread around here.
Why not? Benign or not, is this not an insignificant issue, surely?

And where is the line between "for the public to see" and not? I can think of issues that don't need to be told so loudly, but to be fair - this is the transmission, a vital component to the car. Not an ash tray... benign or not, and if it becomes less benign and a pattern of people having problems over time increases, then it's definitely something the public MUST know about. I'm sorry if some people disagree, but the ethics are in how a company deals with a problem. It would be far more unethical to keep everything buried as you seem to allude to and pretend there's no problem... But Ford seeing, acknowledging, and fixing, the problem, would only add - and add much - to respectability. Since we all know that people make mistakes. Trying to hide the problem is almost as low as it gets. I'd rather work with people and support companies that act ethically.
 
#14 ·
Ditto for me. After one year of ownership, mine just started making some type of grinding noise similar to what's on your vid but they are far from being that loud. I've always thought it to be the grill shutters as it kinda sounds like its coming in that area but really, I don't know. Wow, I just hope my car never gets to what yours is like. I feel for you.
 
#16 ·
I have this noise, after 10k miles it developed. It started doing it only in the even gears and now the odd ones as well.

The clutch is shot and needs to be replaced. It is exhibiting the "Green" clutch break in symptoms but well after the break in period. It's very clear, but the dealerships are not very helpful (lack of DCT training?).

First you'll just hear the grinding, especially at low RPM pulls. Then you'll notice that sometimes you're driving a CVT because the clutch is sooo slowww to let out. Then you'll notice power loss when accelerating while it's doing this slow engaging or grinding. You'll notice surges in acceleration, it'll feel almost like gentle bumps in the road. Sometimes the grinding will turn into heavy chatters that vibrate the whole car, sounding like a helicopter hovering, and cause pulsing torque steer.

All these problems and all it needs is a new clutch, but no one wants to touch it. Good luck getting it fixed.
 
#17 ·
Yes, yes and yes. All these things happen in my car too. Thanks for the luck I will definitely need it. I'm sure I will be told it's "normal" again. It's quite honestly the most frustrating thing I've ever been up against. Also, thank you for posting this. I have noticed the surges in acceleration and loss in power but wasn't sure why it would happen or if I was somehow doing it... ( I am certainly uneducated when it comes to this kind of transmission).
 
#19 ·
Be prepared for the "normal" noise answer! Mine does this and no matter what all I get is "this is normal". They claim to have spoken with Ford and they claim all is well! Heck they even called me and told me to just put it in sport mode and drive it hard! They claim the noise will still be there but I simply will no longer hear it. I really wish I was kidding about this. Mine is not as bad as yours, but definitely the same noise. Good luck and let us know what happens.
 
#21 ·
Well, I am in the waiting room at the dealer. The transmission tech did give me the it's a manual transmission speech but he did admit that the noise in my car is louder than he's heard before. (and it's been quiet today ha!) To be honest I dont think anyone here really knows what to say to me. Ford has no idea how to fix this car or they would just do it to shut me up. I'm hoping they give me a rental and keep the car as it feels very unsafe at this point... Sad part is Im almost positive it won't matter anyway.( I don't think a fix is soon to be found) but a few days in a car that doesnt shake, grind, and jut forward would be a nice change.
 
#24 ·
Because they are not tearing it apart. They are not doing anything. They are driving it and saying the noise is normal operation. They are not fixing anything at all. Deny, deny, deny until they die is the motto!
 
#27 ·
Okay guys, just for you I made my own video on my way home today. Starting off from a stoplight all the way through 60mph. The key is there are NO SOUNDS at all. Very smooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmLC_4Fg1k
Man I really hope your transmission stays quiet, but mine was dead quiet until about 3500 miles. Up to that point I couldn't even hear it with the windows down in a parking garage, but after 3500 miles I started noticing some grinding noises while shifting between first and second.

Now, with almost 6000 miles on it, the grinding is very pronounced, although not as bad as what the OP is experiencing.

It is 110% BS when they say the noise is normal. First off, my DCT was dead quiet for a few thousand miles. Second, nothing mechanical can make that kind of noise and last. It's obvious that things are not meshing properly. Does anyone really believe that a manual transmission would last 100,000 miles if someone ground the gears every time they shifted between first and second?

[chair]
 
#32 ·
Where is "Misfire" now? He sure was quick to respond to you in a public forum and acted like he wanted to "make things right"... but in the end, he has to spew the same dealership rhetoric (that Ford feeds them to say).... since they are providing his paycheque. I mean, I'm not faulting him, really, if he was honest in this forum, it could be held against him by his employer later. I just love how the service writers will smile and say anything to make you go away (and hope you give a good survey review later), but really, they don't have the answers and quite frankly don't give a rat's *ss about you or I. (I'm sure they take a LOT of abuse by irate customers, so, my hat is off to them for smiling, when they can)
 
#33 ·
Where is "Misfire" now? He sure was quick to respond to you in a public forum and acted like he wanted to "make things right"...
My question is why is this on a public forum to begin with? This seems like a problem between a customer and service provider that's being dragged out for the public to see. We all know we don't need another DCT problem thread around here.
 
#39 ·
My built date is June of 2011. I have about 14000km on my car. I've started hearing some noise about a month ago. It is nothing like the OP and not enough for me to bring it forward to the dealer. I'm hoping that with a little time it will go away. All TSB have been performed.

If I were to buy a car again I'd still go with the Focus.
 
#43 ·
May 2011 build, my car makes the exact same noises. I think it's the clutch - maybe synchros? Just over 33k miles here.

I feel like it makes a weird noise in reverse too, but I could be crazy. Anyway, I have these same noises (just as bad, occasionally worse) going from 1->2, 2->3 and sometimes more. My car hasn't shifted as smooth as the video VectorZ posted in a while... I'll take a video with RPM on the way home for you guys. You'll notice my RPMs spike right before the upshift...

EDIT: Aside from the weird lurching and grinding, she does still drive.
 
#49 ·
In case you skipped that part twice, I am in agreement that a central thread should be stickied that pertains to the grinding noise that a lot of people are having. 127 pages on the DCT issues thread with no sticky. How do I request a sticky for betadnb's thread?

Edit: Contributing to the thread some more, here is an article written over at lemonlaw.com addressing the transmission issues: http://www.lemonlaw.com/wordpress/ford-focus-transmission-problem/

Disregard the rollback issue obviously since 12B37 fixed that.
 
#50 ·
In case you skipped that part twice, I am in agreement that a central thread should be stickied that pertains to the grinding noise that a lot of people are having. 127 pages on the DCT issues thread with no sticky. How do I request a sticky for betadnb's thread?
No, I "hear" you, I just like to go on sometimes... [;)]

You could request the sticky from a moderator, but I'm not sure the best way of finding them. I think they all have red names on the site. Maybe you could do a Google search! LOL j/k.
 
#52 ·
Jeez! This has certainly caused some debate. Look, I hear you it should have a better subject name. It's named that because when I wrote my first thread it's how I felt... and really still how I feel. I don't understand why people who don't care to read about the problems take the time to go back and forth on the thread? If you love your car then by all means go ahead and love it. I'd love it too if it worked properly... and for those who keep getting the run around I hope I can help you with my video and let you know that you are not the only one experiencing the problem.
 
#55 ·
I feel your pain. Ive been to the dealer 3 times complainig of the noise. I will certainly keep you updated. I requested the TSB for the struts, so my car is in the shop right now. I also called Fords Customer Care line and had a complaint filed. Keep bringing it in. If after 3 times nothing happens (and it's getting worse) you can then decide if you want to follow the lemon law or keep trying.
 
#56 ·
As you can tell hopefully my clutch is being replaced. I am hoping it will fix the problem but obviously can't update anyone just yet. My fear is why would a clutch need replacing within a year? Will the computer, which is most likely the underlying problem, be fixed as well? I dont know just yet. Time will tell and I'll let those who are interested know what's happening.
 
#57 ·
I was into the dealer today to get the TSB on the strut done and they gave me a piece of paper from Ford explaining the characteristics of the 6 speed Powershift transmission. They said people had been in complaining and Ford told them to start giving this to people. If anyone wants a copy send me a PM and I will email a pic of it to you.

Not saying that something isn't wrong with anyones car but I just wanted to throw this out for people to see.
 
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