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.
Your still blaming the design and it isnt the design thats the issue , the DCT Ford Focus trans in my opinion is a great design Ford just needs to do more with the software running it
Tom
Most people also exaggerate their problems. They either aren't knowledgeable on the operation of a Dry dual clutch transmission and it's inherent design problems/quirks or they start reading up on DCT problems and start freaking out about every little noise or clunk it has. Even when their DCT might not have any problems and clutter the dealerships causing these long wait times. It truly is a software problem. For you to think that a HUGE auto manufacturer has not resolved any physical problems with the transmission is kind of far fetched ,they've had since 2012 to at least resolve major issues. Fords mistake was to take this lighting fast transmission and slow it down so that it shifts softly and feels almost non existent. They grabbed a performance transmission and PROGRAMMED it to act like your conventional automatic when it isn't even close to being physically the same. The programming is what is killing the clutches and seals.
Getrag & others knew from the start that dry clutch units were more limited in application and more sensitive to operating conditions than wet clutch types. It's published data direct from them.
Trade off at the time was even larger than it is now, dry clutch gave better fuel economy and was cheaper to produce. Improved wet clutch units have less MPG penalty, still more expensive than dry ones.
Fortunately people seem to be learning more about the operation of them, it's been a while since hearing from someone with problems like you describe at a stop. A few years back it was much more common to get complaints from folks who wanted to hold their cars at a stop on a hill with the transmission as they'd done with other automatics - even though it's not "good" for those either.
This ^^^ Ford made the problem worse by dismissing those who had actual problems and publicly denying any problems while secretly putting out TSB's. They failed to properly educate future owners of the transmission and of course people were frightened and caught by surprise. When I purchased my 2015 no one at the dealership informed me of the DCT, they didn't even mention it.
There should of been better support and much more thought put into the parts to fix the problem vs throwing clutches/TSB at the problem
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that 80% of the clutches changed didnt need to be changed ( not counting oil soaked )
If Ford would pull there head out of there azz and just do some logging and looking at whats happening you would see where the problem is and could of fixed this by 2013 and saved MILLIONS , Used the saved money and made the DCT even better
Im with you guys dont get me wrong , Ford really screwed the pooch on the DCT but in my opinion its software not the hard parts causing the issues
Gotta remember that folks like Fabio and charlie g didn't come into this in '12 or '13 - got into one in '15 after most of the hooraw and info. was already getting stale and FORD had still not ever changed official info. from the original marketing disaster of not mentioning much about differences.
Promoted as smother & quicker shifting, no mention of type and different behaviors unless trouble hit - then the old discredited memo about the differences comes out.
"Discredited" only because of excessive uses to cover any complaints, often before determining the severity of symptoms.
How many models have an equivalent resource to this Forum?
The number is small and limited, with certain brands that already had owners groups leading the way. Average consumer would have no idea this resource even exists, and without the enthusiast members who started it based on the original model it wouldn't be here for the MkIII owners.
didn't get into them till 15!! rodger! just so you know I was working in a ford dealer bench fixing them in 12 till in march of 15 when I fully retired , I swapped my 12 v6 performance pack, mustang even for that focus as a fill in till I could make up my mind on what brand new car to buy for myself only because I didn't want to pull that made in china getrag mt82 out for a 3rd set of made in china blocker rings for 2nd and 3rd and a 2nd dual mass flywheel
service history on that focus showed it had a new C clutch in it. and a new TCM they still failed.
I understand that and agree , Before I go to buy anything I do " Ford Focus Issues "
Just bought a table saw and put in " Sears Table Saw issues "
The reviews I saw and there was thousands of them show all kinds of DCT issues and complaints going back to early 2012 , It took me all of 30 seconds to find them and in 5 min of reading would of made me do even more reading , questioning my decision of thinking of buying a Ford Focus DCT
People in this day and time cant say well Ford Dealer should of told me about the DCT , You have to look and research
Only meant it as a general observation, letters that went out to 2012 owners never made it to people who didn't buy until later years, and the same for others that went out as the warranty extensions were made.
one would sure think a CPO car with almost new updated parts in it and have only 25k would be ok. and safe to buy or in my case even up swap .
guess there are more reasons LUK has upgraded the clutch kits to a even higher letter H I think it's up to now,
my issue is these dry disc trannies do not work in areas where the owner has to deal with a lot of stop and go traffic they fail at higher rates in these areas then where people have to do almost all highway.
my first dealing with them was with vw when they started with theirs in 2002 we had issues mostly programing and a few where snap rings failed that held the clutch packs together. not like every car builder using a dry disc unit is having, this trans is simply not made for a city like driver
go back close to 100 years. dry clutches have never been able to handle heat from being slid or ridden with out burning up and tearing up and that what many car makers are doing trying to make a dry clutch act like a tc. imm that won't ever work
do we hear as much about problems with wet clutch units? NO WE don't. the fluid cools them down just like HUDSON's back in the late 40 and early 50's with a wet oiled clutch that out lasted most dry ones
All I hear anymore is WA WA WA and reasons you dont like dry clutches , You KNEW of all the issue working on the DCT where you worked at Ford yet bought one anyway
It isnt the design its the software , I have told you that many times , people have posted where my tune worked but you blow that off thinking you know best , but you dont know what your talking about
screw SCT! I have their BS software at my shop. seems so many dick heads running shops think because they have it they are the only fix. SCT fails to do a lot reason I don't push it nor will I sell it to my customers.
there are 13 dct models being used in 24 car models. tractors, yes john deer and Honda motor cycle the worlds not ready for them in city driving
4 ford dealers brought them to me to be done, bench fix!! and well I know this will get me banned forever and I give 2 s--ts. so take your bs tuning soft wear and johnny reb attitude and stick it where the sun no longer shines.
Makes no sense to jump on someone who gave a shot to a car that SHOULD have handled his local driving, but in the end did NOT. Steep hills were the downfall there, not even the traffic it could also see at times.
charlie's right and Getrag agrees, the dry DCT will never handle the same severe loads their wet DCT can take.
No way to know now, but his particular car and the use it had to survive to be practical might NOT have been one that your tuning would have had much effect on. Those hills are tricky to handle with a stick at all, miss a shift by a little and you end up stopped. So one hiccup from a DCT and you're in trouble, not what you want from an "automatic".
He never tried my tune , Now we find out that he worked on DCT for Ford and to add insult to injury he also has the SCT software and could of fixed the problem him self if he had tried
I have Customers that live all over in the Mountains and no issues with there DCT and my tune
A DCT is holding 240HP to the wheels for a year now with Turbo thats about 260 at Flywheel far more then its stated to hold and still with stock clutches , The DCT trans it self isnt the issue , 2nd one now what 3 months no issues either , Getreg said the SVT Trans wouldnt hold much yet we know they now hold 3+ times the advertised TQ
Come on Sailor , Think about it , he knew for 2 years the DCT had issues and bought a DCT anyway , Now we find out he had SCT software and could of at least tried to fix the DCT issues and didnt , Could of bought my Tune with a 98% success rate. He complains about the DCT more then anyone , he doesnt have a leg to stand on
It isnt like some of the other guys that just didnt know , those I feel for
Yes I know better , I apologize for the Wa Wa Wa but stand behind the rest
"Worked on DCT for Ford" implies a lot more than mentioned, it's not like he was involved with corporate. You claim more working on DCT for Ford than he did (fixing cars for Dealers).
Retirement age folks in particular can desire something that WORKS, not needing repair/warranty/aftermarket fixes. Did you catch that he also just came off another that needed a replacement engine? (1.6 Ecoboost)
If I was in his position I'd rather spend time on the toys than deal with the daily driver having troubles. Collector cars (Ford & Ford based) and a Charter Boat? Who wants to deal with the DD appliance causing grief?
Ford loyalty through two disasters in a row, I don't blame him for trying something else.
"People all over the mountains" might never see the same type roads as in his neighborhood. Some unique & severe ones there, not even passable for all vehicles.
How long did you work on the DCT tuning before claiming you could fix most? If it was all that simple why wasn't your tune promoted for shudder within the first year after SCT software was avail.? Considering you do it for a living, should have a real advantage over anyone who just has it "available".
Obviously YOU fit your comment to him "clearly you dont understand or know how to use the Advantage software" or you could have done it in the little time he had available. (but why should he want to on a new to him used car under warranty?)
We all know you could have a thousand HP avail. without breaking the trans.. All depends on control & use, and once you start spinning tires does the power avail. really matter? Too much power applied too suddenly can break anything, and it takes very little in the correct circumstances.
I don't want to get into it here so deeply, but there's a time to back off on criticizing people.
Electronics rep. (Ford IV Team) mentioned no current Ford Service coverage at the moment a little while ago when they showed up to answer some questions.
Is it fair to say that the 16 models are better than the previous years. I would really like to get a new Focus, but I'm very hesitant on these DCT issues.
2015 Focus, Revision F clutches. Slow speed shudder went away at 20,000 kilometers... replaced by occasional shudder starting off from stop, which got worse.
A dealer a month ago had told me the shudder in my 2015 was normal and my driving was at fault. Didn't do anything, even a reset, since my TCM was loaded with the newest software. Modified my driving like I was driving a stick, got most of the minor shudder to go away. Still had a major shudder that would manifest on hot days in stop-and-go traffic, but I didn't consider it a major issue. So I expected nothing when I brought it into the dealer I purchased the car from, just to be sure. Instead, my service advisor immediately sent me to another one who focused on transmissions. Vehicle was taken on a drive to warm up the transmission, then thrown into shudder testing while I had some coffee and checked out the RS they had in the lot.
I expected a TCM software issue, since the car has about 30,000 kilometers on it. I was informed by my advisor that the clutches would need to be replaced, and if I could come in on Thursday to get it done - a surprise considering I was expecting weeks of waiting. On top of this, they booked a rental for me, and threw in a free oil change / rotation / air filter change. So, we'll see how these "Revision G" clutches from the 2016 perform. In the meantime, they installed the latest TCM software, which seems to shift at a higher RPM and more like a proper DCT in terms of speed and firmness.
Honestly, I love how this car handles, and I enjoy the positive aspects of the DCT. I just wish they went with a wet clutch similar to the DSG in the Golf... or even the DCT in the previous generation Euro Focus. When's the last time anyone complained about the latter? If this issue keeps recurring as I close in on the end of powertrain warranty... I've got my eyes on an ST3.
I will , I have 2 MK3 and will more then likely buy another at some point
I stole my second one , test drove it used , shudder was so bad couldnt hardly drive it , found out it was a buy back , haggled for 3 weeks and got it for my price because they couldnt fix it , loaded my Custom Tune and drove it home with 80% of the shudder gone with first try
I dont get all the fussing from the guys that still have shudder when there is a solution out there that works to cure it on most of the MK3 I have done , Ford dealers have figured it out there my best customers now LOL
Any assistance in getting my DCT looked at by my dealer? I had the computer replaced last year and it solved a lot of my issues but recently the tranny has been skipping. I checked the diagnostic menu and have 3 transmission error codes now.
If your Focus tranny is throwing codes, you should have no problem getting the dealers service dept to look at it. Don't be discouraged by all the posts you have read here, it is always worth a try.
If you're looking for Ford reps, they haven't been active recently, and def. can't 'assist' with anything if your car hasn't BEEN to a Dealer. Main function of them is to mediate Customer/Dealer relations when there's a communication issue.
The telephone Customer Assistance is always avail., but it's not a 'tech' line for Customers.
Guesses from members would be aided by actual codes, and doesn't really fit in this thread. That's typical for DCT comments, they end up anywhere it's mentioned at all.
I've got a 2013 Focus SE Hatch with 55k miles. Had my first Transmission Error - Service Now message come on today after driving it a couple of times early in the day. It came one straight from starting the car. Seems to go no further than second gear. The manual/sport shift mode doesn't even function. I stopped and turned the car off and re-started it but didn't change things. I was able to drive back to my office, topping it out at 35mph and about 2500rpm's.
I've experienced the shuddering since I've owned the car and have gotten somewhat used to it, as it's been sporadic in my ownership. I know the dealer extended the tranny warranty but I'm wary of going there since for so long they feigned ignorance on the possibility of there being a transmission issue all along. And on the flip side, I've got a really great transmission shop locally, but if there's a good chance the dealer will remedy the problem on their dime, I'd rather go that route.
Anyone have thoughts or experienced this and what transpired as a result?
I've got a 2013 Focus SE Hatch with 55k miles. Had my first Transmission Error - Service Now message come on today after driving it a couple of times early in the day. It came one straight from starting the car. Seems to go no further than second gear. The manual/sport shift mode doesn't even function. I stopped and turned the car off and re-started it but didn't change things. I was able to drive back to my office, topping it out at 35mph and about 2500rpm's.
I've experienced the shuddering since I've owned the car and have gotten somewhat used to it, as it's been sporadic in my ownership. I know the dealer extended the tranny warranty but I'm wary of going there since for so long they feigned ignorance on the possibility of there being a transmission issue all along. And on the flip side, I've got a really great transmission shop locally, but if there's a good chance the dealer will remedy the problem on their dime, I'd rather go that route.
Anyone have thoughts or experienced this and what transpired as a result?
I suspect that your TCM has gone south so you definitely need to take it to a Ford dealer as it is a warranty repair that will be covered.
My impression is that the Ford dealers are not soft pedaling these repairs because they are good service income and Ford has clarified the failure conditions and modes. My daughter just had her Fiesta's clutch replaced and the dealer welcomed her with open arms even though the car was originally purchased in another state.
bestfocusowner-
I ended up taking it in to the dealer last night. I called in the afternoon and they said I could drop it off but they weren't even booking appointments until Friday (my wife has one set for Thursday and she tried scheduling it on Monday). When I dropped it off I told them I didn't have an appointment but what was going on and told them it was barely driveable. The service person said she hoped they could do the diagnostics on it last night (service dept is open until midnight 4 nights a week) and maybe get it worked on today.
I ended up getting a phone call this morning that the work was complete (TCM replacement) and I could pick it up any time. Quite a difference from the previous appointments there.
Now, time to consider picking up a tune from Tom......!
Great to hear that your dealer was able to take care of this pretty quickly. I know that TCM availability has been spotty historically. I know that a year ago they were on back order.
I have the clutch introduced late 2016, I think it is referred to as "B" clutch. It was installed about 6 months ago, Tom's tune was applied about one month after the clutch install for good measure. So far it has been very good, although the mileage is only about 5K.
Please keep us all posted as the weeks and months go by. In the past with other versions, they would eventually come back with the same problems or worse.
My 2015 Focus Titanium (26K miles) started the dreaded transmission stuttering. It's been getting worse over the past 2K miles or so. Local Ford dealer looked at it today. This is what they report:
"26059 performed TCM adaptive learning then graphed vehicle using DSP6 shudder concern in IDS. I then uploaded the readings to WSM and clutch failed. Got RCV code RP4ALUU0NRY3Q- 971 **REPLACEMENT NEEDED, FOLLOW UP APPT WILL BE BOOKED FOR REPLACEMENT**"
Anything else I should ask about or be concerned with? I have had a TCM (Transmission Control Module) replacement on the 2012 I own. That one failed after a transmission software update and it left me stranded (read about it here if you'd like).
Is this what's happening to my Focus. At low speeds, shortly after accelerating from a stop, it will kick into acceleration like I'm gunning it but I'm not.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Focus Fanatics Forum
5.8M posts
189.1K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to Ford Focus owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about SVT performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!