Last chance
I am glad to read that a new bulletin, procedures and parts have been released to (hopefully) address this problem. I've had my '12 Focus Ti at two different dealers four times for transmission/clutch diagnostics and work.
Shuddering, rough shifts, indecisive shifting, and roll back I personally consider quirks. Maybe I'm being too lenient based on other posts here, but I realize it's complex and yet still fairly cheap. I drove a cheap manual for most of my life, so I'm pretty tolerant of slushbox quirks.
What has pushed me to the brink is bogging down with no power when trying to accelerate from a stop. It dang near got me killed last Friday, as in an 18-wheeler swerving around my driver's side door close enough to throw road grit through my slightly lowered window. There's nothing quite like gravel hitting the side of your face to really get your attention.
Yes, I've read this thread -
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415994 - and others like it. I've received the "It's supposed to be like that, you don't know what you're talking about and you don't know how to drive" flier from my local dealers, even after they re-flashed in accordance with TSBs in effect at the time. I've learned how to modulate my car's throttle like a champ to help it through its "challenges." My wife won't even drive my car because of all the shenanigans required to make it drive smoothly. Unfortunately, no amount of decisive throttle work gets me past that 2-3 second crawl when it happens.
So I finally filed an NHTSA complaint about it. It likely won't get much consideration since the 18-wheeler driver was thankfully too skillful to result in an accident, injury, or fatality, but it's one of the few options at my disposal.
Monday I'll trek back into my second dealer (they've been decent so far, the first one was crap but that's a different post) and hope for the best. Based on my past visits:
- Could not reproduce
- A "normal" flier
- Re-flash accompanied by a "normal" flier
- Clutch replacement
I expect I won't know if any fix performed will be truly effective for at least 2-3 months.
I do appreciate the extended warranty and that Ford, at least at this point, hasn't given up. Whether their tenacity is motivated by making good on the promise that is part of each sale or combating negative public perception might be debatable. However, no amount of good will gestures will placate me if this fix doesn't take care of the problem for good. This really is the last chance I'm willing to give to make it right.
Best Regards,
Sparky12