All,
I still say if you want your family safe, DO NOT buy any Ford car that has this transmission. My 2 cents. I will be getting rid of this SAFETY ISSUE car as soon as I can, but like most working men/women that is going to take some time to get the money saved up. I just feel sorry for the next poor person that gets this P.O.S. Can you say "CAR FAX"!
Best of luck to those of you who haven't had this happen yet. Its not a lot of fun getting slammed into your seatbelt when the tranmission locks up. I suggest you learn how to manual "thumb" shift this car as it may save your life when the car can no longer act on its own.
Main Parts replaced:
2x SEAL - AE8Z*1S177*A
1x SEAL ASY - AE8Z*7048*B
1x SEAL ASY - AE8Z*7052*C
1x CLUTCH ASY - BV6Z*7B546*D
Lots of extra bolts, fluids, snap rings and such....
Also noted TSB 13-9-4C Performed.
Reprogrammed PCM/TCM
I bought my 2012 Focus the month they came out in 2011 in Toronto. It had the same transmission issues that you are all experiencing (mainly violent shuddering from N->1 in auto mode), and each time I took it in for service I would mention this. Each time they would indicate "no transmission light on dash, no problem". I posted on Focus Fanatics. Posting here got the attention of Ford Corporate, and then I was informed that it was normal and perhaps because it's a DCT, that I didn't know how to drive the car. Ford Corporate had me go on a test drive with the service manager at my dealership, and with his steady foot, no issue could be found. Eventually I stopped taking the car to Ford for regular service, alternating between a trusted mechanic of mine and the dealership.
During this whole thing of course I was experimenting, trying to figure out what might make the situation better or worse. I found that the shuddering did not make TCS very happy and/or that TCS made the shuddering worse. I found for the last 4-5 months before FINALLY getting this fixed (wait, it gets better), that driving it around in manual mode, I became very in tune with the particular mannerisms that the transmission had, and the subtle throttle tricks to make any shuddering stop. In essence, the lady at Ford Corporate was right, I didn't know how to drive the car BECAUSE I BOUGHT AN AUTOMATIC. I learned how to be happy but it meant I had to use the vehicle in manual mode all the time. I didn't have a problem with this but for the average person, I'd have probably driven the car over to a Honda dealership and traded it in.
Sorry to keep going but I need to get this out. During one of my regular visits for service at my trusted mechanic, they noticed oil leaking from between the engine and the transmission. Two years of this apparently non-issue (if you asked Ford..), the transmission was literally coming apart from the engine. I took it to my dealership, who told me it was oil from the previous oil change that just had to be wiped away. The oil change previous to the one I had just had, was performed by Ford.
Next oil change, took it back to my trusted mechanic, and he said "wiping the oil away has not solved the leak". Drove it directly to Ford and demanded someone fix this IMMEDIATELY. The car is nowhere near coming up to its warranty period for drivetrain (the only saving grace is it's 5years / 100,000km). This time?
BV6Z*7B546*D CLUTCH ASY
*W520102*S442 NUT - LOCKING
9U7Z*19a506*BA GREASE - CHASSIS LUB
XL*2* LUBRICANT - UNIVERSAL
XT*11*QDC FLUID - TRANSMISSION
CPM*4* BRAKE CLEANER
AE8Z*7064*A SNAP RING
*W715491*S442 BOLT
*W520415*S442 NUT
BRS*172* SEAL
AE8Z*7048*B SEAL ASY - OIL
AE8Z*7052*C SEAL ASY - OIL
*W705448*S441 NUT
YS4Z*3N324*AA RETAINER - BEARING
FL*910*S FILTER ASY - OIL
Re-re trans replace clutch asy TSB13-9-4C, check for PCM and TCM calibration level, not at latest level, reprogrammed PCM and TCM, calibrated switches, drums and clutches, cleared all codes on all modules, check PID data on road test, calculated values, retest.
From 2011-05-05 - 2014-01-22 I lived with this problem.
Now? The car:
- Shifts normally, and smoothly
- Does not shudder at all, anywhere (so far)
- Does not 'shake' when idle
So "thanks" to Ford, for listening to me after nearly three years. Good luck to the rest of you, Ford has a LOT of work ahead of them.