2012 Focus Transmission Shaking

[Turb0x3r]

Originally Posted by mjb457

Ford claims that the shuttering is normal ocassionally with the DCT,,,, WOW! I am amazed what is considered normal these days? Anytime I had a car that shook or shimmied there was something wrong......In good conscience it cant be normal...MJB

I agree with you. What Ford is saying those days is just trying to kick the tire down the road and hope people like us forget about it but it's not going to happen! Let's hope the engineers are on top of this and issue a in-house fix even if it means replacing the DCT or the government will force a recall which can embarrass Ford on national news and can make Americans re-think their purchases with Ford.

[Shipexc]

Ours probelm is more of a grinding sound and "roughness" at low speeds in 1st or 2nd gears at low rpms. I will give Ford dealer another shot at ot after replacing tires

[PratoN]

Originally Posted by Shipexc

Ours probelm is more of a grinding sound and "roughness" at low speeds in 1st or 2nd gears at low rpms. I will give Ford dealer another shot at ot after replacing tires

Well, my car does it with 18" summer tires and 15" winter tires sooooo... yeah.

[Shipexc]

I failed to rotate the cont's often enought.. the front were moved to the back after 8000 miles.... they are very loud now. The dealer keeps saying the grinding sound is the tires, to me it sounds and feels like the front brakes are worn out and you feel metal to metal

[mr_cassandra]

Originally Posted by Shipexc

Ours probelm is more of a grinding sound and "roughness" at low speeds in 1st or 2nd gears at low rpms. I will give Ford dealer another shot at ot after replacing tires

This is a long post but worth your time to read - if you search these forums you will find hundreds of posts with variations of it. Be aware that "normal" is a mild shudder on low speed shifting because this is an automatic MANUAL, but that’s ALL. Shudders, noises and bog downs that attract your passenger’s attention are NOT normal. I owned a VW GTI and it did NOT do this. Go to any major auto show and you can now find this transmission being used worldwide in cars ranging from the mundane to the wildly exotic. If you go read the posts at the ford focus face book page, you will see people over there as well who are extremely unhappy with the dealer telling them "this is normal".
This problem takes various forms, roughly summarized below taken from customers who got repairs and explanations from the dealer:
There are various TSB’s (Technical Service Bulletins)that the dealers have, dealing with dct transmission problems. You can find them on these forums.
Mild shudder at low speed shifts, normal on all dual clutch transmissions in all makes, mild enough that your passengers do NOT notice. NORMAL
Grinding/rattling noise from under hood when shifting at higher speeds-NOT NORMAL, possible cause-leaking oil seal contaminating-throw out bearing and/or missing sleeve for the bearing. Also known to be involved-clutch and actuators. Also known to be involved-seals, bad seals allow oil contamination of clutch and throw out bearing.
Rough shifting, speed sensors caked with leaking oil and metal
If there is a slick fluid leaking between the engine and bell housing, you've got a problem!
In a technical service bulletin dated Sept. 13, the automaker informed dealers that some 2012 Focuses “may exhibit various automatic transmission and engine driveability concerns.”
There is a TSB (11-12-13) published on December 23, 2011 that states some cars might have transmission fluid leaking where the bell housing meets the engine. If you have this, get it fixed.
Bogging down, almost stalling at higher speeds in traffic, this is dangerous and no discussion of normal is possible.
In addition, you will find posts here by people where Ford has pulled out the transmission, replaced seals, throw out bearings and clutches and the problem is GONE.
I live in New England and when the cold weather came in, the problems were GONE.
Anything beyond a mild shudder at low speed shifting is not normal and this can be crosschecked with other brand owners of this same type transmission.
If it were normal, how can repairs and/or cold weather make it go away?
It is up to all focus owners experiencing these problems to be pro-active and get their issues escalated. If you need to print everything you can find here and bring it to the dealer. He may not even know the scope of the problem.
When this transmission is running properly, this is THE sportiest car for the money that I am aware of.

[Shipexc]

I am awawre of your comments, the way the car "feels" is like a "warped" or bent shaft, maybe a bearing, allowing the engine rpm to climb without shifting the grinding sound and roughness goes away... we will see with our next Ford visit. And yes the car is fun to drive.. we have a 2006 civic SI , our SE with the sport package handles and runs with it without having to deal with the extra pedal!

[mr_cassandra]

Originally Posted by Shipexc

I am awawre of your comments, the way the car "feels" is like a "warped" or bent shaft, maybe a bearing, allowing the engine rpm to climb without shifting the grinding sound and roughness goes away... we will see with our next Ford visit. And yes the car is fun to drive.. we have a 2006 civic SI , our SE with the sport package handles and runs with it without having to deal with the extra pedal!

shipexec, please be aware that it appears most dealers may not have all the knowledge you can find here at ths board, almost every person I have seen get these NORMAL problems fixed, did it thru escalated Ford customer service support, which enforced the dealer repair.

Neither the dealers nor Ford want you to be unhappy but as seen in hundreds of posts at ths forum and some very unhappy people at the ford focus facebook page, you have to be your own advocate on these transmission issues.

I have followed this issue for months and rarely seen a post where the dealer said this is a problem and let me fx it. I can pretty much guarantee you that any one dealer does NOT know the sum total of problems discussed here at these forums.

[HornedFrog05]

Mine has been reprogrammed 4 times, and it's not getting any better. This is just one of the issues I've had but definitely one of the most annoying.

It's been in the shop for:

- Headliner wasn't attached properly by the moonroof and it would rattle horribly. Had to re-installed
- Transmission lights came on after 1600 miles which was the initial reprogram (been reprogrammed 4 times)
- Front End suspension clunks (still ongoing with no apparent fix, been in the shop 5 times for this)
- IA access was only connected on the passenger side of the car
- Rear seat cover split from the seat and had to be replaced
- Hood had to be realigned (wasn't properly from the factory and was grinding on the headlights
- Driver side air vent became detached and need to be re-installed


I've never experienced this many problems with a car, it's super frustrating. I'd trade it in if I could afford it, but unfortunately I'm not in a position to do that financially. This car causes me to have anxiety when I'm in it and is not the car it was when I bought it and not the car Ford advertises on their website and various publications. Looks great but it was poorly engineered and even more poorly manufactured.

[Strix]

Originally Posted by HornedFrog05

Mine has been reprogrammed 4 times, and it's not getting any better. This is just one of the issues I've had but definitely one of the most annoying.

Sometimes reprogramming it is all they know how to do. Plug cable in, click button, tell customer it's 'fixed'. It's easier than actually finding the problem.

Mine's had new software installed many times as well, and it's always much better for a day or two, but as time goes on it goes right back to being an annoying piece of crap. Apparently my transmission has a learning disability.

I've never experienced this many problems with a car, it's super frustrating. I'd trade it in if I could afford it, but unfortunately I'm not in a position to do that financially.

I'm counting the days, brother.

not the car it was when I bought it

Amen to that. It seems to get worse every time it gets 'fixed'. I'd say that's indicative of a problem that is not being addressed... but what the eff do I know.

Looks great but it was poorly engineered and even more poorly manufactured.

Don't forget poorly supported by poorly trained and poorly managed service departments.

[Turb0x3r]

So what happened to the Ford Customer Service guys on the board?