Question 1
What has really changed, if anything to remedy the car's inherent issues with this DCT, or am I facing a car that will drop in value so fast I could hear it whistling in my driveway like a WWII bomb?
I got a REALLY good deal on my SEL Hatchback ($13,000 for a 1 year, two month old SEL was a steal), with 17,000mi on the clock and was previously a rental car.
The issues I've had:
- New cruise control module on the steering wheel (what the they THOUGHT it was and didn't work as my cruise control would only turn on when it felt like....they said I wasn't using it correctly and I called them on their bullshit as every car I've owned had it, including my five speed 2007 ZX4) and new Clockspring (what it ACTUALLY was as I made the service manager drive it).
- My car developed shuddering, serious hesitation, low power, sudden lurching, unpredictable acceleration issues so new clutches+seals installed and a TCM reflash. This solved the problems in 2014.
- While my hesitation was gone, unpredictable acceleration reared it's head again as sometimes it seemed like it wasn't getting enough power, so I would push a little more and it would attempt to spin the wheels to take off like a rocket.....literally like I held the clutch and accelerator, then lifted fast off the clutch. Turned into getting looks like I was a crazy driver. Got new clutches and seals (set # 3 now) with another TCM update and it's like a different world. It's still not perfect, but acceleration is consistent, predictable, and does exactly what I tell it to do. My only worry is that it now rides the clutch with an extremely smooth shift from 1-2 which sounds like a conventional automatic, but after that it's like it was before, but solid. I did notice when I'm going between 40-50 mph with it hits 4th gear, there is a very faint "jolt" feeling, but it doesn't bother me.
- Another problem unrelated to the DCT is that last year, my driver side door latch failed and the part was not available for a month, rendering my car useless. There was no recall, but the part was on "national back order" which tells me this is a major problem. Luckily I had a decent dealership as initially they wanted to charge my $800 for the fix, I talked them down to $350, and by the time my car was ready, they didn't charge me at all. I'm also lucky I had the best neighbors on the planet who let me borrow their truck to get to work.
Question 2
If the newer models do have revised parts to make the car safer and more drive-able, what Life expectancy Can I reasonably expect out of the clutches?
Honestly, no clue. My clutches weren't to the point that it was undrivable, but it was pretty bad and having to over compensate for the transmission was a chore. I have a friend who had even worse transmission problems. It is the same year and had about the same amount of miles as mine when he got it. He has about 80,000 miles on it now while I'm just at 63,000.
I got rid of my ZX4 5-speed as I was finally done with the chore of shifting, however, I still understood the behavior of the manual enough to know most of what was going on. The car drives GREAT when it works. The handling is amazing for being a mainstream compact car...same as the old Focus. Both have had to get new front rotors, but my 2007 needed them at 40,000mi while my 2012 went at 60,000mi which is an improvement.
If I could do it again, I probably would have waited to get something else with a conventional auto. No way I'd still be driving my 5 speed even though it would have been paid off 3 years ago. When the technology works in my car, it's great. Probably would not have made the purchase, if I had better choices at the time, but this really caught my eye when I saw it initially online. It was a very good deal and no car is perfect. It was in an accident as a rental which is why it was as cheap as it was at the time, but it was repaired properly I feel sorry for those that spent over $25,000 on this new. I feel like I've gotten more than my value. I definitely would NOT have purchased this vehicle new even with all the great features.
My bottom line. Do NOT buy this new with the DCT, you will regret it. If you want a Focus THAT bad, get the manual....and at that point, you might as well go for the ST.
On a side note, it looks like the "SEL" has finally returned for 2017 (It was gone for 13-14, then called SE Luxury for 15-16 but w/o the badge).
