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Transmission Problem? Is this a pretty common problem??? PLEASE HELP!

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DeJays Saleen

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I just bought a 2000 Ford Focus ZX3. I've had it for 3 days. When I bought it I knew it needed a few minor things but yestersday I noticed when its going into 3rd (i think) gear, it has a slight lag.... Its like a slip or something? All other gears are very smooth and no problem but just around that gear 20 - 30 mph it feels like it doesn't shift for a good second. I took it to Mr. Transmission (my dad kinda knows a guy there that he believes is honest) and he took it on a drive. The guy said he thinks the clutch isn't catching right away. The tranny fluid is nice and pink (doesn't stink), and the car has 100,050 miles on it. Mr. Transmission said he just had a lady in there yesterday with a 01 and he replaced 4 sensors in the tranny and it fixed her problem. Bill came to $450.00. He said he would do that if he was me, and if that didn't correct the problem he'd credit me the $450 to put towards rebuilding a new tranny? :( ..... I'm kinda upset about this and now don't even know if I want to keep the car? He said rebuidling it would be around $1,700 - $2,000. Hell I bought the car for $2,800! I don't want to spend that kinda money on rebuilding my tranny! So I dont' know. I'm highly upset and dont' know what to do. Can anyone tell me if this is a common problem with the Focus? Again its a 2000 ZX3 with the 2.0 16v Zetec Auto Trans. I don't kow if I should just try to flip the car, or risk spending the $450 and see if that fixes the problem. Grrr. Please help guys. So far you all have been amazing with everything else!
 
#2 ·
Problems with the auto trans are common. But to be honest, sometimes mine takes alittle while to shift too. Does it grind into gear...or clunk or anything like that? If not I think its just normal, the auto is not the greatest and the tq converter is what you feel slowing it down.........seriously I'm never buying an auto with a tq converter again.

I would just drive it, if the problem seems to get worse then I'd do something about it. No reason to spend any money on it yet.
 
#3 ·
Had a similar problem with my second '02 ZX3. Once in a while it would jerk abruptly between 1st and 2nd gear, if I was ever coasting down to a crawl and applying a little bit of throttle soon after. Had two transmission places check it out and both said that nothing was wrong with it. Yeah it's annoying, but I think there's just an occasional delay where it takes a while to hunt the proper gear.

Although I don't remember my first Focus ever having the same problem. I was still a little suspicious though, since that second Focus also had signs of being rear ended (rear window interior plastic trim loose and muffler mounting brackets were bent up) despite having a clear Carfax record. It's part of the reason why I ultimately decided to trade in. Although I still miss it sometimes.

[mecry]

Anyway you may want to test drive another Focus at a nearby dealership, to see if it has the same problem. It might put your worries at ease.
 
#4 ·
Posted via FF Mobile Mmmose that happens to me sometimes too...reason being is that your at low speeds and in the right rpm and you just happen to hit that point of shift right when your about to hit the brakes again...usually this happens to me in crawling traffic and its annoying bc i dont want to shift to second I wanna stay infirst but of course the trans does what it wants.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, I kind of figured it was normal. The fact that it's a 4-speed probably makes it a little more prominent too. I drive a 6-speed now, and while it's definitely a lot smoother it still happens occasionally. The only way to eliminate it completely is to get a car with a CVT transmission.

I've also heard that dual-clutch transmissions have an even greater notchy feel to them. You hear people complaining about it all the time with GTI/R32 owners, when they coast to a stop with their DSG transmission. So I'm sure we'll be hearing those same concerns from automatic Fiesta owners in the near future.

I'm more inclined to believe that it's completely normal. Hopefully the OP doesn't have a serious issue. It's hard to really tell from a forum post description.
 
#6 ·
Posted via FF Mobile I wouldnt think this would happen much wih dual clutch transmission? I havent read or heard of any of these complaints. Shifting should be alot smoother bc theres two clutchs working together...also there isnt a damn tq convertor...which is a huge part of the clunking problem. Check with the reviews in europe as they have had powershift for a few years now.
 
#7 ·
The biggest problem with the 4F27E transmission is that it uses solenoids, the line pressure is kind of low and it has very soft shifts. That is what accounts for the delayed reaction. As soon as you tune it to correct the line pressure and soft shifts, it's like driving a whole new car.
 
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#8 ·
Tbones00SE said:
The biggest problem with the 4F27E transmission is that it uses solenoids, the line pressure is kind of low and it has very soft shifts. That is what accounts for the delayed reaction. As soon as you tune it to correct the line pressure and soft shifts, it's like driving a whole new car.
Click to expand...


Posted via FF Mobile How do you change it...just with a sct tuner or something? And do you need to change any of the lines or anything to hold up to the increase in pressure. I so wanna do this lol.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Tbones00SE said:
The biggest problem with the 4F27E transmission is that it uses solenoids, the line pressure is kind of low and it has very soft shifts. That is what accounts for the delayed reaction. As soon as you tune it to correct the line pressure and soft shifts, it's like driving a whole new car.
Click to expand...
The Guy at Mr. Transmission said thats what he thinks it could be is the solenoids. He said thats what he just replaced in the womans 01 Focus lastweek and that fixed her problem. Is this hard to do? I just don't want to have him do that and pay $450 only to find out that wasn't the problem and I'm out $450!!!
 
#13 ·
focus trans issues

After reading all of the posts about this transmission and then experiencing the problem first hand, I pulled the codes, P0370. I call the dealership and they are of no help. The guy was nice enough to give me the ford Customer Care number. 1-800-392-3673. I had a 30 min. conversation with the lady who finally answered about the transmission slamming into forward gears, then the car surging because the fuel pump is going out and the little trick with the fuel filler tube that has separated and part of it comes out when I unscrew the gas cap??? Here is what I was told...if you call the number I provided, every single person who has a problem, they will be forced to do a major recall!!! In the meantime, save every receipt for fixing your focus in hopes that if the recall happens, we will be re-imbursed. Fortuneately, I have the tools and the knowledge to fix the problem in my garage without spending$2000.00 at the freaking dealership!
 
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