[Starfury]

Not sure if I see the "problem" I'm having with my transmission described in the TSB.

It seems to chose far too low a gear (3rd I believe) when descending some hills after tapping the brakes in Sport mode. I usually shift out of it as it seems that there is entirely too much engine-braking on some grades. Some of the hills I drive down are a bit much for Drive, but not enough for 3rd.

Car was built 8/1.

 

[lifocus]

Your car was built before 8/12 and you do qualify for this update. I would talk to dealer and have them do it anyway...

 

[PratoN]

Your car was built before 8/12 and you do qualify for this update. I would talk to dealer and have them do it anyway...

I second the motion!

 

[mjsimerly]

Had the update done today and it definitely feels A LOT smoother!

The shuddering didn't bother me very much but the awkwardly high-revving on downhill descents did... anddd... it's fixed!

Voila! Definitely highly recommended to anyone who has a vehicle eligible for the re-flash.

 

[descentgate]

descentgate sums my experience up so far. I've only had it for this afternoon and will give more feedback after my 40mi. commute to school tomorrow, with some highway and stop and go traffic, to see how the car responds. so far I too still have shudder at a stop, but as said, not quite as prominent.

I'll admit, I'm anything but placebo about that shuddering as my sensitivity was pretty high for the shudder, and I did feel it yesterday (at points even thinking the road was the shuddering), but today, not at all. I also tested the car in a parking garage (uber low speeds), and there was less hesitatation and the car did not feel laggy like it did before when going up the ramps (~5-10 mph)

The car is also 5000x as smoother as it was before, clicking through gears quickly and without much (if any at all) vibration.

 

[copernicium112]

Good to read. Thanks all for sharing in this thread. Going to the dealership on Sat. anyhow to go over some winter tire/rim options so seems like a good time to get them on this.

Feta, any further feedback now that you have some miles on after the fact?

 

[feta_mgp]

Good to read. Thanks all for sharing in this thread. Going to the dealership on Sat. anyhow to go over some winter tire/rim options so seems like a good time to get them on this.

Feta, any further feedback now that you have some miles on after the fact?

Gonna give it a few more days for a full review... but sadly my car doesn't feel all that different to me. I'll keep driving and keep getting a feel for any differences... but unless my car is what you guys consider "smooth" then I still feel like I have some shudder.

May also take it by another dealership near my school's main campus and see if they can check my PCM version number

 

[JRicky]

Mine has been really, really well behaved *knocks on wood* so I'm not sure if it will help or not, but I'm going to call my favorite dealer and see if I can bring it in

 

[Starfury]

Not sure if I see the "problem" I'm having with my transmission described in the TSB.

It seems to chose far too low a gear (3rd I believe) when descending some hills after tapping the brakes in Sport mode. I usually shift out of it as it seems that there is entirely too much engine-braking on some grades. Some of the hills I drive down are a bit much for Drive, but not enough for 3rd.

Car was built 8/1.

I paid really close attention while driving today and I do get the *RPM flare* mentioned in the TSB. Definitely going to have it done.

 

[KaputtEqu1pment]

Hmm, I haven't really been bothered bugbear symptoms. I almost liked the shaking. As the car is, I wouldn't classify it as bad, but should I update anyway? (considering the whole ain't broke don't fix mantra)

 

[Dr. Woo]

Really good to hear the TSB is rectifying a lot of people's issues with the DCT. It's too bad Ford didn't act quickly enough to "right the wrongs" before Consumer Reports' annual review.

 

[chum567]

Im gonna get this done as soon as I drop the car off for another repair. I've been waiting for 2 months on strut bearings they need to replace to come in. I hate waiting.

 

[e350 coupe]

I do not get the timing of this

This update is only required on vehicles with a build date before August 12 2012

Yet they released an update on September 05 which they then recalled as it did not work

They then released this update on October 02 which solves some problems again only on vehicles built before august 12

It appears that vehicles built on or after august 12 2011 are a different transmission and Ford is attempting to resolve the issue through software and not hardware.

There is no other logical answer as to why the software and build dates do not coincide.

 

[e350 coupe]

Im gonna get this done as soon as I drop the car off for another repair. I've been waiting for 2 months on strut bearings they need to replace to come in. I hate waiting.

why are you awaiting new strut bearings, I have been through a couple of sets including new struts, springs and torque bolts, I still have a clunking noise in front end. we are going to try tie rod ends, and or engine mounts next.

 

[PratoN]

Yet they released an update on September 05 which they then recalled as it did not work

They then released this update on October 02 which solves some problems again only on vehicles built before august 12

It appears that vehicles built on or after august 12 2011 are a different transmission and Ford is attempting to resolve the issue through software and not hardware.

There is no other logical answer as to why the software and build dates do not coincide.

I beg to differ. There was obviously a problem with the September TSB that resulted in a no crank/no start condition. Once they had this fixed, they re-released the TSB on 10/2. My guess is that the original firmware and re-programming setup aren't quite the same. It probably was something stupid like they forgot to put "Make sure the battery is charged before reprogramming." But they didn't and then one person had their car battery die before the flash was finished, and then their car wouldn't start at all. Boom - instant withdrawal of the TSB.

EDIT: And I could totally see it taking a month to resubmit the TSB because that's what happens when you have a big enough company. Things just sit on/in desks for weeks.

 

[feta_mgp]

I beg to differ. There was obviously a problem with the September TSB that resulted in a no crank/no start condition. Once they had this fixed, they re-released the TSB on 10/2. My guess is that the original firmware and re-programming setup aren't quite the same. It probably was something stupid like they forgot to put "Make sure the battery is charged before reprogramming." But they didn't and then one person had their car battery die before the flash was finished, and then their car wouldn't start at all. Boom - instant withdrawal of the TSB.

EDIT: And I could totally see it taking a month to resubmit the TSB because that's what happens when you have a big enough company. Things just sit on/in desks for weeks.

No doubt. There's no reason Ford would use a separate transmission entirely, for them to still offer it as the same PowerShift DCT, they would have had to spend the money on developing a whole new DCT transmission (not cheap, that's why we share ours with the Fiesta as is)

So, there's no way and it makes no sense for them to have switched transmissions.

 

[PratoN]

So, there's no way and it makes no sense for them to have switched transmissions.

Arguably, they may have changed a component like a solenoid or the dual-mass flywheel or something. But I also doubt that, seeing as how the software update has fixed most issues here.

 

[feta_mgp]

Arguably, they may have changed a component like a solenoid or the dual-mass flywheel or something. But I also doubt that, seeing as how the software update has fixed most issues here.

Correct, in that case I would assume they'd recall the cars and swap out said part, as per usual TSBs.

 

[chum567]

why are you awaiting new strut bearings, I have been through a couple of sets including new struts, springs and torque bolts, I still have a clunking noise in front end. we are going to try tie rod ends, and or engine mounts next.

About a week after buying the car it makes a loud noise everytime I turn the steering wheel.

 

[Kabigon]

There is no other logical answer as to why the software and build dates do not coincide.

The Ford diagnostic system (IDS) that the dealers use is updated periodically (usually every 1 to 2 months).
When a new calibration (module firmware) is available, the IDS system "doesn't know about it" until it is updated to the latest revision.

Why did they "recall" the September update?

Nothing was wrong with the new PCM/TCM firmware. The problem was with the reflashing procedure used by the version of IDS that was current at that time. The next version of IDS (available in early October) fixed that problem.