..it seems like the vast majority of these owners are complaining about the automatic transmission.

You are correct, the automatic (PowerShift) transmissions are not equipped with very reliable internal components.. With that being said, I would safely assume the manual transmissions are much better..

Does anyone know what type of manual transmission Ford places in the Focus?

 

the automatic (PowerShift) transmissions are not equipped with very reliable internal components..

What is your source of this information? I believe a few years ago a Ford tech said the internals of the DCT were as stout as any other manual transmission he's had apart.

Are the gears weak? The synchronizers? The shafts? Everything?

 

Probably find some of those 5 speeds for 8k if you are patient. Up to you, 10k isn't bad.

The cars with the mtx75 transmission are dead reliable. Ford has been using the same trans in these cars for 15 years. In my mk1 I've yet to encounter a problem with the trans that was it's fault.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

The 5 speed manual MTX-75 transmission has been around since the early nineties and is well proven and reliable. It also makes the Focus more fun to drive IMHO.

A 2012 manual transmission Focus SE hatchback could be bought for $7-9,000 depending on mileage and condition.

 

i believe that, but i'm not looking for anything more than 50,000 miles. so far it seems that most are between 8500-10k on autotrader.

 

Most of the complaints here are about the DCT. There are a few suspension issues from the early model years, rattling headliners on cars with sunroofs and considerable MyFordTouch frustration, but otherwise the Mk3 Focus seems quite reliable. Other than a stream of DCT issues, and a few stray rattles, my 2012 has been solid.

The manual gearbox in the Focus is an old design that seems bullet-proof. Just be aware that its gearing is a bit shorter than the DCT so highway revs are higher.

 

The manual gearbox in the Focus is an old design that seems bullet-proof. Just be aware that its gearing is a bit shorter than the DCT so highway revs are higher.

Depending on your driving style it could an advantage[grinking]

 

I bought a brand new 2012 (in the same year) Titanium with the 5 speed and have had zero problems with the tranny/clutch and zero problems with the rest of the car.
Fun to drive as is and more fun modified! [thumb]

 

I have always owned manual transmission cars. And had a 2012 Focus SE hatch with the manual transmission for 3 years, before I bought a Focus ST3.

For the OP, you had a Fusion, which only comes with a auto tranny. My question is: Have ever driven manual cars much? Do you understand the problems in general of driving a manual transmission car?
If you have long slow painful freeway drives at rush hour.. you will learn to hate like hell driving a manual tranny car..
If I had to drive two hours each way every day at 5 to 10 mph with endless full stops.. I would NOT own a manual tranny car. Period! Even though I hate automatics, a manual in some situations is a complete pain in the arse.

 

yeah i did just move to the DC area. lots of stop and go traffic at rush hour. i've never owned a manual, but I would like one. i think i'm going to get one anyway to be honest.

 

Why is the manual transmission trouble free and the automatic double clutch transmission a headache? If heat causes the DCT clutch surfaces to glaze over and slip why does that not happen to the manual? Does the manual use a different heat resistant surface? If you have a lot of stop and go city driving is the fact you are shifting and not the computer somehow prevent the clutches from getting hot?

 

Manual has a single clutch controlled by the driver, "automatic" has a pair of them of a different design controlled by computer & actuators.

IMHO it's primarily from trying to make a clutched system "feel" like a fluid drive that causes the stop & go issues you mention. Lots of clutch slip used to make it feel smooth, and that causes heat and all the odd clutch behavior.

 

It's not that bad. Where I live it's stop n go traffic all day every day.

You get used to it. Well, I have anyways. The 5mph traffic sucks, but it would in an auto anyways.

When you find that one stretch of road it makes it all worth it. Or the one corner on your way home, you will be glad you have an mtx.

Can't have that kind of fun in an auto.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

Mine 2012 is a 5spd and no problem so far... reliable compared to most of the DCT here... very happy and fun car to have while being fuel efficient

 

totally second that, fun car with decent mpgs!!!

 

I owned (and still own) 3 MTX75 foci and my brother owns another. haven't had a single issue with the trans or really anything else in the cars.

00 ZTS 234k
04 ZX5 268k
13 SE hatch 21k
14 SE hatch 11k

 

Have 90k miles+ between a DCT and now my manual Mk3 Focus.....the DCT died on my first Mk3, and the Sync needed a battery pull on my current. That's it.

Strongly my position that the car is very reliable and durable when equipped as a manual.

 

Very happy with the 5 speed.

 

Go 5 Speed for sure. Get the NON MFT 2012 - all you really need is the sync anyway - seriously, your phone can do more than MFT - and you've got a dead reliable piece of kit. Buddies of mine both went with the Powershift 2012s. Both are on their 2nd transmissions.

 

I hear ya, but the MFT isn't bad. My fusion doesn't have it, but my parents own a newer fusion which does. I think it adds a lot more class to the cabin.

Ideally, I'd find a black titanium, manual, MFT with navigation, and the sports package. But that's definitely a stretch for the $10k budget

 

I had my water pump replaced at 34k miles. Every once in a while the car won't turn over and I'll have to turn the key back and forth a couple of times and it fires right up. Charging test came back green. Could be a loose wire going to the body control module. Other than that I still love the car at nearly 50k miles. Oh, my wipers lasted 3 years too lol.

 

65k miles, nothing but gas & oil.

If you don't get a "sports package", add some springs, handling pack struts, & an aftermarket rear sway.

It's a fun car.

 

Yes. The manual is reliable.

 

I have never owned a manual trans before. I got the 5 speed manual because I wanted a focus, and did not want to chance the DCT. It might have worked out OK. But I did not want to be victimized by it.......[dunno]

I have driven a manual trans before. 30 years ago That being said, there is a learning curve that I'm still riding on the upswing. But I'm starting to see that you can have better control, and more fun than a conventional automatic trans. I'm still learning to be better at downshifting though.

 

5 years and 33,000 miles on mine and has been great to this point.

 

Love the Mark Twain.

Once upon a time in three speed days, you shifted up to third and didn't touch it until after braking to a stop & selecting first to get moving again.

Downshifting now with more gears doesn't HAVE to be much more difficult, and the largest savings in PITA of shifting is known as skipping gears.

Rolling along in 4th or 5th and you need to make a turn? Typical 90* slow turn at a corner, into a drive etc.? Not a problem, only one shift required.

Put the clutch pedal in as you slow down for the turn, before it starts to shudder because you're going too slow for the existing gear. While it's in, select second as you come to the turn, and you can let the clutch out again for the right speed range while turning.

That just cut out a couple extra shifts that wouldn't do you much good. You'd only need them if you lost your brakes and were slowing down without them over a much longer distance.

Saves hassle, saves time, and you're ready with the right gear when you want acceleration again.


Many tricks like that are possible as you learn what gear you use in different circumstances, it lets you plan ahead and be ready instead of reacting after the fact.

Cheers!


P.S. - like heading up a long hill, if cruisin' along in 5th you KNOW you'll prob. want 4th for heading up the hill if it's steep - so you can plan ahead for that.

 

Perhaps this is a matter of location, I'm in metro Atlanta, but the stock of used 2014--17 Focii with manual transmissions is extremely scarce, except for the ST. My observation based on regular checking of Ford dealers, Cars.com, Carmax and Listing all cars.com, searching within 500 miles of my location.

I'm also finding that the Focii listed on these sites that show "manual" transmissions are 9 out of 10 times NOT the 5 speed manuals with a 3rd pedal, but the "dual clutch manual transmissions" i.e. "automatics", Select Shifts, Power Shifts.

Unless searching in an area rife with true "manuals", if you find one that suits your needs, you'd best grab it before someone else does.

 

Unless searching in an area rife with true "manuals", if you find one that suits your needs, you'd best grab it before someone else does.

Late model manual MK3s will only become more scarce as Ford no longer offers the MTX-75 5 speed manual on the 2017 SE.

 

"Late model manual MK3s will only become more scarce as Ford no longer offers the MTX-75 5 speed manual on the 2017 SE."

I did not even realize this about the 2017 SE's. So I suppose this is Ford's way of distinguishing it's "performance" cars (ST, RS) and it's cheapest...err most economical vehicle the "S" Focus.

Perhaps the death of the manual manual in the SE, and previously the Titanium, is the price that non-performance customers pay for the RS. (I know the answer is going to be from Ford that the reason is "customer demand", or in this case, the lack thereof.)

 

It's somewhat related to this topic, but in general, are manual transmission's more reliable than automatic?

Just asking because I've met people that say they will only drive manual including here at the forums. I'm sure part of it is preference, but are other manual cars more reliable than their automatic counterpart?

 

Having dealt with many Foci before (like many of you) the MTX-75 is a clear winner vs older gen slushbox 4F27E. Solenoids is what comes into my mind on the failure rate (easy fix).

Can't speak on the reliability of the MT285 & MMT6.

 

I was in the exact situation you are in. I ditched my lease and was looking for something under 10k with modern features, fun to drive, good on gas, etc. The Focus was really the only car that fit the bill. I just bought a 2012 SEL 5spd(avoided the auto). It had 62k on it and it's flawless, I got it for $9,200 and the selling dealership bought me weathertec mats, replaced the front bumper and did paint touchups. And it has Nav, Leather, Sunroof, Dual Zone Climate, Rain Sensing Wipers, etc. Great little car, I even got brand new winter tires, the stock 17" alloys on new rubber as well, and a fresh oil change and inspection. I think I got a pretty good deal. My advice would to buy this car from a dealership, since as they are aging, I'd want an inspection form making sure I won't have issues in the near future.

These cars are a very reliable platform, the 2.0L engine is bulletproof and the 5spd Ford uses has been around since the 90's, they've just tweaked it and improved it through the years. What lets these cars down, besides the auto, is minor electrical issues, but all the nightmare-ish cars(which many owners lemon-lawed in the first few months of owning their lemon Focus) seem to be gone now, so the reliable ones are the ones on the market right now. Just try everything out before you buy, if you get the MyFordTouch system, just know that it will have it's odd glitches(like a Microsoft computer would), but that's what these cars do.

 

"It's somewhat related to this topic, but in general, are manual transmission's more reliable than automatic?"

I've read a couple of reports last year that "automatic transmissions" are one of the most frequently cited consumer complaints in quality surveys about new cars.

 

Each type of transmission has it's own joys and flaws.
For manual, in particular, the worst problems are broken 'throwout bearing' A broken throwout bearing is in the clutch activation mechanism. If it breaks, no clutch movement.
So you are stuck either in gear, or no gear. Pretty hard to get moving from a stop, but if yu are moving, and can avoid stopping,workable, until you have to stop!

Then broken shifter cable. No shifting. Or only partial shifting.
I have had BOTH types of fail, and generally the car cannot be driven with either.
(The exception is a shifter fail and stuck in SECOND. A stick car is pretty easy to drive with only 2nd gear.

One other flaw is if a tendency to shift 'hard' of breaking the differential. This I also had done, in the past with my SVT Contour, racing another car.. Shift hard into second and BLAM! the transmission case broke, spewing the diff into the road.The differential in the MTX-75 is rather weak. The aftermarket limited slip ones are bulletproof!
You need like 200horsepower to blow out the diff, So the regular MK3 Focus should not have this issue.

Oddly, my ST will not allow banging the diff really hard. If I shift too hard, the engine cuts out for a split second. Saving me from blowing the differential out of the car.

And finally the clutch. Usually clutches last well over 100,000 miles. BUT, they can fail earlier, or get burnt, or glazed..

As for auto transmission problems.. I can only read about them. Since I NEVER drive those hunks of junk. (unless a loaner)