Gotta love that corporate blah, blah, blah PR speak. So, have you fixed the tranmission and MFT problems, or not? Damn! Hope my tranny ain't one of 'em!

 

I haven't had an issue. If these are truly the only issues though and they'll be fixed by the end of the year like we think, Ford should vault to the top again.

 

I've seen the CR press release. No, it doesn't look good for Ford given their results in the JDP survey earlier this year.

However, the drop is due (mainly) to only a couple issues: the DCT & MFT.

The DCT really was a problem when the Fiesta first came out. I believe they've got that initial flaw fixed now, but overall, the transmission still needs fine-tuning to meet customers' expectations. I don't see it as a dependability issue, though.

MFT has two issues hurting it. One is that it was terribly buggy, and it still has lingering issues in that area. The other is that CR has openly demonstrated that they don't like the basic premise on which these new infotainment systems operate. They've even put together a video of how Ford's, BMW's, & such increase the number of steps/operations necessary to do simple tasks.

 

I see Ford stepping back from the DCT over the next few years. The are looking at 7 and 8 speed automatics. The 2013 Fiesta will have an 8-speed and the next-gen F150 will most likely get an 8-speed. The DCT is just not a mass market product. I have two cars with DCTs, but I also own two hatchbacks. Ford can take chances with B and C cars, but not the Fusion. I know plenty of people who can't get past the feeling of the DCT. Unless you have a Focus/Fiesta or a VW/Audi with a 2.0T, it is a completely different experience.

 

Maybe. I like the idea of the DCT, but I am really surprised Ford didn't take the safer route of a regular automatic on a volume model (when most people don't care/aren't aware of it anyhow).

They need to get the general public to understand what it is (maybe paddle shifters would help) and play up it's high-tech nature (a la BMW). The long-term complexity concerns me, though. I prefer manuals, though I could be persuaded by a fast-shifting DSG. Will have to try a PowerShift sometime...

 

So glad i got the manual transmission with Sync and no MFT, I had a feeling the two would be nothing but trouble [burnout]

 

Ditto.

Posted via FF Mobile

 

*shrug* I haven't had any issues worth crying about. My MFT has had minor minor glitches, but never anything as bad as reviewers say or a lot of the guys on here have said. That being said, in infotainment system is just that, for info and entertainment, it's not really supposed to be (in my eyes) a true replacement of the traditional buttons and dials... that's why we have Sync as well, Ford has added the infotainment system but they've also added Sync, allowing us to use voice commands for tasks we'd ordinarily have to take our eyes off the road to do and our hands off the wheel to do, and for that they deserve some praise, it may not be perfect but Sync works pretty well.

I believe they'll have fixes out before long and everyone will be happy. JDP also didn't have the right in my opinion to knock them down so far considering at the time, MFT was an OPTION on the cars, not a standard feature, now it's standard on atleast the Focus Ti, but even still... you don't have to get the Ti, you can opt for a loaded SEL without MFT...

 

JDP also didn't have the right in my opinion to knock them down so far considering at the time, MFT was an OPTION on the cars, not a standard feature, now it's standard on atleast the Focus Ti, but even still... you don't have to get the Ti, you can opt for a loaded SEL without MFT...

JD Power Initial Quality rankings come from customer surveys.

 

I took a pass on MFT and am pleased that I've had no problems with the transmission. It is different and did take a little getting used to, but it lurched only once at a stoplight, a week into owning it. It's only been 5 weeks, but I have over 2,000 miles on it and am very comfortable with the transmission. So knock wood, no problems, amazing mpg's and daily I find myself thinking how much I love that little car. I'm happy so far. Hope it continues!

 

For me, the benefits of MFT outweigh the minor problems I've had from time to time. I'm pretty much used to the personality of the DCT now. I bought the 7 year ESP, so I'm not really worried about the long term reliability since I don't plan on keeping the car for more than 7 years anyway.

 

Personally I love the nuances of the DCT. I'm constantly driving it differently and it's actually comforting to know that my Focus expects me to do that. So I start off in 'S', let it work through the gears, may drop it down to 2nd with the touch of my thumb, wind it out to 3rd, the bump it up to 'D' for the cruise down the highway. "It's an auto-manual"

Any other car with any other transmission would not be as accepting.

 

I love the DCT too. It's slightly quirky until you get the mindset that it's an automated manual -- then it makes perfect sense in terms of how it behaves in some situations differently from a torque converter-based auto..

 

Exactly. In fact, was leaving our neighborhood this morning and was making a turn that goes immediately uphill. Coincidently everyone is standing on the corner there because the school bus stops there in the morning, so I was very concious about not wanting my Focus to act like it was in too high a gear. So, I bumped it to 'S' and then geared down to 1st.

Just doing that made me immediately aware that even in 'S' I was making that turn in 2nd, so it explains why it "shuddered" some starting up that hill. From here out I'll know just to gear down accordingly and all will be well.

 

It's a shame thAt the dct and mft get such a bad rap. I love how the dct works, sure some shaking occurs, but it's normal--ever drove a manual before? It's ok, your car will be fine. As far as the MFT is concerned, you have people that can't event turn their computer on complaining about it. It's new tech, it's complex, and it's being improved. If you enter it with a mindset knowing that this is light-years ahead of knobs and levers from your old car, you can start to appreciate the system As a whole and forgive the small hiccups.

 

It's a shame thAt the dct and mft get such a bad rap. I love how the dct works, sure some shaking occurs, but it's normal--ever drove a manual before? It's ok, your car will be fine.

That might be part of it right there. Lots of people either never drove a manual or have forgotten what it is like. I'm one of the ones who never really learned how, so in a number of ways this transmission felt different but never like it didn't work right. And now I am enjoying the manually feel to it.

 

Having spent over three years with a simply sublime dual-clutch gearbox, I have been afraid to try the Focus' DCT and likely never will.

Just very happy that I avoided the two reliability trouble spots on my car, knock on wood.

 

I have been impressed with the car design and driving experience except for the powershift transmission (shuttering at idle speed) , MyFord Touch (not the user interface, but poor programming glitches), and some glitchy vehicle systems programming that may be normal in the European market (Ford USA customers are not used to).

They should of focused on making sure things worked common with other Ford vehicles. It's too foreign for previous customers and dealership personnel to know how things are supposed to operate, giving the impression there is something wrong, which hurts the survey scores. Ford should of made "cheat sheets" on everything different on the Focus when it came out, from operation of vehicle systems, to attributes of the powershift transmission.


Here are some examples off the top of my head:

I have never had one of my Fords run out of gas at 7 miles to empty on the message center.
I don't like how the rain sensing wipers work compared to the Fusion, Edge, and Explorer where they work like they should.
The rain dependent headlamps don't work like other Ford vehicles.
The autolamp timer doesn't work like other Ford vehicles.
The push button start "accessory" mode doesn't work like other Ford vehicles.
The fog lamps don't stay activated like other Ford vehicles.
The autodimming mirror doesn't work like other Ford vehicles.


Most of all....and this is what is going to hurt Ford with customer retention. When there is a "problem" and even the dealer acknowledges a abnormal condition with the car.....and Ford calls it "normal" the customer and dealer have no recourse. Erodes customer satisfaction and believe me....they will tell everyone around them. I was a big Ford fanboy.....until my 2012 Focus. Now I am hesitant after going through hell with dealing with their terrible customer service processes. And I am a loyal customer. I don't trust them like I used to.

 

Well said...

I actually bought a suv for my wife and Ford was immediately out of the question. Everything she wanted came in the explorer model with mft... Moment she heard mft she said oh hell no.





Posted via FF Mobile

 

Actually a good reason to get the automatic trans and MFT is because it makes you a way less annoying poster. Srsly.

 

How many people complain here about the transmission without understanding how a dual clutch setup is supposed to feel?

These reports depend on laymen to evaluate and report problems.

Granted, there are some MFT issues.

Now, can somebody point to an asian car manufacturer with that kind of technology in their compact and subcompact vehicles? Hell, give me one with a full encompassing vehicle automation system which provides the specified functionality of sync and MFT?

 

How many people complain here about the transmission without understanding how a dual clutch setup is supposed to feel?

I'd love for someone to describe how it is supposed to feel I know how a manual transmission feels, and I can feel some of the characteristics of one in this car, but my working assumption is that the shuddering I feel (still happening, less frequently at 1300 miles now) at light acceleration, coasting and braking at slow speeds is not normal. I'm almost wondering about a noticeable (but minor) vibration I now feel driving below 20mph or so now. Debating whether I should ask about it when I bring it back in to fix the MFT again. Also the car occasionally seems to lurch back when I accelerate lightly ever so often, and seems to lack the oomph I would expect.

I've only driven non-dct automatics and ridden in manuals before this.

All in all, I expect my car will end up at the dealer dozens of times (it's been there twice already). My previous car, for comparison, was a 2005 Mazda 3i, and made no trips to the dealer except for routine oil change and one issue with squeaky brakes (resolved with new front pads in 30 minutes while I waited). Of course, oddly enough, that was also at the Ford dealer back then when Ford had a major stake in Mazda...

 

Just picked up our new Blue Candy HB this morning and the DCT is smooth as silk. No shuddering at low speed and you barely feel it shift. Sport mode is a bit notchier, but it's supposed to be. The build date was Oct 5, so maybe Ford has changed the shift programming from earlier builds. It shifts more smoothly than my S10 with a slushbox auto.

 

Ford reportedly had trouble with the break in compound (what's that?) they were using on the clutch plates at their Mexican factory pre about August 5. So, I suspect most of the tranny complaints reported to JDP or Consumers were before the fix.

My DCT has been awesome. Now at 1014 miles.

 

I am coming from a car with a manual transmission. When I test drove a focus for the first time, I think I was already pre disposed to what people consider to be weird. The car rolled back a few inches as I was about to move out in to traffic. I'm also used to taking it easy on launches and giving myself a few seconds between taking my foot off the brake, and the time it takes to work the clutch/gas to start moving forward vs just slamming the gas down. I was really impressed by how smooth it shifted. I wonder how many other people who came from a manual feel the same way? Perhaps my expectations were already set from my previous car.

 

Perfect analogy mrwhistle. Simply perfect.

 

I know right. Only Ford could build it in the USA, deliver to a US dealer, put US only features on it, spec it fully US verified, only to encode it in the security layer export because it makes sense right?

So buyers beware!!

p.s. I got your sarcasm.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

 

As far back as June 24, 2011 according to the WSJ, Ford quality took a nose dive.
So not including the few perfect cars here, apparently many Fords are suffering from build-quality issues.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576403824202399548.html

 

As far back as June 24, 2011 according to the WSJ, Ford quality took a nose dive.
So not including the few perfect cars here, apparently many Fords are suffering from build-quality issues.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576403824202399548.html

 

From what I was able to see from that article, it's mostly issues about the mft and no mechanical. Plus, I'd rather put up with a few software issues(as I've mentioned in another thread, If you know how to turn a computer on and know about it more than "my email messed up", then you should be able to navigate your way around MFT) that can be fixed than pay 1.5x-2x for some Lexus or other luxury car.

 

MFT is actually great in terms of functionality and interface, the problem is stability. It requires way too many reboots, but the operating system itself is my favorite of any car.

It's a shame that the bugs and stability issues have ruined the reputation of MFT... hopefully the rumored upcoming huge update will fix most of the issues.

 

Living in San Francisco, there is a lot of up-hill driving. I found that shifting into "S" starting up the hill eliminates the shaking that some people have mentioned. I have experienced other DCT, like the Ferrari California, but hey..this is no Ferrari I enjoy the "driver oriented" feel of the 2012 Focus. I am 430+ miles and 9 days into this new car and I love it. After all, owning a new car is like getting to know the personality of a new friend. Each has their own quirks, how YOU deal with it in the end is what counts.

 

and my car IS my friend. My wife would say my car is my lover, but that's a whole other story.

 

In case a potential buyer is interested in hearing it, I'm VERY happy with our 2012 Focus...

 

Well said, Mr. Boat, Sir!

For what it's worth, my Focus has been just peachy. 12,000 miles and not a single issue of note.

Wait... that's not entirely true. It was just in the shop for an odd whistling noise. It was quite loud, and I was afraid to drive the car so I dropped it off on a Friday and drove a horrible rental car all weekend.

The dealer called me Monday afternoon. There was a leaf stuck in the A/C compressor clutch. They pulled it out and all is well.

They also updated the transmission software and now it is not as upshift-happy and actually gets some use out of the lower gears. My MPG has went up, since I'm no longer mashing the accelerator to keep it from upshifting so quickly. It is quite a bit more enjoyable to drive now. (Not that I really had a problem with it before.)

I'm quite happy with my Focus. [clap]

 

l.

They also updated the transmission software and now it is not as upshift-happy and actually gets some use out of the lower gears. My MPG has went up, since I'm no longer mashing the accelerator to keep it from upshifting so quickly. It is quite a bit more enjoyable to drive now. (Not that I really had a problem with it before.)

I'm quite happy with my Focus. [clap]

Strix, how'd you get that transmission update? Did they offer it or did you ask? I'm happy with my DCTs performance, but anything to improve my experience is appreciated. I'm very happy with my Focus too... only been to the dealer for an oil change and for a rattling speaker (I guess the first one doesn't count haha).

 

@pil__
Did you ever start from a full stop with a manual in the 3rd gear ? I did a test on my Focus and while at 20mph I switched from D to S and used the rocker shift. I was surprized to see the car was in the 4th gear. I think this is something that this DCT has : being "programmed" for "great mpg", I think it tends to upshift very fast the gears. And if you don't press on the gas pedal a little more than on an "automatic", you experience the shuddering. Once pressed harder, the DCT "sees" you want some power and does not upshift giving you the right gear. Or, downshifts if it was already on a higher gear.
My 2 cents.

 

No. I'm not sure why I would. I can feel when the car shifts (and it definitely shifts better in S mode), but there is a distinctly separate shuddering feeling that doesn't happen all the time. It does shift quickly, but I feel like I have no power unless I floor it, at which point my mpg just gets even lower than my already poor 28mpg with mostly highway driving... And I've always been a light accelerator, so I'm not expecting that much.