2012 Focus LW S pack hatch, tran jerks on take off

imaz · 19-03-2013, 03:51 PM

Posting on behalf of a friend.

Car has slight jerks on taking off, pretty much everytime. It is a 6 speed. Is this normal? Possibly from the tran rather than engine.

Also on taking off and when slowly moving ie 3 point turns, a clicking sound can also be heard, sounding more like electronic rather than mechanical.

All the above happens even when the car is warm.

One week old.

ieatsports_cars · 19-03-2013, 04:50 PM

yes aparently it is. It's got something to do with the Clutch plates

caprispecial · 19-03-2013, 06:35 PM

If standard torque convertor trannies are what is used to then the powershift will indeed feel jerky in first gear. Remember its a manual box with twin clutches that is run via a computor. It takes time to learn your driving habits and you take time to learn how to be smooth with it. Dont stomp the accel pedal just caress it. Pretty soon it will be fine.

Tezza · 19-03-2013, 07:10 PM

Well, I thought it was kind of normal as well.... Almost like a slight axle tramp type feeling when taking off in first.... Had a few people with the same model focus make the same comment.

I noticed it went away after about 5,000kms although now, after having the focus for 2 months and clicking over 10,500kms, mine has suffered a catastrophic failure. Currently in at ford getting diagnosed but they don't believe it is the clutches inside the box, but more of a mechanical type issue. I lost a couple of gears while driving down the highway and just managed to get it to a ford dealership befor it had a complete meltdown.

Won't know the verdict for a few day yet until they pull the box apart....

Nolz · 19-03-2013, 07:15 PM

Tezza please keep us informed on what the out come is. Thanks.

SJG351 · 21-03-2013, 07:50 AM

Did i read somewhere that these are a german design transmission? if so its hard to believe that any roughness in the trans would be acceptable. You guys are paying good money and putting up with this, really?

duaned · 21-03-2013, 09:54 AM

I recently hired one with 15,000kms on it and the trans had that annoying jerk on take-off as well. And the occasional thump to accompany it. It was rough between 1-2 as well. It was fine above that. The gearbox was the biggest letdown with the car.

spvd02 · 21-03-2013, 09:05 PM

Nothing wrong with mine. Just as jerky on take-off as a manual transmission. It feels like there's not much power-loss between the engine and the road, i.e. it is very efficient in putting the engine power to the road. All the gear shifts are smooth, although kick-back is lethargic. It doesn't respond like a sports car, but is great to drive when driving on part throttle. Great car over-all: not a single issue so far.

KenN0898 · 23-03-2013, 12:04 AM

I have something similar with my 2013 Trend with 3000kms on the clock.

On 2 occasions when taking off from a standstill the gears have changed up rapidly at quite low revs and with a jerk between each change resulting in the car labouring away in 6th gear before it has reached reached 50 kms. Normally the car changes gear so smoothly that I don’t notice unless taking close attention or watching the tacho. I haven’t spoken with Ford as yet but I wondered if the early and rapid change could be just a hiccup in the electronics.

And there is one other thing that I find very annoying, that is when descending a slight incline at 100kms per hour with the cruise control engaged, in the situation the car will change down into a lower gear, I find this very annoying and try to to avoid the down change when going down hill by disengaging the C. control. Is the down change normal. I have driven Mitsubishi and Nissan with cruise control fitted where there has been no down changing of the gears in this situation.

Cheers Ken.

SJG351 · 23-03-2013, 01:05 PM

I am not sure but isnt that how the cruise works? it downshifts to be better able to control the downhill speed i would think.

KenN0898 · 23-03-2013, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJG351

I am not sure but isnt that how the cruise works? it downshifts to be better able to control the downhill speed i would think.

That was my question,...is it normal?, hopefully somebody on here will be able to answer that question,.However, I find it VERY irritating, especially when it happens on a straight, slightly down hill gradient at 100+Kms per hour and as I said, this has never happened when I have driven either a Mitsubishi or a Nissan.

Tezza · 27-03-2013, 06:59 PM

Ok, so for those that are interested, an update on the broken Focus gearbox.

Turns out it was the Syncro on 4th gear. This dislodged and then caused further damage to the rest of the box. The original Ford dealer I took it to did not have the tools (or technical know how) to do the work themselves so the had to send the box off to a specialist Ford dealer to repair. All back in the car now and I picked it up this afternoon. So far so good, but we will see how it goes over the next few months. The Service Manager believes the box may have been defective from the get go, and it took a little while to dislodge and fail. When I asked what the cost would have been for repair (if not under warranty) he said in the vicinity of $8k -$9k.... Makes me not want to own one of these in 5 years and 120,000kms time if that's the price of repair... He also said he had never seen this happen to a Focus box so read into that what you will.....

So 8 days later, I am back on the road.....

KenN0898 · 28-03-2013, 12:32 AM

Thank you for the follow-up Tezza,..I am happy to hear that your car is now back on the road, however your experience highlights the importance of having a good warranty and I paid for extra warranty when I bought my car so if there is going to be a problem with my Trend I hope it will be within the next 5 years, at the moment it is running beautifully and the gear changes are virtually unnoticeable so hopefully the 2 incidents that I have described were caused by minor electrical hiccups.

Cheers

Ken.

SJG351 · 28-03-2013, 07:31 AM

Yep, nothing is always perfect but i believe that the manufacturer has a duty to make good on something that has obviously failed for no apparent reason, even when the warranty has expired, within reason of course. I would be enquiring about a new warranty on the transmission? just a thought

caprispecial · 28-03-2013, 12:31 PM

Eight or nine grand to replace a synchro in what is effectively a manual box? Not likely. Ask a real mechanic.

Tezza · 28-03-2013, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caprispecial

Eight or nine grand to replace a synchro in what is effectively a manual box? Not likely. Ask a real mechanic.

Ummm... Re read what I wrote.... Synchro looked to be the cause of the failure, but in turn that caused further damage to the rest of the box. From what I understand these dsg type boxes are quite complex. I can recall people with vw golf's quoting similar figures for their dsg failures, so I wasn't totally shocked when I heard the figure....

Imolator · 28-03-2013, 04:05 PM

These dct boxes cost $3995 retail in the states on fordParts.com. That's the complete unit including mechtrinics and clutches. Trade price is $3200, so there is no way that it should cost $8000 to $9000 fitted
here.

Dealer has to be having a lend of you.

Tezza · 28-03-2013, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imolator

These dct boxes cost $3995 retail in the states on fordParts.com. That's the complete unit including mechtrinics and clutches. Trade price is $3200, so there is no way that it should cost $8000 to $9000 fitted
here.

Dealer has to be having a lend of you.

Not sure mate, perhaps, but what would he stand to achieve out of that? For me the price was Irrelevant as it was done under warranty. I was curious about the repair cost so thought I would ask. I threw out a figure of $5k to which he responded, no, probably closer to 8-9k. Just made me think about second hand ones in a few years time if people run into issues when out of warranty.

Anyway lets hope no one finds out in the short term, and if people can get them rebuilt or replaced for a couple of thousand then that's better for everyone.

Cheers

caprispecial · 28-03-2013, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tezza

Ummm... Re read what I wrote.... Synchro looked to be the cause of the failure, but in turn that caused further damage to the rest of the box. From what I understand these dsg type boxes are quite complex. I can recall people with vw golf's quoting similar figures for their dsg failures, so I wasn't totally shocked when I heard the figure....

Oops sorry I missed that bit. Anyway its good you got it fixed under warranty.
As time goes on and more people get the hang of working on these boxs and parts are readily available then prices to fix will come down.

Imolator · 28-03-2013, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tezza

Anyway lets hope no one finds out in the short term, and if people can get them rebuilt or replaced for a couple of thousand then that's better for everyone.
Cheers

Agreed, lets hope that they hold up well long term. If not resale values will be awful once warranty is finished. Big risk for second hand car dealers.

Franco Cozzo · 28-03-2013, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imolator

These dct boxes cost $3995 retail in the states on fordParts.com. That's the complete unit including mechtrinics and clutches. Trade price is $3200, so there is no way that it should cost $8000 to $9000 fitted
here.

Dealer has to be having a lend of you.

Dealerships have massive mark ups on things, wouldn't surprise me if that was the retail price for a new box through a Ford dealership.

It was $11,000 for a new Recaro drivers seat for a 99' DC2 Integra Type R when we quoted a customer on a new seat when I was at Honda, they had one left in Japan.