Ford Focus, Fiesta, EcoSport warranties extended over dual-clutch transmission shudder

Yellow_Festiva · 05-12-2014, 06:06 PM

May be of interest to some here:

Quote:

Ford Australia has extended the warranties of almost 50,000 Fiesta, Focus and EcoSport vehicles equipped with the brand’s six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Dubbed a customer satisfaction program rather than a product recall, the action addresses a defect that may cause the ‘Powershift’ auto gearbox to exhibit “excessive transmission clutch shudder during light acceleration”.

Ford says the condition may be caused by a fluid contamination of the clutch due to leaking transmission seals.

Ford Australia told CarAdvice approximately 47,000 owners have received notifications about the customer satisfaction program, which relates to 2010-2014 Fiesta, and 2012-2013 Focus and EcoSport vehicles.

In a letter to owners, Ford Australia said it had extended the new vehicle warranty to cover “repairs on the clutch and input shaft seals on the transmission, as well as the transmission software calibration, to a total of five years or 160,000km from the vehicle’s warranty start date, whichever occurs first”.

For vehicles that have already exceeded the time or kilometre limits provided by the extended warranty, additional coverage will apply through to January 31, 2015.

The extended coverage is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.

Ford’s regular new vehicle warranty covers the first three years or 100,000km of ownership.

Ford says owners do not need to take their vehicles back to the dealership unless they experience the issue.

Owners who experience low-speed shuddering within the indicated time/kilometre limit for the warranty extension can arrange to have their transmission serviced as necessary free of charge.

Ford says in most cases vehicles should take less than one day to complete the repair.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/321473/f...ssion-shudder/

When will Ford bite the bullet and offer a standard 5yr / 160k km warranty? Even that will soon be obsolete when more 6 and 7yr warranties are offered - but a much needed improvement on the dated warranty they still offer now.

commodorenutt · 05-12-2014, 07:56 PM

Seems the "caradvice" website is about 3 months behind the times....

Owners were getting letters early in September, and it's taken this long for a website to catch up?

dirty hands · 06-12-2014, 12:56 PM

the extended extended warranty is almost up

and what does serviced mean
are they offering to fix the seals , replace the dual clutch

Owners who experience low-speed shuddering within the indicated time/kilometre limit for the warranty extension can arrange to have their transmission serviced as necessary free of charge.

LeadFoot81 · 06-12-2014, 05:03 PM

re: "clutch shudder during light acceleration" I drove a work mate's Skoda Yeti with DSG tranny yesterday and...dat clutch shudder during light acceleration tho.

Reminded me of my wife's Focus Titanium (now sold) great trans on the open road but inconsistent in stop start traffic and terrible when parking in tight/uneven spots.

Ford need to revert to a traditional (bullet proof) slush box, and keep extracting economy and power out of the Eco Boost engines.

Agreed that in this day and age, Ford should have longer warranty periods on all their cars.

**DFB FGXR6** · 06-12-2014, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

re: "clutch shudder during light acceleration" I drove a work mate's Skoda Yeti with DSG tranny yesterday and...dat clutch shudder during light acceleration tho.

Reminded me of my wife's Focus Titanium (now sold) great trans on the open road but inconsistent in stop start traffic and terrible when parking in tight/uneven spots.

Ford need to revert to a traditional (bullet proof) slush box, and keep extracting economy and power out of the Eco Boost engines.
Agreed that in this day and age, Ford should have longer warranty periods on all their cars.

I notice the new Mondeo has reverted back to a traditional 6 speed auto for EcoBoost engines, as is the case with the Kuga.

DRU842 · 07-12-2014, 11:13 AM

Powder Shift Dual Clutch in new 2015 Mondeo http://www.caradvice.com.au/319720/a...-toyota-camry/

LeadFoot81 · 07-12-2014, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I notice the new Mondeo has reverted back to a traditional 6 speed auto for EcoBoost engines, as is the case with the Kuga.

Okay, if so that's a great thing.

Ford should roll out a (cost effective) program to retrofit those boxes to Focus, Fiesta, Kuga etc when the DSGs die or become too troublesome (either through dealerships or in partnership with third parties)

adz193 · 07-12-2014, 11:24 AM

My mum's focus has this problem... and even though they are doing the recall (of sorts) it's only at the discretion of the dealer as to whether the transmission is bad enough to be repaired/replcaed! So even if your car presents the shudder and other related symtpoms, there's a chance it might be passed off as acceptable

**DFB FGXR6** · 07-12-2014, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRU842

Powder Shift Dual Clutch in new 2015 Mondeo http://www.caradvice.com.au/319720/a...-toyota-camry/

Powershift for TDCi Diesel engines
Regular Auto for EcoBoost Petrol

Binny · 07-12-2014, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Powershift for TDCi Diesel engines
Regular Auto for EcoBoost Petrol

I would love to know their reasoning for doing that. The new TDCi @ 400Nm will be closer to the Powershift's rated maximum of 450 yet they have left it on the TDCi and changed to conventional for the ecoboost.

Not that I really care because the wet clutch powershift isn't really plagued with the problems poor buggers with Focuses (Focii?) have had.

Pursya · 07-12-2014, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adz193

My mum's focus has this problem... and even though they are doing the recall (of sorts) it's only at the discretion of the dealer as to whether the transmission is bad enough to be repaired/replcaed! So even if your car presents the shudder and other related symtpoms, there's a chance it might be passed off as acceptable

Get everything in writing.
The "recall" notice and any decision made by the dealer.
They cannot just say that the issue is not bad enough for replacement. If they do you must get it in writing for any future claim.
There appears to be a problem and there is no "just a little bit pregnant" defense. The issue is present or it is not.

**DFB FGXR6** · 08-12-2014, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binny

I would love to know their reasoning for doing that. The new TDCi @ 400Nm will be closer to the Powershift's rated maximum of 450 yet they have left it on the TDCi and changed to conventional for the ecoboost.

Not that I really care because the wet clutch powershift isn't really plagued with the problems poor buggers with Focuses (Focii?) have had.

The fact that the Mondeo(Fusion) and Kuga(Escape) are sold in the USA has a lot to do with it.

The US don't take diesel engines and have shown a distaste in Powershift Auto's.

In Europe, diesel is popular and they have shown a preference for the more direct feel of Powershift.

These two models are large volume players in the US, so the cost to have the conventional auto as well as the Powershift in production would be small.