I have a 2016 Ford Focus SE with 75,000 miles on it.. its an automatic and the clutches have been replaced twice, the TCM has also been replaced
I currently have a jerk that only happens when i accelerate from a stop. I have had it at the dealers for this issue and they say the transmission if fine and shifting within spec. I must also mention its worse when i use a certain brand of gas .vs another. Ive tried running 93 in it and it does no good. anyone else have this issue and possibly a fix?
Hi,
I also own a Ford Focus with about 75k miles, although mine is a 1.6L 2014 with the "Trend" trim level. I have only replaced my clutch once (and it wasn't even really worn out, It just started having a very minute stutter on long rides) with no other repairs being done to the transmission.
Judging by the repair history of your vehicle, I'd assume that
- There could possibly be an issue outside of the transmission that causes it to wear out faster then it should, knowing Ford, I'd check the battery, the grounding of the electronics. (YouTube link)
- Or possibly if the repair was not performed by Ford, it could've been done improperly, or using non-original parts, or not replacing seals with the upgraded versions.
- This gearbox mechanical components are known for getting damaged from driving on a worn out clutch, but typically when experiencing these issues, the gearbox does have either a whine or makes a crunching sounds.
I own another car with also with a dual clutch gearbox and that car also sometimes has a random stutter and that indeed seems to be not related to the gearbox, but seems to actually be a fuel pump issue.
The thing about Ford's "dry powershift" gearbox is that it does not work well when paired with big engines, It works absolutely great on the Renault Fluence (1.5L diesel, 110 horsepower) and doesn't cause as much issues on the Focus with the smaller 1.6L engine.
If you have a Focus with the petrol 2.0L and the dry dual clutch, I'd recommend you get rid of it.
when was the last time you changed the ATF?
Do you have warranty on the transmission?
It's a Powershift, the shifting is done by electrical actuators and not related to the fluid - the fluid is there only to lubricate the mechanical gears.
Also he does have limited warranty, but Ford dealers are usually clueless and absolutely useless...
It's a junk transmission. Do an internet search on "Ford Powershift problems". There is no meaningful fix for them.
Eh it’s really not junk, it’s great on *some* cars.
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Ford just really messed up when they paired it with the 2.0L, they should’ve made better software (like they have done on the 1.6L) and improved the flywheel.
Nothing I've read about the problems or the class action lawsuit distinguishes between the two engines. In fact it has been revealed that Ford's engineers and management knew it was a bad design when the Powershift was engineered and sold, but they released it to the public anyway. (Of course it is natural that a larger more powerful engine will make a fatally flawed transmission design even worse.)
I have been rebuilding these a couple years back.
And Having driven this transmission on multiple cars made by different manufacturers I can definitely say that size matters. For example, on any car equipped with the 1.5 dci, this transmission drives great and has little to no issues
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This design ain't flawed.
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This GETRAG transmission is just very poorly integrated on some Ford vehicles. If ya want I can go in depth as to what this unit lacks as opposed to other dual clutch transmissions, and plenty of things that the DPS6 absolutely right, and some things that are just sadly the industry standard.
Well, guess we can take your word on that, but internal documents from Ford indicate they deliberately released a bad design, and Ford wound up paying a $30 million settlement because of these transmissions. Pretty bad for a design that isn't flawed. Now maybe you can say that we don't have all the facts but there is a lot of damning information out there.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30689585/ford-settlement-transmission-lawsuit/
So let’s start with the obvious, I don’t feel like this needs to be even explained - class action lawsuits are just meaningless and just are another way to do a PR hit job.
($30 million is nothing for a company like Ford that as of 2020 had $34 *billion* in *cash* on hand (so that “mega-setellement” is 0.085% of the cash they have))
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I ain’t seeing a class action settlement against Nissans Jatco CVTs, Prince engines, other absolutely horrid products - so maybe that ain’t an indicator in the US
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Also wouldn’t you think that there would be action against Renault for the “EDC6” or smart for the “TwinMatic” transmission (it’s just fancy names for the Ford DPS6)? But nope these just last because of good integration.
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In my country there was recently a class-action lawsuit against VW group and they were forced to lengthen the warranty on their DSG and compensate owners.
The same gearbox is used in the US and yet, I see no lawsuit.
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And finally, if you take the press’ word over professional experience… then I really do not get why you listen to Scotty and other forum members.
And no one is saying that specific tranny doesn’t have its issues, Ford engineers knew it had an insufficient torque transfer mechanism (+ improper failure modes, and rushed software)
But if you’re in the know, you obviously know that there have been multiple revisions to the clutch assembly and the new units can and do last.
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Realistically the failure rate on the modern ones is about the same as most modern crappy automatics
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Furthermore, an upgraded version of the power shift (7DCT300 instead of the older 6DCT250) are pretty much used everywhere (Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Mini, Renault, Ford of Europe and many many more).
Why would so many automakers use a design if it’s “jerky” and “fatally flawed”? In reality these gearboxes just work and the reputation of the powershift is unjust.
Are you saying those internal Ford documents were forged by the Detroit Free Press?
What has been revealed about these transmissions would be enough for me stay away and to advise anyone else to stay away so they don't have to wind up paying a professional like yourself to overhaul them. I'm accustomed to automatic transmissions that work for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles with few if any problems. Perhaps you have the magic touch with PowerShift transmissions due to your experience, which is great, but many, many Ford owners have had problems that Ford and its dealers have been unable to fix.
I would not even consider buying one of those cars. I would advise others not to as well but in the end they can do their own research and make their own decision.
Yep, I too miss the days of reliable 4 speed automatics.
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Sadly, All new consumer oriented transmissions are built to fail.
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The EPC solenoid failures at exactly 150k miles on older Mazda, VW and Volvo is obviously intentional.
and the oil filter placement on new Aisin products is intentionally so awkward most people end up never replacing them.
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The only brand new cars that still have decent transmissions are Mazda (SkyDrive, much better then the older ones) and some Suzuki (TF-71SC the same gearbox you’d find in an older Volvo diesel) - the rest are are at most “adequate”.
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Sadly all inexpensive dual clutch transmissions are unreliable and tend to have very bad shift quality, out if these id rather have a DPS6 then any of their competition like FPT C635, DSG7 DQ200, or D6GF1.
(The only exception is maybe the PSA EGS6, it has only a single clutch but you would’ve even know it ain’t an auto)
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But yeah, I too would not recommend a Ford with a powershift to most people.
but on “alliance RNM” products somehow these transmissions last significantly longer
(probably because of lower horsepower output, dual mass flywheels, better electronic equipment and other things that also help smoothen out it’s operation)
It does seem to be a dive to the bottom in quality these days. I'm accustomed to simpler conventional autoboxes that if taken care of can last a very long time.
I have a '71 Ambassador whose Borg-Warner M11 transmission has never had anything done but normal maintenance for the last 50 years. (Original owner was a pilot who kept fastidious service records.) Still works great. The 250K mile Aisin-Warner AW4 in my old Jeep is doing fine, and I got well over 300K miles out of the original ZF 4HP18 in my old Saab. In the past I've owned cars with 3-speed Chrysler Torqueflite transmissions that would work for decades with minimal fuss. To me these are examples of the normal service life that should be expected of an automatic transmission if cared for. My definition of "junk" and "flawed design" is that of a transmission that has virtually no hope of that kind of service life no matter how you maintain it. (Yes, I'm a dinosaur.)
The Renault Clio has been in top 3 best selling car models in Europe since 2013 - and the Powershift (6DCT250) is the only automatic you can get on it.
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Wouldn't you think Europeans would avoid the powershift if it was a jerky transmission? the reality is that it works great on RNM products even in European city driving...
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The EDC6 (6DCT250) is rated to withstand 250NM and it easily handles the 220NM that the Clio makes
(at only 1,750 TPM the Clio dci (the size of a fiesta) makes roughly the same torque as the RAV4 at 5,000 RPM - it's an insanely fun car to drive)
The old cars are great!
I wish things where still made like that...
new cars are the worst, a family member of mine has a new Kia Niro hybrid and the driving dynamics are horrible. It just lacks a driving experience, the gearbox is extraordinarily jerky, the engine is loud and very weak and it's just truly depressing...
but if we are to believe the trip computer it does 52 mpg (4.5L/100KM) although I highly doubt it's accuracy...