2012 Trans Shaking Bad customer Support issue

[Trackertx-17]

My 2012 Focus has the same issue with idle speed trans shudder. The same resopnce from the dealer was a "brake in" issue. The car has 5000 miles on it and it still shudders. I called customer service and the woman informed me that I would have to pay for a transmission evaluation out of my pocket, so the extended warenntee did not help. Un believeable... A new car should not shudder like this period. The dealer will not take this car back, I am taking it in to another dealer next week, I might be trading this thing in.

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Trackertx-17

My 2012 Focus has the same issue with idle speed trans shudder. The same resopnce from the dealer was a "brake in" issue.

Originally Posted by lifocus

Have been to 3 different dealers about an unrelated issue and its still not fixed.....My tranny shudders too.

Hi Trackertx-17 and lifocus,

It helps to know that the transmission does have an adaptive learning strategy that adjusts to your shifting patterns and smooths out. Please PM me with your VIN, contact information, mileage, & servicing dealer name/state and I will assist with your concerns. Hope you both had a wonderful weekend!

~Natasha

[Montana]

Trackertx-17 & lifocus,

Just got off the phone with a customer support manager at Ford and all she would reply with is the canned answer it is normal. I asked if these were isolated incidents and she replied yes so then I asked how could a isolated incident be normal and her reply was it is normal. It is a waste of time to talk to anyone at Ford so off to the dealer to cancel my extended warranty and trade the car in at some other dealer.

Congrats Ford you successfully got rid of a life long purchaser of Ford products. I understand there might be some bugs in a new vehicle but a denial that there even may be a issue is just too much for me.

I would like to ask Natasha if this is a adaptive learning strategy and it takes time does the member here that has 10,000 miles on their vehicle have a slow learning vehicle?

Montana

[hoffmanr09]

I have mine in the dealership as we speak and I will not take no for an answer. If it doesnt get fixed I will tell them to keep it because that is not right. Im sorry you have had problems like the rest of us. Maybe ford needs to announce a a recall before it gets out of hand.

[Usagi]

I really wish i could see how severe this shudder is on other foci, because the 2012 I've been driving (belongs to my parents) has a very minor (almost imperceptible) shudder off idle; and that's only if you play around with the throttle while taking off... I'd call this normal operation, because if i got a manual-shifted car off the line as smoothly as the focus i drive can, I'm having a good day.

I'd really be curious to see if it's driving-style related (not that that should matter--it should still drive acceptably no matter how one decides to drive), or even if it's just people that haven't used a DCA transmission before and are reacting to an inherent condition in such a device...? In ANY case, Ford needs to look into the transmissions, but if no mechanical damage or loss of drivability is noted(a shudder can be loss of drivability depending on the severity, but it'd have to be SEVERE), Ford will not (and should not) make issuing a fix a priority, imho.

Please note that i am not affiliated w/ Ford, just expressing an opinion as a Ford enthusiast/driver.

Side note: has Ford said anything about resetting the Adaptive Controls (likely by disconnecting the battery) as a method of clearing the issue?

EDIT: I also have to say that from what i hear, Ford is just fueling the fires behind this problem. If they're going to call it normal, i'd like to see a TSB or similar explaining EXACTLY what's going on and why it's normal. i think that would satisfy many people with minor-moderate issues.

[completely_focused]

I must be one of the lucky one's because mine didn't do any shuddering from day one. When you do a test drive and there is a problem with the car you don't buy it, right. The one I test drove was smooth as can be and the one I ordered was just as good but I would not have signed anything if that test drive showed any sign of stuttering at all.

If Ford is saying shuddering is normal and potential buyers notice that during the test drive, how many cars are they going to sell? It can't be normal because no one in their right mind would buy one knowing in advance that it shudders.

[Montana]

Originally Posted by Usagi

I really wish i could see how severe this shudder is on other foci, because the 2012 I've been driving (belongs to my parents) has a very minor (almost imperceptible) shudder off idle; and that's only if you play around with the throttle while taking off...

I'd really be curious to see if it's driving-style related (not that that should matter--it should still drive acceptably no matter how one decides to drive), or even if it's just people that haven't used a DCA transmission before and are reacting to an inherent condition in such a device...? In ANY case, Ford needs to look into the transmissions, but if no mechanical damage or loss of drivability is noted(a shudder can be loss of drivability depending on the severity, but it'd have to be SEVERE), Ford will not (and should not) make issuing a fix a priority, imho.

Please note that i am not affiliated w/ Ford, just expressing an opinion as a Ford enthusiast/driver.

I know this does not give you a good feel for what the shudder is like but my wife never notices anything when driving a car and even she notices this. For all the people that do not have this issue it is easy to say it should not be a priority to fix. Now if you had this issue yourself that may or may not change the way you feel about it. Does it affect driveability? Sure it does does it cause any damage?, Well let's look at it this way if the shudder is taking place within the transmission housing and it is going through a rubber mounted engine and transmission and you can still feel it within the vehicle just imagine what is going on inside the housing where all this is taking place. I invite anyone to search on your favorite search engine and look for causes of clutch shudder or chatter and see if you run across it is normal. Look at some sites that manufacture clutch material and clutches and see if they say it is normal.

completely_focused,

When I test drove mine it was cold and my issue has more to deal with after it gets up to temp and driving around the city, If you go straight to the freeway and hop on and off then it really is not that noticeable, But if you have to navigate the streets then it get's worse as you drive around. So no I did not notice it when test driving the vehicle, I noticed the strange feel of the shift but I also realized that it was the DCT so I let that slide.

Montana

[completely_focused]

I do mostly city driving but in shorter runs and lately been using a lot of sport mode. How long you have to drive in the city before this becomes noticeable?

[Montana]

Originally Posted by completely_focused

I do mostly city driving but in shorter runs and lately been using a lot of sport mode. How long you have to drive in the city before this becomes noticeable?

It starts getting noticeable in about 1/2 hour of city driving and after that it just keeps getting worse. I only live about 1.5 miles from the freeway so if we are going on a trip via the freeway you really don't feel it. I know the solution is don't drive in the city LOL but to me that is not a option.

I have tried driving around in Sport mode and it still has the same issues. I was hoping the different shift points would help it but no luck.

Montana

[Usagi]

Originally Posted by Montana

I know this does not give you a good feel for what the shudder is like but my wife never notices anything when driving a car and even she notices this. For all the people that do not have this issue it is easy to say it should not be a priority to fix. Now if you had this issue yourself that may or may not change the way you feel about it. Does it affect driveability? Sure it does does it cause any damage?, Well let's look at it this way if the shudder is taking place within the transmission housing and it is going through a rubber mounted engine and transmission and you can still feel it within the vehicle just imagine what is going on inside the housing where all this is taking place. I invite anyone to search on your favorite search engine and look for causes of clutch shudder or chatter and see if you run across it is normal. Look at some sites that manufacture clutch material and clutches and see if they say it is normal.

Montana

Like i said, i'd like to feel this for myself, but i strongly suspect it's not causing internal damage to the transmission, or any other component. If it's not throwing anybody around, the gears and motor mounts are fine. Those mounts (and the transmission) are designed to cope with 160bhp regularly, so a bit of shudder will hurt nothing more than your nerves. The worst that could happen during *catastrophic* shudder would be impact damage to gear tooth surfaces, assuming the backlash in the gears is set COMPLETELY wrong. This case is extremely unlikely.

If ford is using a long-wear inorganic clutch in this system (and they'd be stupid if they weren't), break-ins could take as long as 10,000 miles, much like Older-generation high-performance clutches did. During this time, friction can be unpredictable. (Just ask anyone who broke in a stage 3+ clutch!) This unpredictable clutch friction can cause havoc with a controller tied into it.

Because of the above, i doubt the cause of this clutch chatter is the same as previous clutches have experienced. The shudder i've noticed in my parent's 2012 feels more rhythmic, hinting at an over-reactive controller for the pressure plate. The bad news is that if this is the case, the system is working exactly as designed, so ford might have a good reason for it being like that, for example rapid response to changing throttle inputs. If this is the case, they may not want to make a change. HOWEVER, the fix would be software based, assuming the culprit is the controller as some of us (including ford, if their Customer Service can be believed) have suspected. this could make the fix deployable on a case-by-case basis if they decide to make one available.

ALL of this said, i understand the frustration when a car fails to meet with expectations. Hopefully ford issues a satisfactory solution to this problem soon. Also, i never said it shouldn't be a priority to fix, i merely said that it shouldn't be if it's not a drivability concern; which, to you, it definately seems to be.