Ford Knew How Defective Its Fiesta and Focus Transmissions Were for Years

[ice15]

Not sure if problems with local units are related...

Ford Knew How Defective Its Fiesta and Focus Transmissions Were for Years: Report | Jalopnik

The story centers on the DPS6 transmission, also called the Ford PowerShift transmission, a six-speed dual-clutch automatic found on the 2012-present Focus, 2010-present Fiesta and other cars sold in the past decade. (Both the Ford and Fiesta are being phased out in the U.S.) Yet the Freep estimates 1.5 million cars still on the road have this gearbox, and many of their owners continue to experience problems.

Update 9:30 a.m.: A Ford spokesman responded to this story shortly after it was published. Company official T.R. Reid said the DPS6 gearbox was “brand new technology” designed for fuel economy, and while it faced issues in its run, Ford believes it has addressed those issues.

“We believe we brought a good product to market,” Reid said. “We worked through some challenges in development, some issues developed subsequently, and we think we addressed them responsibly.”

He added: “These vehicles that are still on the road are safe, notwithstanding some issues took longer to address than we imagined, and we know it’s been a huge source of frustration for some consumers. We recognize that. As problems presented themselves, we thought we could address those problems and did eventually. We thought we’d be able to address them more quickly, in retrospect.”

[StockEngine]

ford made a doodoo. dudtastic management

[jojopad]

I used to drive a Ford Fiesta 2013 with the dual clutch transmission. I've experienced those nasty shuddering when accelerating from 1st gear, sudden acceleration, unintended neutral. The transmission control module broke down when the car turned 2 years.

We've complained about these issues with the Ford dealer. Their usual response? They'll reset the transmission control settings, told us to let the car relearn my driving style so it will be able to adopt again (wow, high tech bullshit), etc.

[hardwang]

Ford’s response taken from carguide:

At Ford, we have no higher priority than earning and keeping the trust of our customers and assuring they are safe. That is why we are deeply concerned consumers may be confused or fearful as a result of recent reporting in the Detroit Free Press about the development and introduction of Ford’s DPS6 transmission nearly a decade ago.

That reporting includes conclusions that are not based in fact, which risks misleading customers about the safety and dependability of their vehicles.

This is too important for such misunderstanding to take hold. Consumers deserve to be told that vehicles with the DPS6 have proven to be safe, after billions of miles on the road since Ford introduced them in good faith. Indeed, automobiles with current versions of the transmission rank highly in performance and reliability, based on warranty statistics.

Here is what Ford believes consumers need to know:
The DPS6 was an all-new transmission made by a company named Getrag and introduced in 2011 and 2012 on Fiesta and Focus models. It was designed to improve the fuel economy of those vehicles.
In the development process, the DPS6 successfully completed extensive pre-launch study, testing and refinement. This process is universally applied at Ford. Vehicles are not launched until they reach key development milestones.

As we acknowledged years ago and have determinedly addressed, two distinct quality issues related to this transmission emerged after it was launched: (1) A degree of vibration, or shudder, when the all-new automatic transmission operated at low speed. Similar to what is experienced with a manual transmission, the vibration was effectively a tradeoff for the higher level of fuel efficiency. Durability and safety were not compromised. We underestimated its effect on customer satisfaction, as well as the complexity and time required to remedy the issue and optimize performance. (2) On a much smaller scale, a potential for the transmission to default to neutral – while still maintaining full power steering and braking – developed only after several years of real-world use of these vehicles. In 2014, the source was traced to a faulty control module. Contrary to an assertion by the Free Press, conversations inside Ford in 2008 had nothing to do with a matter that did not exist until years later.

The Free Press included allegations about accidents and injuries purportedly caused by the DPS6 transmission, including instances of “sudden…acceleration.” We have not seen that occur with the DPS6 and are not aware of evidence that would validate cause-and-effect in these cases.

Ford has been persistent in addressing these quality problems. We have gone to great lengths investigating the issues, alerting dealers and consumers, recommending and making repairs, and extending warranties. Resolving the problems took longer than we expected. We regret the frustration and inconvenience this has caused.

Unfortunately, reporting by the Free Press has needlessly added to consumer frustration and generated unwarranted concern. The newspaper has relied on documents that have been publicly available for a year, many of them shopped to reporters by attorneys attempting to call new attention to an old topic. Ford could have helped avoid numerous factual errors like the ones above. However, the Free Press declined an invitation to meet with our engineering experts – and go over facts in detail – prior to publishing these stories.

Ford continues to stand behind the affected vehicles today, including providing owners involved in a class action an option to resolve their claims sooner through voluntary arbitration, following the guidelines of the pending class settlement. Across our global business, we remain diligent and accountable in developing products and services that best meet the needs and interests of consumers.

[dr. d]

in the automotive world, it is really difficult to rise above one's previous shortcomings.
one has to swim against the tide, what with the competition fanning additional waves.

[jojopad]

In the case of Ford, they're known for lemon cars and SUVs. They'll do anything to dodge liabilities and accountability. Take for example quality issue with the Explorer way back in the 80s and 90s. Ford hired an army of lawyers to convince the US Federal government that those fatal rollover accidents with the Explorer was due to the stock tires blowing up. It almost caused Firestone to go bankrupt. Eventually it was found out that the Explorer, even without the tire blowout, is prone to rollovers.

Did You Know... Ford Explorer Rollover Crashes Continue To Happen? - The Legal Examiner

1991 Ford Explorer "Steering-Induced" Rollover - YouTube

[diehard]

A friend of mine used to have a Ford Explorer w 2.3L EcoBoost engine. After the 1k km PMS, the engine seized for whatever reason and he was left stranded in SLEX. My friend asked for a replacement since the Explorer was only a few weeks old. Ford refused and only wanted to overhaul the engine. Eventually after some negotiation, Ford offered to replace the engine but still refused to replace the vehicle. He accepted the compromise but vowed to never purchase a Ford ever again.

[heavenlee]

FORD - Found on Road Dead. How apt.

[hardwang]

A friend of mine used to have a Ford Explorer w 2.3L EcoBoost engine. After the 1k km PMS, the engine seized for whatever reason and he was left stranded in SLEX. My friend asked for a replacement since the Explorer was only a few weeks old. Ford refused and only wanted to overhaul the engine. Eventually after some negotiation, Ford offered to replace the engine but still refused to replace the vehicle. He accepted the compromise but vowed to never purchase a Ford ever again.

How’s his Explorer now? Did it have further problems?

[diehard]

How’s his Explorer now? Did it have further problems?

He sold it already. However, during the time that he had it, it was in and out of the dealer for various maladies related to the engine transplant procedure.

[monmendoza]

An uncle who is a very respected mechanic keep on telling me, never buy a FORD when the vehicle has just been released, and I think its very good advice.

I bought a ranger after the ranger have been in the market for 5 years. The first time buyers of the ranger were plague with turbo problems. I am considering the Raptor as my 3rd pickup but I held back knowing that the 10 speed transmission and the 2.0L turbo engine is new to Ford. I wonder how they are performing now.

[markspecialist]

Ford Car Problems?
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[chronicle]

Hello everyone,,
A friend of mine used to have a Ford Explorer w 2.3L EcoBoost engine. After the 1k km PMS, the engine seized for whatever reason and he was left stranded in SLEX. My friend asked for a replacement since the Explorer was only a few weeks old. Ford refused and only wanted to overhaul the engine. Eventually after some negotiation, Ford offered to replace the engine but still refused to replace the vehicle. He accepted the compromise but vowed to never purchase a Ford ever again..

Any reason why it seized?
Also, did ford took care of the paperwork sa lto?

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

[istan]

They deleted dpf in pinas cuz our emission law is not strict. And more profit.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[hardwang]

They deleted dpf in pinas cuz our emission law is not strict. And more profit.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Alam siguro nila na sanay ang mga tao dito sa usok ng jeeps, buses, at trucks. 😂

[istan]

Cheers to that!

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[falken]

Ford workers break their silence on faulty transmissions: '''My hands are dirty. I feel horrible'''

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[jut703]

Ford workers break their silence on faulty transmissions: '''My hands are dirty. I feel horrible'''

Sent from my SM-T725 using Tapatalk

Long read, but this is a very insightful article.

Bottomline - the Ford DCT was really flawed from the start and people were right to cast doubts on Ford for the Fiesta and Focus' reliability.

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[hardwang]

Weren’t there already like a hundred articles saying this? We all know Ford’s DCT is s***. At this point we’re just beating a dead horse.

[jut703]

Weren’t there already like a hundred articles saying this? We all know Ford’s DCT is s***. At this point we’re just beating a dead horse.

What's new to me was that Ford engineers knew all along that the DCT was flawed but went through with it anyway.

That's a big difference from having a thoroughly tested design that just didn't work in the real world.

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