found on road dead

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
12/06/2019 at 11:34 • Filed to: None

“Mechanical catastrophe” is a hell of a phrase.

DISCUSSION (21)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:37

My local ford dealer is still selling powershit focus and fiesta’s used....

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:38

I’m sure stuff like this happens at every manufacturer, to a degree, but this combined with all the anecdotal stuff I read online leads me to conclude I could never buy a Ford.

But I’d buy a Jeep in a heartbeat, so how F’d up is that?

CobraJoe > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:44

For a business that has been building cars for over 100 years, they sure seem like they don’t know what they’re doing right now.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
12/06/2019 at 11:44

I’m sure there are plenty of good, reliable Fords (F-150, for example).

I’d take the risk for a GT350.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
12/06/2019 at 11:46

What do you do with them? Crush ‘em all?

Probably fine for someone with an all-highway, no congestion commute, but that’s not many people.

shop-teacher > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:46

The phrase definitely fits that dumpster fire of a transmission.

Textured Soy Protein > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:51

A few years ago I had a PowerShift F ocus for a rental car. The clutches were already worn out as hell which led to all sorts of herky jerky driving, and someone had managed to spill coffee on the ceiling. I noticed right away the interior smelled like coffee but didn’t notice the ceiling stains until a couple days into the rental. I brought it back for something else with a functioning transmission.

Kinja'd!!!

Gerry197 > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
12/06/2019 at 11:51

It’s about a very specific transmission in the Fiesta and Focus, which was also used in Europe by other manufactures (Renault, etc.). The difference is that they used a weaker dry clutch material and didn’t let Getrag do the tuning.

The problem is that Ford “ criminally” it would seem did nothing to prevent these cars from being sold long after they new they probably couldn’t be repairable.

Ford’s not the first to do such a thing, many examples of this. Considering how little they sold of these vehicles over the years, they decided it was worth the risk.

However, this would not prevent me from buying a Ford product. However I would pay attention to forums and keep track of any big issues that crop up before I buy a car, I apply this to any vehicle I buy regardless of manufacturer.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:52

Interesting that they couldn’t get it to work right... Hyundai’s DCTs (there are two models that use the exact same layout, just with lighter or heavier gears, clutches and shafts depending on engine power) are also dry-clutch, and though they had their share of early problems with clutch control actuators and programming issues , the underlying hardware seems to be pretty robust and reliable.

vondon302 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:53

I was such a fanboy of Ford but after numerous ST focus problems and crappy dealer service, not so much anymore. I know they all screw up to a degree but this is unacceptable.

The Mustang SUV didn't help either.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 11:55

Manual swap.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CobraJoe
12/06/2019 at 11:55

SAD!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
12/06/2019 at 11:56

yep

412GTI > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 12:09

Really a shame, the Focus was quite a decent cars besides the PowerShit transmission. Had the best ride and handling outside of the Golf/Civic in my opinion and I drove a ton of the class while working for Enterprise.

I did learn you can “launch” these with a simple foot on brake and mashing of the gas. Revs the 3500 and dumps the clutch. Haha good times.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 412GTI
12/06/2019 at 12:11

Wonder how many of these were launched repeatedly until failure right before the factory warranty period was up...

412GTI > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 12:14

I’m guessing not many figured that out, but hey those transmission did a great job of cooking themselves just crawling through traffic.

UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 13:28

Im surprised they stopped all of this at 2016. I know they made changes then , but my girlfriend has an ‘18 SEL, my best friend has a ‘17 titanium, and a mutual friend has a either a 17 or 18 base. All three still have transmissions I would call in no way smooth.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 13:35

A coworker I carpool with I think has one of these. I'm almost waiting for it to explode. He's already (unjustifiably) mad at Ford for a few other things that have gone wrong on his Focus and Escape.

benn454 > Textured Soy Protein
12/06/2019 at 14:08

That looks my nephew's underwear after he forgets to wipe.

dieseldub > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 15:03

I don’t quite understand the blaming it all on the dry clutches. VW has a 7 speed DSG with dry clutches (though outside of the Jetta hybrid, very few were sold in the U.S., Europe got quite a few more of them, though) and they don’t have anywhere near the issues the Ford DCT does.

Not saying they’re perfectly reliable either, but overall they’re not bad. And when you’re driving them, you don’t cringe at the amount of clutch slipping, not just getting going but also when shifting gears. A VW DSG is lightning fast and decisive when shifting gears. It just quickly alternates between the two clutches as the next gear has already been pre-selected in most instances. The slip is almost nothing.

Every time I drove a Ford Focus DCT (usually as a rental) I’d remark to myself how it seemed like whoever programmed the software has never in their life driven a manual transmission car nor do they understand that if you slip the hell out of the clutch, you’re going to create hot spots and clutch material is going to imbed itself into the flywheel and create an uneven surface to mate against, making it judder like crazy, then eventually the clutches just fail altogether.

I’d yell at the car: “COMPLETE THE FUCKING SHIFT ALREADY! YOU’RE WEARING THE FUCK OUT OF THE CLUTCHES! WHY ARE YOU STILL SLIPPING THE CLUTCH DURING A SHIFT! THE FUCK!?”

I have at one point owned a VW Jetta with a DSG... it had almost 300,000 miles on it when I sold it and the transmission still worked great. You have to adjust your style a little bit to how it behaves when getting moving from a standstill, but once you do that, it’s perfectly predictable and once up and rolling, the shifts are lightning fast and smooth, minimal clutch slip. They’re honestly pretty fun to drive for an automatic. Super responsive to your manual shift requests as well. Downshifts take a little longer as the computer will rev match for you, but still starts the process virtually immediately upon your request so long as it’s not too aggressive on your part and the computer calculates it will be too close to redline attempting to match your request, it will do it. It just takes a half second for it to complete the process instead of being the lightning fast completion of an upshift. But hey, it’s more or less that way with a manual too if you’re doing it right.

I was excited when I saw the cutaway of the DCT when Ford first showed it at the Detroit auto show, I don’t know, 2010 or 11? Hard to remember. Being that VW had been selling DSGs since 2004 here, I already was well aware of the potential advantages and how well it COULD drive if done right. I grew up in Michigan with a lot of Ford people in the family, so there’s always a soft spot for the company. The Focus was a revelation for small cars to me. The quality of the interior, the handling and features were a step above when they first came out.

Hell, VW was so impressed by that control blade independent rear suspension that they literally hired the very Ford engineer that designed it for them with that first Focus to apply it to their Mk5 Golf/Jetta platform. So yeah, definitely have always had a soft spot for the Focus in particular as just a good compact car that is surprisingly fun to drive. Was also one of the first small cars I can remember having a telescoping steering wheel along with the 98 VW New Beetle.

Oh what could have been if Ford just had a transmission software engineer that understood the principles at work here... Not enough Americans know how to drive a manual anymore I guess.

MM54 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/06/2019 at 20:27

As an engineer, this sounds like standard procedure for a large company - “make it work” even if it can’t.