How Can I Get Ford To Repair My Focus Teransmission

Ford Motor Co. says it will send notification of a new extended warranty on clutch repairs and cost reimbursement after Labor Day to more a half million owners of the Fiesta and Focus, most three weeks after making a public announcement.

"All field-service deportment showtime with notifications to dealers, then they are aware and prepared. We did that on Aug. 14," Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Free Press. "Letters to customers follow, subsequently we've downloaded VINs, cross-referenced and validated them with owner names and addresses, etc. Depending on the number of vehicles involved, that tin can accept a couple of weeks."

He added the letters sent "right after Labor Day" would become to "more than 600,000 customers in the U.Southward. and Canada who will be covered by the extended clutch warranty and/or nonetheless need the of import software update for their transmission command module."

Meanwhile, customers from around the country have contacted the Gratuitous Press to say they're getting conflicting information from dealers who deny warranty coverage and reimbursement. Customers have mailed invoices to the Gratis Press reflecting contempo charges for clutch repair and transmission control module repair despite the visitor'southward highly publicized announcement Aug. xiv.

The visitor said it was extending the transmission warranty on 2014-16 Focus and 2014-15 Fiesta vehicles assembled after July 4, 2013, to seven years or 100,000 miles, would reimburse previous repairs that would have been covered and attain out to the 16% of vehicle owners who hadn't had the command module software update.

Some customers study long waits for parts — though some of the vehicles' owners already accept gotten free repairs.

Two owners of the 2014 Focus who take been talking with the Free Press since the start of Baronial said the costly transmission service has been completed at no charge – saving them an estimated $ane,200 to $1,400 each.

Dan Mlnarik of Grand Rapids is celebrating the extended warranty, telling the Free Press on Sunday that he saved virtually $i,200 with the complimentary clutch replacement on his 2014 Focus. "It runs great now."

Rick Yandric of Livonia documented his repeated discussions with Ford as the visitor moved from declining to pay for his clutch replacement on Aug. 8 to making skillful on his second transmission fix 16 days later.

"Since Ford extended the warranty, nosotros were able to become our Focus repaired at no cost," he said Saturday, saying he believes Free Press coverage spurred Ford to take action. "I am positive Ford would have done nothing ... It's a shame it takes publicity to become a visitor to prepare an obvious defect."

The entry-level Fiesta and Focus vehicles, built over the past decade, used dual-clutch automatic transmissions known as DPS6 designed for fuel efficiency. They take a history of costly repair for failing clutches and other bug, including shaking, slipping out of gear, delayed acceleration and lurching forrad. Litigation involving the cars has been global. The financial risk is so serious that Ford notified investors of the situation in its federal regulatory filing in April.

A Gratis Printing "Out of Gear" investigation published in July revealed for the first time internal company documents and emails showing that the Dearborn automaker knew the transmissions were defective from the get-go and continued building and selling them anyway.

Ford, backed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, maintains the vehicles pose no safety risk. The visitor says it has been aggressive in trying to resolve problems as they have come upward. It acknowledges that fixes took longer than expected and that it discussed ditching the transmissions but decided to continue production.

Despite news of the extended warranty, Ford customers and a top consumer testing official remain skeptical that anything tin can exist done — noting the problems are chronic.

'Sell the auto '

The transmissions were introduced in the 2011 model year Fiesta and 2012 Focus. They were used until the Focus was discontinued with the 2018 model year and until the 2019 Fiesta. A Ford internal review at the finish of 2016 said that 350,000 of the cars "have already reached three+ repairs in U.s.."

"When I look at our data, when you look at the Ford Focus prior to 2012 and major transmission bug, there were few. They had no reports at all in the 2011 model year," said Jake Fisher, senior managing director of auto testing with two decades of experience at Consumer Reports. "When they put the PowerShift transmission in, nigh 15% of people had major transmission problems and the newer vehicles withal take many issues. In some years, like 2014, nearly a third of the owners report major manual bug. Information technology's a bit unheard of to run across this kind of problem with major mechanical systems these days."

Fisher added, "Automakers ordinarily work this stuff out. These bug just never went away. The newest cars accept the same issues."

With a database of more than than half a meg consumer vehicles, Consumer Reports tests and monitors more vehicles than any other entity.

"A 2011 Ford Focus at present is holding up great. No i is having issues with the transmission," Fisher said.

But newer models? Major manual issues that require rebuilding and replacement.

"No amount of updates or software is going to make those troubles become away completely. That'south what our data shows twelvemonth later year," Fisher said. "Nosotros refresh our data every yr. It consistently shows the problems are non going abroad. They're trying to supercede the transmissions, and the transmissions going in are nevertheless troublesome even after replacing the unabridged unit."

Warranty or not, Fiesta and Focus owners will go along having problems, Fisher said. "We don't recommend people purchase these cars. ... My advice is to sell the car and buy some other machine. There are a lot of reliable cars, even used cars. There is no other competitor on the marketplace that will give you this kind of headache. Don't throw good money later bad."

Ford said Friday that "our technical analysis, warranty data and customer feedback show that the DPS6 manual in Focus and Fiesta vehicles from 2016 (model year) through 2019 MY are improved from prior model years. They perform well and accept competitive levels of customer satisfaction."

More:Ford knew Focus, Fiesta models had flawed manual, sold them anyway

More:Ford extends warranty on Focus and Fiesta clutches; will reimburse customers for repairs

More:Ford Focus, Fiesta owners deal with manual repair nightmare

More:Ford responds to Free Press investigation of Focus, Fiesta transmissions

'Definitely would not'

Ford has also emailed customers satisfaction surveys last week.

Suzanne Kho of Austin, Texas, contacted the Complimentary Press after receiving an email Aug. 22 from Margaret Kishore, global customer experience manager at Ford, asking how likely Kho would be to recommend Ford to others as a 2014 Focus owner:

• Definitely would non
• Probably would non
• Maybe would
• Maybe not
• Probably would
• Definitely would

Kho, who answered "Definitely would non," said she couldn't recall ever receiving such a survey and told the Costless Press, "It doesn't make me feel similar they care about me as a customer, since they sent information technology then long afterwards I purchased my car and later I have had so many clutch replacements."

She said her clutch has been replaced three times with only 41,000 miles on her automobile.

'It'due south not the money'

Richard Levine of Foxboro, Massachusetts, purchased his 2014 Fiesta new and the manual has been shaky from the kickoff. He said he took the vehicle to his dealer on July 30, which adamant that the clutch plate needed to exist replaced. The dealership ordered the part, but a backlog left him scheduled for Aug. 19. At the terminate, Levine said, he paid with his extended warranty he bought when he purchased his vehicle back in 2014, plus a $100 deductible.

"I stopped by the dealer this morning and explained that the factory warranty was now extended so I feel I should not have to pay for the $100 deductible. They told me that since the ticket was opened prior to the release statement from Ford that I would still demand to pay for the deductible. They likewise stated that I should contact Ford directly if I'thou not satisfied," he said in an email. "The agent I spoke with likewise said that I will NOT exist reimbursed for the deductible and I would need to speak to the dealer again for whatsoever assist on the matter."

The dealership kept his machine an extra day because the repair tech noted that the broken clutch was replaced with a clutch that also needed to be replaced.

"They said they ordered two, thank God," Levine said. "The whole affair is comical. I hateful, I just take 26,000 miles on the vehicle."

He continued, "It's not the money, information technology's the principle. If Ford is extending the warranty, why am I paying off the extended manufactory warranty I purchased from Ford? It doesn't make any sense."

Out of luck

Alexandra Zellner of Washington, D.C., provided copies of her alive chat discussions and paperwork after also exchanging emails and calls with Ford in an effort to get assistance with a warning light in her car flashing "transmission problem." The 2011 Fiesta she bought in Michigan exceeds the extended warranty coverage by 1,200 miles.

"The first fourth dimension I spoke with a Ford customer service representative she explained 'out by time and mileage' translates to seven years or 100,000 miles simply shared that I may be eligible under a different extended warranty that would need to be canonical past the dealership itself. Of course, when I approached the dealership, they informed me that, in fact, Ford customer service must approve all warranties," Zellner told the Free Press.

"Now, a calendar month later, afterwards multiple conversations with the dealership and a handful of Ford customer service representatives, my car sits in my garage undrivable and I accept gotten nowhere. I recently opened a claim with the Better Business concern Bureau."

Who gets coin

Brandon Molett of Sterling Heights just replaced the clutches on his 2013 Focus for the third time. And while he appreciated being told on Aug. 19 he would receive a $400 refund from Ford soon, he said thousands of dollars in other repairs are damaging his finances.

"Information technology had the module replaced the last time that it broke down and would not move, just no one said anything near the clutches being bad or that there was a third revision of the clutches. Earlier this time, they had been replaced two times prior," he said.

"The transmission has been taken out of the car two times, replacing the clutches and rear main seals. The transmission module has been changed and it has been reprogrammed three times, all of which has happened before the warranty expired. The rep at Royal Oak Ford said in that location were three different revisions for the clutches and we have had two of the three. I was told at that place was no one I would exist able to talk to after speaking with the client service manager. I asked about making a complaint and he told me no ane would contact me in regards to it and that it would just exist notated."

Focus, Fiesta possessor info

Focus and Fiesta customers with questions can phone call a special phone line Ford ready for them at 833-805-3673 or visit Owner.Ford.com and use their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for information on available updates for their vehicles.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 3 13-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid . Read more on Ford and sign upward for our autos newsletter.

Source: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2019/08/26/ford-fiesta-focus-transmission-clutch-warranty/2070441001/

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