Focus Powershift And Locking Issues

[mart1711]

Dear all,

I'm coming up to decision time for my 12 plate Focus (it's a 2.0 TDCI with the powershift auto gear box). We have owned the car from now and it's now done just a little in excess of 30000 miles.

Finance is running out now and I can either pay the car off and keep it or turn it back in and walk away. We do like the car so want to keep it but there are two things that I don't think are quite right. Car has been in the garage for both issues and for both they say they can't fault / reproduce. While one is just an annoyance the other one feels like it's more serious.

Issue 1:

The powershift. Ever since we had the car I've found it really difficult to drive it smoothly. I travel a lot for business and have rental cars all over the place - I'd think I'm fairly used to different cars and different transmissions but I really struggle with this one. When cold the powershift is super aggressive. Pull off on a roundabout and if you don't put your foot down super carefully you'll shoot off like someone who's driving a manual and hasn't quite understood the concept of a clutch. I could get used to that - as it gets better when the gearbox / car warms up. But - it's still quite erratic then and it seems to be getting worse. Sometimes you pull off, put your foot down, and you shoot off like a rocket. Sometime you put your foot down and you just ease off - just as I'd expect it. Another thing is that sometimes when you slow down and then accelerate again it feels like the clutch temporarily disengages completely. Revs shoot up as if you'd just gone into neutral. Then clutch re-enages and you jolt forward and are off again. This happens mostly when slowing down & speeding up again. But the annoying thing is that it doesn't happen all the time. Ford says the gearbox behaves "perfectly". I'm not looking for a remote diagnosis because I know that is impossible. I'd rather be interested in what experience others have with this car / this transmission. Is this to be considered "normal" and I'll just have to suck it up and get used to it? I've been told that the transmission oil change is due (3 figure number, not cheap) and I'm reading that as part of that the transmission gets re-learned / trained. So maybe this may even make a difference. I'll see more when I get the car back again.

Issue 2:

Central locking. This happens with both keys so it's not key specific. It's mostly locking the car when it's unlocked. You press the button on the key (regardless of distance from the car) - nothing. You press again - nothing. You press again - nothing. You then press unlock - this works straight away, the car blinks (because it's open); then you lock straight after and it looks. Doesn't happen every time but a couple of times per week if I'm unlucky. Oh - but it never happens when the car is in the garage.

Again, issue 2 I can live with, although it's annoying on a car that is not even 3 yrs old. Issue 1 is more of a concern. So - PowerShift drivers - am I just describing how the Ford gearbox works and I'll have to get used to it?

Thanks for any insight - sorry for the long-ish post.

Martin