Hi All

My car is on recall for 

18S07 - CLUTCH SLIP DETECTION SOFTWARE.

So - I was on the motorway and when coming off at junction I went to change gear but my clutch was stuck to the floor. I had to get my toes underneath it to pull pull it back up. Then I had to keep pumping it to get any pressure back. Had to do this a few times to change gear. By now I am around town and it seems fine again and I’m changing gear every few minutes at junctions etc. So I thought it must have just been a blip.

Fine for week or so - till I went on motorway and didn’t use the clutch for 50 odd miles. Then traffic slowed right down so went to change down gears and same thing happened only this time I couldn’t pull it back up. Rolled onto side of motorway. Eventually managed to pull it back up but this time couldn’t get pressure in it when pumping so couldn’t get gears in and had to be recovered.

Could also smell a chemical smell. Car also been sluggish on pull off for ages, with not as much power as when I had it 6 years ago.  Had to have a new clutch just before the recall which was 2018, so didn’t bother taking it in, then forgot about it till this has happened. Just to let you know I do not ride the clutch or use it incorrectly, pull heavy loads etc.

So - my question is - could this be anything to do with this recall, or will I just have to buy a new clutch? 
Any help throwing light on this would be appreciated, as I don’t want Ford to wriggle out of it if it’s because of this recall thing.

Thanks 😊😊

The only purpose of the 18S07 recall was to prevent a potential safety risk. Not to solve a technical problem.

History showed that the friction material of the original clutches could not withstand excessive heat. Once the clutch was completely worn and started slipping the excessive heat caused the clutch to shatter in pieces. If the pieces damage the gearbox housing the leaking oil on a hot exhaust results in a potential safety risk.

On affected vehicles with start/stop the recall consists of a clutch test and updated PCM software. Only if the clutch failed the test it was replaced for free as part of the recall. If the clutch passed the test it was not replaced at all. The updated PCM software is developed to detect clutch slip. If the PCM detects clutch slip the engine power will be reduced which makes it virtually impossible to drive with a slipping clutch.

On affected vehicles without start/stop (which are very low numbers) the clutch was always replaced as part of the recall. I guess that the costs to replace these clutches were still lower than the costs to develop new software for a low number of vehicles.

 

Technical problems are not covered by the clutch recall.

Since your clutch has already been replaced your car should already have the newer updated friction plate. The updated friction plate has different friction material which is much better able to withstand heat.