Hi,

My Focus has been getting a transmission fault since January. This is what I've noticed so far:

- most of the time it comes up when changing between 5th and 6th gear going uphill. It'll rev in 5th, seem to have trouble shifting up, then a fault will appear, and it won't shift to 6th again.

- The shifting becomes shuddery once the fault comes on.

- It won't reverse - it shifts to R, but the car will just rev and not move.

- I can then turn the car off for a minute or two, the fault goes away and it shifts OK after. 

- It seems to be worse in cold weather (though I might be imagining this).

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm wondering if this might just be an electronic issue, or if it's mechanical, and whether to take it to the dealer or just a local auto transmission garage.

I bought the car in 2022 and never serviced the transmission. I don't know if it's ever been done. Maybe it just needs a flush, but I don't want to do that and then it doesn't fix the fault.  

Appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance. 

 

check the fluid condition and colour, top up if necessary, also see if theres any codes 

7 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

check the fluid condition and colour, top up if necessary, also see if theres any codes 

Is this something I can do myself or ask a mechanic to? I'm not mechanically inclined but could try if it's simple enough.

find the dipstick, pull it smell the oil and check the colour should be cherry red and no smell of burning and should also be on the mark too much is worse than too little

33 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

find the dipstick, pull it smell the oil and check the colour should be cherry red and no smell of burning and should also be on the mark too much is worse than too little

In my car there was no dipstick. The book only mentions a "brake and clutch fluid reservoir", so I checked that. I unscrewed the cap and the fluid is a light yellow, and it's close to the Min mark (though it's hard to tell because of the colour - makes little contrast with the reservoir walls). I smelled it and it didn't smell burned, just a sort of light synthetic smell. Did I check the right place?

I did notice the engine coolant fluid was on the low side but I guess that's unrelated. 

there should be a dipstick i dont think yours is a sealed for life. google up location or get a mech to have a look, avoid main dealers unless under warranty.

 

1.6 Ti-VCT uses the 6DCT250 Powershift gearbox.

Dry clutch.  No recommend service interval.  No dipstick.  If you would like the fluid changed, it's probably safest to leave that job to a mechanic.  Ideally need to read the Ford specific fault codes to see why it's triggering the transmission warning.  That may or may not be improved by a fluid change.

 

The clutch mentioned for the brake and clutch reservoir is for manual transmission cars only.  Not clutched automatics.  Gearbox oil is totally different to brake fluid.  It's crucial that you don't pour anything other than brake fluid into that reservoir.

Thanks for that. So, would reading the fault codes be something best left to a mechanic, or would it help to do it first myself? I read elsewhere that you need an OBD 2 device to do it. Is it worth owning one of those, or just take the car to a specialist?

I checked there's a good automatic transmission garage not too far, so I'll definitely book the car there for a service, but am wondering if there's anything I can do before that. 

2 minutes ago, trapp said:

Thanks for that. So, would reading the fault codes be something best left to a mechanic, or would it help to do it first myself? I read elsewhere that you need an OBD 2 device to do it. Is it worth owning one of those, or just take the car to a specialist?

I checked there's a good automatic transmission garage not too far, so I'll definitely book the car there for a service, but am wondering if there's anything I can do before that. 

Ford specific fault codes can generally only be read by two devices. 

1. The ones that Ford dealers use - and will charge you £150 just to plug in! 

2. Forscan, which is a free program anyone can download onto a laptop or Smartphone.  You will need a good quality OBD adapter for that.  The V-Linker cable is generally recommended now at around £30.  There are also wireless adapters if you wish to use a mobile device instead.

Personally I would say it's always worth buying the adapter and downloading Forscan for any Ford owner as it pays for itself within the first use.  Non-Ford garage scanners can't usually read manufacturer specific fault codes.

Early DCT250s should be covered under the extended warranty, including the TCM (Transmission Control Module) so the first port of call would be book it into a dealer, pay the diagnostic fee and see what they say is wrong with it.

Then contact Ford CRC quoting your VIN and ask them if this vehicle is covered under the powershift warranty.

Don't mention anything about any knowledge to do with fluid changes, just list the symptoms of the faults.

If it is covered, they should fix the faults and return the diagnostic fee.

If it's not covered, you should, at least, know what is wrong with it, but I doubt it.

If you don't want to take it to Ford, at least set yourself up with FORScan and the V-Linker or OBDLink-EX cable to read the FULL fault codes yourself, there's no better way!

If you say it's worse, when cold, that could be fixed by changing the fluid. By right, these don't need changing as often as the Diesel versions, because the have a dry clutch so do not contaminate the oil so much. If the vehicle is over 70,000 miles though, it won't hurt to change the fluid.

Shifting issues can be caused by electrical issues, whether that be a faulty TCM or, more commonly, you can get broken/corroded wires which prevent the signals from the TCM getting to the transmission and then the transmission doesn't know what to do. Take the vehicle to an auto electrician to test EVERY wire from the transmission to the TCM and from the TCM to the PCM (Engine ECU) for correct continuity.

Battery voltage: If the battery is old and you don't know when it was last replaced, put a new battery on it. Powershifts do not like low voltage

Powershifts also don't like poor earths, remove the earth eyelet from the battery to the body, remove the paint to bare metal in the shape and size of the eyelet, grease and re-fit. Repeat this for the two further transmission earth eyelets under the air cleaner box.

Once you've proved out all those issues, it's time to take the transmission apart, I'm afraid.

Start with having all the solenoids tested to ensure they're working correctly, then it'll be an internal gearbox fault

On 7/30/2024 at 2:00 PM, DaveT70 said:

Early DCT250s should be covered under the extended warranty, including the TCM (Transmission Control Module) so the first port of call would be book it into a dealer, pay the diagnostic fee and see what they say is wrong with it.

Then contact Ford CRC quoting your VIN and ask them if this vehicle is covered under the powershift warranty.

Don't mention anything about any knowledge to do with fluid changes, just list the symptoms of the faults.

If it is covered, they should fix the faults and return the diagnostic fee.

If it's not covered, you should, at least, know what is wrong with it, but I doubt it.

Thanks for that. So, I took the car for a diagnostic and they gave me this write-up:

"Carry out diagnostic on automatic transmission gear shift issue Dtcs relating to clutch B element stuc on and clutch A temp too high Advise TCM software update and TCM adaptive re learn procedures carried out to reset gear shift parameters (If fault reoccurs after adaptive learn procedure gear box will require removed and stripped and investigated for possible clutch pack /actuator issue"

So, now, should I send this info to Ford CRC and see if it's covered by the extended warranty?

It seems like they don't have a solid idea of what the issue is. 

Well, they are first advising to update the TCM software, I would definitely have that done, then perform a relearn and adaptive shift relearn.

I would advise to have all of these done, it should cure it.

If it doesn't, then contact Ford CRC to see if you are covered

personally I'd make CRC aware of whats gone on and whats been done. And that it will be sent back if the relearn fails to address the issues. Then its on file.