Hi,

my first post here guys - so be kind !

My other half has a mk3 automatic that she loves, but it has started misbehaving. Sudden loss of power when trying to accelerate whilst already on the road. Delayed shifting up & down, lots of judder and occasional lurch forward when moving off from lights or onto main roads - potentially very dangerous. From what I've read elsewhere, it seems that it may be something to do with the gearbox solenoids & actuators ??

Took it to the local ford dealers & the best they could manage was to give it a service, charge her >£400 for the privilege & tell her that they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I bought a proscan OBDII & ran it straight after their 'service'. It came back with loads of DTCs. Most importantly, things like stuck in gear X or unable to engage gear X (X=1-6)

I've performed a DTC clear on all of the ones I could & they have all come back after it had a stutter down the road.

Anyone with thoughts / ideas of what I can do ?

Or is this a known problem that I can get fixed in a good garage?

NOTE:  There's only the one Ford Dealer where we live

Many thanks

Geoff

This Powershift gearbox is known to be weak.  I suspect it needs a lot more than a service.  Probably looking at a rebuild.  Do you have any transmission specialists on the island?

Presumably it is the Powershift wet clutch model ( I only know S-MAX DCT 450)?...
As you say the "service" (oil and filter at stupid Ford prices) has been done - did they look for plastics or other debris in the filter as this would be a Mega clue if anything was found there and would have been vital IMHO based on your symptoms?
The codes for the matters listed do look more like internal issues  but I'd still have the external wiring checked thoroughly just in case, even though (unless) there are U codes signifying communication issues.

There may be several recalibration routines in Forscan but without justification I'd be reluctant to try them without real evidence however, they could be tried as an absolute last resort and being aware of the risk that they may fail or even make things worse.
Beyond that, as said you may be into a major job by a specialist with a long warranty and great track record from previous customers?

This will be DCT250 with dry clutch.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

This Powershift gearbox is known to be weak.  I suspect it needs a lot more than a service.  Probably looking at a rebuild.  Do you have any transmission specialists on the island?

Thanks for that - I had a horrible feeling this might be the case

2 hours ago, Shearers said:

Presumably it is the Powershift wet clutch model ( I only know S-MAX DCT 450)?...
As you say the "service" (oil and filter at stupid Ford prices) has been done - did they look for plastics or other debris in the filter as this would be a Mega clue if anything was found there and would have been vital IMHO based on your symptoms?
The codes for the matters listed do look more like internal issues  but I'd still have the external wiring checked thoroughly just in case, even though (unless) there are U codes signifying communication issues.

There may be several recalibration routines in Forscan but without justification I'd be reluctant to try them without real evidence however, they could be tried as an absolute last resort and being aware of the risk that they may fail or even make things worse.
Beyond that, as said you may be into a major job by a specialist with a long warranty and great track record from previous customers?

Thanks - I'll cast around to see if I can find a mechanic / garage that knows what they're talking about

55 minutes ago, JerseyGeoff said:

Thanks - I'll cast around to see if I can find a mechanic / garage that knows what they're talking about

As this may turn into a major job, it may be worth changing the filter again to see if there's any evidence of debris (this is a small amount compared to any dismantling)?
Take notes and come back here to tell us what they say (it may give us a laugh but hopefully not)!
If they just guess or use phrases like "it may be the..." or "we can try replacing..." without any testing and don't give you real confidence that their proposals will completely cure the problems and are prepared to back up their work with a solid guarantee,  that would be a worry for me.
If I had an issue I'd be checking out these guys (based on their reviews and warranty):
https://austrin-engineering.co.uk/services/#1488725417825-2758920e-e7efd3eb-d2400966-8526

Make sure you're sitting down if they want to take it apart but as it's only 10 years old you may decide it's worth it, we would.

There should be Ford support on late DCT250 transmissions.

The dealer needs to diagnose the transmission issues properly, then liaise with Ford CRC about what support they will offer.

But, before you do anything else, change the battery, which you must fully charge before fitting, and perform a transmission reset by following the steps in a youtube video entitled 

"Powershift transmission reset"

Then get yourself set up, properly, on FORScan ( no cheap leads!) and clear all the DTCs and then see what comes back

If that fails, then get the dealer to diagnose the transmission issues correctly and fully.

Also, get the dealer to check for and update the software in the PCM & TCM

On 6/2/2025 at 8:05 AM, DaveT70 said:

There should be Ford support on late DCT250 transmissions.

The dealer needs to diagnose the transmission issues properly, then liaise with Ford CRC about what support they will offer.

But, before you do anything else, change the battery, which you must fully charge before fitting, and perform a transmission reset by following the steps in a youtube video entitled 

"Powershift transmission reset"

Then get yourself set up, properly, on FORScan ( no cheap leads!) and clear all the DTCs and then see what comes back

If that fails, then get the dealer to diagnose the transmission issues correctly and fully.

Also, get the dealer to check for and update the software in the PCM & TCM

Thanks DaveT70,

that's really good advice. Just to add that I took her car out to see for myself. It's OK for a short(ish) drive, but after a while it starts having a moment - delaying changing up & down, and it feels like it's trying to take off at a junction in a higher gear..

Interestingly, if you pull in & switch off, wait a min or two, then fire it back up and pull off - all then operates correctly for the rest of the drive.

I'm beginning to wonder if this points to the TCM breaking down when hot...

I already have a bluetooth ODBII dongle & FORScan docs say it is compatible, so I'll happily take your advice & download it & see how I get on, before challenging the Ford dealer !!

thanks again.