The six-speed dual-clutch transmission is not helping Ford’s reliability goals
Ford’s contested Powershift dual-clutch transmission has been the cause of a lot of headaches for both the Blue Oval and Focus/Fiesta buyers. Now, some owners are looking for compensation.
According to Automotive News, around 7,000 Fiesta and Focus owners have filed a mass action suit against Ford Motor Company over the carmaker’s faulty six-speed Powershift automatic transmissions found in some Fiesta and Focus models.
The same source names a long list of severe symptoms identified by owners, including “shuddering, slipping, jerking, hesitation while changing gears, premature internal wear, delays in downshifting and, in some cases, sudden or delayed acceleration.”
Moreover, it is said that owners of affected vehicles will not settle for a universal payment, but rather a custom compensation scheme according to the issues met by each of them.
In their view, “Ford must be held accountable for design and manufacturing defects of the Powershift transmission.”
The Powershift saga is by no means in its infancy at this point. A petition sent to Ford’s CEO (at that time Mark Fields) requested Ford to replace the faulty transmissions in all 2011-2015 Fiesta and 2012-2015 Focus models or give customers their money back.
Last year, Car Advice reported that a lawsuit was launched against Ford Australia after similar actions were on a roll in North America. Two months later, News.com.au published a report based on a document which revealed that Ford knew about the dual-clutch Powershift’s issues “as early as 2014.”
Car Buzz also reported that Ford has been ignoring the problem, despite the wave of file suits.
Back in 2014, Ford extended powertrain warranty to seven years or 100,000 miles from the previous five years or 60,000 miles, but that didn’t seem to fix the problems. So far, Ford’s reaction to the situation has been rather lethargic.
A Ford spokesperson also told Automotive News that the carmaker “is committed to providing our customers with top-quality vehicles,” suggesting that a real solution to the problem remains out of sight for now.