Worst Transmission in History? The Ford Powershift DCT Story

The Ford Powershift DCT has gained notoriety as one of the most problematic transmissions in history. From early promises of efficiency and performance to the harsh reality faced by countless car owners, this transmission's story is a rollercoaster of expectations and disappointments.

But that's not all. We also investigate allegations of fraud and misrepresentation surrounding the Ford Powershift DCT, which have led to lawsuits, recalls, and significant controversy. Could this transmission saga go beyond engineering issues and into the realm of corporate wrongdoing?

[potatosfortots]

i drove a customers auto focus when i was valet, and it drove like the transmission was trying to learn how to drive manual

[YippingFox]

"If you like the feel of a manual transmission, but aren't interested in the clutching and shifting part." My man, this advertisement couldn't have been more accurate.

[PeterEmery]

Most folk change the spelling of Powershift by removing the letter "f."

[beaurex]

My wife had a 2012 Focus Titanium with the DCT trans. During its life, it failed FIVE times. Ford repaired it the first 4 times; when it failed for the FIFTH time, they said WE had to pay for the repair. I contacted Ford Customer (dis)Service and told them I owned over 24 Fords in my life; they said too bad. So we contacted a Lemon Law attorney who took our case. Two months later, we got a $20, 000 check from Ford, who bought the vehicle back from us. It was 8 years old with over 80, 000 miles on it. I'll never own another Ford product. By the way, we were one of the cars featured in the Detroit Free Press investigative series on the defective Ford transmission.

[wrightcodyj]

“Ford – Feel the Difference”

oh I felt the difference alright. Three replaced transmissions and TCMs later. Best day of my life was saying goodbye to my 2013 Focus SEL. Sucks, because I grew up a Ford guy and that’s the last Ford I’ll ever own. I almost got killed on I-35 in Austin when the transmission decided to slip and enter limp mode while I was going 60mph, reducing power dramatically and not allowing me to get over in time.

[g-mang-man]

Ford instructed service departments to actually tell customers, there isn't any reports of failures, and talked to owners like they had never seen the issues before.

[hydrocarbon]

It's sad that so many consumers got screwed yet the executives that made bank with high initial sales numbers weren't even given a slap on the wrist. If a customer stole as much from the execs as they did (thru Ford) from customers, they'd be put in jail for decades.

[thatcarguyUZ]

How funny it is that the industry standard is to use a wet clutch in this application so Ford chooses to use a dry clutch. Disaster ensues. Furthermore, it is industry standard to use dry timing belts if you're using a belt instead of a chain. So naturally, Ford uses a wet belt. Disaster ensues. Hmm...🤔

[derekreynolds]

It came out that the engineers had even told ford management that the transmission couldn't work when it was still in the design phase, before production and they were threatened with lawsuits and termination. What a classy auto maker

[williamswetnam]

I bought a new 2013 Ford Fiesta with the 5-speed manual. The dealer didn't have one at his lot, they had to bring it in special from another dealer in Little Rock. Ten years later I still have it. So glad I didn't get the DCT model.

[ericbrockman]

The best description I ever heard: shifts like an angry washing machine.

[BerettaTV]

I was working as a mechanic in Australia at a ford dealership back in 2011 and I remember these were a complete disaster and we just couldn’t fix them

[richardmillhousenixon]

The problem that Ford used was they tried to make the dual clutch feel like a traditional automatic. Its not a trad automatic, its a dual clutch. Because it uses clutches, not a torque converter, it needs to shift more like a standard transmission, rougher, more immediate. This relaxed shifting caused extra wear on the actuators and the clutches, which was the reason for the failures. I had to get my TCMs (which had the actuators integrated into them) on my Focus replaced about 3 years ago, and immediately after I got the car back, I custom tuned it to shift more aggressively, and I also drive it like it has a manual, I dont let it creep forward at stop lights (riding the brake letting it creep slowly), I don't try to do jumpstarts, if I want to accelerate hard I let it roll a foot or two to make sure the clutches are engaged and then I hit the throttle, things like that. Ever since, I've had zero problems, and I've put about 25k on it since then.

[WranglerX]

Wife and I had a 2016 Focus with over 150k on it before we got rid of it. Never had an issue. After looking into these transmissions more, I consider us one of the lucky ones.

[jomama]

Steve Lehto has done some nice work reporting on legal aspects on this debacle. Seems issues stemmed from taking fluid cooled design and cheaped out making it air cooled. Daughters 2013 Focus delivered from Brondes Ford in Toledo, OH with transmission already leaking from factory. Ohio Lemon Laws were a nightmare, but Ford did call us the night before we were scheduled for arbitration and agreed to full refund - without trying to deduct mileage driven. Got our money back and never looked back.

[jeremispetre]

Ai voice generation will be the death of Youtube.

[nickn]

I bought a brand new Focus in 2014, I specifically said I wanted a manual transmission & was told I needed to do a factory order. I did and my Focus came in several months later. 10 years later I still have it & no regrets about getting a manual.

[rep]

I have a 2012 Fiesta with this transmission and mine is working fine. I changed the 1 qt trans fluid ($50 for the fluid alone!) at 25 and 100K. The dealer "reprogrammed" the trans, and I also found the YouTube video about correcting the faulty ground. That was an easy fix taking about 15 mins. The car is worthless as no one would buy it due to the cursed trans, so I figure I'll just drive it 'till it drops.

[keyboard_slap]

Calling it a "DCT transmission" is like saying "ATM machine"...

[HemiPowah]

I remember working at a local Ford dealer in the service department back in '19, there was almost always at least one of these in the bays with a transmission out of it. Was crazy how quick the guy we had doing them could rip one out, replace clutches and dump it back in the car.
Now I work for an independent, still replace a lot of Ford transmissions, but it's the bigger stuff thats got issues now. The pickup 10 speeds and the 8 speed they put in the Edge are awful units too