CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2015 Ford Focus & its "Powershift" transmission has a defect trend where the car shudders when accelerating, especially when starting uphill.
Most owners have reported their Ford Focus remains driveable while the vehicle is still at low mileage, but the shuddering is annoying & unpleasant & may reduce the resale value of the vehicle.
However, owners of higher-mileage vehicles from earlier 3rd generation Focus model years report transmission failure & a host of other major & expensive transmission-related problems. Potential buyers beware.
9.0
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,100
Average Mileage:
21,300 miles
Total Complaints:
2 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (1 reports)
replaced actuator motor, clutch packs and seals (1 reports)
Initially the car would not crank up after it had been stationary for a while while my wife was visiting her mother.
She thought the battery was dead and had the car jumped off. Upon driving home from the next town over, my wife received a notice on the screen that the transmission had overheated and to turn off the engine for 10 minutes. The vehicle had 42,100 (approximately) miles. The car had all of the telltale symptoms of this dual clutch automatic manual transmission to include shuddering from a stop. Google Ford Focus Powershift transmission and you'll see it. The car was repaired very quickly but I believe it's only a matter of time for this to happen again.
Update from Nov 28, 2017: A faulty actuator motor was found for the overheating indication. The clutch packs and seals were replaced as well for this repair cycle.
Update from Jul 22, 2022: This car now has 113,000 so it has gone around 70,000 miles on its current clutch pack. The car now codes out with a P090C after having a P0902. These codes are clutch actuator codes. I swapped actuators and the new code was P090C. The problem is the actuator and clutch fork is apparently sticking causing inoperability in 2,4,6 and reverse gear. I can clear the code and the TCM will allow those gears to work, but then it will have an engine light and it becomes a very jerky 3 speed.
How this transmission works, the clutch actuators reside on the top and bottom of the transmission and they basically do the left foot (clutch foot) job engaging and disengaging the clutch. A controls 1,2,5, B controls 2,4,6 and Reverse. The TCM has two actuators built in that control the shift mechanism assuming one for 1,2,5 and the other for 2,4,6 and reverse.
The actual clutch pack is comprised of two clutch disks that engage the even and odd gears respectively. SInce it's a dry clutch design, it gets hot with use. It creates a lot of clutch dust that has nowhere to go so it is contained in the bell housing. The shift forks that connect to the clutch actuator A and B will eventually get stuck or stick as they operate causing slippage and then the TCM sees a fault and starts shutting things down. This transmission is an eggregous mistake that Ford foisted on us all.
Now with 113,000 miles, we have the aforementioned problem. The Ford dealer wants over $3,100 to replace the clutch pack, seals, and shift forks. I may fix it myself and then dump this car. Runs great, gets great gas mileage, but with this DPS6 Powershit transmission, IT. WILL. FAIL. It's only a matter of time.
After being stuck in bad, bumper to bumper traffic for ten or fifteen minutes, I got an alarm and a notice on the screen that the transmission had overheated and I should turn off the engine for 10 minutes. I was on the beltway outside Washington, DC. How can you turn off the engine when your in a lane full of traffic? I was terrified.
- Rosalie S.,
McLean, VA, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Initially the car would not crank up after it had been stationary for a while while my wife was visiting her mother. She thought the battery was dead and had the car jumped off. Upon driving home from the next town over, my wife received a notice on the screen that the transmission had overheated and to turn off the engine for 10 minutes. The vehicle had 42,100 (approximately) miles. The car had all of the telltale symptoms of this dual clutch automatic manual transmission to include shuddering from a stop. Google Ford Focus Powershift transmission and you'll see it. The car was repaired very quickly but I believe it's only a matter of time for this to happen again.
Update from Nov 28, 2017: A faulty actuator motor was found for the overheating indication. The clutch packs and seals were replaced as well for this repair cycle.
Update from Jul 22, 2022: This car now has 113,000 so it has gone around 70,000 miles on its current clutch pack. The car now codes out with a P090C after having a P0902. These codes are clutch actuator codes. I swapped actuators and the new code was P090C. The problem is the actuator and clutch fork is apparently sticking causing inoperability in 2,4,6 and reverse gear. I can clear the code and the TCM will allow those gears to work, but then it will have an engine light and it becomes a very jerky 3 speed.
How this transmission works, the clutch actuators reside on the top and bottom of the transmission and they basically do the left foot (clutch foot) job engaging and disengaging the clutch. A controls 1,2,5, B controls 2,4,6 and Reverse. The TCM has two actuators built in that control the shift mechanism assuming one for 1,2,5 and the other for 2,4,6 and reverse.
The actual clutch pack is comprised of two clutch disks that engage the even and odd gears respectively. SInce it's a dry clutch design, it gets hot with use. It creates a lot of clutch dust that has nowhere to go so it is contained in the bell housing. The shift forks that connect to the clutch actuator A and B will eventually get stuck or stick as they operate causing slippage and then the TCM sees a fault and starts shutting things down. This transmission is an eggregous mistake that Ford foisted on us all.
Now with 113,000 miles, we have the aforementioned problem. The Ford dealer wants over $3,100 to replace the clutch pack, seals, and shift forks. I may fix it myself and then dump this car. Runs great, gets great gas mileage, but with this DPS6 Powershit transmission, IT. WILL. FAIL. It's only a matter of time.
- Jeff B., wetumpka, Alabama, US