Transmission problems

[Monochrome11]

When I was in the process of buying my new Fusion, I test drove a 4 cyl Fusion with the 6 spd ATX. I noticed the first couple times of taking out from a stop that it flared at the 1>2 shift. It was OK after that but I made a mental note that I would not buy that car. I ended up buying a 3.0L V6 and it shifted normally during the test drive and is still continuing to shift well. It does have less than 500 miles on it now but I expect this proper shifting will continue.

 

I am not trying to insinuate the 3.0 has a better transmission. I am pretty sure they are all the same.

[con_fusion]

When I was in the process of buying my new Fusion, I test drove a 4 cyl Fusion with the 6 spd ATX. I noticed the first couple times of taking out from a stop that it flared at the 1>2 shift. It was OK after that but I made a mental note that I would not buy that car. I ended up buying a 3.0L V6 and it shifted normally during the test drive and is still continuing to shift well. It does have less than 500 miles on it now but I expect this proper shifting will continue.

 

I am not trying to insinuate the 3.0 has a better transmission. I am pretty sure they are all the same.

 

 

The I4 and 3.0 V6 use the same 6F35 transmission. The Sport model uses the Aisin trans.

[Chuckp]

Our 2011 SEL I4 also has the "sloppy" shift issues. About 7k miles. I'd say it always has shifted badly and does seem to be getting worse. It feels like when in the old days the throttle position input to the transmission was not adjusted correctly. It's not a major problem (yet) but enough to be noticeable compared to our other cars. Guess we'll try the dealer to at least get the problem on record. Just wanted to add my post to indicate how common the problem is. Does this forum allow polls? Maybe there should be one on this issue. How many have it and how many don't.

[rich416]

Just picked up a 2012 SEL. Less than 150 miles on car and noticed the flare yesterday morning after car sat all night. Light to medium acceleration and I think it was the 2>3 upshift. Had two rentals previously that worked great. Hope I didn't get a lemon.... Flare seemed to be about a 1500 rpm jump. And the tranny on the 2003 Dodge Intrepid I traded worked like a champ....

[ehidle]

Just picked up a 2012 SEL. Less than 150 miles on car and noticed the flare yesterday morning after car sat all night. Light to medium acceleration and I think it was the 2>3 upshift. Had two rentals previously that worked great. Hope I didn't get a lemon.... Flare seemed to be about a 1500 rpm jump. And the tranny on the 2003 Dodge Intrepid I traded worked like a champ....

 

Take it to the dealer right away. Make sure you insist on driving it with the tech otherwise you'll get the "we couldn't reproduce it" excuse.

 

Drop it at the dealer, let it sit for 2 days, then show up and drive it with them ( you drive, they watch ).

Edited September 11, 2011 by ehidle

[con_fusion]

I just received a lemon law advertisement in the mail to owners of 2010 Ford Fusions. This firm claims to be representing many other owners who have had problems with their transmissions.

 

Not sure how they would have my contact information and know I had a 2010 Fusion.

 

This firm is based in Los Angeles.

 

Anyone else getting these kind of mailings?

[cartmanea]

Ford probably sold your information, ironically to someone wanting to make a lawsuit against them. After my first trip to the dealership with my F250 I bought used I started getting aftermarket warranty calls that have never stopped...

[Jo7hs2]

I just received a lemon law advertisement in the mail to owners of 2010 Ford Fusions. This firm claims to be representing many other owners who have had problems with their transmissions.

 

Not sure how they would have my contact information and know I had a 2010 Fusion.

 

This firm is based in Los Angeles.

 

Anyone else getting these kind of mailings?

 

No, but I've gotten surprises for other cars. I suspect they get your information from the state registration information, or from your oil change place, your insurance company, or somebody else who has both your address and your make and model information.

[con_fusion]

Had a cold 2->3 shift flare from my transmission this week. It's kind of feeling quirky again like it was before I had them reset my KAM. <sigh>

 

It seems to be shifting at higher RPM too, even under medium throttle.

 

Not sure why, it seems to go through this pattern about 3-4K miles after a KAM reset. I even avoided using the select-shift mode to see if that made a difference.

 

As long as it doesn't get worse I'll wait and see if the elusive fix all TSB comes out.

[ElKabong]

OK, got it back on Tuesday with completely rebuilt transmission.

 

In my case, the selling dealer or someone else (not the dealer I use for service) clearly had someone incompetent perform the original service bulletin for the transmission, and they also misled me - they told me it was only a seal that was serviced. Didn't show up in Oasis when I checked (interesting how that works).

 

So the person who did the service bulletin really messed up - a circlip missing was the eventual root cause of the failure, plus bolts in the wrong place, bolts missing, damaged starter housing, valve body cover had way too much sealant - the mechanic who rebuilt my trans had a laundry list of stuff the "other guy" did poorly. I can only assume it failed the load test and the guy botched the rebuild.

 

I do have some faith in the servicing dealer, Buss Ford in McHenry Il, not cheap for out of warranty stuff but reputable work and they have a clean shop (if you know what that means).

 

Now with all parts in correct place and of course new internals, the transmission shifts as it should (not exactly a Lexus but acceptable). I see no noticeable flare. I am driving it moderately, my commute is mixed with max speed at 55 for a short run so it's a pretty decent break-in routine.

 

Nice to be back in the comfy chair after time spent commuting in the '03 Escape - not that it's bad but the seat hurts after a while (1 hour each way) and the Milan is much more quiet ride.

 

I shall remain vigilant in checking for flare or degradation.

 

Just thought I'd check back in. This rebuild happened at 33k, now I'm at 36.5k and it's running just like it did after the rebuild, so I think it's holding up ok.

 

I'm getting between 23 and 24 MPG according to FuelLog (android software). The car is telling me 24.6 today when I filled it up. I'm quite satisfied with that.

Edited October 13, 2011 by ElKabong

[Roberta67]

What is this reprogramming? My transmission started having issues about a month ago. I am not sure of the date of the build or anything like that. My car is currently at Ford being worked on. He said that the transmission fluid smelled like it was burning, which I actually think that I smelled about a week ago when I got out of my car while it was running, but I just disregarded it really. Maybe that is what I was smelling. The guy told me today they needed to drop my transmission and see what the problem was. I'm so frustrated with all the repairs I have had to have on this 2 year old car. So is the transmission issue something that seems to be an issue with this car? Is it just going to happen again? At this point its under warranty, but what about when it's not? I'm frustrated with my car and yet I Love it and just want it to run right. I'm a mom with 2 little boys and I worry that I will break down at times.

 

Roberta

[zangonli]

Couldn't find a per-thread search function so don't mind if I am repeating some one else now, but I just had the throttle body unit replaced under warranty on my 2010 sel awd 3L (because of the sudden throttle disable problem reported on another thread), and this clearly has made shifting alot smoother. The flare from 2d to third is now significantly diminished (almost gone! )

 

But I still notice a problem when the car is going downhill, in manual shift mode. Hopefully the throttle body fix also eliminated the sudden and violent downshift that I experienced a few weeks ago (before the throttle body fix) when on a downhill grade in manual shift mode, while coming to a stop but then getting on the gas before a complete stop. , Generally speaking this is NOT a smooth shifting transmission..

[zangonli]

Couldn't find a per-thread search function so don't mind if I am repeating some one else now, but I just had the throttle body unit replaced under warranty on my 2010 sel awd 3L (because of the sudden throttle disable problem reported on another thread), and this clearly has made shifting alot smoother. The flare from 2d to third is now significantly diminished (almost gone! )

 

But I still notice a problem when the car is going downhill, in manual shift mode. Hopefully the throttle body fix also eliminated the sudden and violent downshift that I experienced a few weeks ago (before the throttle body fix) when on a downhill grade in manual shift mode, while coming to a stop but then getting on the gas before a complete stop. , Generally speaking this is NOT a smooth shifting transmission..

 

So to followup on my smoother shifting reported above (after the throttle body unit was replaced), it has been a few weeks now and I am afraid the "flaring" between 2d and 3rd gears is coming back. Makes me think this might just be a software "learning" problem with the transmission controller, since the shifting was a lot smoother during the first week after my visit to the dealer for the throttle body issue. But if it's just a software problem, then shouldn't Ford have already worked out the bugs from it by now? The fact that Ford apparently has not done so suggests there might be an expensive mechanical aspect to this problem. I will be reporting my crappy transmission shifting to the dealer the next chance I get.

[con_fusion]

So to followup on my smoother shifting reported above (after the throttle body unit was replaced), it has been a few weeks now and I am afraid the "flaring" between 2d and 3rd gears is coming back. Makes me think this might just be a software "learning" problem with the transmission controller, since the shifting was a lot smoother during the first week after my visit to the dealer for the throttle body issue. But if it's just a software problem, then shouldn't Ford have already worked out the bugs from it by now? The fact that Ford apparently has not done so suggests there might be an expensive mechanical aspect to this problem. I will be reporting my crappy transmission shifting to the dealer the next chance I get.

 

Hey there zangonli, you may want to check out my last post on this thread: trans thread

 

I may be seeing something similar where the trans operates better after the KAM is reset. Thay would have done that for you when the throttle body was replaced...I think.

 

Can't remember if yours is a 2010 but this new TSB mentioned (11-11-23) may apply...

[Lincolnman317]

My wife and I both purchased 2011 Fusions. We are experiencing the same problems as many of you. Sliipping feel, jerks when shifting, feels like it"s stuck between gears. I have around 11k on my and my symptoms are far worse than hers. I shifted from park to drive and it slammed so hard, I though the tranny blew apart, Hesitates when shifting. Mine goes in for the second time and at this point I am worried that they say oh nothing is wrong. I had the pcm reprogrammed already with no difference. What should we do?

[jazztrumpet216]

Well, the cold weather came back and so did my intermittent shift flaring. I found a new problem though- in "L" mode on my shifter, my transmission will not shift from second to third on wide open throttle. It just bounces up on the rev limiter acting like it wants to shift, but it can't. Tried it three times last night, same result each time. Gonna take a phone video tonight, show it to the service manager and demand it be fixed. Now. No flashes, no reprogramming, they replace parts and I don't pick it up until they do. This will be the third time it's been in for that issue, the first two they applied two flashes that did absolute dick, and the last time I was told there was nothing wrong.

 

I'm so tired of this POS transmission. The rest of the car has been so awesome but there's definitely something wrong with the trans and Ford won't own up to it. At least with my old Stratus... sure it had a POS transmission too, but I got Chrysler to own up to their garbage and fix it. If I wanted a car with another garbage transmission, I would have happily bought another Chrysler knowing that at least they'll stand behind it.

[cartmanea]

I found a new problem though- in "L" mode on my shifter, my transmission will not shift from second to third on wide open throttle. It just bounces up on the rev limiter acting like it wants to shift, but it can't. Tried it three times last night, same result each time.

 

I have to ask, other than trying to abuse your transmission, why are you driving it like this? L is intended for times when you want to hold low gear, such as driving really slow downhill when you don't want it to shift up. The fact that is will shift into 2nd at WOT is just a safety precaution to make them idiot proof. I guess it's a good thing they do that...

[jazztrumpet216]

I have to ask, other than trying to abuse your transmission, why are you driving it like this? L is intended for times when you want to hold low gear, such as driving really slow downhill when you don't want it to shift up. The fact that is will shift into 2nd at WOT is just a safety precaution to make them idiot proof. I guess it's a good thing they do that...

 

Wow, think you could be a little more civil? My mother always taught me that if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all. Fact of the matter is, my car has been meticulously maintained and my transmission is still a pile of garbage. There's no denying Ford has an issue here and you try and deflect the blame on me. The rest of us with this problem don't need fanboyism, they need answers. Don't post here unless you have one..

Edited December 27, 2011 by jazztrumpet216

[cartmanea]

Wow, think you could be a little more civil? My mother always taught me that if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all. Fact of the matter is, my car has been meticulously maintained and my transmission is still a pile of garbage. There's no denying Ford has an issue here and you try and deflect the blame on me. The rest of us with this problem don't need fanboyism, they need answers. Don't post here unless you have one.

 

You should also probably read your owner's manual to find out why your transmission has the "L" mode and the Hill Descent Assist feature... they're two separate things.

Well, sorry, but what you're doing is unnecessarily hard on the vehicle. If you take a video of that to a service tech he's going to think, or maybe even say, "why the @#$% would you do that?"

 

I understand that the hill descent and L have different functions, but L isn't labeled "Race", it stands for "Low". I also am very aware these transmissions have issues, but it's more a programming issue than a hardware issue. My 2010 shifts awesome after I reset the KAM by disconnecting the batteries, but over time it goes through the adaptive learning and gets crappy. Driving erratically like you describe seems to make it learn the poor shifts more quickly because you confuse the relearn procedure. Similarly, people with the selectable shift version notice the shifting degrades more quickly when they shift manually a lot vs. letting the transmission decide when to shift.

 

Again, sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I'm just calling it how it is. They can't make a transmission of this size and complexity bulletproof, so why push the limits?

[motorcyclist]

Well, sorry, but what you're doing is unnecessarily hard on the vehicle. If you take a video of that to a service tech he's going to think, or maybe even say, "why the @#$% would you do that?"

 

I understand that the hill descent and L have different functions, but L isn't labeled "Race", it stands for "Low". I also am very aware these transmissions have issues, but it's more a programming issue than a hardware issue. My 2010 shifts awesome after I reset the KAM by disconnecting the batteries, but over time it goes through the adaptive learning and gets crappy. Driving erratically like you describe seems to make it learn the poor shifts more quickly because you confuse the relearn procedure. Similarly, people with the selectable shift version notice the shifting degrades more quickly when they shift manually a lot vs. letting the transmission decide when to shift.

 

Again, sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I'm just calling it how it is. They can't make a transmission of this size and complexity bulletproof, so why push the limits?

 

 

Could have not said it better. While I have no doubt that some are having issues with their tranny, I still believe that most of the 6F35s out there are for most part trouble free. The wife and I took ours on a 4000 mile trip last month thru warm southern california weather to cold reno mornings, the tranny gave me no reason to fear a major breakdown. as I said before, I still get the slightly lazy 3 to 4 shift when fluid is cold, but after a few miles that goes away, and never has an rpm spike. While I am not sure if this" lazy shift" is the major complaint from some of those posting of tranny issues, as long as there are no catastrophic failures, I can live with a funny shift for the first few miles when cold. While this is the first autoshifter I have personally owned, the chevrolet van I use for work also shifts a bit funny when cold. I still am of the opinion that an auto tranny operates at its best when up to operating temp. As most anyone who has ever driven a manual shifter when cold they will tell you that they too are harder to shift until the gear oil warms up a bit. Just like with your engine, you want to go a bit easy on it until it is up to temp.

[jazztrumpet216]

Could have not said it better. While I have no doubt that some are having issues with their tranny, I still believe that most of the 6F35s out there are for most part trouble free. The wife and I took ours on a 4000 mile trip last month thru warm southern california weather to cold reno mornings, the tranny gave me no reason to fear a major breakdown. as I said before, I still get the slightly lazy 3 to 4 shift when fluid is cold, but after a few miles that goes away, and never has an rpm spike. While I am not sure if this" lazy shift" is the major complaint from some of those posting of tranny issues, as long as there are no catastrophic failures, I can live with a funny shift for the first few miles when cold. While this is the first autoshifter I have personally owned, the chevrolet van I use for work also shifts a bit funny when cold. I still am of the opinion that an auto tranny operates at its best when up to operating temp. As most anyone who has ever driven a manual shifter when cold they will tell you that they too are harder to shift until the gear oil warms up a bit. Just like with your engine, you want to go a bit easy on it until it is up to temp.

 

Well I'm happy you don't have issues. But minimizing the issues of those of us that are having problems doesn't help us. The thousands of Fusion owners that have been stiffed by Ford on this trans need answers, because there have been many transmission failures due to this issue. In this very thread, if you read through the 6 pages, you will read of at least one transmission being replaced. We're sick of being told that it's normal, and that the issues don't exist. We paid good money for a car with a garbage transmission and in most cases, Ford won't stand behind it. Yeah, autos tend to shift weird when cold- every auto I've had has done that. But none of them have acted like they're slipping! I may have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night and I know how an automatic transmission is supposed to shift... I'm not stupid. This 6F35 is trash, and there are tons of articles, posts, Youtube videos, and information across the internet accessible with a simple Google search that will back up what I am saying.

 

Yes, I concede that most people will not drive the vehicle like I described above. I don't think I've done it more than 3 or 4 times since I've owned it (bought it new) under certain circumstances where I wanted the trans to hold gear as long as possible. But the other times it shifted through the gears normally. Now it won't. This is indicative of a problem. I have no compunctions about driving like it this once or twice if it will prove once-and-for-all I have a defective transmission.

 

If Ford won't fix it this time, I'm seriously thinking of unloading my car. That's a shame as I love this car, and otherwise it's been great. But I won't be saddled with thousands of dollars worth of transmission repairs because Ford won't act responsibly while the car is under warranty. If you guys are so convinced I'm not having problems, you're more than welcome to buy it from me.

Edited December 28, 2011 by jazztrumpet216

[chinabiker2]

It's a bit depressing for me to read so many are having issues with their auto transmissions and corrections are not forthcoming from Ford. Our 2012 I4 (4500 miles) does not have flaring problems but rough, very rough shifts between 1-2 and 2-3 are common. At slow speeds shifting back from 3-2 or 2-1 results in a bang coupled with a sudden surge in acceleration; Ford's version of the great leap forward. The burst of acceleration is very unnerving in bumper to bumper traffic. I should mention our problems occur when the car has reached normal operating temperature. Shifting is usually trouble-free when engine & transmission are cold.

 

At a suggestion from a friend we changed our fuel from regular to mid-grade and there was an immediate improvement in shifting!? The problem still remains but to a much lesser degree. Maybe we will try a tankful of premium. (I have no explanation as to why octane level would alter shifting characteristics but it has with our car). I am hoping the "July fix" from Ford will provide a permanent cure to the problems.

Edited June 21, 2012 by chinabiker2

[dffr1]

I I am hoping the "July fix" from Ford will provide a permanent cure to the problems.

 

fords fix is to have you come back to the stealership - they will hit you with lots of unneccessary work that they can bill you for - tell you that the problems you are having are normal. it seems their only goal is to never have you buy another ford...

[vsavaglio]

At a suggestion from a friend we changed our fuel from regular to mid-grade and there was an immediate improvement in shifting!? The problem still remains but to a much lesser degree. Maybe we will try a tankful of premium. (I have no explanation as to why octane level would alter shifting characteristics but it has with our car). I am hoping the "July fix" from Ford will provide a permanent cure to the problems.

 

Maybe your engine isn't running quite right? I traded in an old Lincoln LS for the Fusion, the Lincoln was definitely not a reliable car by any stretch, weak transmission and fragile coils are common complaints with the car. I do remember the transmission acting funny, weird shifts, rough shifts. I immediately thought the transmission was giving up. Well, it turned out there was a coil starting to get weak and causing a slight misfire. Replaced the coil and everything was running fine again. I even found that a weak battery could cause the transmission to start acting up in the LS. I'm convinced with these computer controlled cars everything needs to be running close to perfect or it throws everything off. Maybe your engine is pinging a little so it's decreasing the timing with the regular gas. And the higher octane is letting the engine run more "normal". Don't know, just a guess...

[Jo7hs2]

At a suggestion from a friend we changed our fuel from regular to mid-grade and there was an immediate improvement in shifting!? The problem still remains but to a much lesser degree. Maybe we will try a tankful of premium. (I have no explanation as to why octane level would alter shifting characteristics but it has with our car). I am hoping the "July fix" from Ford will provide a permanent cure to the problems.

 

Interesting... A few others have speculated that there could be a connection between Ford's 6F35 issues and the throttle body. I've got some minor shift quality issues persisting despite a rebuild, primarily on the first few 1-2 ans 2-3 shifts of a driving session. I'll try bumping up the gas quality on my next fill up and see if it makes any difference. That said, it is possible the weather changed since you filled your tank? My 6F35 tends to perform better on very warm days.