Ford’s news last week that it wouldn’t close its Broadmeadows plant early has been tempered by questions over its twin-clutch automatic transmission.
The factory doors will stay open until October 7, 2016, as planned. And while that is marginally good news, considering, a widespread transmission problem is nothing but bad news for the company.
Ford accepts that the Powershift auto is a problem – and chief executive Graeme Whickman has promised to continue its efforts to address any issues.
The transmission – fitted to the Thai-sourced last-generation Focus, the Fiesta and Indian-built EcoSport – has a long list of issues. Customers reported bad noises, shuddering, oil leaks and its intermittent unwillingness to find first when the car stops.
Ford extended its warranty from three to five years and 100,000km was pushed out to 160,000km last year on all Powershift vehicles. It also recalled 45,000 Focuses for a software update it hoped might remedy the issue.
Whitman told GoAutoNews: “We’ve already had extended warranties primarily around the TCM (transmission control modules) and specifically around the (transmission and clutch) seals.
“So we’re working with customers, (have) extended the warranties, and they are covered for any issues that come in. We watch everything consistently through our customer resolution centre, and we work with our dealers, and we are on top of it. If the customer rings us with a concern around these items, we will always work with them, because they will already have an extended warranty. And that’s no different to what we’ve been doing with any other customer with any other vehicle, by the way.”
A more tradition torque-converter auto has been fitted to the new Focus which launched this month.
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