Powershift question

[theoldguard]

After having read all the pros and cons of the new DCM transmission, I decided to buy Fiesta, all things considered. I drove several new Foci and Fiestas, and could not replicate any of the transmission problems, even though I knew what they were and was looking for them. But now: the car has 300 miles on it. It is mostly for my wife, and she came in today and said it knocks when going from Drive to Reverse, or from Reverse to Drive. I got in it and she is right. I makes a clanking, rattling noise. Taking it to dealer tomorrow. She won't accept this as normal, nor should she. It should not make that noise. This is 2011 and it is a 2012 car. Any experience with this issue?

[dirtyblueshirt]

Am I understanding correctly that the rattling occurs with the foot firmly on the brake, or does it occur when you initially accelerate after shifting?

[kabukiman]

is it an actual rattle or more of a knock noise?

they make a bit of chatter/knocking when changing between drive gears and reverse.

Also the knock noise could be the hill assist coming off, mine makes a knock!

[jonl9]

I have the powershift transmission and it is totally quiet shifting between drive and reverse. You are quite correct in bringing it in to have it looked at. So far, mine has worked very well and I would observe that issues on the powershift transmission in general have quieted down in here to near zero.

Enjoy the car.

Jon

[GapBoyPCS]

The only time I can hear anything like a knock is if the brakes are disengaging when the car is on a hill (i.e. hill-assist coming off). Was she on an incline when the sound happened?

But you are correct in getting the car looked at.

[theoldguard]

Thanks for the replies. It is more like clatter. Not long, just a little. No brake applied, and it happens on level ground. The car has 300 miles on it and it did not do this the first week we had it. Took it to the dealer this morning. He said he could hear it and did not try to say nothing is wrong. I think it sounds more like gears changing in a manual transmission, which is what a DCM is, but again, it did not make the sound the first week. My wife is fit to be tied.

[GapBoyPCS]

Originally Posted by theoldguard

Thanks for the replies. It is more like clatter. Not long, just a little. No brake applied, and it happens on level ground. The car has 300 miles on it and it did not do this the first week we had it. Took it to the dealer this morning. He said he could hear it and did not try to say nothing is wrong. I think it sounds more like gears changing in a manual transmission, which is what a DCM is, but again, it did not make the sound the first week. My wife is fit to be tied.

Some clatter can happen. It's hard to explain, but if you both are coming from a traditional automatic transmission, then there are instances where you can hear some clatter, especially at such a low mileage reading. After years of driving a regular automatic, I found with the PowerShift that you need to drive it slightly differently.

In one of the videos put out by Ford, they suggest that there are some "noises", but they tend to work themselves out due to the clutches gradually breaking in. If you do more highway driving, then the break-in period is a bit longer.

As long as the dealer has noted the noise issue in their files, you should be okay in terms of not having additional issues with them if the noise persists.

[dirtyblueshirt]

Originally Posted by theoldguard

Thanks for the replies. It is more like clatter. Not long, just a little. No brake applied, and it happens on level ground. The car has 300 miles on it and it did not do this the first week we had it. Took it to the dealer this morning. He said he could hear it and did not try to say nothing is wrong. I think it sounds more like gears changing in a manual transmission, which is what a DCM is, but again, it did not make the sound the first week. My wife is fit to be tied.

Like the above post, I think he's right, I do get that occasionally, as well as the 'chatter' at low speeds when I take the foot off the accelerator. It's apparently normal, but frightens a lot of people because the DCM is such a new thing in a high-volume vehicle like the Fiesta and Focus.

[iamz]

When shifting from D to R, or R to D, do you come to a complete stop first or do you sometimes do a rolling shift? I could see where a rolling shift could make some bad noises.

[Audrey]

Originally Posted by dirtyblueshirt

Like the above post, I think he's right, I do get that occasionally, as well as the 'chatter' at low speeds when I take the foot off the accelerator. It's apparently normal, but frightens a lot of people because the DCM is such a new thing in a high-volume vehicle like the Fiesta and Focus.

This. I've heard it a bit myself but have never experienced transmission problems with my Fiesta. 18000 and going.