Ford has actively denied that it knowingly sold defective transmissions as part of the lawsuit against the automaker over the DPS6 transmission used in some Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta vehicles. The automaker will find that hard to prove now that multiple former Ford employees have stepped forward and stated that “everybody knew” the DPS6 transmission was defective.
One former Ford engineer reportedly said that “good people” had tried to make the DPS6 transmission work, but “you can’t violate the laws of physics.” The workers claim that the fact that the transmission didn’t work was no secret in multiple departments, including engineering, product development, research, design, and manufacturing. In all, seven former Ford employees have come forward, saying that Ford knew the transmission was defective.
One engineer who came forward stated that Ford “allowed these really horrific technical errors” to pass right through on the project. Ford’s official statement says that the car’s using the transmission were safe when they were introduced and remain safe today.
One of the engineers that came forward said that “we’d raise our hands and be told don’t be naysayers.” He said after that, those who asked questions were accused of mutiny and that they just put their heads down and made it work. The engineer went so far as to call the transmission a “mechanical catastrophe.”
The crux of the issue with the transmission, according to the engineer, was that it used a dry clutch and was unable to cool itself. The transmission is the subject of several lawsuits against Ford, and the DoJ has asked for all documents on the DPS6 transmission to determine if Ford knew the transmission was defective. Ford sold about 2 million Focus and Fiesta cars that use the transmission.
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Source: Detroit Free Press
Comments
Gee, not one of FORD’s better ideas. So someone thought it was a great idea to build such crap? What is going on at FORD anyway?
that happens everywhere. Usually it’s design teams rushing to meet deadlines. Approving and pressing forward before adequate samples and studies are completed, then asking manufacturing to use up old parts instead of scrapping them, or flat out refusing to redesign something. Most people will go along with it if it means they get to keep their jobs
Well customers don’t care about the internal retardation. they want their vehicles to work and don’t want to be jerked around. They also know that FORD isn’t the only builder out there. I know this comes as a surprise to FORD stalwarts. I’m open to any builder when the time comes given what’s going on with them thru all of the product lines.
So far, I have one of these DUAL CLUTCH Ford transmissions! I recently bought a new, 2019, Ford Fiesta sedan,…SE variety,…with that tranny! Thus far, and knock on wood, I have had no problems!
In-spite of that, I took out an “EXTENDED WARRANTY!”
I bought my daughter’s 2011 Fiesta SE. It has about 60K miles on it.
I have had it shudder on me sometimes but move forward. When she had it in LA it wouldn’t get out of it’s own way when the light turned green. Took it to two different dealers. In the end the last dealer finally got it working where it stopped acting up.
I use the car as a second car and even though I know of this issue, I like the car. So far so good.
Ford also has really big issues with it’s flagship Super duty trucks that is the subject of another suit.
It’s going to be expensive to address and they are dragging their feet.
Stay away from Ford stock.
A bad Fiesta experience can cause a customer to steer clear of Ford products altogether. Do that enough times and there’s choppy seas ahead captain……
We rented a 2017 Focus SE the last time we were in Austin. Not as fast or unruly as my ST, it was a delightful car to drive. I’d been considering this car for our daughter as she leaves for internship next spring, but the transmission always gave me pause. I’d been hoping Ford sorted it out for 2017. Now I know.
After five years of trying to hide this problem or provide band-aid fixes, Ford begs one question. Why didn’t they use the wet-clutch 6-speed from the Escape, at least in the Focus? We’ve got one of those, with the 245 hp Ecoboost engine, and it runs like a champ.
I own a 2017 focus SEL, I love my car, great on gas, easy to drive but…..the clutches needed replaced within one week of ownership, I complained and got banned from the dealership altogether. I hate that I am spending my hard earned money for a piece of crud car from ford. Hate it!