2015 Ford Focus Powershift Clutch Swap Fails: Video

Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic years ago, automotive service departments began experiencing problems securing the parts needed to repair vehicles, leading to extended delays. This phenomenon included the 2011-2016 Ford Fiesta and 2012-2016 Ford Focus equipped with the problematic Powershift transmission – the subject of numerous lawsuits over the past several years – which are also facing extended repair delays as a result of the chip shortage. As Ford Authority previously reported, affected Ford Focus and Fiesta owners are eligible for a one-time Transmission Control Module (TCM) replacement, though that isn’t stopping some – including YouTuber John Ross from the channel WatchJRGo – from attempting to repair their own Powershift transitions, with varied levels of success. Recently, Ross’ DCT warranty claim was denied, however, which prompted him to try and swap out his car’s clutches himself.

This 2015 Ford Focus – which actually belongs to Ross’ girlfriend – has just 70k miles on the clock, and yet, the transmission is clearly failing. However, even though the car threw a P0902 Clutch Actuator A code and demonstrated the familiar signs of TCM failure when it visited the dealership, his warranty claim was denied, and the dealer noted that the car needs new clutches.

Such work isn’t exactly inexpensive to have someone else complete, so Ross decided to try and tackle it himself and potentially save some money in the process. Once this job was completed, however, it didn’t exactly solve the issue – rather, the car shifted a bit better than before, but there are clearly more issues that need to be rectified, regardless.

This proves to be quite frustrating for Ross, as one might expect, who is now essentially wishing he would have just manual-swapped this Ford Focus before throwing a bunch of time and money at its much-maligned transmission. Pretty much all that’s left is to replace the TCM, but for now, it’s unclear if or when that might happen.

We’ll have more on the Powershift transmission soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Focus news and ongoing Ford news coverage.