Lax07

Ok well I have posted several times about this and my transmission is acting up again.

Here is the history
March 2010 Right around 10,000 Miles the cars transmission locked up and was not shiftable. Took the care in and they replaced master and slave cylinder, pressure plate, clutch, and other transmission parts. Said should run perfect now.

September 2010. Car has 24,000 miles at this point, the transmission locks up but to a point I can't even shift and the car is towed in. They replaced the pressure plate, clutch and slave cylinder again and said it would be fine.

November 26, 2010. Car now has 28,000 miles. Clutch engagement point is once again almost at the floor and gets worse every time I start up the car. The clutch releases at 1/4" of the floor now and I hope I will be able to get it into the shop before it locks up and becomes impossible to shift.

The car has had other issues, climate control issues (fixed), e-brake slipping (fixed), steering wheel button finish (replaced and fixed)

Advise? I have sent ford costumer service an email. I have also sent in a letter to ford explaining this will soon qualify as a lemon and I expect a buy back or a replacement car. Has anyone ever gone through this before? I am crushed as this is my first American car and I love this car to death.

SpartaPerformance

Obviously the parts that they keep replacing are not the problem, so you will need them to either have a more qualified tech diagnose it or take it to another dealer and hope they have better tech's. Unfortunately service writers at dealers aren't always "car guys" and when it comes to warranty work tech's aren't too thrilled doing it and it ruins the rep of good tech's/ writers and American cars.

808muscle

At least you still have a warranty, but yes I understand your frustration.

BruceH

OP, you are doing the right things. I think you have a good plan. Lemon law it as soon as the car qualifies. Once the process is started don't let the dealer talk you into keeping the car.

toyboxrv

What makes you think the transmission is locked up? Normally if it locks up the wheels don't turn. If it just won't shift into gear, that is likely a clutch issue.

If the dealer replaced the clutch and it works again, then that was a problem. There may be something else that causes premature failure in a clutch, but from my past experience as a young man and my friends being likewise, it is normally a torque application issue.

There is a possibility of a misalignment between the tranny and engine or something binding during clutch actuation that cause early failure of the slave cylinder.

I would have to see the parts that came out to better understand the problem and that isn't likely to happen.

Lax07

Ok, the transmission doesn't "Lock up". But I will describe the issue here.

Yes the clutch has now failed three times. They have replaced multiple parts inside the transmission...

The clutch engagement point moves lower and lower until you can not engage the clutch anymore... This then does not allow you to shift or even get the car into gear the clutch fully depressed. Basically the entire pedal becomes useless...

I am following the Maryland lemon law. The only problem is they say you are supposed to alert the manufacturer in the first 24 months or 18,000 miles... The first fix happened at 9k... the second fix (when I realized this may be a lemon) was at 24k. this is now 28k. I am sending in the letter, but what rights do I have now... The dealer won't talk me into keeping the car, unless the replace the ENTIRE transmission... I think that should be the next step, if the dealer refuses then I will look into buy back/replacement. What is Ford's reputation lately with buy backs/replacements?

SpartaPerformance

I still say find another dealer, perhaps even contact Ford corporate and let them know your situation and maybe they can recommend a different dealer in your area. Sometimes it helps going over the dealers head.

Lax07

The dealer I go to is a certified Roush Dealership and is one of the biggest in terms of sales on the east coast (Apple Ford). They have been great, my service advisor used to own a performance shop that specialized in Mustangs. They also the last two times have given me complimentary rental cars. I just don't know how much I trust other dealerships. Like I said, I've sent to emails to Ford (2 different departments), a piece of certified mail with service records, and also have contacted a law firm for additional advice.

crescent_wrench

I took mine for what I thought was a linkage issue. The service manager calls and tells me I've got broken teeth in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. They are not going to repair it. They are replacing the entire transmission under warranty. I've been in a loaner car for a week now and the dealer has treated me very well. I really wish they would do the same for you. Hope all works out.

toyboxrv

Having a clutch that doesn't release correctly will make it hard to get into gear, placing more strain on the synchros, leading them to fail. Replacing the transmission when the problem is the clutch will result in another transmission problem. Bad transmission parts will very likely not cause a clutch to no longer disengage.

The clutch can cause the transmission problem. The transmission won't cause the clutch problems. Scattering a lot of metal through the transmission will cause future transmission problems. Fix what is causing the clutch first.