I would prefer a manual any day......the TV cars shows all love the paddle shift......but when asked..... they all would choose the manual over the sequential.....unless it's a Ferrari.

 

Falconfixer has documented his problems with his MT82. Another guy had his clutch bolts come out, and Ford was excellent in taking care of him and totally replacing it with a brand new clutch. He had the problem arise again, but Ford gave his tranny some tranny fluid additive to fix his second problem.

My own MT82 so far has not given me any massive failures like these other two guys, but even as only an annoyance (not a valid problem, yet, knock on wood), my own MT82 is clunky especially when shifting from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd. I do get hard shifting every now and then, and it is not from SkipShift (i.e. SkipShift does not light up when I experience hard shifting, and the tranny is not cold). I am however watching my MT82 like a hawk and making sure the problems do not develop like what happened to the other guys. They too said shifting was hard at first and the problem became worse. So far for me, I have not seen the worse problems, and I hope I do not.

I bought Ford because it is a car that is made in America. When I found out that the MT82 is Chinese, I was crushed. I want to support Americans, and I want a car that is American and represents what America is about: global power as the light for freedom, and a society that supports fellow Americans. If I wanted to support China, I would buy at WalMart but I don;t because Walmart is shoveling billions of American hard earned dollars to China, and also causing American jobs to go to China too.
I am disappointed that part of my $30000 dollars went to China for the Getrag MT82.

I can live with the Windsor 5.0 Coyote being Canadian, Canada is not trying to screw America with uneven trade policies and trade deficit, and they are more of a fair trade country and they do not employ slave-wage sweatshop labor, which encourages wage depression. But still, I would prefer that the Coyote engine were made in Cleveland too. That would be that many more Americans working, and possibly even buying Ford cars as wellm, thus throwing more support to Ford which in turn could support more American by hiring & keeping them working to consume and support the American economy.

 

I'm glad to see that not all the MT82's are having troubles. From looking around at all the forums.....the troubles may be linked to the earlier released 2011 mustangs or not....not sure.....hate to be forced to try to make a Richmond or ZF fit the mustang nor should I have to! Maybe somebody from Ford will see this and other threads and take actions regarding all issues....let's hope so!

 

Sadly, if that was your goal, then you shouldn't have bought an "American" car.

Quiz time.....what's the most American made car at the current moment? That is, a car that's built here in the US and uses the highest percentage of American derived parts. (Feel free to Google it, I think you'll be shocked...)

 

I think that you also have to understand that alot of people that bought the 2011's were early adopters. I bought an Harley that had been completely redesigned for 2007... should have waited till the 2008 model year. But thats just part of the game. Have the newest latest and greatest RIGHT NOW and have to deal with kinks that might arise, or wait and let the product mature. Sure, Ford is going to take care of all these problems, but Ive learned as a consumer and as a technician to ALWAYS wait a year or two after the new model to buy.... unless its a 2010 or 2011 GT500... in that case my butt will be owning one of those as soon as I can afford a down payment!

@5ohwhoa: at this point, Ill be happy with ANY car/truck thats got a high percentage of NORTH AMERICAN sourced parts. IIRC, the new 6 speed auto for the 2011 GT is still made in Livonia, Michigan. Even though alot of Mustang enthusiasts want the manual, the FAR majority of buyers WILL opt for the automatic.

 

One of the "WTF?!" sad-but-true things 5ohwhoa was getting at.

 

VOLT?

 

I'm thinking and going back through the years and one thing about the mustang always comes to mind..........no matter how many 5000+rpm clutch drops I did (younger days).....I could always rely on my trusty T-5 transmission and the worst that would happen to the 8.8 rear is the posi would let go after a ridiculous amount of foolishness (slicks).....which was good.....I was always partial to a Brute Force posi chuck......never broke one of those !! They were engine combo's making under 400hp and the Ford core parts always held up to the abuse. It saddens me that the key components are not up to the job on the new 5.0.....hopefully these issues are just growing pains for the new 5.0 power train and we'll see improvements. I'm taking into consideration that out of the thousands built to date....I'm only hearing of a few with issues. I'm still gonna get a 5.0....I usually void the warranty before 6 months anyway......hope the tranny's good.

 

That is right, the 6R80 auto option for the '11 'Stangs are made by Ford! And seeing how well they have been standing up to some big punishment at the tracks, and how consistently they are able to give great numbers on your timeslips, I am actually wondering is I should have just manned and optioned the 6R80 and paid the $950 extra.

 

I know alot of people have been having problems with their MT82's & clutches, but not ALL of them are bad. Mine works just fine & shifts nice and smooth. No clutch problems either. My '11 was built later in the year though(August) so they may have fixed those problems by then. I do enjoy it & hope you enjoy yours when you get it.