LV TDCi powershift questions

[Thirsty003]

Hi guys,

Just bought a 2010 TDCi with powershift and have a couple of questions regarding the tranny and how it shifts.

I think the tranny is really nice with the exception of taking off from a standstill. It's really jerky if I use any decent amount of throttle until it gets into 3rd, from there it's very smooth. If I take of using very small amount of throttle it's ok.

Going up a slight incline at about 80kph in 5th (manual mode) the revs will vary slightly by a couple of hundred. The speed doesn't change and it's not changing gears and I can't really feel the change but I can hear the revs changing slightly. Seems to me the only way that can happen is if the clutch is slipping.

Not sure this is all normal so would appreciate any words from someone who has one of these. Car is under warranty for three months so want to make sure all is good while the dealer still has to pay for issues

[bugmesome]

Hi there! Welcome to the forums.

The PowerShift transmission learns from your driving style (or is "adaptive" in Ford speak) so give it a few weeks. When I bought my TDCi PowerShift, I test drove a few and noted differences in the way they reacted... the one I ended up with, felt a bit "rough" to begin with but smoothed out after a few weeks. In particular I found the exact opposite to you: on a gentle start off the line, it lurched a bit and especially going from 1st to 2nd. On a hard start it shifted nicely. That was when I first took the car, but now it's fine either way.

You can also take your Focus in to a Ford dealer (maybe at the next service) and ask them for the latest version of the transmission software.

With the varying RPM at constant speed, I notice it too. I don't know if it's an issue. For the "dry clutch" PowerShift, up to about 250RPM of slippage is within tolerance, according to the infamous TSB 14-0047 (you can search up a copy). But note that the TDCi Focus has the different "wet clutch" PowerShift; I don't know what (if any) slippage is acceptable there.

(The "wet clutch" PowerShift, a.k.a. MPS6, a.k.a. 6DCT450 is stronger and can handle more torque, important when hooked up to a diesel engine. The "dry clutch" PowerShift, a.k.a. DPS6, a.k.a. 6DCT250 is the one that's had most of the problems--read about it on the Focus and Fiesta forums...)

[Thirsty003]

Thanks for the reply. I took the car for a good drive yesterday and paid more attention to what is going on. Taking off in first the surging/jerkiness appears to be mainly in first before it changes into second. That 1 - 2 change is a bit abrupt but really from then on it's all good.

The surging in gear I can live with if it's "normal". I just wondered if it's a sign of things to come.

[Binny]

I found the same when I got my Mondeo TDCi a few months ago. Once I had a think about how the powershift works and adjusted how I drove a I almost never experience it.
When you are stationary at the lights with the brakes on the car is basically holding the clutch all the way in for you. If you then jump straight from the brakes to the throttle it needs to "catch up" and let the clutch out without being too abrupt and stalling or sending you launching forward into the car in front.
If you are able to anticipate when the lights are going to go green, or when the cars in front of you are going to start moving take your foot off the brake without using the throttle yet. You will feel the car ease out the clutch until it reaches the friction point and will start to creep forward slightly like a conventional auto does. It only takes a second or so. Then you can give it as much or as little throttle as appropriate and it will take off accordingly, no jerking, no thumps no dramas.
Well it works for me anyway. You may already know this buts its worth a go if you didn't.

[Thirsty003]

Yeah I'm starting to get the hang of how to drive it now. I like the gearbox but am just trying to work out if there's a problem I can get fixed under warranty.

[Binny]

I've not heard of many issues with the wet clutch powershift that the TDCi's have. They all seem to be with the dry clutch version.

[Thirsty003]

Yeah that's what I've found in my searching but I'm trying to be thorough 'cause once my warranty is over I don't want to pay for a new transmission