LW diesel Focus automatics experience

[kevino]

Can people who drive a LW diesel with the 6 speed auto give some comments (and also KMs driven ) on how they find the autos in these.

How do they drive?
Have they given any trouble?

I see negative comments on the 6 speed with petrol motors in Focus/Fiesta but little feedback from diesel owners.

Any comments good/bad appreciated.

[wombat66]

We have done nearly 15,000 K's in ours. Really happy with it. No problems at all. We also have a 6 speed Fiesta. Happy with that too.

[wombat66]

Something else too. I was told on one of the forums that the diesel Focus has the wet clutch gearbox whereas the petrol Focus and the Fiesta have the dry clutch gearbox. So they might drive slightly differently. Maybe one of the guys on this forum might know more about this.

[Golfer]

Hi
Have done about 11,000km. Could not be happier with the automatic. Mostly use normal drive which is very smooth. Sometimes use sport mode and "manual" shifting on hilly windy roads. Paddles on the steering wheel would be great.

[Yellow_Festiva]

I'll add my bit as I have a LV and assume the powershift unit is much the same in the LW. If it is different, then disregard.

For regular driving in auto mode the box works smoothly and does its job very well, much the same as any other regular 6sp box.

In manual mode it can be a little temperamental especially at low speeds. I have learnt to not drop to 2nd when entering a round about or going around a slow corner as the box will drop on its own and when I went to 2nd it seemed to be a fraction before the box was going to do it anyway meaning it then goes to first, sometimes at 15-20km/h. So 3rd into a round about and it changes to 2nd on its own if it thinks necessary.

I also found in some cases in manual mode that stopping at lights does not automatically drop the gear back to first. A few times a week I will drive in manual mode and take off from the lights after sitting there for a while only to think how poor the performance is and realise that it's in 2nd. 90% of the other times it returns to 1st as I expect it should.

Going from drive to reverse can sometimes take a little longer than expected to engage. You will only find this when you are in a big rush and that .75-1 second it takes feels like an eternity.

Driving in manual mode will give better economy over auto in my experience.

The only other factor you may want to be aware of is the high maintenance cost of the box. Around the $450 mark every 60,000km - essentially doubling the 60k 'B' service over the manual.

Oh, I'm sitting on around 52,000km.

Cheers,

Jason

[Yellow_Festiva]

Ok, an update on the LW, I was scanning prices as my car is due for some work.

Can you get the diesel in manual, seems not??

So, the auto diesel will set you back $360 for a minor A service (every 15k) and a B service sets you back $940 (every 60k).

Compared to petrol, A is $335 and B is only $470. They don't show the option to select from auto or manual for the petrol as well???

Has the lineup changed so the only auto you can get is the diesel and the only manual is the petrol or do they use a lower tech auto in the petrol models that don't need the expensive service routine??

[wombat66]

As I stated earlier, the petrol Focus uses the dry clutch powershift and the diesel uses a wet clutch powershift. You can get the petrol Focus in auto or manual but the diesel only comes in auto.

[Franco Cozzo]

Is the auto torque limited in 1st/2nd gear and under 1500 RPM like it is in the manuals?

Apparently this is for the sake of the dual mass flywheel which is as strong as home branded wet toilet paper.

[irs]

Have a Diesel Sport, German made, with 14 500 km on the clock. Have not had any problems with the automatic. I rarely use any of the manual options.

[harveyr]

My diesel sport is 12 months old, done 24,500 km. No problems whatsoever with the automatic. Only use manual shift occasionally when descending steep hills.
I believe the auto is dual clutch, and dry clutch.

[wombat66]

After doing a bit of Google research, I'm pretty sure the diesel Focus has the wet clutch. There has been a few discussions about it on various forums.

[wombat66]

Our LW diesel uses the 6CDT450 MPS6 which has the wet clutch.

[kevino]

Advantage of wet clutch over dry clutch?
Handles higher torque?
Cooler?

[wombat66]

Originally Posted by kevino

Advantage of wet clutch over dry clutch?
Handles higher torque?

From what I can gather from what other people are saying, I think this is the case.

[Hazmatt69]

Had the LW now for just over 12 mnths & has been real good, (& i don't know anyone feels the same, there's that slight hesitation if ya go to beat someone on to a roundabout) only done bout 27 thou. Thats my 2 bobs worth

[dannyhilton]

My old room mate has a Sport Diesel. Apart from some minor turbo lag off the line, it's a ripper of an engine. Mated with the PowerShift, it's great. She's had no problems and didn't even realise the transmission was different to a usual torque converter setup.

[NO2]

Love my manual diesel and considering my driving habits of chugging in higher gears in heavy traffic and loving to chuck it around on the quiet curving road I don't think the auto is versatile enough for me to change to