I need advice on my 2015 Ford Focus with 170k miles. It’s been having serious transmission problems for two months now. Here’s the situation: the transmission skips second gear, making the car jerky, and I lose the ability to reverse after the “Transmission Fault Service Now” message pops up. A mechanic quoted me $4.5k to replace the transmission, which is more than I want to spend on this car.
Other issues include a broken sound system, worsening gas mileage, and I’ve already spent money recently on new tires, a battery, and coolant. I can borrow a family car from February to October, so I’m wondering if I should just scrap the Focus now and avoid renewing the registration in January. What’s the best move here? I’ve added a TL;DR below for a quick summary.
TL;DR: My 2015 Focus has a failing transmission and a bunch of other issues. Mechanic quoted $4.5k for repairs. A family member is letting me borrow a car starting February. Should I ditch the Focus now and avoid registration costs, or keep it for a couple more months?
Just use the family car when it’s available and spend this time shopping for a new ride. Definitely not worth putting $5k into that car—it’ll probably just give you more problems later.
Arun said:
Just use the family car when it’s available and spend this time shopping for a new ride. Definitely not worth putting $5k into that car—it’ll probably just give you more problems later.
You’re right. This isn’t the first transmission issue I’ve had with it, and I doubt it’ll be the last. What would you do between now and February? Sell it as-is or keep driving it?
If you’re set on getting rid of it, maybe swap out the new tires for used ones and keep or sell the good ones. That way you get some money back. And yeah, these transmissions aren’t worth fixing, especially at 170k miles. That family car offer is a lifesaver.
I’m in a similar boat with my 2013 Focus at 84k miles. Got a code, took it in for the TCM recall, and then they quoted me $3,700 for a failing clutch. I laughed and said no way. I’m just riding it out like you. Best of luck making it to February!
Get a second opinion. It might not need a full transmission replacement. A bad actuator or a TCM issue could explain the problems. I have a 2015 Focus with 220k miles on the original clutch, though I’ve replaced the TCM and actuators a few times. Many mechanics don’t want to mess with these transmissions.
The DPS6 has its issues, but it’s a long-life transmission.
Replaced TCM at 170k, replaced actuators twice, and recently had to replace another actuator.
How is that a long-life transmission? Frequent failures of critical parts make it a bad design. My mom’s 2012 Highlander is at 280k miles with no transmission work ever. That’s what I’d call long life.
Sounds like a TCM issue and maybe a clutch motor. I’ve had the TCM replaced three times on my 2012 Focus. Losing reverse is a common TCM issue, and skipping gears might be the clutch motor. If it’s a full transmission replacement, sell it as-is. If it’s just parts, it might be worth fixing. I also had similar sound issues, and it turned out to be a loose ground.
Check YouTube for tutorials on fixing the grounds for the engine and battery. That might help with some of the issues. Also, there are guides on cleaning the forks behind the actuators. The 2.0 Duratec engine can last over 300k miles, but the electronics and transmission are the weak links.
