Ford silent on broken mustang transmissions

[enzo1]

Jalopnik - Drive Free or Die Justin Hyde — Two weeks ago, we wrote about hundreds of 2011 Ford Mustang owners reporting problems with the six-speed manual transmissions in their vehicles. We're now hearing more complaints — almost daily — but we have yet to hear from Ford. Color us puzzled. UPDATE: Silence broken.
Scores of owners say they have problems ranging from hard shifts to outright failures in the MT82 transmissions built in China by a Ford-Getrag joint venture. Ford has issued one technical service bulletin to dealers telling them to swap transmission fluid, and suggested a problem with bolts in the clutch plate as another possible solution. Yet the complaints keep coming, and whatever it's told dealers, Ford has said nothing to customers or to Jalopnik. Here's our best guesses as to why:

Ford doesn't want to talk to us
Automakers get mad at reporters. One might think giant corporations would have thicker skins, but the reverse is true; they employ many high-energy people who fuss over every perceived slight and occasionally decide someone is "dead to us."

But that doesn't make much sense. We've had no bad interactions with Ford on this story, and no one from there has extended an invitation to the woodshed in recent weeks. Even if we were on the naughty list, there's typically no better way to guarantee a call back from an automaker's PR department than to inquire about a quality issue.

Ford wants to downplay the problem
The "stop scratching it" school of professional damage control has been discredited for several years, although a few companies still rely on it. It doesn't seem to be the case here, especially since one of Ford's own Internet customer service advisors has been active on Mustang message boards trying to address complaints, and has received some criticism for lack of progress:

I was not assigned this thread or this forum to sugarcoat this specific issue...I know that I don't have as much info to share as you'd like, or the solution to your issues as quickly as you'd like, but the right people at Ford are aware and have read this thread.

Ford's push into social media as a way to sell more cars cuts both ways; you can't friend your customers on Facebook or follow their Twitter feeds, and then pretend not to hear their complaints.

Ford doesn't have an answer yet
Last week, one 2011 Mustang owner stopped by the dealership while they had his MT82 transmission cracked open, and took a picture of second gear. Bits of the gear had shorn off and were collected with a magnet from the fluid pan. The owner said the car had never received rough treatment:

The synchronizers themselves show some wear but are not really that badly torn up. The blocker rings (you can see one in the picture (the brass part)) are in relatively good condition so the gears and synchro's should be speed matching fine. This leads me to believe that the problem is a combination strong Synchro's and soft metal on the gears. So in other words, I think they are breaking from torque loads that soft metal in the gears can't handle...

Other shade-tree diagnosis has suggested the linkages were misaligned, but there's really not much even an owner with an engineering degree could do to fix the problem on their own. Ford itself may be stumped for an answer — one downside of relying on a global supply chain where engineering, manufacturing and final assembly happen on different continents.

Tucked into Ford's earnings report Monday of $2.6 billion for the first quarter of 2011 was a downgrade of its quality targets for the year from "improved" to "mixed," saying "the company is addressing some near-term issues." It didn't specify what those were, but recent problems include the recall of 1.2 million trucks for air bag issues, issues with Ford Fiesta automatic gearboxes, complaints about MyFord Touch and Ford Focii sitting in lots outside the Michigan assembly plant.

Add to that replacing several thousand broken transmissions and it would cost Ford not just money but reputation. For a company that's profited so much from high quality, it's a tough shift.

UPDATE:Ford has given us the following statement. When we hear more, we'll pass it along:

"We remain absolutely committed to the highest quality in all of our vehicles and are looking into this matter. We remain committed to continuous improvement."

[RWebb]

they are getting broken trying not to lose those drag races with the Toyota Prius

[Steve Carlton]

Prius is a sleeper. A scary fast sleeper.

[Flieger]

Nice one, Enzo. That ought to get Paul all riled up.

[Tobra]

Paul must be hanging out in a pool hall

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Paul must be hanging out in a pool hall

How'd you know? Today, you'd have found Cindy & I at the cue ball, knocking balls around.

Yep, this problem is being discussed on the Mustang boards...there are many unhappy owners.

The fix? I have no idea at this time.

So far, my 5 speed is working just fine...2011 was the first year for the new 6 speed.

[sc_rufctr]

Until they know what's going on it's only right that Ford would be tight lipped about the problem.

How did that Toyota auto acceleration fiasco end up? Did they ever admit there was a problem?
They provided fixes etc but did they ever admit anything was wrong with their cars?

[pwd72s]

Exactly...need I remind folks that the early boxsters weren't exactly problem free?

[Tobra]

safe bet, Pool Hall Paul

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Tobra

safe bet, Pool Hall Paul

Yep, Thursday afternoon is when Don Malarkey shows up...so we often plan a trip up to Salem then. He's a grand old guy who won't be with us much longer. So, always a pleasure to buy him a cup of joe, ask how he's doing, etc. Today I passed along a letter, 101st patch, photos, etc. from a guy on a mustang board who was medivac for the 101st. Despite the years, they are indeed "brothers".

One of the photos made Don smile...just lower legs and boots with the ground far below. Yep, Don has been there-done that!

Kind of makes transmission problems seem minor, eh?

[porsche4life]

But, but, but.... I thought Rustangs were perfect and immune to all issues?

That 5.0 GT still sounding like such a grand damned idea?

[Geronimo '74]

C'mon Sid, enough already.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by enzo1

... Other shade-tree diagnosis has suggested the linkages were misaligned, but there's really not much even an owner with an engineering degree could do to fix the problem on their own. Ford itself may be stumped for an answer — one downside of relying on a global supply chain where engineering, manufacturing and final assembly happen on different continents.

Says it all IMO...

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Paul must be hanging out in a pool hall

Or walking home from one...

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Exactly...need I remind folks that the early boxsters weren't exactly problem free?

A friend bought a new Boxter in 1998... He took me for a drive in the hills and his gear linkage suddenly broke. (this was a Sunday afternoon)
He called the salesman at home from a pay phone and in about 45 minutes a truck came with two techs wearing Porsche overalls.
It took them about 15 minutes to swap out a plastic coupler in the shifter for an alloy one.

This car was about 6 weeks old.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Or walking home from one...

LOL...My Mustang has been remarkably trouble free. But then, '09 was the last year of the Bullitt...maybe they worked the bugs out? As far as shifting itself goes...very smooth, very easy. Especially after shifting a stock 915...Why some guys go to aftermarket "short throw" shifters is beyond me. I've been perfectly content with the stock setup.

[Tobra]

That, and it is too heavy to push

Mr Malarkey owns the pool hall on the main drag(such as it is) in Salem right? State Street, or whatever. When I went to college that guy was always there. Thought he was a barfly or something, but he drank coffee.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Prius is a sleeper. A scary fast sleeper.

Oh yeah, fast as the devil himself.....

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Tobra

That, and it is too heavy to push

Mr Malarkey owns the pool hall on the main drag(such as it is) in Salem right? State Street, or whatever. When I went to college that guy was always there. Thought he was a barfly or something, but he drank coffee.

No, Jim Lebold is the owner. Sgt. Don Malarkey (Of "band of Brothers" Easy Co. fame) and Jim are long time friends. But you're right on one thing...Jim doesn't drink.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by enzo1

Jalopnik - Drive Free or Die Justin Hyde — Two weeks ago, we wrote about hundreds of 2011 Ford Mustang owners reporting problems with the six-speed manual transmissions in their vehicles. We're now hearing more complaints — almost daily — but we have yet to hear from Ford. Color us puzzled. UPDATE: Silence broken.
Scores of owners say they have problems ranging from hard shifts to outright failures in the MT82 transmissions built in China by a Ford-Getrag joint venture. Ford has issued one technical service bulletin to dealers telling them to swap transmission fluid, and suggested a problem with bolts in the clutch plate as another possible solution. Yet the complaints keep coming, and whatever it's told dealers, Ford has said nothing to customers or to Jalopnik. Here's our best guesses as to why:

Ford doesn't want to talk to us
Automakers get mad at reporters. One might think giant corporations would have thicker skins, but the reverse is true; they employ many high-energy people who fuss over every perceived slight and occasionally decide someone is "dead to us."

But that doesn't make much sense. We've had no bad interactions with Ford on this story, and no one from there has extended an invitation to the woodshed in recent weeks. Even if we were on the naughty list, there's typically no better way to guarantee a call back from an automaker's PR department than to inquire about a quality issue.

Ford wants to downplay the problem
The "stop scratching it" school of professional damage control has been discredited for several years, although a few companies still rely on it. It doesn't seem to be the case here, especially since one of Ford's own Internet customer service advisors has been active on Mustang message boards trying to address complaints, and has received some criticism for lack of progress:

I was not assigned this thread or this forum to sugarcoat this specific issue...I know that I don't have as much info to share as you'd like, or the solution to your issues as quickly as you'd like, but the right people at Ford are aware and have read this thread.

Ford's push into social media as a way to sell more cars cuts both ways; you can't friend your customers on Facebook or follow their Twitter feeds, and then pretend not to hear their complaints.

Ford doesn't have an answer yet
Last week, one 2011 Mustang owner stopped by the dealership while they had his MT82 transmission cracked open, and took a picture of second gear. Bits of the gear had shorn off and were collected with a magnet from the fluid pan. The owner said the car had never received rough treatment:

The synchronizers themselves show some wear but are not really that badly torn up. The blocker rings (you can see one in the picture (the brass part)) are in relatively good condition so the gears and synchro's should be speed matching fine. This leads me to believe that the problem is a combination strong Synchro's and soft metal on the gears. So in other words, I think they are breaking from torque loads that soft metal in the gears can't handle...

Other shade-tree diagnosis has suggested the linkages were misaligned, but there's really not much even an owner with an engineering degree could do to fix the problem on their own. Ford itself may be stumped for an answer — one downside of relying on a global supply chain where engineering, manufacturing and final assembly happen on different continents.

Tucked into Ford's earnings report Monday of $2.6 billion for the first quarter of 2011 was a downgrade of its quality targets for the year from "improved" to "mixed," saying "the company is addressing some near-term issues." It didn't specify what those were, but recent problems include the recall of 1.2 million trucks for air bag issues, issues with Ford Fiesta automatic gearboxes, complaints about MyFord Touch and Ford Focii sitting in lots outside the Michigan assembly plant.

Add to that replacing several thousand broken transmissions and it would cost Ford not just money but reputation. For a company that's profited so much from high quality, it's a tough shift.

UPDATE:Ford has given us the following statement. When we hear more, we'll pass it along:

"We remain absolutely committed to the highest quality in all of our vehicles and are looking into this matter. We remain committed to continuous improvement."

Who makes the trans? Borg Warner?