PREMiERdrum Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I noticed one of my photogs here at work hasn't been driving his Jeep Patriot the last few days, and today rolled into the lot in a shiny red 2011 Escape Limited. I thought perhaps he had just gotten a new car, but it turns out the Jeep's tranny went out on Tuesday and he's been borrowing family members cars while the Patriot gets a new transmission under warranty (that lifetime powertrain deal that ChryCo had a while back). When he started researching the transmission problem (and found plenty of registered complaints about the CVT failing at low mileage), he started thinking about unloading it and buying something new. His brother let him borrow his new Escape today, and my buddy is in love with it. After talking for a while tonight, he's going to wait until the new Escape comes out before he pulled the trigger. :happy feet: I felt a bit guilty though, today when I asked him what happened to the Jeep, he said "the transmission went out" and I answered "in a Chrysler product? I'm shocked!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I noticed one of my photogs here at work hasn't been driving his Jeep Patriot the last few days, and today rolled into the lot in a shiny red 2011 Escape Limited. I thought perhaps he had just gotten a new car, but it turns out the Jeep's tranny went out on Tuesday and he's been borrowing family members cars while the Patriot gets a new transmission under warranty (that lifetime powertrain deal that ChryCo had a while back). When he started researching the transmission problem (and found plenty of registered complaints about the CVT failing at low mileage), he started thinking about unloading it and buying something new. His brother let him borrow his new Escape today, and my buddy is in love with it. After talking for a while tonight, he's going to wait until the new Escape comes out before he pulled the trigger. :happy feet: I felt a bit guilty though, today when I asked him what happened to the Jeep, he said "the transmission went out" and I answered "in a Chrysler product? I'm shocked!" I hope your friend chooses a Ford product if he does eventually tire of his Jeep Patriot ownership experience. Does he have any complaints about the 6F35 transmission in his brother's Ford Escape? Oddly, the Jatco designed CVT in the Patriot, Compass, and Caliber is actually one of the more reliable transmissions in late model Chryslers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Does he have any complaints about the 6F35 transmission in his brother's Ford Escape? He has had nothing but good things to say about it... he loved how "solid" it feels, how "smoothly" it performs, and he's infatuated with SYNC. Oddly, the Jatco designed CVT in the Patriot, Compass, and Caliber is actually one of the more reliable transmissions in late model Chryslers. I hadn't heard many complaints about the CVT until this happened, but there are tons of online complaints about failures, including failures of replacement units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 i use a 2010 patriot for work. i have nothing but good things to say about the cvt. my boss wanted to buy escapes but was able to get two new patriot sports for less then 25k. versus 24k for one xlt escape. i hope the product lasts a long time but we've had a couple nagging issues including trim falling off and a rusty door hinge. :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I felt a bit guilty though, today when I asked him what happened to the Jeep, he said "the transmission went out" and I answered "in a Chrysler product? I'm shocked!" As shocked as I was to see the massive failures of the Chinese outsourced manual transmissions in 2011 brand new Mustangs. Carefull throwing those rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 As shocked as I was to see the massive failures of the Chinese outsourced manual transmissions in 2011 brand new Mustangs. Carefull throwing those rocks. Define "massive" in a product that has only been on the road for a year or so, and has to survive 412 Hp and 390 ft lbs of Torque and can be abused by owners... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Odd, I recently sold the largest online forum for Jeep Patriots (hey, someone had to do it) and I don't recall lots of complaints about toasted low mileage CVT's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) As shocked as I was to see the massive failures of the Chinese outsourced manual transmissions in 2011 brand new Mustangs. Carefull throwing those rocks. The Getrag MT82? There have been complaints about high shift efforts with this unit, particularly in cold weather. Ford specified a new transmission fluid to address the issue. Not sure that "massive failures" is the most accurate description in that case. When more extensive reliability data is available we'll know for sure. I agree about being careful throwing rocks; a more apt example based on PREMiERdrum's anecdote is the junky 6F35 automatic in the Ford Escape (that's why I asked the question in post #2). Consumer Reports' reliability survey (reported in the April 2011 issue) shows a higher than average rate of problems with this tranny in the Escape, particularly 2009 models - notably worse than the Jatco CVT in the Jeep Patriot & Compass and Dodge Caliber. Edited July 22, 2011 by aneekr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) Odd, I recently sold the largest online forum for Jeep Patriots (hey, someone had to do it) and I don't recall lots of complaints about toasted low mileage CVT's. I hadn't heard much about them either until he told me about his... the Owner Review section of Edmunds is full of them though. As shocked as I was to see the massive failures of the Chinese outsourced manual transmissions in 2011 brand new Mustangs. Carefull throwing those rocks. Easy there, tiger. Don't take me too seriously. I thought Chrysler/Transmission jokes were as universally accepted as Camaro/Mullet jokes and Grand Marquis/Grandpa jokes? Edited July 22, 2011 by PREMiERdrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Define "massive" in a product that has only been on the road for a year or so, and has to survive 412 Hp and 390 ft lbs of Torque and can be abused by owners... massive: large in scale, amount, or degree If they only sold 5 of them and 4 owners complained of grinding or abnormally high shift effort within the first 5,000 miles then that would fit the definition. And no excuses, I expect Ford to build (or have their Chinese minions build) a transmission that can handle the engine the vehicle is equipped with. Owner abuse or hard driving? No shit, that has been part of Mustang GT service for decades what makes this different is how fast after introduction the complaints started rolling in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) Easy there, tiger. Don't take me too seriously. I thought Chrysler/Transmission jokes were as universally accepted as Camaro/Mullet jokes and Grand Marquis/Grandpa jokes? Ok, I'll lighten up now. I have one of those Chrysler transmissions that is supposed to croak before 75k miles (42RE) in my Grand Cherokee. Change the fluid every 30k with real Mopar filter and ATF+4 fluid and it still shifts perectly at 215,000 miles. Luck? maybe. Edited July 23, 2011 by F250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Oddly, the Jatco designed CVT in the Patriot, Compass, and Caliber is actually one of the more reliable transmissions in late model Chryslers. Reliable transmission and Chrysler in the same sentence, I almost fainted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Reliable transmission and Chrysler in the same sentence, I almost fainted. In the case of the CVT, it certainly helps that Chrysler didn't design it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 massive: large in scale, amount, or degree If they only sold 5 of them and 4 owners complained of grinding or abnormally high shift effort within the first 5,000 miles then that would fit the definition. And no excuses, I expect Ford to build (or have their Chinese minions build) a transmission that can handle the engine the vehicle is equipped with. Owner abuse or hard driving? No shit, that has been part of Mustang GT service for decades what makes this different is how fast after introduction the complaints started rolling in. but your not backing up your claims with numbers with the MASSIVE failures that the 6 Speed is supposedly experiencing in the Mustang GT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8-X Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 In the case of the CVT, it certainly helps that Chrysler didn't design it! That explains a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovaltine Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 My wife has 63K on her '08 Compass, with nary a problem with her Jatco CVT (...as it should be!) Interestingly enough, my co-worker's pharmacist sister is now having transmission issues with her *brand new* Escape. Her '11 Escape is randomly revving up to near red-line and then slamming into the next gear, although she's NOT pressed the gas pedal hard nor is the car actually accelerating. The dealer claims that the transmission is "learning" her habits and will eventually be "okay". This experience is coming on the heels of her having the transmission implode on her previous Escape. Something about a known problem where the tranny would kick out of O/D while driving, or something like that. So again..... as the writers above suggest: "Step AWAY from the rock pile!!!" :shades: -Ovaltine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 ...Her '11 Escape is randomly revving up to near red-line and then slamming into the next gear, although she's NOT pressed the gas pedal hard nor is the car actually accelerating. The dealer claims that the transmission is "learning" her habits and will eventually be "okay". Those symptoms point to valve body failure, a common problem with the 6F35 transmission. Granted, the 6F35 is awful even when it operates as designed, but in this example the tranny seems to be defective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Those symptoms point to valve body failure, a common problem with the 6F35 transmission. Granted, the 6F35 is awful even when it operates as designed, but in this example the tranny seems to be defective. Thats what I don't get...my family has 2 V6 Escapes and a Sable with the 6F and narry a problem with them...and 2 of the 3 have over 50K on them. Is it an issue with the 4 cyc engine and the 6F? The 6F is far from awful....have you ever driven a 4 cyc from the early 1980's with an automatic? I've driven my GF Escape plenty of times and between it and a 08 Jetta rental I had, they've been the best driving automatic cars I've driven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 ...have you ever driven a 4 cyc from the early 1980's with an automatic? I have, a 3-speed auto 1984 Toyota Tercel. What a slug! That particular car solidified my preference for manual transmissions. Your family's experience with 6F transmission equipped cars has been more favorable than mine. Of the several I've experienced, the most exasperating aspects have been inconsistent shift quality and slow downshift response. FWIW, I've found GM's version of this transmission (the 6T series) to be even worse. As for CVTs like the one in the Jeep Patriot, I'm pretty neutral about them (pun intended). :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Your family's experience with 6F transmission equipped cars has been more favorable than mine. Of the several I've experienced, the most exasperating aspects have been inconsistent shift quality and slow downshift response. FWIW, I've found GM's version of this transmission (the 6T series) to be even worse. I drove my GF parents Traverse (with 6 adults in it though) and wasn't that impressed with its performance...but I chalked it up to all the people in it and the Traverse weighing a ton itself LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F250 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 but your not backing up your claims with numbers with the MASSIVE failures that the 6 Speed is supposedly experiencing in the Mustang GT. You must never go to Mustang forums. NHTSA has a few complaints on file for ya, Ford isused 2 TSBs in the first few months. First was the clutch stay issue and then their fix for grinding and very hard shift to 2nd and 3rd was to change the fluid! Yes, that's right drain the new, full synthetic fluid the trans is delivered with and replace it with Motorcraft dual clutch fluid. Problem is many owners report it does not fix the problem. Sounded like a bandaid from the start. They will handle it SOP which is to quietly make running changes to the transmission in production and when owners bring the 2011s in with complaints they will hopefully get the newer versions with internal upgrades. If you would like official Ford warranty claim percentages I'll have to get my spies to break into the Glass House and get them for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Those symptoms point to valve body failure, a common problem with the 6F35 transmission. Granted, the 6F35 is awful even when it operates as designed, but in this example the tranny seems to be defective. The 6F35 has been used since the 2009 model year. I don't see why there are still issues with the valve body failing in them. Is the design just defective and there isn't much that Ford can do to fix it or are they just planning on phasing it out soon and don't want to spend the cash on a redesign? It seems like the other 6F versions have been more reliable, but the 6F35 is a horrid little transmission even when it is operating as designed. I love everything about my Escape, but the transmission feels unrefined and get confused often especially driving on hilly mountain roads. I had a Fusion with the Aisin 6 speed and my parents still have their '07 Fusion V6 with the Aisin and I can honestly say the 6F35 isn't even in the same league when it comes to refinement, shift quality and adapting to hilly roads. The other versions of the 6F seem to be decent from what I have read, but the 6F35 is a mediocre transmission at best even when it is working right. If you want to see some bizarre 6F35 behavior just search for Ford Fusion transmission problems on YouTube. There are also some Escape ones on there too. Just about every one has the same problem with slipping and revving. It's sad to see they are still having the problem with the 2011 models as well. I just keep my fingers crossed that my Escape transmission keeps running normally, but seeing so many having those issues doesn't really give me a lot of confidence in long term durability of this transmission. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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