blown04cobra Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Just received a letter from Ford for the transmission shifting issues on the 2012 Focus. The Customer Satisfaction Program #12B37 is supposed to address the above issues. Has anyone had the fix done? Has this cured the problems with this transmission? Will be taking mine in next week for the fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Most customers have reported a significant improvement from what I've seen posted around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timinac Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Is this update different than the one that came out late summer/early fall last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blown04cobra Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 I purchased my Focus at the end of March of this year and the notice I received from Ford is dated May 2012. I would think that the fix you are referring to from last year would have been incorporated in vehicles built after last summer. The program is called per the letter is Customer Satisfaction Program 12B37. If anyone has a better knowledge of this issue post up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Is this update different than the one that came out late summer/early fall last year? As far as I know, there have been other tweaks since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusion37 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Yes, I had mine "reflash" about 10 days ago. It changed the car greatly and not in a positive way. Shifts in S mode - both auto & manual - take longer. Also, it seems to have delayed the throttle tip in. Car sits for a second after applying the gas in first gear; then it "leaps" forward. Not as linear as before. This hesitation almost caused an accident while pulling out of an intersection. May be a little overstated, but the Focus seems now more responsive in D than S-mode. Based on my experience, if you aren't having major problems with your transmission, I'd think long and hard before doing the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GapBoyPCS Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I had my reflash done last week. So far, the driving response seems a bit better than before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I had my transmission re-flashed a few days back. While I didn't consider the old calibration all that bad, the new programming does results in much smoother shifts. Instead of the transmission shifting to the next highest gear as soon as possible, the tranny now allows the engine to rev to a higher RPM before shifting. For people who do a lot of city driving, drivability is definitely improved. Anybody who spends most of their time on the highway won't notice a big improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmarra2009 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I've had my 2012 Titanium for about a week and as I've read in this thread....the trans shifts very hard especially 1st to 2nd. My salesman said I should probably wait until I get about 1000 miles on the car before I take it in for service to look at. Also, I'm only getting about 23 mpg in the city and wondering if this trans issue would have anything to do with the poor mpg's. Any ideas out there??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GapBoyPCS Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) I've had my 2012 Titanium for about a week and as I've read in this thread....the trans shifts very hard especially 1st to 2nd. My salesman said I should probably wait until I get about 1000 miles on the car before I take it in for service to look at. Also, I'm only getting about 23 mpg in the city and wondering if this trans issue would have anything to do with the poor mpg's. Any ideas out there??? I'd give it about 1,000 miles as well, depending if these are city miles. If they are highway miles, you might need to wait slightly longer. Are the MPG's numbers coming from the car's readout or manually calculating them? With the very hot weather lately, having the a/c on and such seems to be really whalloping my MPG numbers, but I don't think I've had anything that low. Edited July 22, 2012 by GapBoyPCS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmarra2009 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Yeah, the mileage is coming from the readout. Just looked and it's 22.9 but I do a lot of start and stop driving within a home development.....and that may be the reason why. I just expected more. And like to agreed, I think I'll give the trans 1000 miles to see if it smooths out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcall Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 We had the update done and made it worse! There is something really wrong with the trans. Went to dealer to drive a new one off lot and it ran good. It vibrates very bad on start off and surges all the time until up to highway speed. It going back on Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 This isn't good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forsche Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Just had the 12B37 done on August 7th. Up until this point I have been completely in love with my little Focus. Seriously, I could not name 1 fault with the little car. My focus has made me question why I wasn't driving a ford before. That is a VERY big statement for me. Background: Car has 16,000 miles, August 7th service was an oil change (full synthetic), tire rotation (nitrofil), recall 12S29 (pass. wiper) and the 12B37 update. Issues found after update: Rough Idle and transmission surging. Rough Idle: I noticed the rough idle at the dealership exit and it has been the same ever since. I consistently use Chevron with Techron (89 typically, 93 every 4th tank) and even I tried a chevron fuel injector cleaning product still nothing has changed. It almost feels like misfires initially, then a real shake like engine mounts, tach is completely stable during this time. It happens when it is cold and hot, no change, does it consistently at every light while idling. Transmission Surging: I noticed this more as I drove the car in different throttle positions / rpms, it took a day or two for me to really start to pin it down. But oddly enough what was really noticeable was the air-conditioning surging at different speeds (had the A/C surge before as well but was very, very slight in comparison), then I keyed into the power surging. The surging is funny, it feels as if you are losing 15-20% of engine power when you are slowly moving through the gears in automatic mode. Really noticeable in 2,3,4th gears. The surging is matched by the erratic A/C pulses. 12B37 Is defined as "Reprogramming PCM-TCM-ABS Modules" well those modules are certainly not communicating as fluidly as before as far as my Focus is concerned. Perhaps the PCM and TCM engineers did not have enough time to completely sort the issue's with 12B37? As far as I was concerned there were no issues with the software that I had (build date sept. 2011). Sure the first 1,000 miles were a bit akward on rare occasions but that is to be expected. Nevertheless, I will take my car to the dealer this weekend to see if I can retro program my car. Hopefully that will sort things out and I can go back to enjoying my little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forsche Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I spoke to my local service advisor about this issue and he recommended waiting about 1,000 miles as the 12B37 is a complete re-flash that resets the computer. He mentioned "adaptive shift strategy" and that the car is adapting to how I drive. So, to me it is essentially like the car is new again. So I will wait the 1,000 miles. However I certainly wish that this was mentioned in my letter from Ford, dated May 2012 about the 12B37 "Customer Satisfaction Program". Had I known a little more I would not have been so concerned. I will keep everyone posted on what I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselboy77 Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I don't think the manual transmission having any issues 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDAZS Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I don't get it. None of the test car had issues. Why didn't they get it figured out then sell the car???? Crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meansister Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 As far as I know, there have been other tweaks since then. My daughter's Focus was at Ford dealership Nov. 20th. We were told there is NO fix yet. Ford Motor rep supposed to call within the next week to discuss buy back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfruth Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Am considering a 2013 Focus SE with auto trans, anyone get one recently, thoughts ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman9027 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Am considering a 2013 Focus SE with auto trans, anyone get one recently, thoughts ? Same thing here any updates, does this apply to the 2013's?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit2012 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I haven't had a single transmission problem with my Kona Blue 2012 Focus SE Hatch w/sport package with the optional wheels since purchasing it April 2011. Even after the 6spd auto transmission update it's been great for 34,000 miles until today. Driving home from work hit the gas to change lanes on the highway and nothing.... The entire way home it took everything I could to keep it up to speed or even to accelerate from a dead stop. The engine is running just fine, but the transmission seems to be stuck in 3rd I think. She's sluggish and she won't shift in sport or the regular drive mode. The numbers change on the dash when I push the buttons on the shifter, but it's not translating to the trans. I'm taking her in to my Ford Dealership in the morning. I have a feeling the dual friction clutch(s) is bad, but we will see how the dealer will try to side step my warranty repairs. They always have some excuse to not fix warranty work. It took three times for them to replace my fog lights that exploded, and three trips to get them to repaint my hood and lift gate. Ford was in such a hurry to get these cars out in early 2011 that there were thin spots in my base coat before they applied the clear coat. I still haven't been able to get them to fix my strut noise that has developed either, good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit2012 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Of course woke up and the car is driving and shifting just fine....... I still took it in and my Ford dealership is looking it over. They seemed concerned that something was definitely wrong with it.. We will see. No matter what the cars days are numbered. I'm officially looking into a Fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) EDIT: Maybe in the first year, with the usual bugs, but seem to be better. Edited August 15, 2014 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevys Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 The DCT is a dog, I think. I don't see these trannys lasting 100K+ miles, with all the vibrations, shaking, and hard shifting. It really is a piece of crap. I mean no offence to anybody that has one but I cant imagine anyone who has truely done their homework buying one of these things. Here is what the dealers are handing out now when you take them back for noises. http://jpegbay.com/gallery/002452907-1.html#1 Gee, it makes me want to run right out and buy a new Focus/Fiesta with the powershift that normally makes all kinds of racket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 You must have missed all the owners who are perfectly happy with them, including my daughter who's been driving one for 2.5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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