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Camride

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Try running a tank of premium fuel. It doesn't make sense but several people are reporting that their poor transmission shifting is cured completely by running higher octane fuel (E-85 or Premium). Please report back.

 

I have run nothing but Shell 93 through mine since delivery with 3.8 miles. I have close to 4K on it now. But I dont get the "bump" type that deadman described. Mine sorta clunk into gear time to time from R/D or P/R. And the 2-3 flare is so bad if I make a gas pedal adjustment during the shift it gets so confused that it just hangs for a few seconds before it kinds thunks=>slams into third.

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Try running a tank of premium fuel. It doesn't make sense but several people are reporting that their poor transmission shifting is cured completely by running higher octane fuel (E-85 or Premium). Please report back.

I don't think the EB's are E85 compatible. E10 yes, but not E85. Unless something's changed that I didn't hear about.

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I don't think the EB's are E85 compatible. E10 yes, but not E85. Unless something's changed that I didn't hear about.

 

I only meant run E-85 if the engine is flex-fuel capable like the old 3.0L in the 06-12 Fusions. The person who originally came up with the idea had a flex-fuel engine and tried it with both E85 and Premium.

Edited by akirby
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For anyone with the 2.0L, has anyone noticed the transmission won't allow you to shift into 6th gear unless you're moving at highway speed? I was driving on a road going about 40mph. I was already in 5th and tried to go to 6th, but it just flash the 5 and stayed in 5th.

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For anyone with the 2.0L, has anyone noticed the transmission won't allow you to shift into 6th gear unless you're moving at highway speed? I was driving on a road going about 40mph. I was already in 5th and tried to go to 6th, but it just flash the 5 and stayed in 5th.

 

I have the EB motor and until the tranny is warmed up it wont let you into 6th. There is a certain spot going to work where its usually warmed up and will then start clicking int 6th. Not overly sure temp has to do with it though....

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I have run nothing but Shell 93 through mine since delivery with 3.8 miles. I have close to 4K on it now. But I dont get the "bump" type that deadman described. Mine sorta clunk into gear time to time from R/D or P/R. And the 2-3 flare is so bad if I make a gas pedal adjustment during the shift it gets so confused that it just hangs for a few seconds before it kinds thunks=>slams into third.

 

Well mine now went back to normal :( but for a few days it was nice...I'm going to try the premium fuel for my next tank.

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Well mine now went back to normal :( but for a few days it was nice...I'm going to try the premium fuel for my next tank.

 

Id be curious to see; but mine has never had anything but 93 octane. Yesterday mine threw a temper tantrum. I originally put it into S (accident; meant to put it into D) then back into D without using the paddle shifters and it held gears a lot longer and wouldn't shift down consitantly. I ran in to get a sixer of happiness and came out and it was all fine. I could not have been in the store five minutes.

 

Software is a large source in my opinion.

 

Also when I make a gas pedal adjustment at/during a shift point; especially 2-3 it gets "stuck" and lost. There are LARGE hesitations that I am not confident making abrupt accelerations like jumping through a hole in oncoming traffic as I am not sure if its going to hesitate. When I say hesitate...its like it goes into neutral and cant figure out whether to go up or down a gear.

Edited by Bearcats98
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Do you guys have any "whining" to your trans while not moving? Mine is starting to sound like the old GM cars with a PS pump going....not very loud but the sound IS there.. :-(

 

Nothing that I've noticed in 10K miles. Just the normal whining from the passenger seat.

Edited by akirby
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Yesterday I had the car just refuse to accelerate. I was at a light and went to move around someone taking a left. Car rolled about 5' and when I stepped on the gas there was zero response for about 3-4 seconds. Felt like the car just shut off because I had it at 20-30% throttle. Then suddenly a lurching shudder and it lazily responded.

 

Had that been a situation where I needed to get out of the way quickly tho...

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Yesterday I had the car just refuse to accelerate. I was at a light and went to move around someone taking a left. Car rolled about 5' and when I stepped on the gas there was zero response for about 3-4 seconds. Felt like the car just shut off because I had it at 20-30% throttle. Then suddenly a lurching shudder and it lazily responded.

 

Had that been a situation where I needed to get out of the way quickly tho...

 

Did the engine rev? Mine was engine rev, but no go while it thought about it.

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Nothing. May as well have been stepping on the gas with the car off. I had enough time to realize what was happening, scan the dash for any lights/alerts and then look at the shifter to make sure it was in drive (2.0 EB) and check I was actually stepping on the gas and say aloud "What the fuck?" before the car responded.

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Nothing. May as well have been stepping on the gas with the car off. I had enough time to realize what was happening, scan the dash for any lights/alerts and then look at the shifter to make sure it was in drive (2.0 EB) and check I was actually stepping on the gas and say aloud "What the fuck?" before the car responded.

 

I would have said the same thing lol.

 

I would take that in to your dealer ASAP...

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Do any of you guys have '14s? I'm in the process of buying a '14 but some of these issues are making me reconsider...

 

 

Was ready to pull the trigger before hearing about rattling issues, trims falling off, trunk misalignment, some gas tank recall(?).. but transmission issues? That's a huge deal. Especially if it's having problems now. If there is an actual mechanical issue for that transmission, god who knows what will happen after 5 years :'(.

 

I really hope they fix these problems.

 

Edit: Also headliner discoloration has been a huge issue for people. Shocked how some dealers refuse to fix that...

Edited by Triple-Tap
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Yes, these are mostly first year car issues. I'm not throwing Ford under the bus on this because first model years are always hard, it's rare for one to go really smoothly, especially for a car that's sold in the volume level of the Fusion.

 

I will avoid first model years going forward though. I haven't had time to schedule an appointment yet with a dealer, I need to do that soon. I did have a very similar experience as JScullin a few days ago though. Same issue from 2nd to 3rd, except instead of hesitating it just did nothing, revs started to drop like I had taken my foot off the accelerator (in the middle of a turn). After almost 2 seconds it thudded back into gear and kept going but like I was barely giving it any gas. I let off for a few seconds and when I got back on the gas it went like normal.

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  • 8 years later...

Hello,

 

I have a similar problem and, after several tentatives, i finally found something that improved the shifting behavior. I will share my case here.

 

I got a 2013 Fusion Titanium 2.0 Ecoboost AWD with 60.000 Km and was very disappointed with shift quality. Besides some minor and sporadic hard shifts (which didn’t bother me so much), the most annoying issue was a huge delay/hesitation specifically from 2nd to 3rd gear on mid/high engine load situations. When changing from 2nd to 3rd climbing a hill, for example, the engine cuts/holds the acceleration for around 2s until the 3rd is finally engaged. On light engine load situations (like accelerating slightly on a plain road), the 2-3 shift performs normally (no delay).

 

After a lot of research (found several reports of this problem, but no clear solution), i started with the basics:

 

  • Fluid change (flush/complete)
  • Updated PCM calibration to the latest available (Ford dealer)
  • Clear adaptive tables / relearn

 

The overall shift quality improved a bit, but the 2-3 delay/hesitation was still there (identical).

 

Before going to next step, also tried a fluid additive:

 

  • Added Lubegard Platinum

 

But no luck. Didn’t notice any improvement.

 

From this point, i started to pay more attention on the shift behaviour during my everyday ride (commuting to the job). I was able to observe that the 2-3 delay/hesitation on mid/high engine load was much more evident when the trans was cold. After a 30-40 min ride, it turns less evident (still there, but not so much annoying as when cold).

 

Then, since i read a lot cases of problems on valve body (separator plate damaged by the check balls, wear on housing of control valves, etc…), i decided to go deeper:

 

  • Replaced the valve body by a brand new one (both parts, main control and solenoid body) and reprogrammed the strategy and body ID codes using Forscan (works perfectly, automatically downloaded the calibration file from the internet). This procedure is known as “Transmission Characterisation”.

 

The overall shift quality was now a bit better. Improved smoothness, no more minor/sporadic hard shifts. However, for my surprise, the 2-3 delay was still there! Identical behaviour (worse when cold, better when warm) So, in my case, the problem was obviously not related to the valve body.

 

After discussing the case with a local transmission specialist, he raised the possiblity of some issue with the torque converter (not releasing the clutch properly). So, before going to the final and most expensive step (rebuild), he suggested a last try:

 

  • Added Lubegard Shudder Fix

 

The trans didn’t have any apparent shudder, but since this additive changes the fluid friction characteristics, i decided to give it a try. We applied the additive and went out for a test ride. The trans was already warmed up because i made a 30 min ride to the transmission shop. The result was impressive. The 2-3 delay/hesitation in this scenario (warmed up) was completely gone! No more "less evident", it simply shifts quick and firm. 

 

I drove the car for a few days and the overall performance of the transmission was much improved, specially when the trans is warm after a 30-40 min of operation. When the trans is cold, however, the 2-3 delay/hesitation is still very evident and annoying (still happens only on mid/high engine load situations).

 

So, i am surprised and pleased with the improvement achieved with Lubegard Shudder Fix, this is why i decided to share here. It might help other users.

 

I will continue the investigation of 2-3 delay/hesitation when cold on mid/high engine load.

 

Regards,

 

Felipe.

Edited by FelipeBZ
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