10-speed auto transmission problems

[Qcman17]

Find a new dealership, and call around before you do. I brought my Mach 1 in for transmission TSB-24-2101. The dealership had it out of their shop in 2 weeks with a new valve body. If the harsh 4-5 shifting continues, full transmission replacement is next. Seeing how your transmission grenade itself, this should be a quick job pending parts availability.

At a minimum, you'll want to contact Ford customer service and open up a case.

My car needed a valve body overhaul. It was scheduled 2 weeks out once diagnosed. Brought in after that 2 week wait, repaired and returned the same day. I can't believe what the OP has endured with his. I think it is the worst case of warranty delay I have ever read on here.

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[GrabberBargeCaptain]

I filed a lemon law claim on my 2022 gt premium a10. Ford bought it back. BBB AUTOLINE . Had multiple issues before 2 years and 24k miles. If you had it on the dealer before 2 years 24k miles you might have a claim. CDF drum is the most common issue

Thats crazy that Ford would rather buy back a car, have to replace or fix the transmission ANYWAY and then sell it at a loss than to just replace the damn transmission in the first place. FFS don't they get the core back anyway and can rebuild them and use them for the next poor bastard? It's not like they're out 8k for the transmission. Cheap ****in MBAs running these damn companies. Scourge on the Earth.

 

[Robottrainer]

There is a real challenge here. The problem with rebuilt transmissions is that hardly anyone knows how to properly work on transmissions alone - let alone the Ford/GM 10 speed auto that is VERY complicated. When they are 'fixed' they usually aren't actually fixed. I always find it funny when there is a mechanical failure and companies try to 'fix' the problem with a software update. It may solve the problem short term but definitely not long term.

OP I think it is highly unlikely that you will get a new transmission, but I encourage you to push Ford this route. Keep pushing for Ford to 'fix' the problem for you while that warranty is still valid.
In my opinion, the next best case scenario would be to source a truly low mileage transmission that wasn't damage in a wreck from a crashed car. Even this route will difficult but it is an option for when the warranty expires.

One last thought: I am always skeptical of what dealerships say under warranty work. I would take a small amount of paint and smear it on the transmission in an out-of-sight spot, let it dry and then take it in to the dealer... if they tell you it was replaced, check the spot for paint... the paint should be gone if it is a different transmission.
If not, call them out on it. They might be screwing with you.

This tranmission is no harder to rebuild than an old hydraulic 3 speed auto, albeit, more parts. The parts stack together like Tupperware. The valvebody is the same except for the solenoids. The real complexity is in the software/logic/controls. Suncoast has lots of parts including complete transmissions. Maybe the OP can work something out for 3rd party parts/trans/ rebuild shop with Ford/dealer.

 

[kws6000]

we took the car to the dealership the same day (on a tow truck.) It's been sitting there since then. (I.e., it's been nine months.)

the dealer is claiming known transmission issues and says they tried to rebuild and/or replace the transmission three times already, each time unsuccessfully. (E.g., at some point, a brand-new transmission arrived from the factory, and they installed it, only to find out it's broken.) They say it's a widely known issue with 10-speed auto, and every Mustang, Bronco, Ranger, etc. is affected. They say Ford does not have enough spare parts, and the dealerships all over the country do not have enough skilled techs, hence the delays. (Moreover, Ford refuses to send them a replacement, until they try to repair it first, and then report their studies back to Ford.) They say they have over 40 vehicles on their lot with the very same issue, some of them being there for about a year already.

This dealer sounds incompetent. It shouldn’t take multiple attempts to properly repair your car for known issues. Makes me wonder who is working on your car.

 

[pony1]

Thank all of you for kind words! I appreciate the support.

To answer your questions in bulk.

1. This was a new car, purchased from the same dealer in 2021. They even convinced us to buy their extended warranty.
2. We did not have any major problems with this car before. So, I believe, the local lemon law does not apply anymore, but I will do some further research. Thanks for the hints!
3. There were small issues here and there, over the course of three years we're owning it, but nothing even remotely as bad. Like the tiny back windows not going fully up when closing the top, or one of the tire pressure sensors seemingly died. All of that was routinely fixed when we brough the car to the dealer for another +5,000 miles checkup and maintenance.
4. At some point (say, a year and half ago), we started noticing some "jerk" when switching from rear to drive. Retrospectively, it might seem like a sight of the transmission problem starting to develop. But back then, the dealer said it was "normal," and we did not push as we were unaware of these kinds of issues. I'm not sure we can find a paper trail of that complaint, but that's certainly a good lesson for us to learn.
5. I think it's a bit too late to set a mark on the old transmission, since the car has been at the dealer for nine months, and they claim they already replaced the transmission at least once. (Yesterday they received another replacement and reportedly started working. Fingers crossed...)
6. We did call Ford corporate a few times, but all they had to say is "we're sorry, maybe you should go to another dealer." Meanwhile, our dealer claims global labor shortages, and as someone mentioned above, these transmissions are incredibly complex. So, when they say they only have three highly paid technicians who're capable of working on these, and they cannot hire anyone else, that kinda sounds believable. They also say that other dealers in our area are known to simply not accept cars with these issues anymore due to the huge backlogs. I have not tried to validate this claim yet, but maybe I will.
7. We'll do more research on how to push Ford. But assuming we get the car back this week or next week (as the dealer keeps promising now), do you think it still makes sense to escalate? Can we realistically get some sort of compensation retroactively?


thanks again, and have a nice day!

Can I ask what happened in the end? Did you get your car back? Was transmission replaced? Was vehicle replaced?

 

[Pronichkin]

Can I ask what happened in the end? Did you get your car back? Was transmission replaced? Was vehicle replaced?

Short answer is we got our car back early December. It made it total 11 months it's been there. They finally fixed the transmission back in October and we were ready to pick it up early November, when they suddenly discovered another issue with the engine. So, they spent another month ordering and replacing a cylinder head.

We've been using the car for the past two months, made a few road trips, and so far it looks good.

 

[pony1]

Short answer is we got our car back early December. It made it total 11 months it's been there. They finally fixed the transmission back in October and we were ready to pick it up early November, when they suddenly discovered another issue with the engine. So, they spent another month ordering and replacing a cylinder head.

We've been using the car for the past two months, made a few road trips, and so far it looks good.

Wow. You were very patient. Good that your transmission problem resolved. Was it a whole new 10R80 transmission?

What was the engine issue? What were the symptoms? That's also a pretty major repair.

 

[Pronichkin]

Wow. You were very patient. Good that your transmission problem resolved. Was it a whole new 10R80 transmission?

What was the engine issue? What were the symptoms? That's also a pretty major repair.

yes, what they eventually did is replaced the whole transmission.

the problem with the engine was some sort of leakage.

 

[Torched10]

I have (or should I say, had?) a 2021 Mustang GT PP(1). We've done roughly 35k miles on it, when some day in January the car suddenly fired up the "powertrain malfunction" light and refused to accelerate past ~15 mph.

we took the car to the dealership the same day (on a tow truck.) It's been sitting there since then. (I.e., it's been nine months.)

the dealer is claiming known transmission issues and says they tried to rebuild and/or replace the transmission three times already, each time unsuccessfully. (E.g., at some point, a brand-new transmission arrived from the factory, and they installed it, only to find out it's broken.) They say it's a widely known issue with 10-speed auto, and every Mustang, Bronco, Ranger, etc. is affected. They say Ford does not have enough spare parts, and the dealerships all over the country do not have enough skilled techs, hence the delays. (Moreover, Ford refuses to send them a replacement, until they try to repair it first, and then report their studies back to Ford.) They say they have over 40 vehicles on their lot with the very same issue, some of them being there for about a year already.

I'm not a car guy myself, so it's hard for me to validate those claims. But Wikipedia article on the transmission type mentions five class action lawsuits on similar issues. So is this widely known indeed? Did other forum member have similar experiences with Mustangs of the same generation? How did you deal with it?


Thanks in advance, and have a nice day!
--Artem

Seems Washington's lemon law would earplugs


Hrre link

https://www.carlemon.com/washington-lemon-law-rights-consumer-guide.html

 

[Pronichkin]

Seems Washington's lemon law would earplugs


Hrre link

https://www.carlemon.com/washington-lemon-law-rights-consumer-guide.html

Unfortunately, it won't. The vehicle was delivered April 2021. 30 months expired in October 2023. The issue happened in January 2024.

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