10R80 Mustang Down...Again

[Bowlerguy92]

Hi guys,

Long story short, I purchased my current 2018 GT Premium used with 4,600 miles on it from a Mercedes dealer out of state in late February. Car was great for a few thousand miles until the transmission completely let go and blew up on the way home from a cruise with a buddy a couple months ago. Not even driveable. Had to be towed to the dealer.

The car goes into Ford, they don't authorize a new transmission and instead tell the dealer to rebuild it. Car has just over 6,000 miles on it at this point. Diagnosis is the pump died and took the rest of the trans with it. Known issue with a TSB but I never heard any symptomatic whining. The car is there for 2.5 weeks - soup to nuts rebuild.

Fast forward to this Sunday. The car had been fine for 2,000 miles on the rebuild. Again, driving with a friend on the highway (I was running it hard in sport+ ambient was 68F), the transmission overheats, starts slipping, smoke out the back of the car. I pull into a gas station to let it cool off (230F) and limp it back home to Ford. Car has 8,500 miles on it at this point.

Ford initially confirmed that the pump looked like it was leaking but called a bit ago to confirm that it's actually dry as a bone. They asked if I was racing it and questioned the rubber on the car from a line lock I did in a parking lot. They're going to fill the fluid I lost, put it back together and send me on my way as there doesn't appear to be any damage. I asked if I should even bring this thing to the drag strip or track and they basically told me no. Sustained amounts of time in sport+ or those performance drive modes will overheat the trans very quickly is what I'm told.

Do I have any recourse at this point with Ford? Is this thing a lemon? Curious what you folks would do in this position. At this rate, I would never be comfortable taking this car to the drag strip or track as I had planned. I also feel I'll have to sell it when the warranty expires because I'm not going to cover another transmission issue out of my pocket. I was under the impression the Mustang was something I could take to a drag strip and reasonably expect to not fall apart.

I was going to call Ford customer service and at least log the concern but if they're just going to try to blame it on me for "racing" it then I'm not sure I have much leverage.

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[Dominant1]

Dont waste your time with Ford they don’t have your back front or side.. pull the tranny send it to this guy for a competent upgrade. When others fail , you have to solve your own problems.

https://www.msr-nogmparts.com/copy-of-builds

 

[Flyhalf]

was the smoke on the left? did you see if you had any residual fluid on the left?
ALso could yuu identify the area of leaking?
Please let me know
Alex

 

[Dawgvet06]

This sucks man. My stock 2018 GT Premium PP1 10R80 went down in January with a little over 7000 miles on it with a one way clutch failure. They rebuilt the tranny (took a month to get the parts from Ford), and I haven't had any major transmission issues since then (it's never been on a track or dragstrip), but it's back at the dealership this week for a misfire (took it in a few weeks ago and they couldn't find anything wrong with it, but now they've agreed something else is wrong that they're trying to figure out).

I guess my point is that I'm right there with you on the reliability concerns with the 2018 model. I feel like my car is a bit of a lemon as well, and even though it's under warranty and I've barely had it two years (about 8300 miles on it now), I'm starting think it's time for it to go...

Best of luck with your car.

Jim

 

[Flyhalf]

This sucks man. My stock 2018 GT Premium PP1 10R80 went down in January with a little over 7000 miles on it with a one way clutch failure. They rebuilt the tranny (took a month to get the parts from Ford), and I haven't had any major transmission issues since then (it's never been on a track or dragstrip), but it's back at the dealership this week for a misfire (took it in a few weeks ago and they couldn't find anything wrong with it, but now they've agreed something else is wrong that they're trying to figure out).

I guess my point is that I'm right there with you on the reliability concerns with the 2018 model. I feel like my car is a bit of a lemon as well, and even though it's under warranty and I've barely had it two years (about 8300 miles on it now), I'm starting think it's time for it to go...

Best of luck with your car.

Jim

Jim what type of symptoms u had?

 

[Dinosoar]

This sucks man. My stock 2018 GT Premium PP1 10R80 went down in January with a little over 7000 miles on it with a one way clutch failure. They rebuilt the tranny (took a month to get the parts from Ford), and I haven't had any major transmission issues since then (it's never been on a track or dragstrip), but it's back at the dealership this week for a misfire (took it in a few weeks ago and they couldn't find anything wrong with it, but now they've agreed something else is wrong that they're trying to figure out).

I guess my point is that I'm right there with you on the reliability concerns with the 2018 model. I feel like my car is a bit of a lemon as well, and even though it's under warranty and I've barely had it two years (about 8300 miles on it now), I'm starting think it's time for it to go...

Best of luck with your car.

Jim

So sorry to hear that, brother. I had a 2018 with issues (strut), two dealers could not pin point problem and never fixed it. I fixed it in my driveway in three hours after pinpointing the damper failed internally (rattling strut rod). Cost me $144 is parts to replace and as good as new, but on my own despite it being a warranty item. That was at 2,000 miles. I had body panel issues and some transmission issues, but nothing with my 10spd that you had. My neighbor has a Raptor and his 10spd failed, even after Ford repaired it once. I am getting concerned about this 10spd even though I think it's one of the best configurations on the market today.

I got rid of 2018 GT (w PP1). Hopefully this is the end of the crap for you, BUT there are lots of cars out there and that new Mach 1 will have an "updated" 10spd (and those dynamic dampers). I am pondering the Mach 1 as the glutton I am!

 

[Dawgvet06]

Jim what type of symptoms u had?

For the current issues - I have a thread started here: https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/2018-gt-pp1-10r80-fuel-fire-issue.142298/.

I don't want to hijack the OP's post as I hope others have thoughts that can help him out.

 

[Dinosoar]

Hi guys,

Long story short, I purchased my current 2018 GT Premium used with 4,600 miles on it from a Mercedes dealer out of state in late February. Car was great for a few thousand miles until the transmission completely let go and blew up on the way home from a cruise with a buddy a couple months ago. Not even driveable. Had to be towed to the dealer.

The car goes into Ford, they don't authorize a new transmission and instead tell the dealer to rebuild it. Car has just over 6,000 miles on it at this point. Diagnosis is the pump died and took the rest of the trans with it. Known issue with a TSB but I never heard any symptomatic whining. The car is there for 2.5 weeks - soup to nuts rebuild.

Fast forward to this Sunday. The car had been fine for 2,000 miles on the rebuild. Again, driving with a friend on the highway (I was running it hard in sport+ ambient was 68F), the transmission overheats, starts slipping, smoke out the back of the car. I pull into a gas station to let it cool off (230F) and limp it back home to Ford. Car has 8,500 miles on it at this point.

Ford initially confirmed that the pump looked like it was leaking but called a bit ago to confirm that it's actually dry as a bone. They asked if I was racing it and questioned the rubber on the car from a line lock I did in a parking lot. They're going to fill the fluid I lost, put it back together and send me on my way as there doesn't appear to be any damage. I asked if I should even bring this thing to the drag strip or track and they basically told me no. Sustained amounts of time in sport+ or those performance drive modes will overheat the trans very quickly is what I'm told.

Do I have any recourse at this point with Ford? Is this thing a lemon? Curious what you folks would do in this position. At this rate, I would never be comfortable taking this car to the drag strip or track as I had planned. I also feel I'll have to sell it when the warranty expires because I'm not going to cover another transmission issue out of my pocket. I was under the impression the Mustang was something I could take to a drag strip and reasonably expect to not fall apart.

I was going to call Ford customer service and at least log the concern but if they're just going to try to blame it on me for "racing" it then I'm not sure I have much leverage.

Sounds like they did not fill it, or repair it correctly on that rebuild, BUT do you have any proof on that matter? If not, my guess is you're best just unloading the car and waiting for a Mach1 which will have extra coolers and is redesigned. But I agree with the comments below about Ford being incompetent as was the case with my simple strut failure on my '18 GT PP1. I had to fix it myself and I unloaded the pig. Sorry man, that really, really sucks!!! I am looking at a Mach 1 next year, but only because I'm an idiot and glutton, so...

 

[Dawgvet06]

So sorry to hear that, brother. I had a 2018 with issues (strut), two dealers could not pin point problem and never fixed it. I fixed it in my driveway in three hours after pinpointing the damper failed internally (rattling strut rod). Cost me $144 is parts to replace and as good as new, but on my own despite it being a warranty item. That was at 2,000 miles. I had body panel issues and some transmission issues, but nothing with my 10spd that you had. My neighbor has a Raptor and his 10spd failed, even after Ford repaired it once. I am getting concerned about this 10spd even though I think it's one of the best configurations on the market today.

I got rid of 2018 GT (w PP1). Hopefully this is the end of the crap for you, BUT there are lots of cars out there and that new Mach 1 will have an "updated" 10spd (and those dynamic dampers). I am pondering the Mach 1 as the glutton I am!

Thanks, man. I got the car back Thursday, and it's running smoother than it has been in months (at least since I got it back from the transmission rebuild in Feb). Makes me wonder how long this issue has been going on (service dept. confirmed a misfire, changed the plug on no. 8 cylinder, and swapped the coils). I've got a buddy at work looking at buying an F-150, but he's hesitant after my experience with the 10r80. It sounds like the early 2018's had some quality control issues with the a-10 for sure, and I was in that boat along with the OP.

 

[Dawgvet06]

Hi guys,
.....
I was going to call Ford customer service and at least log the concern but if they're just going to try to blame it on me for "racing" it then I'm not sure I have much leverage.

How's your car running since the second visit? I swear mine was still shifting a little rough for the first few weeks I had my car back. Since I got it back from it latest misfire issue, it's been running like butter. I've never taken it to a track or dragstrip (before or after the tranny rebuild), but it's really frustrating to hear that the dealership told you you can't when they plaster ads for the Mustang everywhere online (facebook, etc), with Mustangs depicted in those exact scenarios.

Good luck, sir.

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