2018 GT MT-82 TSB issue?

[Justin Fontaine]

I'm about to throw down on a 2018 GT Premium and I have hit the brakes after learning about this insane decision by Ford to use new aluminum shift forks in the new MT-82 transmission which has led to transmission failure in enough cars for them to issue a TSB (may become a full recall). No way can I accept this kind of lack of build quality on a premium sports car.

Does anyone know when and if Ford started using the new replacement parts on the 2018 or were they already making 2019's when the S#@T hit the fan? Also has anyone had any luck telling a dealer that they would not take a new car until the new parts were installed. There is an official "fix kit" that Ford has implemented to fix the affected cars so it's out there. Curious what you all think. Thanks

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[bootlegger]

I'm about to throw down on a 2018 GT Premium and I have hit the brakes after learning about this insane decision by Ford to use new aluminum shift forks in the new MT-82 transmission which has led to transmission failure in enough cars for them to issue a TSB (may become a full recall). No way can I accept this kind of lack of build quality on a premium sports car.

Does anyone know when and if Ford started using the new replacement parts on the 2018 or were they already making 2019's when the S#@T hit the fan? Also has anyone had any luck telling a dealer that they would not take a new car until the new parts were installed. There is an official "fix kit" that Ford has implemented to fix the affected cars so it's out there. Curious what you all think. Thanks

It's not as common of a problem as the engine ticks and rattles. The fix kit contains a similar (same) aluminum fork, which leads us to believe the issue was a bad batch (or batches) of forks due to casting. If mine dies, that is an easy thing to push under warranty. There is no TSB or fix for the engine yet. Much more concerning, imo.

 

[Justin Fontaine]

Thanks. In 20 vehicles I've owned not one has been a Ford. Now I know why. Too bad they can't compete better in the quality area. They are always ranked somewhere about #15 on the Consumer Reports rankings and this explains that.

 

[bootlegger]

Thanks. In 20 vehicles I've owned not one has been a Ford. Now I know why. Too bad they can't compete better in the quality area. They are always ranked somewhere about #15 on the Consumer Reports rankings and this explains that.

This is my second Mustang. My first, an S197, ran great for 30k miles. I was sad a year after I traded it in. The only issue I had with the S197 was a synchro cold weather grind. On the 3rd attempt, they replaced the whole transmission, and the problem never returned. I beat and abused that car regularly, and it never let me down. I do have the engine rattle in my 2018, but I am hoping a TSB comes out soon to address it. The rest of the car is solid. Body panels line up well and basically no noises beyond the engine.

 

[2018OFPP1?2]

Thanks. In 20 vehicles I've owned not one has been a Ford. Now I know why. Too bad they can't compete better in the quality area. They are always ranked somewhere about #15 on the Consumer Reports rankings and this explains that.

So? If you are you shopping for a pony car, they are still rated ahead of Chevy and Dodge. The Camaro is rated Chevy's least reliable car according to this report.

If you aren't shopping for a pony car, why are you here bashing on Ford?

 

[Justin Fontaine]

So? If you are you shopping for a pony car, they are still rated ahead of Chevy and Dodge. The Camaro is rated Chevy's least reliable car according to this report.

If you aren't shopping for a pony car, why are you here bashing on Ford?

I'm shopping for a high performance sports car. I was ready to look at all options both foreign and domestic. The Ford Mustang to me is the best looking most well set up car of its type. If it stays screwed together it competes with some of the higher priced Euro cars like the BMW M2. I haven't shopped for a domestic in forever because even though I'm from Detroit and would love to support one of the "big 3" they always had more issues than the imports. Its a fact. It is now apparent to me that they still have just not gotten up to speed quality and build wise and that's sad. Thank you for pointing out that the Camaro and even the Challenger are probably going to have issues as well. Those cars are not on my radar anyway. I'm not here to bash the brand. I'd rather be out driving it now and enjoying it. I'm here to try and make an informed decision on a 40k high performance premium sports car. Regardless that people believe that it's just a few crazy people that trashed their cars on-line are not looking at reality. They are not looking at the overall picture and that's just a form of denial which we as a country have mastered the art of. Ford did not issue a TSB and are making modified parts to fix this particular issue because they wanted to. It's because they had enough cars limping into dealerships with blown transmissions and they had no choice. They are in full scramble more now trust me. It's a shame. It really is. And that's not even touching the subject of the "engine noise ticking" issue that has owners returning their cars for a fix.

 

[2018OFPP1?2]

I'm shopping for a high performance sports car. I was ready to look at all options both foreign and domestic. The Ford Mustang to me is the best looking most well set up car of its type. If it stays screwed together it competes with some of the higher priced Euro cars like the BMW M2. I haven't shopped for a domestic in forever because even though I'm from Detroit and would love to support one of the "big 3" they always had more issues than the imports. Its a fact. It is now apparent to me that they still have just not gotten up to speed quality and build wise and that's sad. Thank you for pointing out that the Camaro and even the Challenger are probably going to have issues as well. Those cars are not on my radar anyway. I'm not here to bash the brand. I'd rather be out driving it now and enjoying it. I'm here to try and make an informed decision on a 40k high performance premium sports car. Regardless that people believe that it's just a few crazy people that trashed their cars on-line are not looking at reality. They are not looking at the overall picture and that's just a form of denial which we as a country have mastered the art of. Ford did not issue a TSB and are making modified parts to fix this particular issue because they wanted to. It's because they had enough cars limping into dealerships with blown transmissions and they had no choice. They are in full scramble more now trust me. It's a shame. It really is. And that's not even touching the subject of the "engine noise ticking" issue that has owners returning their cars for a fix.

Please post some facts supporting your assertions. All I see are generalizations and regurgitation of internet rumors. The number of engine and transmission failures reported here don't even represent a drop in the bucket of total cars sold, so percentage wise, insignificant.

BTW, you are cross shopping $40k cars with +$60k cars, and you expect the same quality?

 

[rebellovw]

This is my second Mustang. My first, an S197, ran great for 30k miles. I was sad a year after I traded it in. The only issue I had with the S197 was a synchro cold weather grind. On the 3rd attempt, they replaced the whole transmission, and the problem never returned. I beat and abused that car regularly, and it never let me down. I do have the engine rattle in my 2018, but I am hoping a TSB comes out soon to address it. The rest of the car is solid. Body panels line up well and basically no noises beyond the engine.

It is definitely a solid car and I see that you post on that 'rattle' thread - which I absolutely refuse to do - I do not want to feed that paranoia thread any further. After running with abandon for months (giving Ford and the 18 a very bad rap - no help from the Mod's here) it still has no conclusive evidence or findings - just speculation and innuendo.

Expecting the 2018 V8 to sound the same as the 2017 (or older) V8 w/o understanding the physical changes is madness. You cannot loose upwards of 8lbs or more in cylinder linings and expect the motor to sound the same. And we are talking about spray on linings that are "microns" thick. Assuming the paranoia in that thread is true - then no need to fret as these engines will fail very quickly as there isn't much material between the pistons and the aluminum block (I've read microns.) That thread suggests the pistons are loose and eating into the lining - if so - then we should have total failure very soon. And we should have many failures since pretty much all cars have it (whether the owners admit it or not.)

So enjoy your mustang folks. I closed my case at Ford as my dealer confirmed (along with my self) that the other new mustangs made the same noises. I had the chance of allowing Ford Service to dig more into my motor and said - hell no - my car is not going to be used as a guinea pig to figure out why the cars make a weird noise that make some loopy posters with OCD freak out.

My car has the noise - but it goes away substantially once the engine is warmed up. I'd love for a TSB to come out and end the speculation.

 

[Jetnoise]

Buy your import.......
You think they are bullit proof?

 

[Justin Fontaine]

Please post some facts supporting your assertions. All I see are generalizations and regurgitation of internet rumors. The number of engine and transmission failures reported here don't even represent a drop in the bucket of total cars sold, so percentage wise, insignificant.

The fact is Ford Motor company has issued 2 TSB ( technical service bulletins) regarding the 2018 Mustang GT. One in late May which was TSB# 2083 regarding the car's difficulty shifting into second gear. It indicates that cars built between Oct.25 and November 15th are the most likely to have the issue. (I can hear the rush to check build dates now. lol.) The second TSB ( which is a little harder to find because it is so new) is TSB # 18-2175 and it concerns the "inability to shift into 3 or 4th gear may be due to broken shift linkage" ( that's Ford language not some internet troll) Its posted on this forum under the transmission and drive train heading. Those are facts. Period. And the minimal amount of cars limping into Ford dealerships is was more than enough for them to issue these service bulletins. Believe me it is the last thing they want to do right before a full on recall. It wasn't 2 or 3 kids dumping first gear at redline. And I've been on the phone with dealers all over the western half of the county who want to sell me a car and when asked about the issue they either don't know anything ( Duh) or they will get back to me when they have some answers. My phone ain't ringing because they don't have an answer and are frustrated and can't sell around the issue. Again its a power train issue not a loose dome light cap. It's major and not isolated or they would have never switched parts out mid model or bothered to make a separate fix kit with the 20 or so parts needed to repair. Sorry.. It is what it is.

 

[Justin Fontaine]

BTW, you are cross shopping $40k cars with +$60k cars, and you expect the same quality?

First of all one can option a Mustang GT to 55k easily and it's going to have the same transmission and engine so same TSB's and possible failures. And even at 40k yes I'm expecting the car to compete with just about anything when it comes to functional basic drive train. Especially a high performance car. You can cross shop more expensive Euro's or a fully loaded 2018 Miata for 30k and you'll not hear about the power train failing in the first few thousand miles. Remember people like to say negative things about stuff they buy on-line so it would be there if there was a problem. Spend some time on the Mazda forum and see how many major issues their cars are having. It won't take long.

 

[2018OFPP1?2]

First of all one can option a Mustang GT to 55k easily and it's going to have the same transmission and engine so same TSB's and possible failures. And even at 40k yes I'm expecting the car to compete with just about anything when it comes to functional basic drive train. Especially a high performance car. You can cross shop more expensive Euro's or a fully loaded 2018 Miata for 30k and you'll not hear about the power train failing in the first few thousand miles. Remember people like to say negative things about stuff they buy on-line so it would be there if there was a problem. Spend some time on the Mazda forum and see how many major issues their cars are having. It won't take long.

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.

Best of luck with your import.

 

[bootlegger]

I'm shopping for a high performance sports car. I was ready to look at all options both foreign and domestic. The Ford Mustang to me is the best looking most well set up car of its type. If it stays screwed together it competes with some of the higher priced Euro cars like the BMW M2. I haven't shopped for a domestic in forever because even though I'm from Detroit and would love to support one of the "big 3" they always had more issues than the imports. Its a fact. It is now apparent to me that they still have just not gotten up to speed quality and build wise and that's sad. Thank you for pointing out that the Camaro and even the Challenger are probably going to have issues as well. Those cars are not on my radar anyway. I'm not here to bash the brand. I'd rather be out driving it now and enjoying it. I'm here to try and make an informed decision on a 40k high performance premium sports car. Regardless that people believe that it's just a few crazy people that trashed their cars on-line are not looking at reality. They are not looking at the overall picture and that's just a form of denial which we as a country have mastered the art of. Ford did not issue a TSB and are making modified parts to fix this particular issue because they wanted to. It's because they had enough cars limping into dealerships with blown transmissions and they had no choice. They are in full scramble more now trust me. It's a shame. It really is. And that's not even touching the subject of the "engine noise ticking" issue that has owners returning their cars for a fix.

FYI, there are engine ticks and there are engine rattles, then there are replacements (failures). So far, it seems 50% of the 2018 owners here have some sort of rattle, but only a few engines have been replaced. There is no evidence yet to show a rattle means emanant failure.

 

[bootlegger]

It is definitely a solid car and I see that you post on that 'rattle' thread - which I absolutely refuse to do - I do not want to feed that paranoia thread any further. After running with abandon for months (giving Ford and the 18 a very bad rap - no help from the Mod's here) it still has no conclusive evidence or findings - just speculation and innuendo.

Expecting the 2018 V8 to sound the same as the 2017 (or older) V8 w/o understanding the physical changes is madness. You cannot loose upwards of 8lbs or more in cylinder linings and expect the motor to sound the same. And we are talking about spray on linings that are "microns" thick. Assuming the paranoia in that thread is true - then no need to fret as these engines will fail very quickly as there isn't much material between the pistons and the aluminum block (I've read microns.) That thread suggests the pistons are loose and eating into the lining - if so - then we should have total failure very soon. And we should have many failures since pretty much all cars have it (whether the owners admit it or not.)

So enjoy your mustang folks. I closed my case at Ford as my dealer confirmed (along with my self) that the other new mustangs made the same noises. I had the chance of allowing Ford Service to dig more into my motor and said - hell no - my car is not going to be used as a guinea pig to figure out why the cars make a weird noise that make some loopy posters with OCD freak out.

My car has the noise - but it goes away substantially once the engine is warmed up. I'd love for a TSB to come out and end the speculation.

I don't believe the pistons are loose, nor do I believe it is piston slap. I have been data logging quite a bit, and never have knock beyond a normal single count changing between maps. However, I am not speculating when I say the sound isn't normal. My gasoline system development colleagues literally stated it sounds like sh1t, and they believe most of the rattle is coming from the HP pump. They also believe this could possibly be fixed by changing some pressure control logic in the ECU. However, we will have to wait and see. I am hoping my colleagues are correct. I don't want to have this engine replaced.
In regards to people being upset and panicking, I personally don't understand it for the guys running stock setups. There is nothing to worry about, if the thing lets loose. Those of us running modded setups have an excuse for being concerned. I don't want to have a dealer point fingers at my mods as the cause, when we all know damn well this is an OEM issue. I thought about just going back to stock, but I hate the low/mid range in stock form.

 

[bootlegger]

First of all one can option a Mustang GT to 55k easily and it's going to have the same transmission and engine so same TSB's and possible failures. And even at 40k yes I'm expecting the car to compete with just about anything when it comes to functional basic drive train. Especially a high performance car. You can cross shop more expensive Euro's or a fully loaded 2018 Miata for 30k and you'll not hear about the power train failing in the first few thousand miles. Remember people like to say negative things about stuff they buy on-line so it would be there if there was a problem. Spend some time on the Mazda forum and see how many major issues their cars are having. It won't take long.

As an ex-bimmer owner, I will tell you that they have just as many issues as Ford. They also cost much more to fix. You can find posts like this for most Euro performance cars:
https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1159393

Here is a whole article showing various issues with BMW engines.
https://jalopnik.com/bmw-engines-are-gigantic-pieces-of-shit-1784684330

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