A10 / 10R80 Failed, Unsure Next Steps

[Dler]

You need to talk to Ford Assistance and not rely on the dealership to accept the terms. We had a similar experience with our daughters Escape…..engine failed and she was out of power train warranty by 3-4 months 58,400 miles) and I called Ford. I explained the situation and the high cost and they ended up paying 68% of the engine/install cost. Just don’t call and be an ass or hot headed on the phone……they were extremely helpful and saved us thousands of dollar.

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[The Insomnimaniac]

2018 GT Base, 55K Miles, 5.5 years old. (Under 60K powertrain, over calendar by 6 months).

Car worked great one day, the next I'm leaving my house, and it won't shift past 2nd gear, rapidly decelerates, shows wrench on display. I figure it's pretty bad, so I carefully limp the car home. There were no odd noises, no warnings whatsoever for the failure. I get home, hook up the ODBII reader and I see P0757 and P2701 codes. These seem to be standard codes indicating problems in the transmission (duh).

I have done every single service at the dealership I purchased the car at, at every interval suggested, and every service they suggested per the schedule. I start calling dealerships around, starting with the dealership I normally get service at. Nobody can even look at the car for 3-4 weeks. Eventually I find a dealership about 15 miles away that can look at it, so I have the car there the following Monday.

The dealership does a series of tests and ends up dropping the bottom pan off the transmission, where they see metal and debris. The fluid appears to be a bit dirty, but not too bad. Further inspection finds extensive damage and that the torque converter has failed. I get a text message a few days later from the service department indicating that the repair is $8997. I talk to my service advisor, and he applies for Ford financial assistance. Yesterday I received word that Ford has approved assistance up to 40%, but that now the repair cost is $10,330, my out of pocket would be $6310.

In some sense yes, I am happy that Ford is offering to cover part of the cost of a vehicle repair, that's out of warranty. In another sense I'm pretty irritated this happened to a car with low mileage, barely out of warranty only by calendar. A $6300 out of pocket repair seems unacceptable to me, and honestly there's no possible way I could afford to pay this. I can't get any credit right now as I am in the process of a divorce, and I'm already in debt from huge temporary support payments. The Mustang was the surviving fun "toy" I could at least have some outlet with after this big life change.

Anyway, that's my sad story. I'm not sure what to do about this. I've been running up my remaining credit card balance with rental car fees. My dealership is appealing for more assistance, but it's unlikely they will do more. The kicker is, I have roughly 10 more small payments until I own the car outright. I think I owe close to $4k on the car.

$10.3K seems excessive for a total repair cost on this. What do you all think about that? I figured if I go to an independent shop, maybe the cost is $6K for the repair, but of course I get no assistance there, so I may as well just do it at the dealership. It's almost as if Ford jacked up the repair cost just to say they are offering assistance, but the repair cost is overpriced anyway so they really aren't helping.

I know, some of you say I should have bought an extended warranty. Perhaps you're correct, but I never have bought one on any other automobile ever, and it's never once been a problem. I did have a car develop engine trouble that was costly, but that was at 140K miles, and my teenager abused that car. The cost of the extended warranty seemed excessive at the time presented to me, but in hindsight yes, it is less than the cost of this repair. Never figured I'd blow a transmission though. This is my first Ford purchase; I am very certain it will now be my last.

I babied this car, never once tracked it, just daily drove it. This really should not have happened. Any thoughts?

Not gonna lie, I’ve had this exact fear with my car almost since I bought it. The trans is what I have least faith in. Unfortunately, I have no valuable insight to provide. I’m just sorry you’re caught in such a mess. I hope things workout for the best.

 

[SMUAlien]

Curious…. How is Ford Corp saying the vehicle qualifies for a Buy Back at this stage? It’s out of the 3/36, it’s out of the 5/60 and we’re talking 55k accrued miles on it as well, let alone it is now 5, almost 6 years old.

Ford follows the State Laws for vehicle Buy Backs and/or Lemon Laws. In many States, you‘ve exceeded the limitations to start a claim, not only by years from the vehicle’s original invoiced date, but also accrued mileage.

I’m really interested in hearing more about this and the “how”, because it’s very unusual. This is also coming from someone who’s been through the Ford RAV Buy Back process and has posted quite a bit of tech/tips on the Ford Buy Back process here as well.

I will keep you updated on this. I don't know what this process is, what it entails, or even if I actually truly qualify for it.

Essentially what happened was when the high repair cost was communicated to me, I stated plainly that it was impossible for me at this point, and I was curious about what other options there would be, like selling the car back or some sort of buyback. The dealership said I'd need to speak to a manager and investigate that. I heard nothing for a number of days, my service rep was on vacation. I called the dealership again and a new service rep suggested I call Ford Customer Service.

I did so, and called Ford Customer Service nationally, and I told them I'd like to appeal the amount offered to me or potentially have Ford buyback the vehicle. The woman said there was already a buyback case number for me if I chose to go that route, she said she had to place me on hold to transfer me to that representative and gave me the case number. I was on hold roughly 15 minutes, but then I had to drop due to a work meeting I was called to join.

The next day, I called again, and the customer service representative explained that a buyback has a long list of criteria, questions that will be answered of me and if I qualify, they'd begin the process. I was then transferred to a buyback representative and gave me my case number again. I spoke briefly with this buyback representative; he didn't ask me any questions actually but simply said "it's clear you qualify for this program" and placed me on hold again. After a few minutes, he said after reviewing my case notes, that I already have an advocate working on my behalf, and that is the service department of my dealership, he explained I needed to work directly with them.

I talked to the dealership again later that day, they said they'd appeal for a higher repair amount, and also inquire at length about "other options, which I took to mean some sort of buyout." I was told I would hear something from them early next week (12/4 or 12/5). They also said they'd investigate if they could help out with some form of rental car.

I am not sure what they will offer, if they will go up in assistance in what they're offering for repair, or if they will offer me to buyback the car. Maybe they will offer to buy the car back from me at some used car price minus some repair cost, I really don't know.

This is where I am at right now. I had no idea there was some "buyback program" or what the criteria would be. I was surprised I wasn't asked more questions about it by the national representative, it just seemed they wanted to put it back on the dealership, maybe that's why I was not further interviewed.

It's a crappy situation to be sure, but my interactions with everyone at Ford have shown them to be extremely professional, compassionate, respectful, and friendly, this includes my dealership and national. I am frustrated by the situation, but I've been able to keep cool headed I think, mainly due to how they interact with me. They seem like good people.

I will add, I am in no way angry at Ford for what's happened to my car. In the line of work I do, I understand failures in systems such as this. I'm just at a point where I have to figure out what to do with the limited resources at my disposal. My feeling is a failure such as this, not long out warranty, on a well-maintained car, is a good candidate for enhanced support from the manufacturer. My feeling is, problems like these are rare in the big picture, and if Ford can step up and do more, overall, it's a good thing for the consumer and the company as a whole. Maybe I am wrong.

I did state earlier that I wouldn't consider another Ford product, maybe that's not accurate. I think I would depending on how this resolves. At the end of the day, I do like their cars and trucks and would rather buy American. I am thankful they did offer some support to me so far, but it's just not enough to be viable for me. I am in a hyper conservative financial posture right now.

I will do my best to keep providing updates here.

 

[tjones]

2018 GT Base, 55K Miles, 5.5 years old. (Under 60K powertrain, over calendar by 6 months).

Car worked great one day, the next I'm leaving my house, and it won't shift past 2nd gear, rapidly decelerates, shows wrench on display. I figure it's pretty bad, so I carefully limp the car home. There were no odd noises, no warnings whatsoever for the failure. I get home, hook up the ODBII reader and I see P0757 and P2701 codes. These seem to be standard codes indicating problems in the transmission (duh).

I have done every single service at the dealership I purchased the car at, at every interval suggested, and every service they suggested per the schedule. I start calling dealerships around, starting with the dealership I normally get service at. Nobody can even look at the car for 3-4 weeks. Eventually I find a dealership about 15 miles away that can look at it, so I have the car there the following Monday.

The dealership does a series of tests and ends up dropping the bottom pan off the transmission, where they see metal and debris. The fluid appears to be a bit dirty, but not too bad. Further inspection finds extensive damage and that the torque converter has failed. I get a text message a few days later from the service department indicating that the repair is $8997. I talk to my service advisor, and he applies for Ford financial assistance. Yesterday I received word that Ford has approved assistance up to 40%, but that now the repair cost is $10,330, my out of pocket would be $6310.

In some sense yes, I am happy that Ford is offering to cover part of the cost of a vehicle repair, that's out of warranty. In another sense I'm pretty irritated this happened to a car with low mileage, barely out of warranty only by calendar. A $6300 out of pocket repair seems unacceptable to me, and honestly there's no possible way I could afford to pay this. I can't get any credit right now as I am in the process of a divorce, and I'm already in debt from huge temporary support payments. The Mustang was the surviving fun "toy" I could at least have some outlet with after this big life change.

Anyway, that's my sad story. I'm not sure what to do about this. I've been running up my remaining credit card balance with rental car fees. My dealership is appealing for more assistance, but it's unlikely they will do more. The kicker is, I have roughly 10 more small payments until I own the car outright. I think I owe close to $4k on the car.

$10.3K seems excessive for a total repair cost on this. What do you all think about that? I figured if I go to an independent shop, maybe the cost is $6K for the repair, but of course I get no assistance there, so I may as well just do it at the dealership. It's almost as if Ford jacked up the repair cost just to say they are offering assistance, but the repair cost is overpriced anyway so they really aren't helping.

I know, some of you say I should have bought an extended warranty. Perhaps you're correct, but I never have bought one on any other automobile ever, and it's never once been a problem. I did have a car develop engine trouble that was costly, but that was at 140K miles, and my teenager abused that car. The cost of the extended warranty seemed excessive at the time presented to me, but in hindsight yes, it is less than the cost of this repair. Never figured I'd blow a transmission though. This is my first Ford purchase; I am very certain it will now be my last.

I babied this car, never once tracked it, just daily drove it. This really should not have happened. Any thoughts?

$10k is pretty typical, I see this every day.

2018 GT Base, 55K Miles, 5.5 years old. (Under 60K powertrain, over calendar by 6 months).

Car worked great one day, the next I'm leaving my house, and it won't shift past 2nd gear, rapidly decelerates, shows wrench on display. I figure it's pretty bad, so I carefully limp the car home. There were no odd noises, no warnings whatsoever for the failure. I get home, hook up the ODBII reader and I see P0757 and P2701 codes. These seem to be standard codes indicating problems in the transmission (duh).

I have done every single service at the dealership I purchased the car at, at every interval suggested, and every service they suggested per the schedule. I start calling dealerships around, starting with the dealership I normally get service at. Nobody can even look at the car for 3-4 weeks. Eventually I find a dealership about 15 miles away that can look at it, so I have the car there the following Monday.

The dealership does a series of tests and ends up dropping the bottom pan off the transmission, where they see metal and debris. The fluid appears to be a bit dirty, but not too bad. Further inspection finds extensive damage and that the torque converter has failed. I get a text message a few days later from the service department indicating that the repair is $8997. I talk to my service advisor, and he applies for Ford financial assistance. Yesterday I received word that Ford has approved assistance up to 40%, but that now the repair cost is $10,330, my out of pocket would be $6310.

In some sense yes, I am happy that Ford is offering to cover part of the cost of a vehicle repair, that's out of warranty. In another sense I'm pretty irritated this happened to a car with low mileage, barely out of warranty only by calendar. A $6300 out of pocket repair seems unacceptable to me, and honestly there's no possible way I could afford to pay this. I can't get any credit right now as I am in the process of a divorce, and I'm already in debt from huge temporary support payments. The Mustang was the surviving fun "toy" I could at least have some outlet with after this big life change.

Anyway, that's my sad story. I'm not sure what to do about this. I've been running up my remaining credit card balance with rental car fees. My dealership is appealing for more assistance, but it's unlikely they will do more. The kicker is, I have roughly 10 more small payments until I own the car outright. I think I owe close to $4k on the car.

$10.3K seems excessive for a total repair cost on this. What do you all think about that? I figured if I go to an independent shop, maybe the cost is $6K for the repair, but of course I get no assistance there, so I may as well just do it at the dealership. It's almost as if Ford jacked up the repair cost just to say they are offering assistance, but the repair cost is overpriced anyway so they really aren't helping.

I know, some of you say I should have bought an extended warranty. Perhaps you're correct, but I never have bought one on any other automobile ever, and it's never once been a problem. I did have a car develop engine trouble that was costly, but that was at 140K miles, and my teenager abused that car. The cost of the extended warranty seemed excessive at the time presented to me, but in hindsight yes, it is less than the cost of this repair. Never figured I'd blow a transmission though. This is my first Ford purchase; I am very certain it will now be my last.

I babied this car, never once tracked it, just daily drove it. This really should not have happened. Any thoughts?

$10k is pretty typical with the 10R80. I see it quite frequently unfortunately. It’s not just the cost of the transmission and labor to replace , Ford also allows tare down time to cover the technician. The 10R80 is a Ford/ Gm design and it’s a bad one. I would suggest you also contact Ford and tell them the dealer has already opened a case and see if you can convince them to help even more. Also ask for rental expenses if you haven’t already.

 

[Tmajikman]

$10k is pretty typical, I see this every day.

$10k is pretty typical with the 10R80. I see it quite frequently unfortunately. It’s not just the cost of the transmission and labor to replace , Ford also allows tare down time to cover the technician. The 10R80 is a Ford/ Gm design and it’s a bad one. I would suggest you also contact Ford and tell them the dealer has already opened a case and see if you can convince them to help even more. Also ask for rental expenses if you haven’t already.

I'm just curious, how much better is the 6R80 than the 10R80? I have the 6R80 and I have had really good luck with it.

 

[tjones]

I'm just curious, how much better is the 6R80 than the 10R80? I have the 6R80 and I have had really good luck with it.

Much better in my opinion.

 

[Tmajikman]

Much better in my opinion.

Thank you for your answer and quick reply.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I will keep you updated on this. I don't know what this process is, what it entails, or even if I actually truly qualify for it.

Essentially what happened was when the high repair cost was communicated to me, I stated plainly that it was impossible for me at this point, and I was curious about what other options there would be, like selling the car back or some sort of buyback. The dealership said I'd need to speak to a manager and investigate that. I heard nothing for a number of days, my service rep was on vacation. I called the dealership again and a new service rep suggested I call Ford Customer Service.

I did so, and called Ford Customer Service nationally, and I told them I'd like to appeal the amount offered to me or potentially have Ford buyback the vehicle. The woman said there was already a buyback case number for me if I chose to go that route, she said she had to place me on hold to transfer me to that representative and gave me the case number. I was on hold roughly 15 minutes, but then I had to drop due to a work meeting I was called to join.

The next day, I called again, and the customer service representative explained that a buyback has a long list of criteria, questions that will be answered of me and if I qualify, they'd begin the process. I was then transferred to a buyback representative and gave me my case number again. I spoke briefly with this buyback representative; he didn't ask me any questions actually but simply said "it's clear you qualify for this program" and placed me on hold again. After a few minutes, he said after reviewing my case notes, that I already have an advocate working on my behalf, and that is the service department of my dealership, he explained I needed to work directly with them.

I talked to the dealership again later that day, they said they'd appeal for a higher repair amount, and also inquire at length about "other options, which I took to mean some sort of buyout." I was told I would hear something from them early next week (12/4 or 12/5). They also said they'd investigate if they could help out with some form of rental car.

I am not sure what they will offer, if they will go up in assistance in what they're offering for repair, or if they will offer me to buyback the car. Maybe they will offer to buy the car back from me at some used car price minus some repair cost, I really don't know.

This is where I am at right now. I had no idea there was some "buyback program" or what the criteria would be. I was surprised I wasn't asked more questions about it by the national representative, it just seemed they wanted to put it back on the dealership, maybe that's why I was not further interviewed.

It's a crappy situation to be sure, but my interactions with everyone at Ford have shown them to be extremely professional, compassionate, respectful, and friendly, this includes my dealership and national. I am frustrated by the situation, but I've been able to keep cool headed I think, mainly due to how they interact with me. They seem like good people.

I will add, I am in no way angry at Ford for what's happened to my car. In the line of work I do, I understand failures in systems such as this. I'm just at a point where I have to figure out what to do with the limited resources at my disposal. My feeling is a failure such as this, not long out warranty, on a well-maintained car, is a good candidate for enhanced support from the manufacturer. My feeling is, problems like these are rare in the big picture, and if Ford can step up and do more, overall, it's a good thing for the consumer and the company as a whole. Maybe I am wrong.

I did state earlier that I wouldn't consider another Ford product, maybe that's not accurate. I think I would depending on how this resolves. At the end of the day, I do like their cars and trucks and would rather buy American. I am thankful they did offer some support to me so far, but it's just not enough to be viable for me. I am in a hyper conservative financial posture right now.

I will do my best to keep providing updates here.

Ok, thanks for the additional info. I'll try to help ya...

Usually with a Ford Buy Back (Lemon) is that Ford RAV will give (2) options:

1) Swap or collateral.
Return the collateral for another new Ford product for MSRP to MSRP. What this means in simple terms is that if your Mustang was say (hypothetical figures) $38k brand new as in the window sticker from Ford - then with the collateral swap you can chose any new Ford product that also has an MSRP of $38k. If the MSRP is higher, you're responsible for that amount. IF the MSRP is higher by say a little more (like say it's $1k), Ford RAV may work with you on that an absorb the delta.
- You will be response for any other Fees such as any doc fees, title transfer fees etc. These are the doc/DMV fees a Dealership would charge and Ford RAV has no control over that at all.
- You will also be responsible for any tax delta (IF one exists IF MSRP is higher on the new vehicle replacement).

If there is a loan balance remaining, that will get rolled into a new loan as well as any remaining fees mentioned above. So if you owed $5k on the car and the fees came to another $800, your new loan would be $5800.00.

Some banks have different ways of working with a buy back as such. They may just adjust the existing loan as well as the VIN on that account, other will require the old loan be paid off (by Ford RAV) and a new loan executed.

The swap for collateral is also always MSRP to MSRP - no discounts, it does matter what "deal" you got when you originally bought the car, no Ford A-X plans, no Dealer incentives, no military/education discounts, no other discounts can or will be applied at all. It's straight MSRP to MSRP.

Now with the above said, be aware that some States have a milage usage fee that gets added. This would be the mileage that was documented when the vehicle went into the shop; it's a formula used and created by the home State. Again this is a State by State case, some do this others do not. This again is of no control by Ford or Ford RAV, it's in the State's Buy Back, Consumer rights or Lemon laws.

Your case is unique in the sense that MOST State Buy Back/Lemon laws have provisions that must be met, but also provisions that cannot be exceeded. One such "can't file a claim" would be if the vehicle has met or exceeded 12-24k miles in 1-2 years after its invoice date. Meaning you could not file any Buy Back or Lemon claim if the vehicle met or exceeded the State's provisions by accrued miles OR by years, whichever came first.

IF Ford is opting to you a Buy Back, make sure you get ALL of the details. This is very unique and the first time I'm hearing of such an instance where Ford is offering a Buy Back on a vehicle that is 5-6 years old and has exceeded the mileage warranties for both the new car and the 5/60. Usually Ford does not deviate from the home State Lemon Law at all, and from what I understood, could not.

If you search my user Id on here with the following terms:
Ford RAV
Ford Buy Back
Lemon Law
RAV worksheet
Lemon

You will hit on 1 of many threads where I have even give examples with figures as to how Ford RAV does their worksheet with a collateral swap - samples showing if there were hypothetical fees, etc etc.

2) Refund if monies paid.
This means Ford refunds what was paid and you take the check and opt to walk away OR buy another Ford. If you opt to buy another Ford, I've seen and heard on here that some people have been offered a discount towards the new Ford. This process works the same as the RAV Swap of Collateral, but you're just turning in the vehicle, taking the check and walking (or buying a new Ford).

 

[MAGS1]

I'm just curious, how much better is the 6R80 than the 10R80? I have the 6R80 and I have had really good luck with it.

Better is subjective. The 6R is less complex than the 10R. I had the 6R in my 2016 S550 and it was great. I have the 10R in my 2022 and outside of some harsh shifting (was low fluid from factory), it’s been quite good. It’s a little quirky because it hunts for the most efficient gear (in D anyway) but outside of that I’ve had no complaints so far. If anything goes wrong with it, I would expect it to be more expensive than the 6R.

 

[Tmajikman]

Better is subjective. The 6R is less complex than the 10R. I had the 6R in my 2016 S550 and it was great. I have the 10R in my 2022 and outside of some harsh shifting (was low fluid from factory), it’s been quite good. It’s a little quirky because it hunts for the most efficient gear (in D anyway) but outside of that I’ve had no complaints so far. If anything goes wrong with it, I would expect it to be more expensive than the 6R.

When I bought my 15, I first test drove a 19 with the 10R, and I honestly couldn't feel much of a difference from my 15 and the 19, but I do agree, the 10R will probably be more expensive to fix than the 6R

 

[Torched10]

When I bought my 15, I first test drove a 19 with the 10R, and I honestly couldn't feel much of a difference from my 15 and the 19, but I do agree, the 10R will probably be more expensive to fix than the 6R

If they offer you an msrp swap my gutless us you'll need to cough up anotherv10k to make it work.but you'll b e getting a new car warranty etc.if you have someone else do the work ford will charge for putting it back together at least couple grand.youll have to aSk them.your in a tough spot wish you luck.

 

[Tmajikman]

If they offer you an msrp swap my gutless us you'll need to cough up anotherv10k to make it work.but you'll b e getting a new car warranty etc.if you have someone else do the work ford will charge for putting it back together at least couple grand.youll have to aSk them.your in a tough spot wish you luck.

No, I have the 6r, I have no plans to put a 10r in my 15, I am happy with what I have now

 

[furdfan2018]

Car-part.com has low-mile 10r80 Mustang tranny's for $1500-3500 and up.

I'd go that direction OR, buy a new one from Tascaparts, install yourself in a few weekends and call it a day.

A new trans from Tasca is $4500 plus your core.

 

[Stage_3]

Damn this sucks.
Good luck OP, I hope it all works out for you man. Keep us posted.

 

[SMUAlien]

Update:

I appealed and Ford will not increase what they are offering in assistance to repair the vehicle. They are also not giving me any information about a buyback or anything, no matter how much I ask. Any phone call to my local dealership or customer service ends up with a circular "we'll have to call you back" but they never do.

I called again and finally spoke to the dealership, and they have offered a very low amount to sell the car to them. Alternatively, I have to decide if I pay the huge sum to get it fixed, then sell it, or just try to find some wholesaler to buy it in current condition. Every single question about a buyback is diverted when I ask about it. Apparently, I do qualify, but that it's some long process and they "have to get back to me" but never do. I have some appointment with Ford national to speak to a supervisor tomorrow, I doubt highly this will go anywhere.

Needless to say, I am completely done with Ford. I do not feel they stood by their product. I understand it was out of warranty (barely) and for that reason I am open to paying a portion of the repair, but certainly not 60% of it. I believe this car was defective from day 1 and had I been driving it more (no COVID), it likely would have failed within the warranty calendar timeframe.

Do not know what I am going to do for transportation, but at this point it won't be with that car.

There will never be another FORD in my future, my family's future, and hopefully my friend's future. I cannot recommend them.

At this point the dealership has turned to being a bit nasty. They want me to either get the car fixed or pay storage fees. They also have not provided me with a written repair estimate. I've heard them tell me now many times "they aren't making any money on this" and that it's a problem.

I was told by Ford national, that if I have the car moved from the dealership, I have to petition to get the repair paid partially by Ford again, the process restarts.

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