I currently drive a 2012 Ford Fiesta 1.6 with Ford’s PowerShift 6 Speed Dry Dual Clutch Automatic Transmission. It is a great Hatchback to drive with all the Electronic and Safety features in it. I really enjoy driving it. If you are driving the 2010 ~ New Ford Fiesta or Ford Focus, there is a high probability that you got it with Ford’s PowerShift 6 Speed Dry Dual Clutch Automatic Transmission. But! It does come with a major issue on its own, which is the Transmission itself!
When I got this car about a Year and a Half ago, the car was great. But at about 6000 KM, the transmission started acting strange. Sometimes when my Ford Fiesta was shifting from 2nd Gear to 3rd Gear, the car would stutter and then shift. I went online and found in a few Ford Fiesta/Focus forums that there were many people having issues with the Ford PowerShift transmission. There were some fixes that were related to updating the Transmission Firmware but sadly the issue I had was beyond a Firmware update.
The picture above is from my Ford Fiesta with the Powershift Transmission leaking Transmission Fluids. Due to an issue with the transmission seal, this caused the Transmission fluid to leak out and contaminate the Dry Clutches. This caused the Clutches to slip which was why my car was stuttering when shifting from 2nd Gear to 3rd Gear.
The only way to have this problem fixed is to go to a Ford Dealership/Service Center and have them replace the Seal and the Clutches. For me it took 2 weeks for the parts to arrive and couple days for them to install the new Seal and new Clutches. After that was done, I had no Transmission issues ever since. I’ve driven this car up to 26,000 KM now and there have been no leaks so far.
If you think your Ford Fiesta/Focus might have a leaky PowerShift Transmission, I suggest you get under the car and see if there is any sign of oil leaking under the transmission area. This is a sure way to know if your Transmission Seal is failing. Plus it is better to get this problem fixed while the Car is still under warranty! 😀