Is it worth Fixing?
Discussion
My cousin owns a 2009 Ford Focus Auto (71,000 miles) , she's been having issues with the gearbox (harsh shifts, holding gears)
Took it to a mechanic where they plugged in an OBD the results are attached
is it worth her fixing it? what would be a rough figure she'd be looking at for repair costs?
I've told her plenty of times to get a transmission fluid drain/fill before things go wrong, of course she didn't listen.
Is it worth giving it a try now? or just cutting her losses at this point and getting rid of it.
She paid £4k for the car last year. WBAC & Cazoo are offering her £2k
any thoughts welcome
cheers guys
Took it to a mechanic where they plugged in an OBD the results are attached
is it worth her fixing it? what would be a rough figure she'd be looking at for repair costs?
I've told her plenty of times to get a transmission fluid drain/fill before things go wrong, of course she didn't listen.
Is it worth giving it a try now? or just cutting her losses at this point and getting rid of it.
She paid £4k for the car last year. WBAC & Cazoo are offering her £2k
any thoughts welcome
cheers guys
Edited by eleveneleven on Wednesday 17th November 11:43
E-bmw said:
Firstly, just because that is the conditional offer doesn't mean that is what they will actually pay her for the car.
Secondly, did they actually clear the codes to see if they come back?
Thirdly, personally I would change them, have the codes cleared & see what happens then.
Thank you, yea I've heard WBAC can be quite picky when it comes to inspecting the car, not sure she's even told them about the gearbox issueSecondly, did they actually clear the codes to see if they come back?
Thirdly, personally I would change them, have the codes cleared & see what happens then.
so yea will probably be a lot less.
As for clearing the codes I have no idea and she probably wont either but its still not driving right so I doubt they've attempted anything. I'll give the garage she took it to a quick call now see if I can get a better idea of what's going on.
Edited by eleveneleven on Wednesday 17th November 12:10
It's amazing how many problems a simple oil and filter change on an Auto transmission can fix.
Definitely worth a shot.
Chasing codes can be tricky as one code can cause a cascading effect making it hard to know what the cause of the original fault is.
Are there any lights on the dash.
Is the speedo working correctly, showing the correct speed and not behaving erratically?
Output speed sensors can easily go out of wack with contaminated oil, or could just be a dodgy sensor.
Either way, these are both cheap fixes and an easy DIY if you want to keep the cost down.
If the above doesn't fix it, then you're starting to get into more complicated fixes.
Definitely worth a shot.
Chasing codes can be tricky as one code can cause a cascading effect making it hard to know what the cause of the original fault is.
Are there any lights on the dash.
Is the speedo working correctly, showing the correct speed and not behaving erratically?
Output speed sensors can easily go out of wack with contaminated oil, or could just be a dodgy sensor.
Either way, these are both cheap fixes and an easy DIY if you want to keep the cost down.
If the above doesn't fix it, then you're starting to get into more complicated fixes.
montyjohn said:
It's amazing how many problems a simple oil and filter change on an Auto transmission can fix.
Definitely worth a shot.
My thinking exactly, ^^ Definitely worth a shot.
I spoke to the Mechanic she took it to, they're auto transmission specialists, he thinks a flush wont work in this case and the only solution is to take to a Ford specialist as the TCM's are a known weak point with the MK2 Autos Worse case she'll be looking at £1,000 + fitting, programming for a new Transmission Control Module but there's a possibility it could be a just wiring fault.
You can get a second hand TCMs for less than £100 on eBay. All from Lithuania for some reason.
Anyway, I would call the Ford guys, if they agree it's likely the TCM, ask them if they are happy to re-program a used unit.
Should bring the price right down.
Sound odd to me to go straight to the most expensive thing however.
Start with a fluid change, clear codes.
Check the output sensor is working. If they know what it should be outputting, they can check this very easily.
As you say it could be a wiring fault, although with all my issues this never seems to be the case.
Then I'd be trying to use a second hand TCM.
You want to try and keep it all below a few hundred quid for a car of this value.
Anyway, I would call the Ford guys, if they agree it's likely the TCM, ask them if they are happy to re-program a used unit.
Should bring the price right down.
Sound odd to me to go straight to the most expensive thing however.
Start with a fluid change, clear codes.
Check the output sensor is working. If they know what it should be outputting, they can check this very easily.
As you say it could be a wiring fault, although with all my issues this never seems to be the case.
Then I'd be trying to use a second hand TCM.
You want to try and keep it all below a few hundred quid for a car of this value.
its almost certainly the harsh shifting issue too 
the trans ECM needs that essential bit of information after all So holding gears is likely the speed sensors. Are they hall effect or optical? If tcu cannot detect shaft speed then most trans will play up and either hold gears or go to fail safe and/or go to a default get you home map. However not familiar with the ford system and if common problem is tcu then maybe that is the problem. Does it evwr work properly as may be worth getting diagnostics whilst it is changing ok and see if you can pin poiny the issue. Did the garage not clear the codes and see what came back.
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