Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans | Page 12 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans

Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans

  • No problems the transmission works well

    Votes: 16 59.3%
  • Occasional glitches that I can live with or rarely notice

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Constant reproducible issues

    Votes: 7 25.9%
  • Constant intermittent issues that never get dealt with

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    27
Hello, New to the forum, but just bought my 5th Ford Explorer a '21 LTD.

Although an entirely different engine and transmission, my 2006 XLT had a shifting problem when cold only. During the 1-2 shift, it would feel jerky like I was stabbing the throttle on and off quickly. After about a mile or so and slightly warmed up, it would not happen again until the next warm up cycle. The fix was a PCM reflash, but heres the kicker. The first reflash cured the problem for about a week. Took it back and they did it again, and the problem never returned. I would contact the dealer.

Also, some modern cars retard the timing during shifts to reduce emissions, mainly HC, which can feel like an interruption in engine power. This is usually felt more during heavier throttle applications. You may be feeling some of this and it may be separate from the problems you describe.

I'm off for a couple of days and i called my dealer to ask about the reflash for my XLT. They said, "there's no update for my VIN". I told them the trans hasn't been smooth since day one but once that new car feeling went away, it became annoying more and more each day. They said if i suspect it to be a real issue, to bring it in and leave it. I asked them if they have loaners and they said they can not offer a loaner unless something catastrophic happened to the car where it would be down weeks or possibly months. I asked them, "if i bring the car in how long will it take for it to get checked, and confirm something is wrong." They said, "could be a week or 2 just to see the car. And the result might come back that nothing is wrong". I said "oh ok cool", and hung up.

I'm definitely not coming back for another lease.
 



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I'm off for a couple of days and i called my dealer to ask about the reflash for my XLT. They said, "there's no update for my VIN". I told them the trans hasn't been smooth since day one but once that new car feeling went away, it became annoying more and more each day. They said if i suspect it to be a real issue, to bring it in and leave it. I asked them if they have loaners and they said they can not offer a loaner unless something catastrophic happened to the car where it would be down weeks or possibly months. I asked them, "if i bring the car in how long will it take for it to get checked, and confirm something is wrong." They said, "could be a week or 2 just to see the car. And the result might come back that nothing is wrong". I said "oh ok cool", and hung up.

I'm definitely not coming back for another lease.
That is awful. Really makes me hesitant to get a new explorer with hearing these stories. Is there another Ford dealer you could go to?
 






That is awful. Really makes me hesitant to get a new explorer with hearing these stories. Is there another Ford dealer you could go to?

There's many. It's not really an issue with that particular dealer. My family and friends have bought cars from there before. The buying experience is good. Service, i'm now finding out, is not.

So i'm not going to bring my XLT there, just to have it sit a week or 2, or possibly more, then i get a call, "hey man we checked the car, checked the tune, nothing is wrong, you can come pick it up now".

While i do have other cars to use, i'm not paying the lease payments for the car to just sit at the dealer and get a there's nothing wrong with the car answer after a couple of weeks.

I'll still recommend friends and family to go to THAT dealer but i myself won't be getting into another lease. I'll most likely switch to a different brand. I have 2 years left on the lease so i'm sure EV tech will greatly improve by then, i'll be looking at a model 3 performance as my next lease.
 






Are you not able to make an appointment? That is how my dealer operates. If yours is a fairly large dealer, it could be that they are booked up for the near future so they won't be able to take you in right away. As for loaners, neither they nor Ford is obliged to supply one. Usually when a dealer does, it is at their expense and if they are a busy place, it is possible they are all spoken for. My dealer supplies loaners for customers of any make/model if arranged beforehand.

Peter
 






Are you not able to make an appointment? That is how my dealer operates. If yours is a fairly large dealer, it could be that they are booked up for the near future so they won't be able to take you in right away. As for loaners, neither they nor Ford is obliged to supply one. Usually when a dealer does, it is at their expense and if they are a busy place, it is possible they are all spoken for. My dealer supplies loaners for customers of any make/model if arranged beforehand.

Peter

Me?

Of course i can get an appointment. The dealer said i can drop off the car whenever but they said it will take AT LEAST a week or 2 to even look at the car. So perhaps they are booked, understaffed or an issue like mine isn't a top priority.

I'm just saying i don't like an answer like that knowing there's a good chance in a week or 2 i'll get a call saying, "hey sorry we couldn't find anything wrong, you can pick your car up now". And that's half a lease payment wasted with nothing resolved.

I could just find a 3rd party shop and have them put new fluid (or better fluid) in the trans to see if that helps but i risk voiding warranty like that if i did have to bring in the car in the future for a worse issue and they somehow found out i changed the fluid.

Don't get me wrong, the car still drives. I never had any incident, not yet thank god, of something going terribly wrong on the road like starting in second gear, or car won't move or engage D or R etc, but the amount i'm paying on this lease, i would like to have a way better driving car.
 






When I make an appointment. they give me an actual date and time to bring it in to have it looked at. No waiting a week or more to check it out. But then I've never actually had any serious issue either.

Pete
 






When I make an appointment. they give me an actual date and time to bring it in to have it looked at. No waiting a week or more to check it out. But then I've never actually had any serious issue either.

Pete
Consider yourself lucky. The quality of care and service has diminished greatly in my area. Around here, you make an appointment that is often weeks out. Bring the vehicle in, they have it for a few days and then decide they need to order a part. They don't stock parts. Wait a few more days for the part to show up, and maybe a few more days for it to be installed. They had my Explorer for 2 weeks to change the transmission cooler and back up camera.
 






Ford's service and quality is terrible. My dealer is great but when there is soooooo many transmission issues, it's hard to get someone's car fixed. My 2020 needed a rebuild and when that didn't work they replaced the transmission, in the shop for 42 days. Dealer couldn't even look at it for 10 days. When I called months ago for a possible coolant leak, they wouldn't even let me book an appointment saying "That department is too backed up to even book appointments." I made a mistake buying a Ford and I am currently lemoning my Explorer with the help of an attorney.
 






When I make an appointment. they give me an actual date and time to bring it in to have it looked at. No waiting a week or more to check it out. But then I've never actually had any serious issue either.

Pete

That probably works for oil changes, maybe tire rotation, wiper blade etc.

For them to diagnose a problem, because i don't know what it is, they said a week or 2 upon dropping the car off. They simply aren't going to drop what they're doing, just to fiddle with my car not knowing what the problem is. I used to work for my buddies speed shop. Fixing cars was way easy. Diagnosing an issue could take hours, or days. Not to mention a place like ford, i suspect a lot of the automotive techs to be recent grads. And i graduated from lincoln tech, some of the students were clueless, even at graduation day.
 






Ford's service and quality is terrible. My dealer is great but when there is soooooo many transmission issues, it's hard to get someone's car fixed. My 2020 needed a rebuild and when that didn't work they replaced the transmission, in the shop for 42 days. Dealer couldn't even look at it for 10 days. When I called months ago for a possible coolant leak, they wouldn't even let me book an appointment saying "That department is too backed up to even book appointments." I made a mistake buying a Ford and I am currently lemoning my Explorer with the help of an attorney.
I think you have it backwards. Fords service is great but your dealership isn't. Your service adviser might be good, but sorry, when you drop it off and they can't look at it for 10 days is not a Ford problem. It is a dealership problem.

The only good thing about the dealership I use is the service department. I traded a 2015 F-150 the beginning of last year (different dealership). It had the 2.7 engine and I had bought it late in 2015. In that 4 years I had to replace the oil pan twice. The second time was out of warranty. My service advisor told me to call Ford and ask for assistance. I was a bit upset that I had purchased a $45k truck (in 2015) and had to take it in twice in less than four years to get the oil pan replaced. Called Ford and expressed my displeasure starting with I have owned 9 Fords at that time and have never been without one since the late 80's. They didn't cover all of the costs, but they did cover half and provided a rental car for the time it was out.

On point with the thread. I'm not a big fan of the 10-speed. I normally keep the car in eco mode, except weekends. It always seems to be in a gear too high around town and the engine sounds like it's lugging. I've also had issues with it not wanting to down shift when I hit the gas, then suddenly shifting so I get launched. Not a good experience in traffic. Then again, those last problems could simply be that I can't feel my feet and am not applying as much pressure to the gas as I think.
 






I think you have it backwards. Fords service is great but your dealership isn't. Your service adviser might be good, but sorry, when you drop it off and they can't look at it for 10 days is not a Ford problem. It is a dealership problem.

The only good thing about the dealership I use is the service department. I traded a 2015 F-150 the beginning of last year (different dealership). It had the 2.7 engine and I had bought it late in 2015. In that 4 years I had to replace the oil pan twice. The second time was out of warranty. My service advisor told me to call Ford and ask for assistance. I was a bit upset that I had purchased a $45k truck (in 2015) and had to take it in twice in less than four years to get the oil pan replaced. Called Ford and expressed my displeasure starting with I have owned 9 Fords at that time and have never been without one since the late 80's. They didn't cover all of the costs, but they did cover half and provided a rental car for the time it was out.

On point with the thread. I'm not a big fan of the 10-speed. I normally keep the car in eco mode, except weekends. It always seems to be in a gear too high around town and the engine sounds like it's lugging. I've also had issues with it not wanting to down shift when I hit the gas, then suddenly shifting so I get launched. Not a good experience in traffic. Then again, those last problems should simply be that I can't feel my feet and am not applying as much pressure to the gas as I think.
Ford not knowing how to properly design a transmission and not having parts in stock for repairs is Ford’s problem. Once they finally tore down the transmission, the wiring harness was on a 10 day backorder so it really didn’t matter. Ford is not what it used to be
 






The stocking of many parts went 'out the window' several years ago due to the costs involved in keeping inventory. This applied to not only car dealers but also to many other repair facilities. During this current time, there are many shortages affecting many companies as well.

Peter
 






Couple of thoughts, not just tied to the transmission.

Don't like the service or response you are getting from a dealer? For most of us, there are plenty of dealers to choose from. In my case, I've worked with three local options. I avoid one, but have an excellent track record with another location of the same dealer and the service advisor there. They aren't the closest, but they have always done right by me.

The one I avoid takes appointments and then doesn't look at them that day. The other one does. Guess who gets my business.

Point being, buying a car and the service the dealer provides can be night and day... Don't be afraid to shop.

And to anyone complaining about delays and backorders on parts, go check out virtually any brands supply right now. There is is issues for all of them. Not a Ford specific issue.

On the trans front, so far I am satisfied with my '21. It does lug lower than I'd like at times, but no different than I've experience with my ecoboost powered F150...
 






Ford not knowing how to properly design a transmission and not having parts in stock for repairs is Ford’s problem. Once they finally tore down the transmission, the wiring harness was on a 10 day backorder so it really didn’t matter. Ford is not what it used to be
I blame it on the GM contribution. The 10 speed is a Ford/GM developed project.
 






The stocking of many parts went 'out the window' several years ago due to the costs involved in keeping inventory. This applied to not only car dealers but also to many other repair facilities. During this current time, there are many shortages affecting many companies as well.

Peter
You are correct. This goes for almost every business line out there. I seem to remember recently grocery stores running out of high use everyday commodities.
 






I like the trans on my 2021 with the 2.3 so far. The first 1-2 upshift when cold below 45 degrees can be a bit harsh but other than that Ive had no complaints.
 






You are correct. This goes for almost every business line out there. I seem to remember recently grocery stores running out of high use everyday commodities.
If Ford didn’t have so many transmission issues, they wouldn’t backorder so many parts. This 10 speed has more complaints than I have ever seen and the 2021’s aint much better
 






If Ford didn’t have so many transmission issues, they wouldn’t backorder so many parts. This 10 speed has more complaints than I have ever seen and the 2021’s aint much better
There is no dispute that there seems to be a lot of issues with them. I wonder how many issues there are compared to previous transmissions. Keep in mind Ford used to have several different transmissions available across the various vehicle lines and many vehicles had several transmissions to choose from. They seem to have gone to a one size fits all in this 10 speed. If 1% (WAG) of the transmissions have problems, and that number is spread over 15 different transmissions none of them appear to be bad. If all of those problems are with one transmission then it seems like the transmission is bad.
 






Although I did not go back and check, it seems to me that the 5th gen did not have the same amount of issues with its transmission when it first came out. The 5th gen had the 6-speed transmission.

Peter
 



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Although I did not go back and check, it seems to me that the 5th gen did not have the same amount of issues with its transmission when it first came out. The 5th gen had the 6-speed transmission.

Peter

Just sayin'

On the other hand, the 5th Gen has the Cyclone V-6 Engine with the internal water pump that eventually leaks and then grenades the engine...
 






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