Any experience or advice dealing with Ford DPS6 "Power Shift" transmissions

My step-daughter has a 2013 Ford Focus with the DPS6 dual dry clutch automatic transmission.  It's been behaving since the last service at 95k miles, but now at 125k it's vibrating at over 65 MPH when the throttle is pressed.  Let up and the vibration goes away.  None of the engine mounts appear to have let go, but they certainly could be tired.  The drive axles also do not feel overly loose.  I've checked for play in the suspension and lug torque. So my guess is the transmission is doing what it's best known for.  Failing.

Any opinions or insights?  Other things to check?  A local trusted garage has refused to even look at it.  It's probably not worth trying to sell this, so maybe it's time for salvage or a Viking funeral.  We may as well take it to a Ford dealer to see if they can diagnose the problem, but I'm not hopeful.  We will not be throwing parts at this car.

The problem with those is that the input shaft seals leaks and and destroys the clutch.  I had one in a 2012 Fiesta, it got totaled while I was sitting still in the turn lane and got hit head-on.  Probably the best thing to happen to that car.  Insurance paid me more for it than I bought it for 2 months earlier.

I believe those are collectively known as the power E36 M3 transmission

I know you said the axles aren't loose, but could an CV axle be bent? Watch for runout in the shaft as you spin a wheel by hand with the car in neutral. I had an Accord with this exact symptom and that was it. It doesn't seem like a trans issue, but on the other hand, it's a powershift, so maybe it has new and strange ways to break. 

If it is a trans issue, I bet someone would want this car as a local commuter- there are plenty of people who just need to get 5, 10, 20 miles to work and never even crack 50mph. Probably get a grand for it during these crazy car price times. 

In reply to flat4_5spd :

Thanks, I'll put it on stands tomorrow and take a closer look.  We'd like to get at least one more year out of this car, but she needs something that will do Interstate speeds.  Frustrating because it's running good and drives well enough except for that.

The front motor mount (front of engine that is, meaning passenger chassis rail) fails constantly on these, but this is more of an issue where it sends deep vibrations through the chassis, especially at idle.  If you can stick your fingers between the top of the mount and the rubber, or see that the mount is sagged to where it is in contact with the chassis bracket, it's done.  ONLY use a Ford one, they last the longest.

Shudder at 65mph that goes away with no load sounds more like an axle problem, like an inner cup has wear spots that the rollers are coming in and out of.  This is another place where OEM is key, aftermarket axles are cheap but they all seem to shudder under load.

They were also notorious for the pre-2013 cars having the solenoid body(valve body) being updated. A new TCM reflash was also required at the same time as the solenoid body replacement to reduce harsh shifting, kicking out of gear, surging and other issues.

If its an early build 2013 it may still have the original solenoid body which can be updated with the new part and reflash.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Thanks, Pete.  I believe you have nailed the issue.  Looking into Ford CV axle shafts now and whether this is a reasonable DIY job.  If the dealer can do it in 2 hours, I'm tempted to pay the man.

In reply to kevinatfms :

This car has been at the dealer for at least three "fixes" and updates, the last one being at 95k miles right before the extended warranty ran out.  I don't have the records, but am fairly sure it has the new solenoid and reflash.

Context before I answer - I was a Ford dealer tech, specializing in repairing these transmissions from 2013-2015, but I haven't touched one since December 2015 (career change).

This doesn't sound like a trans/clutch issue. These transmissions would exhibit shuddering on acceleration/deceleration when there were issues with the clutch. There's also a multitude of straight up not functioning issues related to the TCM (trans control module), sometimes fixed with software, but often requiring a module replacement.

These are not like a typical automatic. The internals are full manual transmission, with 2 electronically controlled motors operating the shift forks.

When it comes to the clutch, the harder vehicles were driven, the less problematic they were. It seems counter-intuitive, but gently-driven cars had the most clutch-related problems.

Take all this with a grain of salt, since I could be forgetting something since leaving the dealership.

Just for fun, here's a picture of a fully disassembled DPS6 on my bench back in the day.

Wasn't this the one that had the Class-Action lawsuit against it, which likely led to the death of the Focus as a model in North America?

I had a similar issue on my 2011 Fiesta. The Hive was right for my issue with CV shafts being the culprit. 

Vibration when accelerating| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

In reply to BMWGeoff :

That is impressive and scary.

Well, it looks like I missed the inboard right-hand side CV joint being loose.  So now looking for Ford CV axle shafts.  May as well do both while I have the car.  Thanks everybody.

Thanks for the heads up on this!  My 2013 Focus has the MTX75 transmission (5 speed manual).  But now I'll know when an axle starts to go.  It has 114k+ trouble free miles on it.

In reply to BMWGeoff :

Really too bad these transmissions didn't work out. That's a really neat theory of operation. 

In reply to Countingcrowbars :

It is unfortunate, but it's the usual case of a good idea ruined by the bean counters. Lots of manufacturers have been making dual clutch transmissions work.

Wasn't the use of dry clutches vs. (more expensive?) wet clutches a big contributor to the problems with this Ford trans.?

In reply to einy (Forum Supporter) :

I believe that was a contributing factor. Software was also a big problem, especially early on.

Another issue was leaking input shaft seals causing contamination of the clutch discs... I replaced so many clutches that I could do the entire job in 2.5 hours.