focus autotrans

[mrbaxr6t]

OK my car is in getting some paint swirls fixed LV focus xr5 and I was given a loaner focus with an autotrans (LT??) this particular one to me the autotrans seems all wrong when you coast and ask it to move it does nothing then clunks and launches, also even when you are driving it easy it routinely cracks 5krpm just when you are trying to drive sedately - I for one am not liking the autotrans in this car it hesitates then launches and has a habit of hanging the thing out to dry in lower gears for seemingly no reason and cant decide if we should be in 3rd or 4th at 60kmh - either this particular vehicle (less than 20,000 on it) is a freak or they are all like this. I surely hope it is this individual vehicle and if not I would buy a manual focus or something else, so glad I got the manual and can't wait for them to return my car :

[mohit]

Could just be the way the previous driver drove that particular car. They have a learning transmission that adapts to the way you drive.

[Velociraptor82]

Originally Posted by mrbaxr6t

so glad I got the manual and can't wait for them to return my car :

Just the dealers way of telling you that your car is way better...LOL

The auto is sh#%. there is no argument there. I always drive in sports mode but even then on a slight slope is seems to be confused about whether to be in 4th or overdrive.

[XR5-Boy]

Hmm, i drove an auto LV focus when in NZ last time and it seemed find. Gutless I might add, but definitely didn't show the same symptoms you have. Don't worry, it's just a loan car!

[Fredo]

Originally Posted by mrbaxr6t

. . . just when you are trying to drive sedately . . :

MATE!!! What are ya doing to the poor thing . .
Its a loan car . . hello . . . its supposed to be driven with the right foot pushed 1.25" below the floor constantly.
Poor thing doesn't know what you want, 'driving around sedately' . . .geez!!
:
Fredo

[mrbaxr6t]

Originally Posted by Fredo

MATE!!! What are ya doing to the poor thing . .
Its a loan car . . hello . . . its supposed to be driven with the right foot pushed 1.25" below the floor constantly.
Poor thing doesn't know what you want, 'driving around sedately' . . .geez!!
:
Fredo

so you saying I drive it like ayrton senna would and all will be fine, that would be fine if I had a race track handy to torture it on but I don't so it gets used to get from point to point until I get my car back - just because its a loan car or whatever is no excuse to flog the guts out of it (not that it has much guts in it) but why flog it.

I do see your point tho its had its wheels driven off and here I am driving it properly and the poor car can't deal because its used to being flogged, this is possible.

[fiestaz]

if it tries to rev to 5000rpm all the time u will prob find that previous people have driven the pants off it and the gearbox has programmed itself to their driving style.. i know my mums auto focus likes to change at 4000rpm unless ur foot is completely flat. and after i drive it, mum always gets in and says it doesnt change gear as it normally does until she has driven it for a while again... its weird, but if ur the main driver u get used to it i guess.

[casabonka]

Well no auto trans is as bad as the Nissan Tida... Had a hire car up in Qld over the weekend, going down the freeway at 110 and all of a sudden my mate looks at me and says whats that noise (stereo blasting) I see the tacho at 6800rpm...

Oh yeah thats right, it slipped outta auto and went into N! haha... crappy Nissan!

[leakey]

Haha good one Casa'
I had a Tiida in Tasmania for 10 days. The roads along the East coast are just awesome. The whole time I was thinking...
'this would be great in the Focus'
'the Focus would've handled that no probs'
'I'd love to go around these bends in the Focus at 100Kmph'
'I wouldnt even have to change out of 5th for this hill in the Focus'

Even my wife said how much nicer it would have been in the Focus!

[Tj-zetec]

If it is a case of the computer learning someone elses driving style (and it IS a loaner after all "don't be gentle, it's a rental") I wonder if it can be reset by disconnecting the battery for a while, like you do to reset the ECU.

Worth a try.

[mrbaxr6t]

OK I took it out and drove it foot flat and still it hesitated and mucked around onlaunch what is the point of a car you sink the boot into and zero then next minute its accelerating at maximum attack giving you whiplash in the process? sorry still don't like it

[DZFord]

To me, it sounds like the auto trans in that car is pretty f'ed.

Having said that, the 5 speed auto in the Mazda 3 is 100% better than the 4 speed auto in the Focus, despite being essentially mated to the exact same engine.