NVRL8

well said.

montreal ponies

From Dbusiness news paper Detroit, MI

quote:

Detroit - A problem with outsourced transmissions is causing issues for owners as they are driving and trying to switch gears. As customers and owners complain to MI Ford dealers, Ford Motor Corp is been hesitant to say much about it.
DETROIT M.I. – MI Ford dealers may be getting a lot of complaints from owners of the 2011 Ford Mustang as there seems to be a problem with the Chinese-built transmission. According to Jalopnik articles, hundreds of owners are complaining about manual transmissions that are grinding and hard shifting between first, second and third gear.
On one owners Mustang forum comments have grown to 2,700 postings, but Ford Motor Corp is still staying silent.
One owner said, “Being on the highway and losing the ability to shift with 3 lanes bearing down on me was enough to make me realize this: A lemon is one thing... An anomaly. This is not an anomaly.”
Another complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saying, “My car's shift lever became stuck and wouldn't go into gear and I had to force it back to the neutral position while coming to a stop light. The manual transmission in my 2011 Ford Mustang GT has been whining and grinding gears since the clutch was replaced due to a design flaw…I shouldn’t be having these dangerous problems, let along taking my brand new car to a dealership to keep getting repaired over and over again because the failing parts are just being replaced with the same parts only to fail over and over again.”
Per the complaints, it seems it’s the V6 and high-powered V8 that are being affected by this problem. Getrag, a supplier, and Ford build the affected MT82 transmission in Nanchang, China.
Jalopnik has said that Ford has offered possible fixes such as replacing bolts or swapping out fluids, but it does not seem that Ford is taking responsibility as owners are spending thousands for new transmissions and clutches at MI Ford dealers and others in owners’ respective areas.
After Jalopnik’s first article about Ford’s silence, it asked Ford for a comment on the situation. It took two weeks, according to Jalopnik, to get a response.
Ford simply stated:
"We remain absolutely committed to the highest quality in all of our vehicles and are looking into this matter. We remain committed to continuous improvement."
A recall may be in the best interest of owners, but that would also increase costs for Ford to pay for repairs. Hopefully Ford will take care of the issue and dealers across the U.S., including MI Ford dealers, will get the okay to service the problem at no cost to owners.
MI Auto Times covers all Michigan automotive news all the time, featuring newly released vehicle recall information, relevant Michigan automaker news, vehicle ratings and comparisons, and everything else auto-related Michigan and world readers need to know.
Got a hot tip? Send your news tips to news@miautotimes.com or connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MichiganAutoTimes.

Kona

Does anyone really know what the failure rate is? Anyone remember the TR3650 in the 01 GT and the grinding issues? My point was that it might be a bad design for the new transmission. It probably doesn't matter if the thing was built on the moon. If there is a real problem Ford should address it. I must be a lucky MT-82 owner since all I have are stiff shifts when it's cold out. Other than that it is awesome.

Double-EDad

Just great. There goes our resale value.

cdynaco

Right. The TR3650 had some issues again around 07/08 as I remember, and it puzzled me because it was NOT a new design. It was a QC issue. Ford corrected it under warranty with synchros & balking rings.

Is the MT-82 really a new design? Or has Getrag made this trans for a while before opening the plant in China?

Double-EDad

Why all the apologia and defense of China?

cdynaco

I didn't take it that way. But maybe I'm wrong.

The TR3650 was made in Mexico. As to Getrag & China, Getrag does have a long history and reputation. Back to the 70's that I know of. If there is a design flaw, its on Getrag not China. If the trans engineering is good but QC sucks, that's on China.

Either way, Mustangs haven't had an American made transmission for a long time.

cdynaco

I don't think 'affording' a transmission for a Mustang has as much to do with it as does 'World trade'. The One Worlders are in charge.
Ford wants China market share. So in order to open some partner plants in China for auto's, perhaps they had to reciprocate and purchase/import some significant pieces for the American division. I've read a number of articles that allude to this.

That doesn't excuse Ford for failing to demand quality and on inspection of imported trannies though.

SD6

I hate when people say "it's a piece of garbage because it was built in country XXX".

This isn't the 60's or 70's anymore. These sweeping generalizations don't work anymore. Country A does not have better/lower production standards than Country B.

There are products made in China that are high quality, and some that are low quality.
There are products made in the USA that are high quality, and some that are low quality.
There are products made in Canada that are high quality, and some that are low quality.

Quality is not based on the country of origin. It's based on the policies and procedures of the individual factories/companies. Their quality control, their commitment to international ISO standards, their track records, etc.

(Exception to the rule: France. Everybody knows stuff made in France is crap. LOL just kidding! )

Double-EDad

It's a piece of garbage because it was built in China. There ya go. Speak to all of the ISO and Dr. Juran & Deming & other standards you want, but when the customer and management are on the other side of the world, the mice will play.

Big Vito

Time to poison the mice

jimmbbo

While they likely want an "in" to the burgeoning Chinese market, and a new state of the art factory is one way to do so, Ford's bread and butter is selling cars TODAY. My guess is that they had a price point in mind for the Mustang that would optimize sales and profits, and wanted to put the most toys in it they could while maintaining their price point, which drove them to low cost manufacturing options... Potentially a win-win, except...

Ford screwed the pooch big time on their apparent lack of oversight of a brand new transmission/car combination in a brand new factory with brand new workers... "overreaching" comes to mind.. Someone was asleep during their Project Management class at Michigan State... Hope the pinhead lost his job.

wonger

I hope he keeps his job and learns a valuable lesson, thereby improving Ford's quality in the future.

Swoope

joint venture.

could be something missed after final checks, a major machine improperly milling a part (bellhousing). bearings not up to spec. improper heat treatment. where it is made or assembled is of little importance..

something got missed.. and obviously it is not something simple.

seems it is pretty random..

but you guys got if figured out.. built in china.. how does that chant fix the problem?

is there an issue? yes! how big is it? not as big as the sky is falling people here are making it to be..

dont own the car, but am doing research on buying one...

had the same doom and gloom with my rx8.. engine, clutch pedal and tranny. it all worked out fine..

btw, hope your foot is doing better. i feel for you..

beers

Big Vito

Don't own one but you're an expert by reading the internet?

Everett

Wow. So are you saying that the members posting in this thread are dumb. That isn't a very positive statement. Is it?

i escaped the mustang evolution holocaust

hawkeye18

In all stereotypes, there is truth.

Chinese manufacturers have a stereotype for cutting corners in processes, materials, workmanship and QC. It is not entirely undeserved.

ISO compliance means nothing; you can be ISO9002 certified and still produce ****. As long as it's well-documented ****, ISO doesn't care.

People in the US produce ****, but not for long because they either get shut down by regulatory agencies, or sued out of existence. There are no meaningful regulatory agencies in China, and good luck suing a Chinese company. There is no motivation to produce a high quality product there, therefore we get **** transmissions.

And yes, I own one.

SD6

So I guess by your same reasoning, Boeing must make really ****ty quality planes for their customers on the other side of the world.

SD6

I agree to a point. But I hate the sweeping generalizations that some people on the forums make like "if it's made in China, it's ****" or "if it's made in USA it's the best thing since free BJ's".
Patriotism is fine, but sweeping generalizations is pure ignorance.

Think about cars... there have been periods of time when the Japanese made cars known for their quality, as well as periods when it has come out where they've produced some very defective products.

Same with the US = anybody who is into cars knows they have at times made some of the best quality autos, yet at times they have made some of the biggest pieces of turds.

jlc41

Couldn't agree with you more. You hit it the nail on head. Has everyone forgotten the toys, dry wall and dog food to name a few screw ups.. this **** won't stop unless we bring it to the fore. If Ford doesn't fix this soon it will bite them big time and as was mentioned the resale on the car will go in the hopper and probably affect new sales.