Ford rushes to fix gearbox problems, but not quickly enough for Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports recently cited issues with the PowerShift dual-clutch transmission in the Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta as one of the primary reasons behind the automaker's fall from grace in its annual Car Reliability Study, but according to The New York Times, the automaker has already worked to solve most of the problems with the gearboxes. Ford has issued a number of technical service bulletins designed to improve drivability at low speeds. On September 13, Ford sent its dealers a bulletin describing how to reprogram the powertrain control module for "smoother acceleration, reduced hesitation, better low-speed drivability and improved shift scheduling."

In addition, a separate bulletin sent out on September 2 specifically dealt with harsh gear changes in the Fiesta. Like its larger sibling, dealers were instructed to reprogram the transmission for better performance. Still, those fixes come too late for Ford in the Consumer Reports' report. We'll have to wait until next year to see if the changes improve the Blue Oval's ranking.