Dealer wants to totally replace the transmission

[Regaj]

Well, I gotta say this thread has certainly given me pause. Was on the cusp of buying two 2024 Mavericks, a Tremor for me and whatever trim the wife might like.

At 71, I'm an old fart. But my context is two Toyota pickups that went over 300,000 miles; a Honda Civic Hybrid that currently has nearly 250,000 miles; three other Toyota's that went nearly 200,000 miles (including the wife's current daily driver - a Taco with 175,000 miles on it); and a few other pretty long distance rides thrown in.

Might be I've just been lucky. But I've never replaced a transmission. Not sure I want to get into that game.

And, yeah, I completely get that Internet forums always float up bad news, often disproportionate to the objective reality. Anecdotal examples of failure need to be taken with a grain of salt.

But 85,000 miles is just broken in, in my world. Beyond a tranny blowing up in that distance, the repair saga that dude in the linked video went through just makes you shake your head.

I suppose the Maverick is just too young to have very many big mileage samples out there on the road. But, yeah, sure would be nice to hear some anecdotal counterpoints to stories like the one in this thread.

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[SusieQ]

Yes and no.

Ford ESP would cover it unless there was some obvious causation like evidence of abuse. Any non-Ford warranty might as well, but they often have limits and exclusions. That's one of many reasons people advise to stay away from extended warranties that are not Ford plans.

Thanks much.

 

[710-oil-614]

Well, I gotta say this thread has certainly given me pause. Was on the cusp of buying two 2024 Mavericks, a Tremor for me and whatever trim the wife might like.

At 71, I'm an old fart. But my context is two Toyota pickups that went over 300,000 miles; a Honda Civic Hybrid that currently has nearly 250,000 miles; three other Toyota's that went nearly 200,000 miles (including the wife's current daily driver - a Taco with 175,000 miles on it); and a few other pretty long distance rides thrown in.

Might be I've just been lucky. But I've never replaced a transmission. Not sure I want to get into that game.

And, yeah, I completely get that Internet forums always float up bad news, often disproportionate to the objective reality. Anecdotal examples of failure need to be taken with a grain of salt.

But 85,000 miles is just broken in, in my world. Beyond a tranny blowing up in that distance, the repair saga that dude in the linked video went through just makes you shake your head.

I suppose the Maverick is just too young to have very many big mileage samples out there on the road. But, yeah, sure would be nice to hear some anecdotal counterpoints to stories like the one in this thread.

Sounds like you want two new Tacomas. Good luck!

 

[mp24]

Anybody who doesn't change their 8f35's fluid at minimum every 40k miles is seriously asking for trouble. These trannys are already maxed out by the stock 2.0l ecoboost.

if the e-cvt wasn't offered in the maverick i would've bought something else instead of the ecoboost

 

[40caliber]

Glad I have the e-cvt, I'll just say that. A bulletproof design vs. a Chevy 8 speed transmission with engineering flaws. I feel bad for the people impacted by this, but I did predict we'd see this shift. Most of the hybrid issues werr mild things with the 12V battery or wiring harness, small, easy and cheap to address things.

I predicted Ford would resolve a lot of those issues, which they did on second half of '22 and later build mavericks for the most part, and we'd see the paradigm switch, with the hybrid issues quieting down, and Ecoboost issues picking up with the turbos and 8 speed. We're basically seeing exactly that.

Despite all the shit Ecoboost owners have given us, I could use this opportunity to say I told you so. Instead, I'm just gonna say, sorry you're having to go through this.

 

[BlueSnake77]

I would call more independent transmission shops to see if anyone has experience servicing the 8F35 transmission. It's a fairly new design but has been used in the Escape and Transit for a few years now. Hopefully it can be brought back into service with a valve body service/repair. Most ford dealers aren't equipped to service these so will opt for replacement rather than repair. Oh and forget that 150k fluid change interval. Every 30k for mine just to reduce a chance of failure due to contaminants fouling the valve body solenoids and passages.

Some things in the scheduled maintenance you DO NOT want to follow. Some of the intervals are ridiculous. No way I would go to 150k for transmission fluid! I had a 2018 Ford Escape that used the 6F35 transmission (the 8F35 is basically an improved version) and I changed it at 30K and it was like a dark brown. Yeah 30k is when you want to have it changed. The problem is that if you do it at the dealer, they are using a pump to suck out the old fluid and put new fluid back in. The problem with that is that any sediment/particles in the bottom of the pan get swirled around and into your transmission parts where as if you open the drain plug and drain it, any sediment/particles will drain into the pan.

Here is a video on the procedure.

 

[NeedForSteve]

Go to another Dealer, sounds like the one you went to doesn't have a Transmission tech and the guy who did the diag doesn't want to mess with it.

 

[Regaj]

Sounds like you want two new Tacomas. Good luck!

LOL. Might be. Thing is, the Taco has grown larger over the years (as have nearly all pickups). The Maverick takes us back to a true "compact" form factor, which is what I would like. It looks good great. And Ford has delivered a lot of truly elegant engineering touches, that mesh with a visual aesthetic that I find very appealing. I've become quite smitten by it.

That's even before you consider the value proposition. IMO it hits way above its weight.

But none of that matters if it's not reliable. The recalls might be excused in a first-year model. But we're a couple years in, now. Ford should have enough data to have addressed such things as basic powertrain durability.

We shall see. I'm not entirely off the fence yet. But the IRA distribution that I executed a couple days ago, in case I decided to pull the trigger this week, is sitting there in the checking account, on hold.

 

[Richard2212]

Drain and replace your Transmission Oil. Just drain into a bucket to measure how much your need to replace.)Delete Adaptive Shifting Files.

Relearn your Shifting Patterns. In 500 miles Drain and refill. (On first Drain/Refill you will only get out 1/2 the Oil.)

Enjoy smooth shifting again.

 

[1929]

The Maverick takes us back to a true "compact" form factor, which is what I would like.

Chevy LUV was 173 inches length with 73 inches bed. Maverick is 200". Maverick is as close to compact as we can get tody. In the past compact truck was more compact.

So, what is the OP's plan going forward on the transmission?

 

[40caliber]

Some things in the scheduled maintenance you DO NOT want to follow. Some of the intervals are ridiculous. No way I would go to 150k for transmission fluid! I had a 2018 Ford Escape that used the 6F35 transmission (the 8F35 is basically an improved version) and I changed it at 30K and it was like a dark brown. Yeah 30k is when you want to have it changed. The problem is that if you do it at the dealer, they are using a pump to suck out the old fluid and put new fluid back in. The problem with that is that any sediment/particles in the bottom of the pan get swirled around and into your transmission parts where as if you open the drain plug and drain it, any sediment/particles will drain into the pan.

Here is a video on the procedure.

Good video except the goop on the threads. Not needed and will never setup, oil was still dripping. Probably a few bits floating around in there.

 

[Jman79]

When I got home I ran the codes and one of my transmission solenoids was stuck-on
Hoping it was just my fluids needing topped-off/replaced...

Totally different vehicle but my old saturn acted up at around 115k even following the high use (towing) factory interval. I only towed once or twice. Was told by a transmission shop that my solenoids were clogged up and needed a rebuild.

I decided it it was worth a try to go with clean fluids first, so I did a 3x drain and fill over about 10k. Issues cleared up with each one. Fluid also came out with less and less sediment. That car is now at 185k and gets drain/fill every 30k. Lesson learned. All my cars now get this treatment. Fluid is cheap and the job is easy on many cars. There is a lot of disinformation out there about "sealed transmissions" and "lifetime fluid". Transmissions are like the G spot of cars. Lots of talk and mystery, but some simple rules will do you good!

At this point, I say it's time to learn to change the fluid yourself and see what the results are before going any further with any of the shops that aren't helping or want to go nuclear option. Worse case your out the cost of transmission fluid and still need a new tranny.

 

[BlueSnake77]

Chevy LUV was 173 inches length with 73 inches bed. Maverick is 200". Maverick is as close to compact as we can get tody. In the past compact truck was more compact.

So, what is the OP's plan going forward on the transmission?

Every so often in the good weather for the past few years I see an old guy driving a little red Japanese pickup. Looks to be an early 1960's Toyota or Datsun. That thing is tiny. Smaller than a Chevy S-10. narrower body. About as small in comparison to an S-10 as the S-10 is to the Maverick. Kinda looks like this:

 

[Jman79]

Glad I have the e-cvt, I'll just say that. A bulletproof design vs. a Chevy 8 speed transmission with engineering flaws. I feel bad for the people impacted by this, but I did predict we'd see this shift. Most of the hybrid issues werr mild things with the 12V battery or wiring harness, small, easy and cheap to address things.

I predicted Ford would resolve a lot of those issues, which they did on second half of '22 and later build mavericks for the most part, and we'd see the paradigm switch, with the hybrid issues quieting down, and Ecoboost issues picking up with the turbos and 8 speed. We're basically seeing exactly that.

Despite all the shit Ecoboost owners have given us, I could use this opportunity to say I told you so. Instead, I'm just gonna say, sorry you're having to go through this.

Some of us could have gone either way. Just tried to make the best decision with what info was available. In addition to overall availability. Heck, I couldn't even test drive a hybrid when I ordered.

There were inherent risks "we all" took buying vehicles that are new. With luck after a few more years the forerunners will have figured out the problems. With the # of Mavs I'm starting to see on the road, hybrid & Eco, this learning will hopefully accelerate.

Those of us who put little mileage on (one month and 399 miles, cough) can benefit too .

 

[WNYEscapee]

**Update**

Okay. I ventured to look into the cost of a replacement transmission today. Worst case example for a "new," not remanufactured transmission was just below $3200 MSRP. Factory labor time to R&R the transmission, under 12 hours. Add to that the time to rebuild the transmission, another 8 hours.
The cost of a major rebuild kit from Ford with seals and clutches -- not a common item for them to supply as a kit, under $500. The cost of the valve body, complete with the shift solenoids, $600.

I ran these figures and my inflated estimate of the labor rate @$200/hr. by the guy who does our warranty claims; it doesn't seem reasonable that the figure they quoted you a new transmission to cost you $9000. Being more than generous on additional, what Ford calls "one-time use parts" which is mostly hardware, that figure should still be well under $7000 for a new replacement.

Sadly, this isn't the first instance I've heard of dealerships being more than excessive when it comes to marking up parts to generate profits. I've heard of one dealership charging first responders over $1000 for a repair which could have been fully covered under warranty; and when questioned on the excessive charge which should have been fully covered by Ford, they did everything in their power to avoid repeated efforts to get an answer. At one point even Ford stopped responding to them -- as I think they even knew where that was heading -- court. As it was, the repair was less than an hour duration with diagnosis and the part well below $100 cost. That's disgusting! ....but that's the caliber of some dealerships, they're even willing screw over paramedics, who might someday save their life or that of a family member, to make a buck.

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