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Did Ford pit the "K" in quality?

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Shifter ball popped off in my hand today doing a 2-3 shift in moderate city driving on my way home tonight.

Conditions:

1) I've never tried to loosen or play with the shifter ball
2) my BOSS is 2 years old with 3100 Regular road miles
3) it was 88 here in Boston area and car sat in the sun for 9 hours while I was at work.
4) I pushed it back on. Seems keyed in a way as no rotation possible.
5) when I got home 20 minutes later even moderate pulling didn't pull the shifter ball back off

Has anyone experienced this? I recall seeing threads of some struggling to get their shifter ball off. Can't remember if it's an interference fit or just slide on with adhesive. Couldn't really inspect as I was going 30 mph and just jammed it back on. Obviously, I need to ensure it is secure. Guess I'll have the dealer do it formally. Needless to say, I shifted gently the rest of the ride home. M
 
Not screwed on too well I guess. Definitely was a light push motion that popped it off. I saw what looked like threads, but it was driving. Instinct told me to push it back on. Being an ME I checked for alignment and that checked out. I tried to pull off later and it didn't budge. The gear stick was translating up and down with my pulling so I figured I wouldn't try any harder. Will try tomorrow when it's nice and hot out again and maybe grab a photo.
 
Just a guess, the ball has a pressed in threaded insert, as the interior of the car heated up, maybe the ball a little more if the sun was directly on it and caused it to expand just enough to pop loose, then as you drove home and things cooled off it shrank back to a press fit, obviously not enough of a shrink fit but enough to hold it if not in direct sunlight. I would think the dealer would cover that although my dealer seems to think almost any issue I have ever had was not worthy of being covered under warranty. Get a little epoxy and keep it on hand and if it happens again epoxy it back on.
 
Happened again. Same scenario.
Something you may want to watch out for. Could be a little bit of a shock if you jump in the car on a hot day and your shifter ball falls off.

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That's a failure of the glue. Shouldn't have happened but it did. Take it to your dealer and have them replace it under warranty or just glue it back on.
 
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Swapped out my shifter with the MGW, ball is very hard to remove. I'm in Texas and the ball has never come off. I agree, take to dealer
 
Fat Boss said:
Pit some Loctite on it and you're good to go.

I dont think Loctite will work too well, since its not threaded and just pressed in. you need to glue it back, or enjoy a nice day at the dealer :p
I'd go get it replaced, just so they document the issue for future issues on other cars.
 
F.D. Sako said:
I dont think Loctite will work too well, since its not threaded and just pressed in. you need to glue it back, or enjoy a nice day at the dealer :p
I'd go get it replaced, just so they document the issue for future issues on other cars.

This is what I plan to do. I develop IVD medical devices. It is hard to address reliability issues if customers do no submit complaints and provide data. In my past life I was an ME designing molded and machined parts. There is obviously a process or perhaps assembly tolerance issue here. Ford won't know without the parts. They are a six sigma organization as I'm told so this would be good data for them to have.
 

TymeSlayer

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F.D. Sako said:
I dont think Loctite will work too well, since its not threaded and just pressed in. you need to glue it back, or enjoy a nice day at the dealer :p
I'd go get it replaced, just so they document the issue for future issues on other cars.

Loctite does make a Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) which should do the trick. You are correct that a thread-locker will not work.
 
Went to the dealer today. Damn ball was stuck on tight but I had photos and dealer had no issue accepting the problem. Ford wants the parts so we are doing a full shifter swap next week. No charge plus free loaner. I only wish I could have kept the shifter ball.
 
Shifter replaced today. Seems fine. Dealer kept the old parts :(

Now I just have to figure out how to get the oil off the shifter boot that was left by the tech. Just a dime size deposit, but damn could a dealer just be careful for once.

My rental was a fiesta base with AT. Dangerous car. Damn thing wouldn't drop revs when I took my foot off the gas. I'm sure the ST is much better
 
Yea my focus transmission is annoying, also. apparently the software department at Ford is crap. Manual is the only way to go if the only other option is a dual clutch controlled by software. There is a reason why software is not allowed for safety functionsn in machinery. Unless you go through a multi million dollar development effort and approval process. Rant over.
 
WinterSucks said:
Yea my focus transmission is annoying, also. apparently the software department at Ford is crap. Manual is the only way to go if the only other option is a dual clutch controlled by software. There is a reason why software is not allowed for safety functionsn in machinery. Unless you go through a multi million dollar development effort and approval process. Rant over.

Rant ok. Pat my job I develop complex medical diagnostic instruments and also have a role to sustain on market products. Software is always the weakest link. The software in the fiesta automatic needs some work. Honestly, I was really concerned at how it drove. For the average driver it isn't just plain silly and perhaps a little dangerous. Just reinforces that we must "save the manuals"
 
Boss1601 said:
Rant ok. Pat my job I develop complex medical diagnostic instruments and also have a role to sustain on market products. Software is always the weakest link. The software in the fiesta automatic needs some work. Honestly, I was really concerned at how it drove. For the average driver it isn't just plain silly and perhaps a little dangerous. Just reinforces that we must "save the manuals"

The biggest problem I have with software is the ideology of "oh we'll just fix that with a patch". Meanwhile if the software fails I might die! Like the other month trying to avoid a close call and I nail the gas and she sits there going "oh no I have to change gears. I shall wait too make sure he was serious. Oh he was! How odd, since I have been learning his throttle patterns the last year. What gear does he want? Bah who cares, I answer to Al Gore so you can only have one gear reduction. Oh, too much throttle for this gear at this rpm, how about the next? Oh, maybe for a split second but let's start engaging the other clutch for the even gear cause I think my driver must be confused and senile in the parking lot of a Denny's. Meanwhile the near miss becomes a narrow escape (in MA measure that would be under 1ft) and I start contemplating if leaving the keys in the ignition in downtown Boston is a believable mistake.
 

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