[Aditya]

Thanks to BHPian Mad Monkey who sent these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts.

BHPian Mad Monkey owns a Ford Endeavour 3.2. The SUV has suffered a failure of the torque converter automatic transmission according to Ford. The welds of the flex plates have broken off. The plate that connects the transmission to the flywheel. The vehicle has covered approximately 70,000 km and is under warranty.











The flex plate:


The same problem has been reported on 3 cars previously at Bhavna Ford itself.

Another Endeavour in the workshop with the same problem. This has 50,000 km on the clock:


Torque converter removed:


Ford has offered Mad Monkey Rs. 2,000 as daily taxi fare. He has to submit bills for the same for claiming the amount.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[Rahul Rao]

Just google torque converter maintenance, and flex plate issues are commonly discussed on many forums, not just Ford but even Toyota.

In case of an accidental momentary mis-alignment, or a condition where a vehicle is stuck, and torque converter has heavily multiplied the torque to get out.
A broken flex plate has at best saved you transmission damage, or at worst saved crankshaft oil seal from lateral stress.
Driving habits that stress the flex plate
1. Coasting to a stop in N
2. Reeving up in Neutral
3. Shifting to P before you have completely stopped.
4. Throttling hard immediately after engaging D from N common bad habit with stoplight racers.


Rahul

[Mad Monkey]

Thank You for posting Aditya

So the Background ...
Was returning home late at night and i started to hear a rattling sound when accelerating . I Stopped on the side of the road to check and then decided it was best to send the car to the Ford Workshop in the morning . Had barely driven a few meters and the Endeavour stopped accelerating and began over revving .

Dashcam footage

https://youtu.be/ZKZ3WlCfHlI

View of the instrument cluster

https://youtu.be/DHtqwA9Tgyk

I called up Ford RSA right away. Finally after Waiting for more than four hours the Endeavour was on its way to Bhavna Ford Kalina

[rahulskumar]

Honda CVT costs more than 3 lakh to replace (excluding labour). I think you should get Ford to sign an undertaking for lifelong transmission warranty
Will Ford replace the transmission or repair it and did they provide you any timeline to source the transmission ?

[DreamsUnlimited]

This really jolts the confidence. In a vehicle costing 40+ lakhs, failure of such a key component at such an early stage of its life is just not acceptable. And, it doesn't seem to be one in a million defect as evidenced by another specimen lying in the workshop. First the feature deletions then removal of K-struss and now this. Such a capable vehicle and brand is getting an image downgrade here.

[i74js]

TC is an old school stable technology, though not very efficient and involving the way DSGs are, but the failure rate is quite low and users have complete faith in the trouble free nature of TC.

Let's hope this does not result in the fate similar to the Ford DCT in India and the issue gets identified and resolved for good. Endeavor is selling in good numbers and is competing well with the big T and I hope it continues.

A friend of mine has a previous gen Endeavor at nearly 2 Lac km mark and there is no issue with the 5 speed TC in it.

[Manoj2268]

You seem to be having a bad luck with the cars MM. First the horror story with the LR and now this...

Hope the replacement TC should last the life of the vehicle, without any additional trouble. If Ford shares RCA as to why the failure happened, do share the same here.

[Mad Monkey]

Bhavna Ford took a day to remove the transmission.
Next day i was informed that the Welds/rivets of the flex plate had broken off causing the torque converter to disconnect from the gearbox.
I paid a visit to the workshop and inspected the Flex plate.

Gearbox removed And kept besides the Endeavour and the bell-housing was covered with a piece of a an old rag.

The Flex Plate with the defect

Was given a service order confirmation . No proper job card was made and only after my insistence the inventory sheet made by the Flat bed driver was signed and stamped by Bhavna Ford as the inventory and condition of the Endevour.

The Service Order Confirmation.

Do note the one sided terms and conditions made to protect the Dealer.

I also observed another Ford Endeavour 3.2 AT parked in the bay next to mine with the transmission taken out . i was told it had reported a few days before with exactly the same problem and was awaiting a new torque converter.

I was also told that this same workshop had already worked on three other Ford Endeavour 3.2 AT which had exactly the same problem with the Torque Converters.

There are posts from other Ford Endeavour 3.2 AT owners on the Ford Endeavour India Facebook group who have faced exactly the same problem. One of them has even posted that he bought his Ford Endeavour 3.2 AT in Jan 2017 and had covered 70k kms just like mine when the transmission went bust.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by Aditya

The same problem has been reported on 3 cars previously at Bhavna Ford itself.

This news is going to drastically affect Endeavours already low resale value.

Hope MM get's his vehicle fixed soon.

[np23]

Is it possible , that suddenly articles of Endeavour being a wonderful used car have come up and holding their values very well have popped on some websites
Is it somehow linked to this, maybe it's just my lawyer mind overthinking but the timing is too good to be just a coincidence in my humble opinion.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...deavour-413669

[Mad Monkey]

Originally Posted by np23

Is it possible , that suddenly articles of Endeavour being a wonderful used car have come up and holding their values very well have popped on some websites
Is it somehow linked to this, maybe it's just my lawyer mind overthinking but the timing is too good to be just a coincidence in my humble opinion.
https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...deavour-413669

Not sure if the Autocar India article is a coincidence ...
BUT is it a coincidence that Ford has made Recall for a 6 speed automatic transmission in the USA with exactly the same problem ?

According to Ford, the recall is due to the vehicles possibly having torque converters with inadequately welded studs. The affected vehicles are equipped with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine with 6F35 transmissions and include the 2017 Ford Edge, 2017 Ford Fusion, and 2017 Lincoln MKZ. If the welded studs detach in the affected vehicles, the torque converter will lose coupling to the engine flexplate. As a result, this could cause a loss of motive power without warning while driving, increasing the RISK OF A CRASH. Ford does note that the power steering, power brakes, electrical function, and vehicle restraint systems will continue to operate. The transmission park function will also not be affected.

Source - Ford Recalls Various Models to Replace Torque Converters
Source - Ford Issues Safety Recall for Certain 2017 Ford Edge, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ 2.0-Liter Gas Engine Vehicles with 6F35 Transmissions to Replace Torque Converters


Meanwhile Ford Australia has postponed the delivery of 2019 Ford Ranger and Everest vehicles due to a potential build defect to do with the driveline(Transmission)

“Ford has delayed delivery of some Ranger and Everest vehicles as there is risk the studs retaining the torque converter to the engine flexplate may have been improperly welded on some vehicles. We are working to identify which vehicles are affected and will release cleared vehicles as quickly as possible.”

Source - 2019 Ford Ranger deliveries delayed, potential weld defect



The transmission in my Ford Endeavour 3.2 AT is most probably the same transmission that Ford has recalled in the USA and stopped the sales of in Australia .
Could It be a coincidence that the transmission in my car was made and imported from the USA ?

Part number as found on my transmission.



Import Details into India for same Part Number

[junaid]

If the failure has happened in multiple Endeavours especially those that have clocked more kms than average then all Endeavour owners should be afraid that there is a possibility that this issue will crop up in the future. Luckily these cars are still under warranty so they are being repaired for free but once the warranty is over the owners are at the mercy of the dealers.
MM if the recall thing is true then you should take it up strongly with Ford. What if this happened while you were in some remote area or if your elderly parents were also in the car far away from home when this happened.
Who would be responsible for your safety knowing that this issue exists and is not being addressed by the manufacturer?

[artemis_fowl]

Toyota is rubbing its hands with glee
Can you please share the costs involved? It would be helpful to other members here.
Also, observed that mostly the 3.2 Endeavours are affected. Have there been any instances of failure on a 2.2 Endeavour? Are the gearboxes the same? Can anyone please shed some light on this?

[Strnglv]

I am aware this same problem has been acknowledged and recalls have been initiated in the US and Australia. It is indeed unfortunate, a known problem can be masked and downplayed when confronted by affected customers. The dealerships often go without the required checks and balances which leads to unethical after sales practices.