Possibly error codes due to TCM recall and 10-year extended warranty

[Acelopez]

I'm filing this post for my grandson who owns a 2013 Ford fiesta SE double overhead cam he bought it about 2 years ago didn't know about the recall on the TCM started having problems and didn't address it promptly. I spoke to Ford dealership the service manager said the extra 10-year warranty ended May of 2023 but he said Ford granted some other extension until 2025. His cousin works for Toyota and pulled the error codes off of it and there's six but they're related mostly to the TCM and the transmission I was wondering if anybody could guide me I'm going to try and Link a picture of the the code reader that his cousin used he works for Toyota and give us some guidance because Ford is saying it could take 2 weeks just to pull the codes and maybe another two to three months because the parts are on back order if it needs service. Sorry I'm a newbie so thanks in advance for patience and any help anyone can give!

 

[Stk411]

TCM, You might have some luck finding a junkyard one and having the dealer put it in. Otherwise it's a long wait for a new one from that replacement program.

 

[Handy Andy]

In light of the DTC's shown on that scanner, the Ford program swaps the transmission with a rebuilt one that has the better hardware installed - the TCM, depending on it's condition can be swapped with an updated refurbished unit or reflashed with new programming correcting the issues it had with the old profile.

@Stk411 said earlier - it may be easier to afford another junkyard transmission and see if the TCM reflash can be performed at a later time. Just don't spend a lot of time in-between the tranny swap and the reflash because the unit also looks for "calibration" so it knows the subtleties of when and how to apply clutch and shift points.

Now if you get a spare tranny with it's own TCM - it can get swapped when the new parts are installed - you'll have have to reburn and reflash the spare tranny TCM. So it can recognize the car it's in so it's not thinking it's in a S model versus an SE or ST-line making demands it didn't get programmed for.

 

[wicksgirl]

Im also having the same issue and my advise dont tell ford you had a diagnostic scanner plugged into the car cause they told me if i had any other scanner plugged in to car that wanst done by ford it would make the recall on the tcm ineligible for some reason.

 

[Handy Andy]

That would make sense, it deals with not just what failed on the vehicle, but HOW it failed.

You'd have to look at "warranty repair" of a scale such as this as being "Cascading Failure" - where one small part fails, so it causes the other parts of the system to bear more of the workload, which then other systems with this unit fail, until the entire system fails

Another way to look at it would be the Domino theory - where one event causes a cumulative series of events where their steps within the system are used to work, fail - or fall apart.

You also want to keep the timeline so the chronology of the failure can be traced back to the initial; moment.

So you don't want to start erasing DTC codes and or trying to clear codes by pulling battery power as an attempt to, or by using a scanner and forced erasing them using a scanning tool -- the trail of evidence is removed. Best to keep it intact, until a technician can analyze these codes as the sequence of events leading to the failure - then warranty can cover these due to the way the systems failed.

Yeah, you might want to be careful when it comes to these types of things occurring - for it can mean the difference between who may foot the bill. One; being you, because the system needs replacement and no way of knowing if it was you abusing it or the system causing itself to fail. To determine that it is by how the events cascaded or domino'ed into the failure where it's clearly proven it's not by you but caused by a similar series of steps failing the same way - therefore warranty coverage can occur

 

[wicksgirl]

yes your way of explaining sounds way better lol. I second all of that