PowerShift gearbox: faults and reliability

• PowerShift DPS6 dry clutch, first generation (2011-2016)

  2011–2016 · DPS6, 6DCT250

  With caution

  It is the generation with the most documented juddering and slipping complaints and the one Ford revised most often (clutch and software); it is only worth considering if you check the software update history and take a long test drive, watching for hesitation when pulling away.^[1][2]

• PowerShift DPS6 dry clutch, revised clutch (2016-2023)

  2016–2023 · DPS6, 6DCT250

  With caution

  It improves the clutch's thermal behaviour compared with the first generation, but Auto Express still warns of vibrations and that the clutch can fail in the Fiesta VIII; do the same road test and check the gearbox history before buying.^[5]

• PowerShift 6DCT450 oil bath (2010-2023)

  2010–2023 · 6DCT450

  With caution

  It has a better reputation than the DPS6 and is not tied to any known class action, but several German workshops describe its clutches as prone to accelerated wear; insist on seeing the gearbox oil change history (every 50,000-60,000 km) before buying.^[3][6][7]

Buy: No known serious faults, or they have already been corrected, in this version. With caution: Worth buying if something specific is verified: history, a replaced part or a completed campaign. Avoid: High risk of a serious fault that is hard to check for or prevent.

1. 1High severityVery frequentFrequency: Very frequentClutchJuddering, hesitation and slipping of the dry clutch (DPS6)Yes: the dry-clutch DPS6 judders, hesitates when pulling away and slips in a very large number of cars. Ford revised the clutch and software at least six times without fully solving it, and in the US a 2020 court settlement covered close to 600,000 Ford Fiesta and Focus cars.
2. 2High severityVery frequentFrequency: Very frequentClutchClutch pressure plate breakage (2018 and 2019 recalls on the Focus and C-MAX)Ford recalled the Focus III and C-MAX II with the Powershift gearbox over the risk of the clutch pressure plate breaking, in two successive campaigns (2018 and 2019) covering vehicles built between August 2012 and May 2018.
3. 3High severityCommonFrequency: CommonClutchAccelerated wear of the wet clutch in the 6DCT450The 6DCT450, with its oil-bath wet clutch, tends to wear its clutches sooner than expected if the oil is not changed every 50,000-60,000 km; it affects the automatic diesel versions of the Mondeo, Kuga, S-MAX, Galaxy and some Focus models.Repair (garage): €1,800–€2,800
4. 4Medium severityCommonFrequency: CommonElectronicsCold hesitation and electronic faults in the control module (TCM)Both the DPS6 and the 6DCT450 depend on a control module (TCM) that manages the clutches; there is cold hesitation, resonance at idle and occasional electronic failures, and Ford has revised the software several times without a single fix.

Severity colours: low, medium, high, critical. How we rate them

Manufacturer

Getrag Ford Transmissions (Getrag; desde 2015, Magna Powertrain)

Family

Ford PowerShift (transmisiones de doble embrague)

Type

Dual-clutch, 6-speed: dry DPS6/6DCT250 (around 250 Nm) or oil-bath 6DCT450 (up to about 450 Nm), depending on version

Production

2010–2023

Makes

Ford

Technical data^[1][2][4]

1. 2010–2023

   PowerShift 6DCT450 oil bath (2010-2023)

   Wet dual-clutch gearbox built by Magna (formerly Getrag), with a capacity of about 450 Nm according to its own designation, mechanically very different from the DPS6 even though Ford markets both as "Powershift". It debuted in the Ford S-MAX with the May 2010 facelift, replacing the Durashift automatic across almost the whole range except the 2.2 TDCi, and became widespread from 2014 in the higher-output automatic diesels of the Mondeo V, the Kuga, the Galaxy and the S-MAX itself; gebrauchtwagenberater.de says the Mondeo later replaced it with an 8-speed torque-converter automatic alongside the 2.0 EcoBlue diesel.^[3][4][7]

2. 2011–2016

   PowerShift DPS6 dry clutch, first generation (2011-2016)

   First generation of the DPS6 (6DCT250 in Getrag's generic naming), with two single-plate dry clutches and no torque converter, designed for entry-level engines of up to around 250 Nm. This is the generation behind most of the documented hesitation and slipping complaints, and the bulk of the 1.5 million Fiesta (2011-2016) and Focus (2012-2016) units that prompted class actions in North America from 2012.^[1][2][4]

3. 2016–2023

   PowerShift DPS6 dry clutch, revised clutch (2016-2023)

   From 2016 Ford changed the clutch friction material to improve its behaviour with temperature, as part of at least six revisions to the clutch and the control module (TCM) software applied to the DPS6 since launch. We have not been able to confirm the exact date this change reached European production, only that the sources consulted place it as a 2016 model-year change in North America; the Fiesta VIII (2017-2023), already fitted with this revised gearbox, gets somewhat better reviews in the British press than the Fiesta VII, although Auto Express still warns of vibrations and that the clutch can fail.^[1][5]