US Opens Safety Probes Into New Ford Mustang, Volkswagen Jetta Published August 08, 2011

[ladygaga2]

Saw this on Fox News this morning regarding 2011/2012 mustangs.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industri...robes-into-new-ford-mustang-volkswagen-jetta/

Transportation

US Opens Safety Probes Into New Ford Mustang, Volkswagen Jetta


Published August 08, 2011
| Dow Jones Newswires

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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun investigations into new Ford Mustangs with manual transmissions over erratic shifting and diesel Volkswagen Jetta sedans for fuel leaks, the agency said in recently posted documents.
News of the investigations was first reported late Sunday by the Detroit News.
The agency, part of the federal Department of Transportation, said it had opened a preliminary investigation into 26,000 2011-2012 Mustangs made by Ford Motor Co. (F). The NHTSA said it received 32 complaints alleging an "unexpected inability to shift into gear" on Mustangs equipped with manual transmissions that some suggested had nearly led to crashes.

Some complaints said incidents occurred while merging into high-speed traffic, while others said incidents occurred while turning left across oncoming traffic.
The NHTSA also said it's investigating 40,000 2011 Jetta TDI vehicles after it received seven complaints alleging leakage from the fuel line to the fuel injector. One similar complaint was received regarding a Volkswagen Golf also equipped with a 2-liter TDI engine, the agency said.
The two investigations aren't related. The NHTSA generally investigates for up to a year before deciding whether to upgrade an investigation into an engineering analysis, the Detroit newspaper noted. In many cases, a probe ends before then -- when either an auto maker voluntarily recalls vehicles or the government ends the investigation due to a lack of evidence.
Ford, according to the Detroit News, said it was aware of the investigation. "We will fully cooperate with the government as they review this matter," a spokesman told the paper.
Volkswagen didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.
NHTSA investigation announcements searchable at: www.safercar.gov
Detroit News report: http://detnews.com/article/20110807...Feds-investigating-new-Ford-Mustang--VW-Jetta


Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/08/08/us-opens-safety-probes-into-new-ford-mustang-volkswagen-jetta/#ixzz1USBRPEYI

 

[fastfiveoh]

The "unexpected inability to shift into gear" happened to me a few times. In my case, it wasn't the tranny, it was the clutch. Two of the three bolts holding it to the flywheel were sheared off plus numerous hotspots. At the time, I wrote it off to a missed shift or the clutch wasn't depressed enough. The day it completely quit, I had to PUSH it out of my parking space because it wouldn't go into reverse. I'll post the pics as soon as I get a break. Hope the Transportation Board puts the fear of God into Ford so they'll fix this issue. If you want to read more, just go to any mustang or racing site and type in "2011 Mustang GT clutch issues". Page after page of horror stories and a few videos will pop up. BTW, my clutch went out at 13,000 miles and the new one already has balked a couple of times going into 2nd gear. Can we say Stage 2 racing clutch? You listening, Ford?? Unf#$K this issue and this car will be untouchable!

 

[fastfiveoh]

Thanks for posting this, Donna.

 

[toplessilver]

Thanks for letting everyone know this!!!!

 

[ladygaga2]

Found these articles

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/08/us-nhtsa-probes-idUSTRE7772DZ20110808

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/201...vestigated-for-sticky-6-speed-manual-gearbox/

http://www.muscularmustangs.com/2011/news0554_nhtsa_investigates_mustang_transmission.php

http://www.torquenews.com/106/ford-mustang-under-gov’t-investigation-transmission-problems

Ford Mustang under gov’t investigation for transmission problems

Submitted by Patrick Rall on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 09:45

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a preliminary investigation to examine reported shifting problems in 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustangs powered by the 5.0L V8 and backed by the new 6-speed manual transmission – a problem that could result in a recall of the new Mustang should a defect be discovered by the Federal agency.

​

The NHTSA opened their investigation after receiving 32 complaints about the 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustang having shifting issues in models equipped with the new 6-speed manual transmission. Depending on what the government’s safety regulator finds during their studies, Ford may be faced with a recall to address these issues should a defect be discovered. In total, roughly 26,000 Mustangs from the 2011 and 2012 model year are affected by this investigation.​

Since the incredible new 2011 Ford Mustang GT stormed onto the scene with a new 412 horsepower 5.0L V8 and a 6-speed Getrag transmission the mighty Mustang has received rave reviews from owners and writers alike. However, there have been regular grumblings on various internet communities like MustangForums.com about how these 2011 Mustang’s with the 6-speed manual were experiencing a variety of problems with the new transmission. These issues included excessive noise from the transmission and, worst of all, the inability to shift from or to certain gears at high rpm. As more and more of these upset owners came forward, surprisingly little was done but relief may be in sight as the NHTSA has stepped in – opening a preliminary investigation to see if there is a defect in the 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustang.
I had a chance to speak with MustangForums.com member Shane McGlaun, who is the proud owner of a 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302, #0333. Shane has owned several Mustangs (including 2012 Boss 302 #0001!) and has never experienced the problem before but during a recent track day session, he found that his high performance Mustang was having problems getting from 3rd to 4th gear at high rpm. He attributed the problem to the Texas heat combined with the added abuse of the track day (although the 2012 Boss 302 is built to race) and didn’t think much of it until he found that under normal driving circumstances on the open road, his Mustang was still having problems getting from 3rd to 4th gear. He has also run into instances where he will depress the clutch to shift and the pedal won’t return from the floor – both of which are regular issues in those Mustangs experiencing the problems that have spurred the NHTSA investigation. The only “fix” that Shane has found is to let the engine speed (rpm) drop until the clutch pedal kicks back out or in the case of the transmission not wanting to go into 4th gear, Shane has found that shifting into 6th and then going to another gear works. However, with a brand new sports car most people don’t want to have to figure out ways to get into gear…and they shouldn’t have to.
The video below is in-car footage taken by Shane McGlaun in his 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 #0333. It is great fun to watch and listen to the new Boss 302 in action but around the 7:30 mark, as Shane rockets down the straightaway and attempts to shift from 3rd to 4th gear, the transmission does not oblige and Shane is forced to shift into 6th gear. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sweet roar of the Boss 302 engine as the engine speed climbs and then radically drops as the inability to get into 4th gear sends Shane going for 6th.

While not everyone takes their Mustang to the track, think about merging into 70mph traffic on the highway and as you go to shift from 3rd gear to 4th gear easing into traffic…the car will not go into 4th gear. Now you have other traffic running up on you from behind and you’re in a car that won’t go into gear and because of that – it won’t pick up speed. That presents a very clear safety risk so the NHTSA is looking in to the problem to see if there is cause for a recall of manually shifted 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustangs. Luckily, there have been no reports of accidents or injuries stemming from this problem but reports indicate that several of the 32 complaints that caused the investigation alleged that it almost caused an accident.
TorqueNews.com will continue covering this – bringing you news as it becomes available!

 

[ladygaga2]

If you go to the last link I posted for this you can see a video of a Boss 302 on the track