My 05 Focus Ghia had done 15000 when I bought it in o6. It has failed 4 dual-mass clutches in 20000 miles since at circa £1000 per repair (inc flywheel) at a main Ford dealer. There have been no warning signs of wear as indicated by early clutch bite but the latest failure started when I went to change gear but couldn't find any, and with the clutch pedal at lowest point the car jump started when I switched on. The dealer's story is that "we're all in the same boat" with these new non-asbestos clutch materials and "we all need to modify our driving habits", but an average of 5000miles/clutch is ridiculous. My Mondeo's clutch is still going strong at 60000.
I wrote to FoMoCo but they say they've had no "reports" in this connection, which seems odd since the local dealer's technicians are only too familiar with the problem. The friction material used by Ford must be poor.
I gather that the problem has led to development of single-plate conversion kits (not by Ford) with a frictioh-lining life equal to or better than that of the asbestos type. I'd be glad to hear from forum readers who've made the change or have had the same problem and found an answer otherwise.
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