6F35 ford fusion

[leeaspell]

So have read a lot about issues with the 6F35 transmission which my fusion has. Currently has 50k km on it, no issues or hard shifts or anything, but I'm thinking about doing a drain and fill at each oil change, which would be once a year, only put about 10k a year on, mostly the wife short tripping to work everyday.

Is it worth it, or just run it. She works for Ford so u can get mercon lv at a sort of cheaper price, or I can get motomaster for $30 a gallon.

Secondly, is it possible to add a dipstick to these units? Hate not being able to physically check it

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Ever 10K KM is overkill.

While you're absolutely right, the F35 is known for it's problems. However, I'm not sure it's for your model/year. Others will know for sure.

Nonetheless, at 50K KM I'd go ahead and change it and then every 25K after that with OEM fluid.

 

[gregk24]

I didn't realize the 2013 had transmission issues, I thought it was only the previous generation that did...unless they share the same transmission?

 

[leeaspell]

As far as what I've read, it's the same transmission, but there seems to be less issues with the newer ones. Just don't want to become one of the ppl with issues. This car is paid for, thanks to getting t boned and writing off the 2013 elantra we had and getting a sweet price at the dealership where she works, so I'd like to keep it in as best shape I can

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted By: leeaspell
So have read a lot about issues with the 6F35 transmission which my fusion has. Currently has 50k km on it, no issues or hard shifts or anything, but I'm thinking about doing a drain and fill at each oil change, which would be once a year, only put about 10k a year on, mostly the wife short tripping to work everyday.

Is it worth it, or just run it. She works for Ford so u can get mercon lv at a sort of cheaper price, or I can get motomaster for $30 a gallon.

Secondly, is it possible to add a dipstick to these units? Hate not being able to physically check it


This is MASSIVE overkill. Yes, the 6F35 is hard on fluid, but doing the drain&fill every 10k is really not necessary. Based on my personal experience, I'd say do it once every 2 years - 20,000 miles apart - and just drain the fluid once, and refill once. Standard time frame is every 30,000 miles, but I'd say given your use and OCI timeframe, that 20,000 is a good number. You'll also stay ahead of the game.

FYI - I own a 2010 Fusion with the 6F35 trans and a 2.5 liter, which just passed 226,000 miles this week.. and I'm still on the original trans. My last drain&fill was done at approximately 24,000 miles. I was going to do 30,000 miles, but I was doing an oil change at the time, and the fluid was getting dark so I decided to pull the trigger. I do just a single drain&refill of ~1gal each time, vs. doing one, driving for a bit, then doing a 2nd. Going forward, I will most likely keep on a 25,000 mile schedule just to be safe, depending on how dark the fluid gets in that time.


Originally Posted By: gregk24
I didn't realize the 2013 had transmission issues, I thought it was only the previous generation that did...unless they share the same transmission?


The 6F35 trans from the 1st gen was carried over into the 2nd gen, but is not paired with all of the engines. I believe it also received new programming at some point.

 

[slug_bug]

I have the same car. I've done some preliminary searches on how to change the fluid in this trans. and have NOT found a good answer. The drain plug is easy to find. I understand that approx. 4 qts drain out if you just pull the plug. The fluid add cap is buried beneath several things by the air cleaner box. I was hoping to just use a fluid extractor to suck up as much fluid through the tube and replace with an equal amount, but A)it's looks like a pain to get to that cap off B)won't be certain the level is right. The next option is to pump the fluid in through a fluid level check/add hole. Can anyone tell me where that hole is located on this trans? I can't seem to find a clear answer in various forums.

 

[gregk24]

If its the same unit then by all means change the fluid out early. I do an annual drain and fill on my Accord, its super easy in that car. Not sure what the procedure is on the Fusion.

 

[dnewton3]

I had (past-tense) a 2010 Fusion with the mentioned 2.5L/6F35 combo. Traded it for my MGM.

I believe the 2010 was the worst years for those trannies; lots of issues. My car flared it's shifts incessantly and annoyingly until warmed up.

The drain plug is easy to find on the bottom; just use it to dump out the fluid. As for filling, just use the dip-stick tube. Yeah - it's a bit slow going, but it's easy to do and you're only replacing about a gallon. I changed mine this way and it wasn't too bad. No sense looking for the "fill" plug; it need not be the complicated. Just fill with the tube.

I would recommend the OCI duration be tailored to the fluid chosen. If using a product that's an LV-type semi-syn, I'd say 20k miles. If using a full syn, go longer.

 

[slug_bug]

My reason for wanting to find the fluid level "check/fill" plug is that if I simply replace as much as I drain, I may be perpetuating a over/under fill condition. Also, I would have to remove part of the air box and a couple of hard metal lines to get to the fill tube. I can usually find a nice description or youtube video on such things, but, this one is proving difficult to find for some reason.