Ford Focus and Fiesta owners from around the country say they experienced new rejection at Ford dealerships when they took their cars for repair after the automaker quietly issued a special service notice in response to a Free Press investigation into the cars' defective transmissions.

Focus and Fiesta owners from 33 states have reached out to the Free Press after its Out of Gear investigation gave them fresh hope they’ll be made whole despite years of frustration. As a result of the report, members of Congress called for action and federal safety regulators said they’re looking at “all available information, including consumer complaints.”

A Ford memo to dealers dated July 12 was publicized by a Free Press story July 18, when just one day remained on the special warranty expansion. The corporate memo said “if a customer calls or arrives at your dealership indicating they have transmission symptoms that need addressed, arrange to diagnose the vehicle and repair as necessary.” It noted, “This direction is applicable only for repair orders created July 12 through July 19, 2019. Additional updates will be provided by July 19, 2019.”

But several owners told the Free Press it didn't work out that way. Dealerships told customers they didn't know about the memo, that owners would have to pay or to call Ford customer service.

Company documents showed that 350,000 of the cars had undergone transmission repairs at least three times by the end of 2016, and the Free Press has talked to owners who have replaced clutches twice as often. The DPS6 dual-clutch transmission has inspired thousands of lawsuits and class action litigation domestically, and legal action globally. Ford noted the ongoing financial issue to shareholders in its regulatory filings this spring.

Former Ford CEO Mark Fields was deposed in a hotel in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Saturday as part of ongoing claims against Ford. Fields' sworn testimony is covered by a protective order to keep it confidential.

The Free Press investigation found that Ford knew the transmissions were defective before putting them on the market and continued using them for years despite thousands of consumer complaints that include reports of 50 injuries and a tentative decision within Ford in 2011 to abandon the DPS6 that was later rejected.

The transmissions, which boosted fuel economy to meet federal standards as gas prices spiked, were introduced in the 2011 model year Fiesta and 2012 Focus. They were used until the Focus was discontinued with the 2018 model year and until the 2019 Fiesta. At least 1.5 million of the cars remain on U.S. roads, according to vehicle registrations. Owners report that many of the cars shift unevenly and sometimes shudder in alarming ways. Acceleration can be delayed, the transmissions can slip into neutral and many owners have reported cars lurching forward unexpectedly.

This week, Ford declined to comment on whether its 3,100 dealers were told to extend coverage as part of the "Short-Term DPS6 Dealer Customer Handling Direction."

“Any communication to dealers is done directly,” spokesman TR Reid told the Free Press.

'Silent recalls'

A metro Detroit Ford service manager said Tuesday that the limited warranty expansion was not extended beyond July 19. He noted that dealers have been asked to direct all inquiries to a 1-800 customer service number run by Ford.

Dealership representatives have asked not to be named to avoid souring their relationships with Ford.

“’Service bulletins by definition are silent recalls,” a state dealer association leader told the Free Press. “In other words, manufacturers do not notify customers, and (they) make it clear to dealers that they are only to tell customers about the service bulletin if the customer reports the specific problem covered by the bulletin to the dealer.”

Surprise: A $1,550 repair

So this is why Tony Rinaldi of Lincoln Park is flummoxed.

He went to Gorno Ford in Woodhaven when he heard about the expanded warranty memo, made an appointment to return this week for repair of a 2012 Ford Focus — and now is stuck.

“We took it in at 7:30 a.m. They evaluated and called us back a little while ago and left a message,” Rinaldi said Tuesday. “They’re saying it goes beyond the extended warranty period, not mileage-wise but date-wise. They’re saying they have the part available, the clutch needs to be replaced again. It needs a repair cost of over $1,550. This is the third time I’ve had it in there for this.”

He said he learned of the extended coverage by reading the Free Press and received a call back from a service employee named Clayton.

“If we don’t agree to this repair, we’ll have to pay $100 for the evaluation,” Rinaldi said. “I have yet to inform my partner, Marlene. When she hears this, she’ll go through the roof. I don’t want to have to pay it. But she has to take the car to Tennessee for a family reunion. I’m not comfortable with her driving down the street, let alone on a trip next month.”

Rinaldi called Ford corporate in April, as instructed then by the dealership. But the situation is just one ongoing exercise in confusion, he said. A Free Press call to the Gorno Ford service department was not returned.

Early Wednesday, Rinaldi and Marlene Teague went to the dealership and picked up her vehicle unfixed. After they protested the $100 diagnostic fee, it was waived by Dan in the service department, who urged the couple to call Ford corporate again, Rinaldi said. "We are both very upset. Marlene texted her feeling to Clayton at the dealership. Another lady was there this morning with a Focus that looked newer than ours, and she told us it was her third time getting the transmission fixed."

Same story in Texas

Erin Beasley of Round Rock, Texas, said that when she learned of the “secret Ford free clutch replacement” on July 18, she went to Mac Haik Ford in Georgetown the next day to discuss the memo sent by Ford headquarters and the dealership said it “had no knowledge of the program.”

Beasley, who owns a 2012 Focus, scheduled a drop-off on July 22 to “run diagnostics.” At the end of the week, the dealership called her to say she had a bad clutch that would cost $1,800 to fix.

“This, of course, is a story I’m all too familiar with, having taken my car to every Ford dealer in the greater Austin area in an attempt to resolve my problems,” she said. “The service adviser told me to call Ford directly and that if they approved it, they would fix it for free. The first rep at Ford had no knowledge of this program and told me to get the repairs done and hold onto the receipt in case Ford does issue a program and I might be able to get reimbursed. Second person I talked to was more helpful, acknowledged they had a 'team working on the DSP6 issue' and someone would call me … The whole afternoon passes and I make a third call to Ford … I was again told to make the repairs, quoting that my warranty was expired, and to hold onto the receipt in the event Ford issues a program whereby I might be able to get reimbursed.”

Beasley said she’s cautiously optimistic and hopes federal safety regulators or elected officials require Ford to respond to Focus and Fiesta owners who have sought relief for years.

More:US senators call for investigation of Ford Focus, Fiesta transmission decisions

More:NHTSA says it's reviewing complaints of faulty Ford transmissions

“I’ve held onto this car only because it’s now paid for and I can’t buy a new one,” she said. “I can’t even afford the $1,800 clutch replacement and pray it holds out until Ford steps up.”

A message left with her dealership's service manager went unanswered.

Ford dealership service managers contacted this week by the Free Press said they were advised not to comment on DPS6 issues and instead refer people to a customer service.

Asked about Ford customers who say their dealers did not know about the corporate memo or provide repairs as advised, spokesman Reid said Wednesday, "I can’t comment on individual experiences. We have had multiple communications about the DPS6 transmission over several years, which go to our entire dealer network.”

When will it stop?

Kristina Swindells of Royal Oak attends Wayne State University and drives her 2012 Fiesta to her job as a waitress in Rochester. She said she can’t understand how a company knowingly builds defective vehicles, as internal emails and confidential documents have revealed, but she's the one who must pay for clutches that constantly burn up. She called July 11, the day the Free Press published its Out of Gear investigation, and had to wait three weeks to get a service appointment.

“It’s chugging. It shudders. It bolts forward. At times there’s no acceleration, and I’ve almost had many accidents on the highway merging,” she said. “The dealership said there was nothing they could do, only if I paid $1,700 to fix the clutch. But it’s a Band-Aid. Even the guy at the dealership goes, 'Yeah, I’m aware it’s a manufacturing flaw.' The guy at the dealership said, ‘I wish I could help you but this is above me.'”

So Swindells said she asked the worker at Royal Oak Ford if the vehicle was safe for her, and she said he responded, "'Well, yeah, but the clutch will eventually burn out and you won't be able to shift gears.' So, basically wait until the car dies on me on the highway? I’m in school. I don’t have money to throw around. You have a multimillion-dollar corporation … that knowingly sells defective transmissions and says it’s the consumers’ fault because it’s outside warranty. That’s just ridiculous.”

A few Ford Focus and Fiesta owners called the Free Press from dealerships and asked that the warranty memo be sent to their phones, where they held it up to service department workers. Lana Mini of Troy said it was the only way she could make the dealership realize a memo had been sent from corporate, so she could discuss fixing her 2015 Focus. They told her it would spend 10 days in the shop and she would have to get a loaner car, and then they told her she would have to pay $1,000 to fix the clutch. If she had a problem, she could "take it up with customer service."

Owners from around the country who contacted the Free Press included current and former Ford employees, as well as Ford retirees and even a former Ford car dealer.

'All I have left is my dog'

Greg Bonczyk said his mom prepared a folder of paperwork to try and go to arbitration with Ford, in hopes that the company would see all the repairs on her 2014 Focus and compensate her. She went for heart surgery on Friday and had a stroke while there.

“The day I took her in, the check engine light came on and it wouldn’t go in reverse. It’s doing so bad now, I’ve got it parked in the driveway and can’t use it. The doggone thing is just screwing up. Mom is just fit to be tied. She kept all her receipts and did all she was supposed to do. I mean, she’s 77,” Bonczyk said from his home in Bardstown, Kentucky.

“I was getting ready to go back to driving trucks and now I don’t know. I had to take care of my wife after her stroke, and she just dwindled away and died last year. We lost our home. We lost everything. Now this with mom. All I have left is my dog.”

He paused. “You work all your life, trying to get ahead. I wrote a thing on Facebook to Ford, and told them shame on you. Mom is on a respirator and she’s asking about the damn car. What would be helpful is if they would give her the total money back. I think she paid $22,000. I mean, the other day I was coming down a ramp getting into traffic and it went into neutral. I had a big old truck behind me, it would’ve flattened me out. That was on Highway 65 south out of Louisville, the day I took Mom to the hospital. What if she had been driving it?"

Bonczyk continued, "She said, ‘I can’t buy a new car.’ And I’m like, ‘Mom, I’m trying and trying to do the best I can.' What if something happens to her before this is taken care of? I’m going to feel really bad about it. Mom used to say, ‘You’re just being tested.’ I said, ‘Mom, I’ve been tested for 60 years. When does it stop?"

'We are the heart of America'

Lisa Markoe of Amity, Oregon, owns a 2012 Focus and hopes consumers will find relief.

“You can stop at a stop sign and press drive and it will not move. It goes out of gear,” she said. “People who bought this car, an introductory car, we don’t make a lot money. We are the heart of America, the hard-working people, the middle class, the low income and, like me, disabled single women. This was a No. 1 selling car. And there should be a buyback. This car should not be on the road.”

'Something must be done'

Maureen Moseley of Jacksonville, Florida, has waited five years for someone to answer her pleas for help with a defective 2014 Focus.

"I also think that regulators or elected officials play a huge part in this situation, as they have an obligation to make things right for the consumer. Something has to be done," she said. "I bought the car in good standing and paid my payments on time, therefore Ford should be held accountable to provide me with a safe vehicle."

Ford warranties

Ford listed $175 million in warranty costs in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dated July 24, but provided no details so it's unclear to what that should be attributed.

The Ford document said: "We provide warranties on the vehicles we sell. Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage, and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace or adjust all parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period. We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts alleging damages based on state and federal consumer protection laws and breach of warranty obligations. Remedies under these statutes may include repurchase, civil penalties, and plaintiff’s attorney fees. In some cases, plaintiffs also include an allegation of fraud.

"The cost of these matters is included in our warranty costs. We accrue obligations for warranty costs at the time of sale using a patterned estimation model that includes historical information regarding the nature, frequency, and average cost of claims for each vehicle line by model year. We re-evaluate the adequacy of our accruals on a regular basis.

"As previously reported, we are currently a defendant in a significant number of litigation matters relating to the performance of vehicles equipped with DPS6 transmissions."

More:Ford knew Focus, Fiesta models had flawed transmission, sold them anyway

More:6 key findings from the investigation of Ford Focus, Fiesta transmissions

More:Among Ford cars with flawed transmission, the 2012 Focus had the most complaints

More:Ford's first response to Focus, Fiesta transmission investigation

More:Ford's second response, with annotations

To file a complaint with federal regulators about any car, go to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512 orphoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter. Jamie LaReau contributed to this article.