PTU failure 2013 SHO non PP

[13-SHO]

FYI for all:

Sadly, the dealer is in process of replacing my PTU @ 39k miles. (I have no mods done to the car) We drove down to Florida for spring break and she ran great. I will give her credit. She didn't breakdown until the day after we got here.

Background: Never been to a track. Just used as a daily driver. I live in Michigan and the AWD gets quite a bit of use in the winter.

For those that might not know what it sounds like when it is about to go/gone.

First, the car shuddered badly when slowly taking off from a stop. (Happened in a parking lot) Sort of like a differential on it's way out. If I didn't know any better I would swear the clutch pack was grinding itself into little pieces (but there is no clutch pack in the PTU). Shuddering was just as bad when slowly turning into a parking place.
Second, a grinding noise that would get louder as you accelerated. I also put the car in neutral while driving and revved it. The noise was still present but the volume was not as loud. (Still not sure why I was hearing a difference in noise volume. The PTU should be spinning freely in neutral.)

Edit: One more thing to add. The car was fine in reverse. No noise, shudder or any indication the PTU had failed. I didn't go flying in reverse lol. I just backed it into the driveway from the side street.

I never lost power/acceleration. The car ran fine other than the noise and shuddering during a low throttle acceleration from a stop. If I accelerated normally the only sign was something was wrong was the noise. Kind of sounds like a loose heat shield on a catalytic converter.

Mine is being covered under warranty. Thankfully. I was going to change the fluid when I got back. I asked my dealer but they didn't recommend doing it.

I will post more info when I get it.

[SHOdded]

Sorry to hear about the PTU, glad it is covered under warranty!  Typical symptoms of failing unit.  Mystery tho why they fail so early!  It is my understanding that the unit is always engaged as long as you are in D/R, i.e., moving.  So even though it may not be called into play at full speed, it is still keeping the driveshaft "warmed up" for action.

[BiGMaC]

Sorry to hear about the failure. Hope it's a quick fix for you and a smooth process.
The dealer will likely have to send the part back to Ford... Some pics of the opened unit would be interesting. Also, it would be good to know if there are any changes in the design of the replacement.

[IHeartGroceries]

That's most unfortunate. But, very good that it is being covered on Ford's dime.

I remember when the PTO failed in my Mazda. A few days leading up to it, was making an occasional knocking noise. Was out one evening and all of a sudden it's just making all kinds of racket. Turned around and headed home. Ripped on it some, and it still pulled hard.
Got home and pulled into the garage, past my steep driveway. Got out and noticed little dribbles of oil up the drive. Look further and find big hunks of aluminum from the gear set exiting the housing. That was a fun project, getting her back on the road. Good times.

So, glad it's Ford's problem to repair and not yours!

[Airbornemaikai]

These PTU threads really need to be consolidated


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[13-SHO]

Update
I didn't to see the failed ptu. Three new one seems to work fine. I will give the dealers props. They expedited the part and detailed the car.

I did ask if they would extend the warranty. The answer was the expected, no.

Thank you for the replies. I still love the car but will have to get the PTU oil changed every 20-30 k.

[SHOdded]

Please name this dealer, those in the area could use a "friend in the department"

[skippytx]

Well this has me nervous now.   I pulled out of the driveway this morning and the car did this weird surge/surge/surge jerking at first. I stopped and then slowly finished pulling out (I had backed into the driveway to unload the trunk the night before so I was leaving driving forward).   When on the street I drove really slowly and babied it for a few minutes until things started being normal again.  I chalked it up to the car being cold and parked at a slight decline instead of flat or at an incline.

I have a 2013 with 38K miles on it.  I don't abuse the car, but I have no issues driving it like one would expect a performance sedan to be driven.  I was planning at the 40K mark to have the tranny and PTU serviced.

I did buy the car as a used CPO model, so hopefully PTU and Tranny are covered under the 7/100K  once the normal powertrain runs out.

[SHOdded]

Did you notice what gear the transmission was in when you first started moving down the driveway?  Maybe it wasn't in 1st?  Usually the transmission is not the problem, but rather a sensor, such as the range sensor (shifter), or TSS/OSS sensors, etc.  Less frequently, a mod to the valve body is needed.