Ford Falcon 2010 Problems

No we haven't heard of this issue before, but it clearly sounds dangerous and the treatment you have received at both dealer and company level appears appalling. I would recommend you take command of the situation and demand that it be fixed. Leave the car with the dealer until they take whatever action is required to fix the problem. It is not acceptable for the dealer, or Ford, to say they can't fix it. If, indeed, they can't fix it they should take it back and give you a new car. You could also test the new national consumer laws on the basis that the product Ford has sold you is unfit for purpose.

You've done the logical things in replacing and/or machining the discs, and replaced the wheel bearings. Make sure there are no problems in those areas now. You could also check the brake master cylinder to make sure it is fully retracting when you take your foot off the pedal. Another Falcon owner has told us they found the master cylinder was holding the brakes on slightly and it was causing the discs to warp.

We understand that the valve body was revised to soften the selection of sixth gear, so that should help, but it could also be that you have a problem with the diff mounting bushes and bolts, and perhaps even the diff itself. These are all problem areas on the Falcon and could be contributing to your problem. But I would expect that if there was a problem with the bushes, bolts or diff that you would also hear or feel it at other times, not just when it's going into sixth gear.

You can affix insulation material to the inner wheelhouse arches and floor inside the cabin to dull the sound of the stones.

Ford used a two-pinion set-up in the Borg Warner diff in the BA/BF Falcon and they regularly break, but there is a solution at hand. Trans-Diff in Melbourne regularly rebuilds Falcon diffs and can rebuild your diff with a four-pinion set-up that won’t give you any further problems.

I've not only heard of it, I have experienced it, and reported on it when I tested the ute in the CarsGuide. I thought at the time that it was probably related to the tailshaft, but it was one of those things that a carmaker would say was "commercial", in other words it was good enough to take to the market. I think the service manager is correct, that there's nothing you can do about it.

You could fit the 235/45/17 tyres, but to be legal they would have to have an "Extra Load" rating to match the load rating of the 245/45/17 tyres, and that might make them more expensive. If you did make the change and used "Extra Load" rated tyres you would have to run a slightly higher inflation pressure to bring them up to the load carrying capacity of the 245/45/17 tyres. In the view of our tyre specialist, Russell Stuckey, making such a change as you are   contemplating would be a backward one.

Yes, it’s not an unusual complaint. Go back to the dealer and ask how you can get it to “unlearn” your driving style, and start all over again so you don’t get that annoying hesitation.

They are all much of a muchness really and I couldn’t recommend one over another. But the paint specialists say the best way to protect your paint is to hand polish it at least once per year, pay to have a detailer do it if you don’t want to do it yourself, and then regularly wash it in water only and chamois it dry. Avoid using soap when you wash it as that takes the polish off as well as any grime that’s on the surface. A polish like Meguiar’s Wet Look is a good one to use.

We have certainly had a few reports of hard gearshifts with the six-speed auto, but that’s not to say all cars are affected. A good test drive at various speeds, light and hard throttle, should be able to find the problem is it exists.