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mikethompson

Comissar of Christmas
Jun 26, 2016
11,743
25,022
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Our 2nd car is a 2012 Ford Fiesta and we love it.
Last Sept when the battery was running low, we got a bunch of error messages on the dashboard.
The Ford Dealer put a new battery in and cleared everything but said we also needed a new Transmission Control Module. They didn't have one and 6 months later they tell me none are still available and may not ever be made again. What should I do? The car has been running fine during the interim.
Thanks
Mike

Sometimes the TCM just needs to be flashed to clear codes.

I'd take it to an indy shop and see what they say.

I'm speaking as someone who works in the industry and had that happen with my Passat.
 

captpat

Lifer
Dec 16, 2014
2,389
12,422
North Carolina
Seems like the options are (in no particular order):

1. Sell it -- no more worries
2. Drive it and replace the TCM with the aforementioned after-market parts when the OEM part fails
3. Pre-emptively replace the TCM no, as per #2
4. Try flashing the OEM part

Since we don't need two cars every day I'd probably go with #2. #1 has the advantage of getting out now of what may become a troublesome vehicle.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
10,025
16,070
Our 2nd car is a 2012 Ford Fiesta and we love it.
Last Sept when the battery was running low, we got a bunch of error messages on the dashboard.
The Ford Dealer put a new battery in and cleared everything but said we also needed a new Transmission Control Module. They didn't have one and 6 months later they tell me none are still available and may not ever be made again. What should I do? The car has been running fine during the interim.
Thanks
Mike
If I'm not mistaken, I believe Ford has stopped making all cars except the Mustang...I think they're still making that. All other sedans and small cars have apparently been discontinued.
 
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lraisch

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 4, 2011
727
1,511
Granite Falls, Washington state
To indulge in a little history, Volkswagen beetle exploded the American car market in the early 1960's, and the U.S., despite many efforts never quite succeeded in the small car market after that German retro anti-gas-guzzler, underpowered, non-air-conditioned bug. My first car was a bright red bug purchased brand new after getting out of the Navy, and after grad school. The U.S. tried mightily, with the Corvair, the Pinto, the Escort, and some real turkeys like the Cavelier. Finally, the U.S. manufacturers found their niche with SUV's and light trucks and not-so-light trucks, and never looked back. They even mostly abandoned the sedan market, leaving that to the Germans, the Japanese, and the Koreans. Even Vietnam is about to export an automobile to the U.S. I believe the Chinese are building the entire Buick line, mostly smaller SUV's. The once proud U.S. marques like the Pontiac, the Oldsmobile, the Plymouth, the Mercury, and grand old makes like the Packard and Studebaker (and the Studebaker Electric (!) fade into dim history.
In 1969 I was hired on a Friday to be a trainee mechanic at a VW dealership and told I would be sent to a training center to learn to repair the cars. I showed up for work the next Monday and was told the service manager who hired me had been fired. They sent me to the repair department and told me to watch the mechanics and learn from them. All of the mechanics they had were from Brazil and only spoke Portugese. I don't know any Portugese, so this was a little limiting.

After a week or two, I was told to fill in for the service writer who was going on vacation. He was a tall, blond German with a thick accent who could tell a customer "I don't think that zis iz a problem" and people assumed he was an expert sent by the factory or something. In fact he was an exchange student working a part time job and he had no experience or connection with VW.

Among other things, I was supposed to write up estimates for collision repairs and we had a snowstorm so a lot of cars came in rather banged up. No one had taught me anything about body work or estimating, so I just had to wing it.

The day my German counterpart came back, I was told I was fired because I didn't say hello to the owner when he came in (driving his Cadillac).

What little I learned watching the mechanics work and test-driving cars after repair, convinced me that I never wanted a Beetle.
 
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Deano

Can't Leave
Dec 28, 2022
422
3,826
Iowa
If I'm not mistaken, I believe Ford has stopped making all cars except the Mustang...I think they're still making that. All other sedans and small cars have apparently been discontinued.
Yep l have been a Ford guy for 30 plus years. Went to trade cars last year and didnt want a Mustang. Came home with a Honda Accord.
 
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bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
10,216
41,473
RTP, NC. USA
Whole lot of parts are unavailable now days. My car's in the shop for last 3 weeks. They don't know when the parts will come in. Qas told when I took it in.
 

greysmoke

Can't Leave
Apr 28, 2011
379
1,784
South Coatesville, PA
www.greysmoke.com
Our 2nd car is a 2012 Ford Fiesta and we love it.
Last Sept when the battery was running low, we got a bunch of error messages on the dashboard.
The Ford Dealer put a new battery in and cleared everything but said we also needed a new Transmission Control Module. They didn't have one and 6 months later they tell me none are still available and may not ever be made again. What should I do? The car has been running fine during the interim.
Thanks
Mike
If it's running fine, you think it's awesome, and warning lights remain on constantly, I'd say it sounds as if you've actually gotten into a Jeep Wrangler by mistake. But as long as it runs fine, I'd keep driving.

You can also check online for a 2012 Ford Fiesta Transmission Control Module and find it for sale from third party sources for the $300 to $400 range. You'll likely need to find a willing mechanic to install it. Even so, I'd wait for it to fail first. But I'm a cheapskate.

BTW, I fixed my Jeep's check engine light with a small piece of black electrical tape. Best wishes.
 
Aug 1, 2012
4,883
5,694
USA
I'd just like to address the suggestion to wait for it to fail. If you decide to wait until it fails, your repair cost can be a heck of a lot more than the module replacement and calibration. If you're really a cheapskate, you fix that one right away and get it done by a good, independent mechanic.