CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford changed a lot of things for its 3rd generation, just none of them were a good idea.
The transmission tends to hesitate and jerk when accelerating. The new electronically-driven power steering can fail suddenly and without warning. Even Ford's SYNC can be a headache. Actually, scratch that last one — it's always been a headache.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,942 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Vehicle hesitates, shakes, and shudders while moving forward and stopping. It feels as though the car is driving over rumble strips. Stalled completely in an intersection.
Car would not start would not go forward or go in reverse had in Ford dealership 16 times still had issues also car rusted in least then a year had it in dealership 4 times still having issues with transmission and rusting. Transmission sitting or moving city or highway or turning dealership was Suburban Ford on 59 road in waterford, Michigan
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and shut off without warning. The vehicle was able to restart. Also, when the fuel tank was filled, the fuel gauge did not display the correct amount of fuel and the mileage was incorrect. The contact also stated that the shape of the fuel tank appeared unusual. Furthermore, the contact stated that the vehicle did not immediately start when it was cranked. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was taken to reynolds Ford of okc (833-821-8065, located at 7320 nw expy, Oklahoma city, ok 73132) where the software system was updated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and confirmed that the recall repair was to update the software system. The failure mileage was 117,402.
Hello I'm writing this complaint regarding two things. My transmission & my radio. First my transmission has been took to a Ford dealership locate in Michigan to have an diagnostic ran on it and it was noted by the dealership that my car has two field actions on it which both have to do with the faulty transmission which happens to hesitate to take off and also jerks when I accelerate. This has been going on since this vehicle has been in my grandmothers possession. Now it has gotten worse to the point where it now drags and there is some slipping when it shifts. The second complaint I have is that my radio recently began to start to static and pop. And now for two weeks my radio have not been able to turn on, the only thing that displays is the time clock, date & temperature. I haven't gotten any audio from the vehicle. I've replaced the fuses for the radio and it still isn't playing any audio. And I currently do not have time or money to put into this vehicle any more.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving 10 mph and/or making turns, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated and stalled. The vehicle was able to restart. Additionally, the air conditioner and radio turned on by themselves without warning. The vehicle was taken to arlington heights Ford (801 w dundee rd, arlington heights, il 60004, (888) 481-8607), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 52,269.
- Des Plaines, IL, USA
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While driving at highway speed, my vehicle stopped completely. There was no power whatsoever. I was able to coast on to the shoulder of the highway. The vehicle would not start. I called for vehicle assistance. After waiting several hours, the driver was not able to jump start the vehicle. It was towed to my regular mechanic. He was unable to determine the problem. One of his mechanics said that Ford had a warranty on the main computer. So I contacted the dealer, parkway Ford in winston salem, nc. Ford roadside assistance picked up the vehicle and took it to parkway. It was determined that the main computer had failed and drained my battery completely. The computer was replaced. This was not a comfortable or safe situation to be stranded on the shoulder of a major highway for several hours on a very hot day.
I own a 2013 Ford Focus hatchback that has transmission and clutch issues. It's been recalled once and replaced. But still has the same issue. When start to putting gas on the pedal the van stuffers and skips gears until it reaches 3rd gear. This is making it hard to drive and gain speed. It ultimately needs to be replaced again. But Ford won't replace again for another 2500$. it's a known issue that they know of but won't replace more than once. I also can't trade in my vehicle because it's worth 93% less than value. The car has other known recalls that needs to be fixed.
Brakes are erratic, often feels as if car may not brake in time then shudders on acceleration, slips, jerks, hesitates, suffers delayed accelerstion, delays in downshifting. Stalled just after turning at an intersection, engine simply did not switch on. Electrical circuit drained battery. Inaccurate fuel gauge indication / distance to empty, high fuel consumption.
Vehicle has repeatedly had transmission issues coming in a variety of forms. At times I will be unable to accelerate, with my pedal to the floor, while the car seems to 'coast' and with no explanation. Other times I have had the vehicle's alert lights come on with a warning the transmission has overheated and to pull over 'immediately.' This is difficult to do when on a 55 mph zone or on the highway; the inability to accelerate has led to multiple incidences pulling into traffic or attempting to merge where vehicles have had to swerve or stop because I am in their way. In daily driving, there is a constant shudder that makes me believe the vehicle will fail at any moment. This vehicle was the daily driver of my wife and we were forced to lease another vehicle because she did not feel safe. It has been in for a multitude of repairs and requires more. However, no dealership is able to schedule an appointment or provide a loaner, even though it is supposed to be a covered repair. I exceeded my warranty to have it entirely covered simply because no dealer could schedule me. The problems began in 2013 and have persisted since, to this date. The most recent safety-related matter occurred on a winding two lane road a month ago where there was nowhere to pull over safely and the car threatened to shut down due to the transmission overheating
My transmission is great progressively worse. The judder, slipping out of gear, deceleration when I need to accelerate, and the random buckling of car is getting too horrible to ignore anymore. My dealership told me that there has been no issues with the transmission and that I was wrong. I am reading way too many of the same stories with the same car. This is getting dangerous and I am stuck with this car. When I accelerate from a stopped position, I feel as if I am riding a bucking Bronco (shuddering). The jolting and shuddering is enough to loosen my kidneys. This has always occurred on my car. But it is getting worse. But according to Ford, this is 'normal' and 'this transmission is suppose to feel like a manual.' I have driven manual transmission cars and they do not behave this way. They have made it seem like cars are suppose to drive this way now.
We had transmission clutches replaced through recall. This did not fix problem. While driving, car will start flashing transmission error, hill assist error, breaking error, etc.. then the car will stall. We have taken it to dealer 3 times now. This has happened on busy city streets and highway.
Passenger side tail light is out (brake light bulb fault warning light is on). After several bulb changes, the brake light either does not come on or it burns out very quickly. An on-line search revealed that this is a common problem and Ford has done nothing about this safety concern. I do not know when this problem first started because it may have been a long time before someone else noticed it and alerted me. The problem is present as soon as the key is turned on.
One day while filling car up.. I noticed a few drops of gas on the ground afterwards. Today I wanted to add $8 to my gas tank. The moment I started pumping the gas started coming out. I tried a few times to continue but I kept coming out.
Since ive purchased my Ford Focus back in 2013 I have taken the car back to Ford dealership on numerous occasions in relation to the faulty transmission and electrical issues. On my 5th attempt my transmission was replaced. This was around the end of 2017 to 2018. On May 2nd 2019 I was driving to work and as soon as I turned on the car the windsheild wipers started to go off and for some reason I could not turn them off. Once I arrived onto my work campus I turned the cornee to park my car... when all of a sudden my car flashed an error message on my dash stating the following, " transmission failure repair now". I calmly parked the car and within seconds of turning off the car I see smoke and then flames from the bottom of my engine hood. I quickly exited the car abd the flames got bigger and bigger. The fire department was called and the had to smash the back window due to the flames that had over taken the front of the car. Unfortunetly my car is not a total loss. I was at the end of my contract agreement with Ford and inly having to pay 6400 left on my loan. Ive called their customer service to complain and see what can be done and was told I would get a letter in 2 weeks by their legal council. This has caused me to delay my entry into nursing school since now I have to work to handle the car the new car I just had to buy. I need transportation for work and Ford took that from me. Ive now seeked out a lawyer to see what can be done. With all the times I asked for help and I ended up seeing my car go up in smoke. Im just so thankful I was able to get out iof the car in time. But believe me im still shaken and this has caused me to never buy Ford again.
Radio will cut out and then sound like wires are sizzling and wont play.the vehicle is in motion.and even when its turned of the sizzling sound is still there.
My stereo has decided to terrorize me with loud popping, crackling, and white noise. In the beginning my stereo would make a loud pop and then not emit any sound. The display would work, and I could change the stations, inputs, and volume, but no noise would come out of the speakers. I would simply turn the car off and back on and the problem would be resolved. Since, this gremlin has transformed into a creature off a "predator" movie. Now when I start my car, the music may play for a couple seconds and then the loud popping takes over. Whether the volume is on "1" or "10" the noise is just as loud and startling. I would simply turn off the power to the stereo, but this did not seem to alleviate anything. Although not as consistent, the noise seems to intermittently come even if the car is turned off and the key not in the ignition. As stated, this noise is very loud and startling. It startled me enough that I accidentally jerked the wheel out of reflex while driving down the highway yesterday. Music is a luxury, but having the crap scared out of you by your own car while driving is a giant safety issue!!
The transmission has been slipping badly but warranty is only 100K miles and car has 105K so Ford dealer says I have to pay repairs. This is a know issue. Dashboard display is damage and shows no information - millage - and can not pass emission testing since can not determine millage. Dealer want $800. Vehicle just shut-off in middle of driving - very scary - disconnect and connect battery and worked but scary and dangerous. All these three issues -transmission, display & shutting off- should be a recall because car can not be use.
Less than 24 hrs ago I started Focus and the dashboard that tells me how much fuel, and how fast I'm going didn't work pulled over turned it off and back on and is still not working. Went to change fuses and that didn't fix the issue. Talked to local repair shop who has seen the issue and says it control module and that the piece is connected to security system and that something would have to be rebuilt. Called Ford home office 800 number and was no help.
Ford dealer in melbourne, Florida refuses to perform recall work. Took the car in--it failed inspection. The manager refused to order parts or work on the vehicle and told me the mechanic was on vacation. I went back again to have the other recall items worked on, the manager said it was still a "no go, " and I'd have to wait two months to get my unsafe car looked at...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lompoc, CA, USA