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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:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,610 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.

2013 Ford Focus engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 6 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #7

Apr 152013

Focus

  • 2,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and accelerated rapidly without manual force. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 2,500.

- Whispering Springs Pine, NC, USA

problem #6

Jun 232013

Focus

  • 1,425 miles
On Sunday June 23, 2013 at approximately 3:00 pm on or about buffaloe rd at southall rd in raleigh, nc, we were heading West bound in the right lane of buffaloe rd. Approaching a green light. Approximately, 700 ft from the limit line, the light changed to yellow and we slowed to stop. Stopping was a little more firm than the slow paced regenerative charging, a noise was from the front was heard, resembling that of a loose brake pad hitting metal and the vehicle them sounded a warning and flashed "stop safely now" visual warning as we came to a full stop at the limit line at the light. Although there was no power to the motor, the system was active and the green go car was not visible. We attempted to reset the vehicle by powering off and powering on to no avail. The light turned green and cars began to sound their horns. I immediately activated the emergency flashers and stepped out the vehicle to direct traffic around the stalled vehicle (not recommended unless properly trained). Traffic on several instances came dangerously close to collision as this situation presented a huge risk to personal safety. Had we just sat in the vehicle, we surely would have experienced a collision. Several minutes passed and we attempted to restart the vehicle from a cold start. It was only after the vehicle was completely shut down, rested and powered on that we were able to proceed. Having a vehicle just stop in traffic for no reason presents a huge risk not only to the owner but those around.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #5

Jun 112013

Focus 4-cyl

  • 1,179 miles
While aggressively shifting from 1-2 and even sometimes 2-3 there is a hard thumping bang that occurs when shifting over 3K...multiple Ford owners are aware of the issue and state that the problem depends on the build date of the vehicle...supposedly stating its the engine motor mount. Upon reading into the problem Ford isn't sure if the are going to make it a recall or not.

- Sayreville, NJ, USA

problem #4

May 222013

Focus 4-cyl

  • 1,989 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle was working fine one moment, and the next I was unable to accelerate over 15 mph. I managed to drive the vehicle with the flashers on until I could safely pull into a parking lot. I called the Ford dealership and had it towed to their location. After some hours, I was told that the car checked out fine and could not find what the issue was. Later, the dealership called me back and said that they had found a "technical service bulletin" regarding this very issue. Dealership did a calibration and post road test ok at this time. I wanted a reliable car that I could depend on, and now have trust issues with it.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #3

Apr 122013

Focus

  • 1,600 miles
I was driving about 40 mph. Suddenly an error message popped up "service advancetrac". then the car was disabled. The speed automatically reduced. The speed did not respond or increase at all when I stepped on the accelerator pedal. Luckily, I was able to pull over to safety. Then the car stopped completely. I turned off the car, then turned it on again. The error message "service advancetrac" popped up again. This time, the car automatically accelerated from 0 to 30 mph, then it ran constantly at 30 mph. This time, the speed did not respond at all when I stepped on the accelerator pedal. It was like the car was on cruise control, without you being able to turn off cruise control! extremely dangerous! I brought it to the dealership for service the 1st time. They replaced the accelerator assembly. About a week later, the same issue happened again. I brought it to the dealership for service the 2nd time. I even took a picture of the error message on the dashboard and shown it to the service adviser. They couldn't reproduce the issue, and told me there was nothing that they could do. Then it happened again right after I drove off the dealership. Then, I managed to drive back to the dealership with the error message still on and with the issue occurring. Service was able to collect some kind of code from that error message, but could not figure out what was wrong with my car, and told me they will contact Ford directly. It has been 3 days and I have not received a response at all. This morning, I turned on my car and drove for 2 minutes and the same issue occurred again! as for proof, I was able to record a 30 second video clip while the car was running on a constant speed of 30 mph without me stepping on the accelerator pedal. I do not feel safe driving this car anymore because this problem can occur randomly anytime in the middle of the road! not safe for driving!

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #2

Apr 212013

Focus 4-cyl

  • 2,200 miles
As I pulled out into the flow of traffic from a gas station, I realized my car would not accelerate beyond 15-20 mph. I immediately pulled over to the right hand lane and proceeded to the stop light, which was about a 100 yards down the road. At the red light I placed the car into neutral and discovered the engine would not go beyond 3500-4000 RPM's. I then turned on the warning flashers, and when the light turned green I pulled over to the side of the road and proceeded at 15-20 mph until I could turn into a safe area about 1 mile down. I then had the car towed to the local Ford dealer. When the dealer ran my VIN# through their system, it showed that a technical service bulletin had been issued regarding this very problem. They then repaired the car and it now seems to be running ok, although I don't feel real good about it. Hopefully something like this will not happen again, especially if I am in a situation like driving on the freeway at high speeds. Myself and my wife were knowingly put into a potentially unsafe risk by Ford Motor Company, which I feel could have been avoided if Ford Motor Company had been a little more proactive in notifying their customers of the possibility of something like this occurring.

- Temecula, CA, USA

problem #1

Feb 142013

Focus

  • 3,288 miles
Driving to work traveling at 80 mph my Ford Focus 2013 hatchback SE decelerates to 60 mph. I step on the gas to accelerate, but the RPM goes from 3000 RPM to 4500 RPM with no increase in speed. The car was only going up a slight incline in the road no more than 10 degrees of elevation. I release the gas and then try to step on the brake gently. If there were problems accelerating I wanted to be sure I would be able to stop. The brakes worked fine, but when I proceeded to accelerate I could not get the car beyond 60 mph. The cruise control was not on, and this is the first time it ever happened. The car was purchased new Jan 2, 2013. I live in san francisco so there were no extreme weather condition to cause this issue.

- San Francisco , CA, USA

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