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CarComplaints.com Notes: For the third year in a row, the 3rd generation Focus is experiencing massive transmission problems.

Most notably owners keep complaining about how there's bad hesitation and jerking when starting from a stop. This isn't the result of an old, worn out part. In fact, the average mileage it's reported to us is just over 15k miles.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,904 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.

2014 Ford Focus body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2014 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #11

Jun 222016

Focus

  • 49,300 miles

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

The drivers side rear door will not close. I opened the door yesterday and when I attempted to close the door it will not latch. The Ford dealership said this will cost approx. $450 to fix.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #10

May 062014

Focus

  • 100 miles
I have owned this car for 2 years. I purchased it on 5/3/2014 and took it home to notice 2 days later that the trim of the body frame was coming undone and also the front bumper was detaching (it was parked in my garage). I took it back and got the parts fixed. Then a month later I returned it back to the shop for stalling, hesitation, RPM's going up to 5, vibration of car and got the PCM/tcm reprogrammed. This was all going on while driving down any road and going on the gas from a light/stop sign. I've had the clutch replaced (took 3 months of car in shop to do that). Had the PCM/tcm reprogramed about 8-9 times. My car has been in the shop at least 11 times in the last 2 years. I just picked it up last night for another reprogram of the trans and its still hesitating, has a rattling noise when going on the gas and a very serious shake to the whole car. But I get told the car is fixed or nothing is wrong. Open your eyes because there is definitely something wrong with these cars......... I have documents and pictures to prove it.

- Reading, PA, USA

problem #9

Jan 052015

Focus

  • 1,500 miles
Found 2 inches standing water in passenger back seat... has been into dealer over 8 times for over 40 total days and the carpet remains wet. Now causing mold. They send it out to a special water remediation vendor and insist that the issue is corrected but when you put your hand under the carpet, even after it has not rained for a couple weeks and your hand will come out dripping water. With how many times the carpet has been pulled out and replaced it is now all stretched out and panels where they have gone into the doors and dash fall off transmission issues with shuddering and losing power, dealership repaired but issue is starting again. Loses power going up very slight hills, will lug down on the flat like it has been dropped into a lower gear. No power when trying to accelerate navigation has gone out and requires yet another trip into the service center car currently has less then 8000 miles on odometer.

- Lynnwood, WA, USA

problem #8

Mar 052016

Focus

  • 27,000 miles

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

The trunk will pop open while driving (in motion). It happened couple times on many different situations and even in the highway. Last time I was at an avenue and it randomly opened and I had to urgently park. I have recorded a video that shows the event. I have also sent my car to Ford over 4 times to repair my transmission as my car was shuddering and shaking on take offs

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #7

Jun 192015

Focus

  • 34,500 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving, the trunk opened independently without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred and was taken to the dealer up to ten times before the latch, spring, and wiring was replaced but the failure continued. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,500.

- New Straitsville, OH, USA

problem #6

Jan 192016

Focus

  • 20,000 miles
While commuting to work on the highway and coming to a stop due to traffic the vehicle was hit from behind at appx 50mph. My wife saw the imminent impact a split second before it happened & tried to apply the brakes as hard as possible so as not to hit the car in front of her (appx 20-25 feet away). Nonetheless, the impact was too great. It totally destroyed the rear of our car and blew out the back glass. It also pushed our car into the car in front which damaged the right front, bent the hood in the front middle section, made the undercarriage pop out, and broke the radiator. There may have been additional front end damage but the hood was not opened at the time. What's worse, in all of this, the vehicle's air bags never deployed! so, my wife hit her head on the steering wheel twice. Moreover, the seat back broke which created a potentially paralyzing and/ or deadly condition due to her body's momentum as opposed to the car's momentum (I.e., she had no back stability)! lastly, her knees were jammed into some portion of the dash/ steering column. My wife has sustained some injuries and we are currently getting her treated.

- Granada Hills, CA, USA

problem #5

Jan 212016

Focus

  • 40,000 miles

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

We bought our 2014 Ford Focus in March 2015.never again! among other small problems that cost a fortune to repair we now were driving when our rear passenger door flew opened. We took it right then to the dealer dick's mackenzie Ford in hillsboro, Oregon and the price to fix the door latch is $560.we are looking at other options for the repair and then sell the car as soon as possible.. we are appauled at the price and because we have 40,000 milesit is out of warranty.

- Beaverton, OR, USA

problem #4

May 132015

Focus

  • 3,000 miles
Our car Ford Focus 2014 purchased in tracy Ford, ca generates a horrible smell, localized in the back seat region. We've cleaned and scrubbed this area with soap twice, but the smell does not go away. The smell has been there for many months now, starting a few months after we bought the car brand new. It is an awful strong chemical smell. We are concerned because our two small children sit back there in that section of the car. Also, nobody wants to ride in this car because of the smell. The local Ford repair shop confirms the smell but cannot tell what it is. One dealer (tracy Ford) thinks it is chemical from plastic, the other dealer that made us pay 150$ for not fixing anything much, doesnt know what caused it and will not perform any work other than the basic check because they said it would cost thousands of dollars to take apart more parts than the basic look around check. We are worried about what this smell is, as in is it dangerous or not. We asked Ford 800 number to investigate, but they said the dealer has to confirm that is a defect for them to cover the cost. While the dealer would not perform any further investigation, unless someone will pay the thousands of dollars. So we are stuck with a car that is too stinky to drive, paid 150$ only to be told that if we want them to investigate more, we have to pay thousands of dollars. The brand new car is both too stinky to drive, and too stinky to sell. It is brand new yet we could not drive it. The dealer and Ford are both washing their hands and dont want to cover the cost. We want the manufacturer and dealer to investigate free of charge and to fix the problem for us free of charge.

- Pittsburg, CA, USA

problem #3

May 062015

Focus

  • 22,400 miles
I was driving on the freeway at 70mph in fifth gear and something in the engine blew. I started blowing oil and smoke out the rear, "service engine soon" came on, and the oil light came on. I lost all power and power steering, so I made my way to the shoulder. I pulled the hood latch and stepped out of the vehicle. Upon exiting the vehicle I witnessed flames shooting out from underneath the hood in the engine bay. I backed up and watched the front of the car fully engulf into flames.

- Fairfield, CA, USA

problem #2

Sep 132014

Focus 4-cyl

  • 7,000 miles
My Ford Focus shutters, grinds every time I go from one gear to another gear. The car starts to shutter badly as I put it in reverse, and jumps when I gave it gas. I hit another car. I have been back to the food dealer 2X with the complaints that the car, shutters, grinds like it wont go into gear. They keep giving me the run around.

- Billerica, MA, USA

problem #1

Jan 042014

Focus 4-cyl

  • 4,022 miles
I have a 5 door hb. On the day of this incident, I had driven the car several times with no problems (and no prior problems) and the car was fully warmed, inside and out. The weather was dry and sunny, the temperature had climbed from 17F the previous night to 36F by 11am when this incident repeatedly occurred. The front passenger door opened normally from the outside when I pulled the handle, but when I attempted to close the door, it wouldn't latch (it bounced back from the door jammed and remained ajar) and the instrument panel showed an 'open door' warning. The latching mechanism in the door appeared to be in the proper position, but could easily be moved with my finger (resistance was felt in this mechanism on all other doors.) after several attempts, the door finally appeared to latch and the instrument panel did not show an 'open door' warning. When backing out of my parking spot, and again after driving approximately 100 feet at 10mph, the front passenger door opened (fortunately, the passenger seat was unoccupied.) after several attempts each time, I was able to again close the door. While on the highway going to the dealership for inspection/repair, the door opened 3 separate times at highway speeds (approximately 55mph.) in about 6 miles distance. While driving, I had to drive the remaining distance leaning over the passenger seat and holding the interior passenger door handle to prevent the door from opening again before I arrived at the dealership. The dealership inspected and lubricated the locks and latches, but found nothing wrong with the door. The dealership service advisor told me that it was "...normal for the doors to come open or not latch on cold days.", and other customers had experienced the same problem in the last few days. It just occurred again at 4,032 miles on the same day.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

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