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:
22 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,816 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.
My car as most every other person I know with the "dps6" dual clutch transmission suffers from the jerking and shuddering when shifting. Slipped gears when at highway speeds and sometimes it catches when the RPM is high and literally lunges the car forward forcing me to slam my breaks to the floor. I am the 2nd owner of the vehicle and have had the transmission repaired once about a year ago and I am seeing the symptoms all come back with time. I purchased this vehicle thinking it would be safe for my 3 year old and I am reluctant to take it on the highway with her knowing the issue is ongoing and widespread, having all of the known issues myself and it continues after the "fix" has been performed. It has been widely reported that Ford knew internally about these issues and they refuse to step up and stand behind their vehicles. Https://www.autoblog.com/2019/07/11/Ford-Focus-fiesta-dual-clutch-automatic-problems-before-after-production/ https://jalopnik.com/Ford-secretly-directed-dealers-to-fix-faulty-transmissi-1836559567 https://carbuzz.com/news/Ford-tried-to-hide-A-major-secret I am now on the hook for $9000 on a car that is unsafe and no course of action. Please do something about this!!!!
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving, the rpms became stuck and the vehicle failed to accelerate. In addition, while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated that the transmission warning indicator was illuminated, which indicated that the transmission was running hot. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and waited for a minutes without powering off the engine. The transmission indicator illuminated "transmission ready" and the contact was able to drive; however, the failure recurred. The contact called sunset Ford (11700 gravois rd, St, louis, mo 63127, (314) 843-4431) and scheduled an appointment. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
Extreme shuttering coming from the transmission, first gear slips, sucking cares the worst and slips the most and struggles to get the third gear. The gear slip every time you come from stop to go, and second gear such the worst again but worse when you're turning
There car has a tendency to slip out of gear in first and second gears. When you start to drive, the car acts like it does not want to move and then will suddenly sprint forward unexpectedly. Other times, the car will start to move as expected but it will be very jittery and jerky bouncing you around while it gets up to speed leading to unsafe operating conditions. This has been an ongoing and daily problem since purchasing the vehicle. Ford has said these are "normal" in conversations with my dealers and have not looked at the issue in detail
- Ambler, PA, USA
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Takata recall.... on take off car violently jerks at 2000 rpms and continues to jerk intel 4000-5000 rpms then shifts gears. This happens every time I drive, has been doing this when I bought the car in 01/01/2016 and is getting worse everyday
Transmission went out while on a road trip. Went to start the car and transmission issue alert came on the dash. I drove about a mile then could no longer accelerate and had to pull over. I could reverse but no acceleration in drive. Got it towed and the mechanic at the Ford dealership told me it was an issue with the transmission computer. It was covered under the manufacturer warranty but I'm still having issue with clutch slipping when accelerating from a stop. Causes jerking of the car sometimes and loud grinding noises.
Ever since we bought this vehicle it has lost power during acceleration, slips out of gear regularly, when stoped on an incline the vehicle will roll back approx 3ft before the transmission will catch almost hitting vehicles behind me. It has always had this terrible shudder coming out of 1st gear. This is an automatic dual clutch transmission. I will not let my children ride in this vehicle because I feel it is unsafe and it would not be ethically right to sell it to someone else.
Transmission (the dsp6) computer (transmission control module, or tcm) is prone to failure resulting in a car that cannot be driven reliably on roads without potentially falling into an unintentional neutral. On April 6th, upon starting the car up I was unable to reverse, and managed to limp to the dealer in low gear only. As at least one gear was known to be non-functional, I could not endanger myself or others on the road by attempting to shift gears further for concern of it failing completely or falling into neutral in traffic.
My Ford Focus transmission has been acting strangely. It does not accelerate smoothly. It continually feels underpowered as if it is going to stall or stop moving forward. At times, it seems to have trouble moving up hills. Problem occurs while car is moving. The service engine light came on and the dealer said it was the transmission clutch assembly.
Transmission slips when driving, jerking/jolting occur when I accelerate ( just reacts slow in responding as attempting to accelerate), difficult to put it into reverse at times it is jolty. This is a ongoing problem for the time I have owned the 2014 Ford Focus
The car was purchased brand new in 14. Transmission repaired 4 times, even taken off the road bc it failed Ford's safety test twice. Currently still having the same transmission issue with the dps6. It shutters when driving, jerks and hesitates when taking off from a complete stop. Almost stalls out when taking off at times as well. Ford apparently issues a directive to repair the issues recently for a two week period but did not make it public. When I contacted my dealer about it they blew me off and said that I had no coverage for my transmission anymore. I have a car that was purchased for 23K with only 100 miles on it, brand new off the lot and is now only worth 4K or less. We were even told by Ford that well bc of the transmission issues these cars aren't really worth anything. So now I am stuck with a valueless car, ready to break down or cause a serious accident yet again and no remedy from Ford. It is a very unsafe car. You cannot drive it in the snow bc the transmission acts up to bad. When going up slight hills or stopping on hills and taking off it jerks so bad that you have to keep a foot on the brake to stop it in case it lunges into traffic. How can Ford knowingly get away with this" selling cars for 20K plus and knowing that there are serious issues with the transmission that obviously isn't repairable" 4 trips to the dealership and I am still having the same issues. Something needs done. A 5 year old car should not have this many issues or this many repairs on the same issue.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle jerked. In addition, while starting the vehicle, it hesitated. The contact mentioned the vehicle was sluggish and jerked when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to fox Ford of Cadillac (1450 N mitchell St, Cadillac, mi 49601, (231) 775-3448) to be diagnosed. The vehicle was also taken to serra traverse city (1747 S garfield ave, traverse city, mi 49686) where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 161,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving at a low speed, the vehicle hesitated and did not immediately change gears without warning. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to brandon Ford (813-246-3673, located at 9090 E adamo dr, tampa, fl 33619) where it was diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not provided.
When in stop and go traffic or accelerating from a very slow speed to a speed above 40mph, my car will either a.) stall while accelerating or B.) would not move when I pressed the gas pedal from a stopped position. I received a notice from Ford in December 2018 about this issue and was told to keep the fuel tank above half full. This issue persists even with a full tank of gas, and I've taken it into a Ford service center twice and two rounds of fixes have not remedied the problem. The date on this report is the most recent incident of this after the "fixes" were implemented.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission was slipping and the clutch assembly failed to function properly. Crest Ford (26333 van dyke ave, center line, mi 48015, 1(888) 614-2160) had to replace the clutch assembly twice. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Transmission has stuttered between first and second gear for the entire time I have had the car. I have gotten one new transmission and have had it serviced numerous times. This is not a one time issue - it has happened for the entire time I have had the car and I am the single owner of the vehicle.
Takata recall - I have been experiencing jerking and stuttering with my vehicle since I purchased it new in 2014. My vehicle will stutter and jerk upon pressing the gas from a standstill in traffic, on a highway and it is even worse going uphill. It is slow to pick up speed no matter how much pressure I put on the gas pedal. Now there is an issue with something revving under the hood and also with the vehicle overheating. I have had several near accidents due to the vehicles jerking and stuttering when moving from a stopped position to a forward mortion in traffic. These incidents have happened over the course of five years of me purchasing the vehicle new. The stuttering and jerking happens daily.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Austin, TX, USA