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.
I was sitting at a stop light and when the light turned green my car wouldn't move, looked down at the spot on the dash where it says what gear you are in and it was flashing. Finally got the car to move into a parking lot. I has it looked at and they said it was fixed. The next day I was driving and it started slipping gears.
'tamara recall' I have a transmission problem that's been fixed 3 times and it's giving me a problem and a few months ago I had a little fender bender I was stopped at a light and had my foot on the brake and all of a sudden I hit the car in front of me. I blame it on me, but my foot was still on the brake but I said I must of let up on it or something. But now I am reading that this has happened to several other people with the transmission problem.
When test driving this 2014 Ford Focus I felt the car shudder on take off and when pulling out into traffic hesitation. I asked the salesman about this and just shrugged it off as no big deal. After purchasing the auto I had to return to the dealer in parsons, ks. And was told it was the way I was accelerating. No way there is something wrong with this vehicle. After 3 different returns and work done it still does the same thing. I am 82yrs old and do not feel safe driving this car. Ford motor knew they put out a faulty vehicle but sold it anyway. They extended the warranty to 100000 miles but each time you return for service they say they can't do anything unless the engine light is on. Ford supposedly put out a notice to repair these cars when they came in on 7-12-2019 to 7-19-2019 but when I called I was told by the service manager he knew nothing about this and could only do anything if told by Ford. I contacted pittsburg Ford on 7-19-2019 and asked to speak to the service manager but unable to locate him so I left my name and phone number and have yet to hear from him. This happens when driving, pulling out into traffic and when driving on the highway. On occasion the transmission slips/
Our Ford Focus has numerous transmission clutch burnouts (7) and transmission computer failures (3). We have been on the M14 when it fails to accelerate while merging. We have been at the a stop light and it try to lurch forward when we were stopped. Every 6-9 months we need to have the transmission serviced at our local dealer. The car shutters upon acceleration, if it accelerates at all. It lurches and shutters, consistently every 6-9 months. We reached out to Ford, directly, in July of 2017, and received no support, no help and no acknowledgement that maybe, just maybe we had a bad car. We've been told, consistently, every time they replace the burnt out transmission clutch and reprogram the transmission module that "this is the fix. They have the "bugs" worked out this time". I have copies of most of the repairs and the correspondence with Ford global customer service from July of 2017
Auto clutch - jerks and lurches between 0-40 mph. Occurs accelerating from stop or accelerating in general. Has locked my seatbelt because it jerked so violently. Has thrown the car back when going uphill from stop. Had there been a car behind me I would have hit it. Safety issue. Feels like tires are spinning and car doesn't move. Then it jerks 3-4 times then launches ahead. Happens on turns or straightaway. City streets and less than 40 mph. Bought the car brand new with cash. Less than 1000 miles when this issue started. Been in the shop 2-3 times per year since then. 5 years of inconvenience adjusting schedule taking time off work. Ongoing problem from 2014 to present.
- Lakewood, WA, USA
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Car was working fine most of the day. Got in my car and it would not start. I tried it three times, no luck. I shut everything off, pulled the keys, opened the door. I then tried again fo turn on car, came right on. Now however, the car is having over accelerating and decelerating problems which it didnt have two hours ago. Going up/down any type of hill is where its the worst at accelerating and decelerating randomly. Sometimes it over accelerating and I dont even have my foot on the gas at that moment. And it has a hard bucking problem between the two random accelerating/decelerating problems.
The vehicle would stall when trying to accelerate from a stopped position. A recall was addressed at a dealership for the problem 3 years ago. Now the car has 89,000 miles and the reverse quit working and drive has a stalling problem as well. I took it to a parts store to have someone look up a computer to it. It read clutch "B" actuator control circuit low. I was within the city when the latest event happened and noticed the check engine light came on when it was driving poorly.
Car shakes when going from a stopped position then pressing on gas. Feels like it jerks. Also my catalytic converter has been faulty since 2 years after I got my car in 2014
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the engine stalled and the vehicle rumbled and shook without warning. The contact took the vehicle to camelback Ford (1330 E camelback rd, phoenix, AZ 85014, (602) 635-7551) where he was informed that the vehicle was supposed to operate in that manner. The dealer replaced the clutch assembly and tcm, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 14.
Car shudders and hesitates when driving in traffic at any time. When trying to accelerate it shudders and hesitates. At a stop sign on a hill the car will suddenly go backwards without warning when trying to go forward after a stop. This has been consistently happening since February 2017. We have been forced to drive this way as we do not have money to fix Ford faulty transmission.
I bought this car preowned from dealership. Within a year it had problems. Well driving at 30mph near my home the rpms shut up on the car while the speed stuttered as if the car was in neutral. I took it in right away other problems persisted on my way to the dealership such as not being able to shift correctly. They had told me they fixed the problem and all was covered under warranty so I was happy. This is where it got strange. They told me that they need to order another part and that it should be here within a week. As I am not very car savvy so I don't recall this part but it was under warranty so I was at ease. They offered to keep my car until the part arrived, which I thought was fine.. luckily I didn't because 2 1/2 weeks went by before I made it back into the dealership and I asked the person who serviced my car when my part was coming in. He said it definitely should've arrived by now and it's strange that it hasn't. I come back another few weeks later and they claim that there was never any order for me at all. I don't know who originally serviced me I just assumed they'd have my records. Flashforward a year later in the same exact thing is happening but even worse. It won't go in reverse or sport mode. It's been turning on some days and not others and it goes about 5 miles an hour. I try to take it into the Ford dealership and they're trying to say it is no longer under warranty even though my car is under 60,000 miles. They want to charge me $150 to diagnose I google several different places that will do it for free. Got the error code P2837. Ford still wants to charge me to diagnose. When I try to call and talk about how this car doesn't seem safe enough to have even sold and ask about the recalls they act like it's a one in 1 billion thing and keep connecting me to different departments where I just get an answering machine. Not right
Ford dps6 powershift dct transmission has been replaced 3 times in less than 58K miles. My Ford Focus SE hatchback has build date in early August 2014 and I purchased it brand new from a Ford dealership the same month. I first experienced shudder and jerking at 16,870 miles and took it to the dealership on 2015-09-25, but was told there was no problem. Subsequent visits to the same dealership resulted in a replacement of the clutch pack and seal assembly each time. Transmission replacement dates and mileage are: 2017-08-18 at 30,357 miles 2018-09-20 at 48,138 miles (tcm was replaced at this time) 2019-07-15 at 57,898 miles ("fuel tank deformation" recall done at this time) around a thousand miles after a "fix", shifting becomes erratic and unreliable. It will rev very high for no apparent reason, and will sometimes speed up on its own, especially obvious when the car surges unexpectedly in slow traffic. It seems to happen more when the weather is warm, but even during cold weather shifting can be jerky with a "shudder" in between gears and sometimes the throttle simply does not respond when the accelerated is pressed. My car lost power on the interstate at 65mph when a "transmission fault" message popped up on the screen. The tcm was replaced after - along with the transmission - was replaced as a result. The transmission in this car is unreliable at best, dangerous at worst. It is inconsistent and does not consistently respond to acceleration and deceleration input from the driver. The first time I took it in - when they refused to replace the transmission - I was I was driving it wrong. This is my first new car and I cannot count on it not to leave me stranded or put me in a dangerous situation. I would sell it, but the value has plummeted due to unresolved transmission issues and so I'm stuck having it repeatedly "fixed" until the warranty runs out.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly downshifted. Also, the vehicle jerked while at a stop. Wyatt johnson Ford (646 thompson ln, nashville, tn 37204, (615) 244-3615) was contacted and diagnosed that the transmission failed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 55,120.
I bought my car brand new in 2014, and have had several issues with the transmission/tcm. It has been "flashed" several times as well as a new "clutch pack". approx 3 weeks ago while driving, I started to pass a car on a 2 lane rd, and as I accelerated I was able to get next to the other car and then my car's tachometer just tacked out and didn't have any power to go. So, as I am stuck next to this other car (and another car right behind me passing too) and with oncoming traffic now, I had to hit my brakes to slow down (in order to get back where I was before I started to pass), all the while the car behind me is about to rear-end me. I had to pull off to the side of the road to check my pants, because I thought I literally defacated thinking I was going to get smashed between the car behind me and the oncoming car driving about 55mph. I called Ford and told them about it on their recorded line and they said there was nothing they could do. I have talked to 3 different dealers (wable Ford sistersville, wv) they finally ran a diagnostics when I showed them that my car doesn't have reverse. I have been stuck 4 different times in parking spots because my car wouldn't go in reverse. Hurt my back pushing it out of 1 spot, and I have never been more frustrated. Wables in sistersville said they don't do loaner cars while they take the 2 hours to fix the tcm nor do they have the time to do it. There was another time when I was pulling onto the interstate and was almost rearended because as I eased on the gas to get on, the tachometer tached out and I had no power to go. I have an hour and 15 minute trip to work and a 1 hour and 15 min trip home and each of those trips are hair raising because I never know what my car will do.
Vehicle transmission disengaged, causing the engine to rev up without speeding as if it was in neutral, immediately losing speed causing a safety hazard. Check engine light turned on. Transmission re-engaged abruptly and car would not shift properly so had to be driven in lower gears, again posing a safety hazard. Dealership advised issue was related to the clutch and was covered under manufacturer's program 14tm01, yet this extended warranty was not applicable to the 2014 model, even though it was the same issue.
I have a 2014 Ford Focus with an automatic transmission. The vehicle has 37,000 miles and has been in the dealer 6 times for transmission problems. The dealer has claimed to have replaced the trans once and adjusted programming multiple times. The vehicle continues to hesitate, jerk, and jump at times. Upon acceleration, this past Monday at a stoplight, the car took off as normal up to about 15 mph and would not drive. I was able to narrowly miss being hit from behind. This vehicle has also lunged while in slow moving traffic several times in the past three months. Can NHTSA please have Ford recall and replace this transmission with a proper, safe, and workable fix. I intended this vehicle to be handed down to my 16 year old daughter. Not now. Why is Ford able to continue to get away with out repairing, or replacing the problem" they are rushing untested, unproven mechanical technology to market to make their fuel economy numbers at customers well being. Is this not fraudulent? also, why do I keep getting letter from Ford to trade my car in on a new vehicle? is this Ford way of getting out of the problem" if so they should buy this vehicle back at the price I paid for it. Thanks
My transmission problems started very early on, my car would shudder with I accelerated from a dead stop. I would take my car to the Ford dealer for repair and they would adjust the module and that would work for a short time only to happen again. After several adjustments they would tell me that my car would need a new clutch assembly, clutch and throw out bearing. My car has gone through 3 clutches and the dealer told me it needs a fourth. My daughter attends the university of West Virginia and we do not take this car anymore due to the shuddering on inclines in the mountains.
I bought my 2014 Focus new.almost immediately it began hesitating and shuddering when you begin to accelerate. And loss of power which is dangerous.first two times I took it to dealer they reprogrammed the computer and made excuses that it is normal and the car is learning how I drive.third time I took it in they replaced the transmission module.didn't help.fourth time replaced the dual clutch.still hesitates.now my car is out of warranty and they say if it is the clutch they won't cover it.it will cost me $150 to diagnose it to see if it is the transmission module.if it is that's all that is covered.so I am left with a car that drives horrible.bad customer service.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rochester, MN, USA