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:
18 / 8
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 1
Average Mileage:
42,241 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.
The car has severe transmission issues I have almost been killed twice for being thrown out into traffic once and trying to pull out onto a busy highway. Stopping at a stop sign or red light is a nightmare, my car will stop fine, but when you go to take off it jumps and the transmission slips leaving you basically sitting in the middle of the high way barely getting anywhere then all of a sudden your car will take off and make you loose control. The rpms are all messed up if I'm driving down the road the RPM hand just dances all over the place this car is a death trap!! thanks Ford for ruining my life and sticking me with this true lemon of a car...
With car in cruise going down grade trans would down shift in lower gear causing car to slow and engine to over rev. Had to slow to 45 for trans to correct it`S self. Have also had issues with it in reverse jumping in and out of gear. It also jumps while at low speeds searching for the correct gear to be in.
Vehicle shudders upon starting forward movement or when slowing or stopping and then restarting forward movement. Downshifting into lower gear and then accelerating produces a shudder, severe loss of power, must accelerate heavily or vehicle continues to shake and shimmy while not accelerating. Feels as if the engine/transmission is going to shake out of the automobile.
I was entering an eight-car parking area and decided to park a few feet ahead by a high chain-link fence. The car was almost to a complete stop and I was about to shift into park when I heard a "revving" noise from the engine. The car bolted. Braking hard, I slammed into the fence and small tree. The airbags never deployed.I sat stunned. Never experienced anything like this in all my years as a driver. I believe the car malfunctioned and there was a "sudden unexplained acceleration".fix this problem or take the car off the market!
- Plainville, CT, USA
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I was at an intersection trying to cross the road and my car hesitate to go when pressing the gas. It wouldn't go at all I was very afraid. Then finally it went and starting jerking real bad. I took it to the bondy Ford in dothan al to get it check out because I am scared to drive it and the service was so rude they didn't offer me a loaner car and lie to me saying my platinum warranty didn't cover a rental car !!!!! wow I told the service guy that I will call my warranty customer service number then he reptile come in let me see what I can do I will call for you. He was so rude until he seen me getting very upset.
The transmission on this vehicle is faulty and the vehicle stalls out at low gears. When you stop at a stop sign or stop light, turn the steering wheel on acceleration, or back the vehicle it stalls out and then the vehicle jerks/ shakes to get back into gear. It is terribly dangerous. Ford has now attempted to fix the issue on my vehicle 3 times and has failed to do so. My vehicle has had the transmission re-sealed and on a separate occasion they have taken my transmission apart to replace the clutch at just over 6500 miles. My vehicle is in the shop for the 3 time, returning with the issues that were allegedly "repaired". the vehicle will not go on acceleration, often times - in traffic - I have been almost ran over or rear ended by other vehicles. I shouldn't have to die first, before this issue is taken care of. I bought what I thought was a nice, new, reliable and safe vehicle.. it has turned out to be a lemon that can very well end up costing my life. Many consumers have this very popular vehicle, Ford is not alerting anyone to the problems they are selling these vehicles with. The vehicle stalls out going down the road.. and to an unsuspecting driver following behind me, I could end up rear ended and seriously hurt or killed. The reviews from other Ford Focus drivers make it obvious that Ford has tried and failed over and again to fix this transmission problem. Some reviews mention how the transmission have caused them accidents, when the vehicle suddenly jerked into gear causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Something must be done about this. How can Ford corporate get away with this?
I have noticed while driving my vehicle that it stutter and makes a loud grinding sound when I am going up inclines and when I am braking. I noticed my car is will be jerking and feels like the transmission is bout to give away when I am in traffic. I took my car back to the dealership because it was still under warranty and explained to them the issues that are going on with my car. They proceeded to tell me that my issues was normal for my car. I asked how could this be normal that a brand new car stutter, grinds, shift gears on it own, jerks when applying brakes or acceleration, and feels like transmission is slipping. I spoke with the mechanic that looked at my car and he said that my model car is like it has a manual engine in and automatic car. He stated that this was normal as far as the manufactures states but actually this is not normal. Cars should not be shifting gear automatically. This issues that my car is having are very hazardous, especially in stop in go traffic and on inclines, just driving period, in the end I feel something needs to be done about this with this making model car especially being that this is a newer model car (2014).
On June 23, 2014 while traveling on the highway, the subject vehicle 'stalled' without warning. Despite attempting to restart the vehicle, the driver was unable. The subject vehicle was struck from behind causing personal injury.
Every time I put the car in drive and start to go between 5-10 mph the car begins to stutter. Its getting progressively worse everytime I drive the vehicle. I've taken it to the shop 2-3 times already and they have only put a "bandaid" on the situation. They have only reset the transmission computer back to its default settings. I am wanting something to be repaired - actually replaced under my warranty.
My Ford Focus St is stalling intermittently when I push the clutch in completely or shift into neutral, it will not idle at times or it has an erratic idle swinging from 400-800 rpms wildly. My car has stalled dozens of times since the issue started including on the highway in-between shifts. Many other people seem to be having this issue with the Ford Focus St 13-14 models. I have taken it into the dealer twice and they refuse to fix the car if it does not have a trouble code, they said they were not able to reproduce the issue. One of their porters, cole, observed my car struggling to keep idle but they say one of their techs has to see it while it happens. The issue is intermittent but seems worse when it is hot, humid, or raining. The car may go 200 miles between stalling events. It seems to occur more frequently in stop and go traffic. I have recorded videos of this happening but Ford will not take any action. I've spoken with the regional csm and she says they cannot apply the known tsb fix without one of their techs observing the stalling or a trouble code registering. You can see where 20+ other people are having this issue here: www.focusst.org/forum/Focus-St-discussions/5514-your-car-randomly-stalling-idling-wierd-read.html there are over 100 pages of posts from people affected. Please help us deal with Ford who is not helping or acknowledging this safety issue! what if my car stalls while crossing traffic? updated 02/24/2015
Ford Focus St 2014 on hot / humid day when you start the car up the engine revs will drop to <500 RPM and the engine will shutter or completely stall. In addition, while travelling at speeds 10-20 mph when the clutch gets pushed in the engine will hunt idle from xrpm and drop to <500rpm rapidly and the car will shutter or completely stall. I have been driving my car down the road and had it completely stall while moving. If this happens in the middle of the road or intersection it is seriously dangerous. Ford is aware of the issue, but are not fixing the electrical problem unless a specific engine code is stored in the computer. It has been proven that the engine will stall in these situations and still not throw an engine code, thus, Ford will not perform the service.
I have a Ford Focus St, I did not see that in the vehicle list. I was driving at night, with traffic behind me, and my car stalled while driving. I was moving in first gear, I went to shift to second gear, and the car stalled. Luckily the traffic saw my emergency flashers and avoided me. This can potentially cause an injury or worse. I took my car to the dealership, and they told me there was no issue. Many others are experiencing the same issue as well, with dealerships telling them that there is no issue. There is a tsb out for the issue, but only if your car produces one of two specific codes. Many others are experiencing this issue without those codes as well.
My email to avis is as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ avis customer service custserv@avis.com contract # [xxx] car Ford Focus 2014 rental tampa airport date: June 18 2014 dear avis I rented a Ford Focus to drive across the state to stuart, fl from tampa airport I left around 1 am. The car bucked and sputtered once on the beltway I 275 surrounding tampa. At higher speed the engine seemed to settle down. I used state rt 70, an often single lane road to cross the state going through acacia and okeechobee. At red lights, the car stalled out twice. This on a dark single lane road is very dangerous. I used the emergency flasher to warn two large trucks come at me on the single land behind me. When I dropped the car off the afternoon of June 18, I reported the stalling out to the office person [xxx] at avis on federal highway, stuart she told me the Focus has a habit of sputtering and bucking and asked if I knew about that. I said I did not know about the condition but that this car stalled out. I said this was very dangerous on a dark road. I had two incidents that night with large semi?S coming at me stalled as the light turned green. She said she would write up this concern in comments to avis. In my view, a car that can stall out is similar to the GM cars that stopped with a defective key. Thirteen people have been killed in those GM stall outs. I will sent this safety concern to avis management, the national highway transportation association and to Ford, which so far has not had any key recalls. If the Focus stalls out or misfires, this seems like a similar safety issue. Ford should remedy the Focus stall out and avis may not to consider letting the Focus out as a rental. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Vehicle has constant rough idling and surging. Has now escalated to frequent stalling in highway and city driving. Stalls while stopped at red lights and simply down shifting. Occurs mostly while at normal operating temperature. Ford technicians are aware of the issue and resolution but refuse to repair tsb harness because no failure code is received and Ford corporate will not approve repair without a code. Stalls have occurred on regular basis with family in car and on the highway and our safety has been compromised. This issue needs to be investigated as I am not the only Ford Focus St owner having this issue clearly visible in all the forums.
This vehicle has driven erratically since I picked up the car at the end of March 2014. The vehicle sometimes idles rough especially when engine is cold. The automatic transmission shifts erratically and is not smooth. It drives very jerky and sometimes feels like it is bouncing at low speeds. Car will lurch forward or backward after stopping, which is a safety issue at stop lights/signs and in parking lots. I love the design, but I am so disappointed. I had my prior car for 14 years and now I feel I am stuck with this one for 14 years. It makes me very upset to think about it after saving for so long to buy a new car. The dealer tells me nothing is wrong. I'm embarrassed to have a passenger for fear they will think I am such a poor driver. The car bogs and feels like it is being held back between 35-45 mph when it should be shifting. I have seen other similar complaints on the internet and Ford should recall these cars and fix the transmissions.
Engine stalls at driving speeds. Ford issued a tsb for this vehicle but dealers are refusing to do the tsb because it is an intermittent problem. The tsb concerns faulty engine wiring harness. (tsb 13-9-7).
The engine shuts off, and idle is constantly going too low. The car will sometimes shut off when the clutch is engaged, and the RPM's are allowed to fall to idle range. This is becoming a safety hazard because the car has died in middle of intersections, and while traveling at interstate speeds. Numerous other owners have posted the same issue, some with less than 200 miles.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while coming to a complete stop, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent and occurred while the clutch was engaged and while the vehicle was in neutral. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 6,000.
Jerking upon gears changing.. grinding sound upon acceleration and when turning left. Took it to the dealership, they determined at 900 miles the car needed a new clutch. This was replaced thinking it would fix the shifting issues and the grinding noise. The grinding noise came back yesterday as well as the car trying to cut off and idling very low at stop signs/stop lights.. the grinding continued through 3rd gear. The dealership is still trying to determine what is causing this sound. Replacing the clutch did fix the jerking and hard shifting issues however the grinding sound is still an issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chatsworth, GA, USA