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:
7 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,131 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.
Car hesitates, vibrates & shakes when accelerating from a stopped position to low speeds. I do a lot of city driving, highway driving, driving in rural neighborhoods. I also, on my way, to and from work have to cross a set of railroad tracks & I am so worried that my car may get stuck on the tracks, or my car won't accelerate as it should at a traffic light or stop sign & the car behind me won't stop in time & there could be an accident & I/any passengers could be injured. Bottom line: I am extremely concerned for my personal safety in a relatively new vehicle - purchased in December of 2014. I shouldn't be having these problems in such a new vehicle. The first time I took it to the dealership, it was a recall, so they reset the computer system, said it would take 1,000 miles to relearn my driving. After the 1,000 miles, it went back to the shaking, vibrating & hesitating. 2nd time bringing it in, I had the manager of the service department ride with me & he felt the shaking, so, again, they reset the system again, gave me the info about waiting 1,000 miles to reset. After the 1,000 miles, it again, began shaking, vibrating & hesitating at low speeds. The service manager gave me his card & said if I had any problems, give him a call. 3rd time bringing it in, the service department had a mechanic ride with me. Said he felt the vibrations, shaking, hesitation. While at the service desk, he then had the audacity to tell me that the program relearns bad behaviors instead of the good ones. It shouldn't matter if I'm a good or bad driver, the car should run properly. And now (3/21/16), I have felt the worst shaking, vibrating & hesitation ever. I felt incredibly unsafe today. Plus I had a passenger in my car that means a lot to me. I really hope that this issue can get resolved before something horrible happens.
The transmission is constantly slipping and making the car shutter and jerk when accelerating. The vehicle will not accelerate properly at times or will jerk forward suddenly. When in drive the vehicle will roll back slightly if on a small slope or hill. It is not safe. I will have this vehicle for two years this month and it will also be the 5th time I've had to take it in. The last time they replaced my whole clutch and here I am 6 months later having to take it in to the shop again. They keep saying that it's "normal". I honesty see nothing normal or safe about this vehicle.
My vehicle hesitates when taking off from at a stop light or stop sign. When on the high way my vehicle does not transiission from 20mph-60mph smoothly. Vehicle jerks and shakes. It is scary because I ride around with my todler and I'm afraid someone will hit us because my car stalls. Recently got the transmission module replaced at Ford delarship but issue is not resolved. I have 24,400 miles. Bought vehicle brand new. Long trips are not smooth not even from school, work and back.
The car stalls on the road there is something wrong with the transmission our car has been at the dealership for over a month, second time on the transmission jerking and stalling on the road when you would be stoped at a red light then in motion it jerked when you increased your speed, very unsafe to drive and no one is doing nothing about it. Ford can not fix the problem. Should be a national recall. Contacting our lawyers and the media. Not japordizing my family life for a car that stalls on the road.
- Okc, OK, USA
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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.
The transmission stutters on starts. This is the third time I have gone for repairs, second time the dealer needs to replace the clutch assembly. This part was replaced in August 2015. Needs to be replaced again, part is on back order again.
Continental conti pro contact 215/55R16 recalls I find it funny that within a 3 month period 4 of my 4 tires have aquired slow leaking pin holes in them. 2 of them on 9-21-2015 and 2 today on Dec 4 2015 I want Continental to replace my tires. Ford has said its a manufacturers issue.
This problem start since I got the car they told me it was normal but this is the 3 time I almost have an accident on the highway and intersections the car engine stall when that happen the car wont respond this happen all the time if I am driving fast our slow. I already take it to the dealer 6 times to get it fix and the car is getting worse I only have one repair invoice they wont give me anything because they say nothing is wrong with the car they also replace the clutch and restart the transmission a few times.
I took my car to get fixed under the recall for the 2014 Ford Focus, it was fixed (so they said) but a month later the problem still persists. It jerks while accelerating and it also stalls.
The powershift transmission jerks and jolts, especially at take off. I drive locally 95% of the time and this is exacerbating my current medical problems with my neck, head, back and hip. I see now that Ford withheld this information about what they called their new and better transmission. Had they told us it does this, we wouldn't have bought it. I knew the day after we got it and I was hurting bad, and the dealer would not take it back, even though they knew this car was hurting me. I took it to them in August and they acted like they knew nothing. When I picked it up two days later, they said they made a software adjustment to make it more comfortable for me. That lasted for a day and a half and dropped the gas mileage to 17mpg in town when it had been getting 25.6mpg. After the day and a half, the aggressive jerking returned and gas mileage went back up. Also, when I picked it up, they then acted like they knew about it and provided me with a two page print out of that transmission and how it works, and they claim this is normal. They also said the salespeople are supposed to tell people about this transmission, yet we were told nothing and it didn't do it on the test drive. If the car sits, it won't do it at take off, but the more you drive it, the more it does it and it is not occasional or slight. It acts like it won't even go sometimes at a green light or loses power significantly. That's how it feels to me but I don't know if it really is. It also feels like gears are grinding or something is. That doesn't seem like a good thing and like something will break down very soon. Not happy at all and would like to join a class action suit. I will be seeking legal counsel for the pain they are causing me with something that I just found out they've known about for a while. This car hurts me every time I drive it, while taking off from every stopped positii N.
August 28, 2015. While heading westbound on a traveled highway; a vehicle pulled out in front of the westbound car and caused an accident wherein, the airbags did not deploy or the seatbelts did not lock. Vehicle was doing about 45 mph when accident occurred.
Car stopped driving on interstate 66 no power though engine was running this was only two weeks after having a new clutch for juddering and shaking and jumping forward this incident was life threatening
When the car is at a stop, while the vehicle is warm, when you start to take off the vehicle jerks and does not properly engage the transmission. At an intersection or when merging into traffic the vehicle does not respond properly and cause a danger to passengers and all other vehicles on the road. The longer the car is running transmission slips more and more causing car to continuously shutter and jerk. Shuttering increased when on the interstate for an hour. This car was purchsed new for my teenage daughter with less than 45,000 miles. We are having a heck of a time getting rountree moore Ford in lake city, fl to replace the transmission, though they have reflashed it once. If my daughter encounters an accident due to this problem I will sue the Ford manufacturer and the local dealership. God help them if its fatal.
Vehicle was losing power, rough idling and stalling while driving. Took to dealership and was found to have 2 cylinders with low compression and metal in engine. Ford case#7853581 engine was replaced. Vehicle at dealership for 9 days. Ford regional customer service manager does not respond to my emailed questions. After repair car does not start up immediately, gradual problem until 9 days after engine has been replaced, the car does not start at all. Towed to dealership and has now been there for 2 days. I fear that an accident may occur while driving this vehicle and believe that it is not safe.
Car jerks and hesitates when you take off. When gears change it jerks and shutters. When you cross in front of traffic, you don't know if you'll make it or not. Has been in shop multiple times. There is no fix. Clutch plates been replaced and been waiting on more for three weeks. Afraid to drive it. Car just sitting here.
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.
After completing a stop, when pressing gas pedal, car/transmission stutters then jerks forward. I've tried accelerating more slowly and then tried it faster with more gas, but it makes no difference. The car won't accelerate fast enough to safely make turns before oncoming traffic. I've had this new car 11 months.
The vehicle frequently shakes while idling at a stop and then when pressing the acceleration hesitates and jumps forward and stops like I am pressing the brake and gas pedal alternately which I am not. Very scary. Happen yesterday and I was almost rear ended. Unsafe condition. Please help NHTSA.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Yucaipa, CA, USA