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.
7.4
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
18,150 miles
Total Complaints:
23 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (19 reports)
new transmission and again starting to feel gear shift move (2 reports)
This is the worst transmission I have ever driven. The car shudders, jerks, slips. The transmission also shifts to neutral without warning. If this happened on the highway, I would have killed someone or I would have died myself. I can not believe this transmission has not been recalled yet.
I just purchased my 2014 Ford Focus in Dec-2017. It's now Feb 2018 and I'm already having problems with the transmission. I bought my car at a "buy here, pay here" lot so I have no warranty to fix it. It's sad because I bought this car because it was a Ford and I was always told Ford's were good vehicle's. Now I'm stuck in the same situation I was in a year ago with a vehicles breaking down.
I pray Ford Corporation stand behind there vehicle's to help solve the problems that most people are having. Who wants to wake up every day wondering if there gonna make it to take their kids to school or most of all to work to pay there bills. I am reaching out to Ford for help. Thank you.
Bought this as a used car, started having problems before the first payment was made. It took 3 or 4 trips to service department with them saying the part was on backorder, only to find the part had never been ordered after being told since the first visit it was. It has been fixed, so afraid this is going to go out right after warranty.
I had to have the transmission fixed which was not a recall for this vehicle // when I went to the dealer they said they would fix it however it was grounded until it got fixed, and they did fix it. Now I have to take it back again for the same thing (clutch?) but the part wont be here for maybe 6-8 weeks. How am I supposed to trust this car?
- Jackie S.,
Falmouth, KY, US
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
transmission slipping, vehicle would not go over 40mph, shake
I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW A 2 YEAR OLD VEHICLE HAS MAJOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. I ALSO HAVE A 2012 FORD FOCUS AND THE TRANSMISSION IS NOW GIVING MY SON PROBLEMS. LUCKILY I COULD AFFORD TO PAY FOR AND EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT THERE HAS TO BE PLENTY OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO COULDN'T AFFORD THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AND NOW HAVE TO PAY $1600.00 OUT OF POCKET ON A 2 YEAR OLD VEHICLE. I ALSO HAD TO PAY A $200.00 DEDUCTIBLE AND MISS WORK.. THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITH A 2 YEAR OLD VEHICLE. YOU EXPECT PROBLEMS AFTER 4 YEARS OR MORE BUT NOT 2 YEARS. MY FATHER RETIRED FROM FORD AFTER 35 YEARS OF SERVICE ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE. MYSELF AND MY FAMILY ARE LOYAL FORD CUSTOMERS BUT I THINK I AM GOING TO HAVE TO RETHINK MY LOYALTY AFTER THIS. MY BROTHER IS NOW LOOKING FOR A NEW CAR AND ACTUALLY LOOKED AT A HONDA THIS PAST WEEKEND. I NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD PURCHASE ANYTHING BUT FORDS IN MY FAMILY.
I purchase this 2014 ford focus 2/2014, I first notice that when driving it was slipping in transmission. I also had three other male friends drive car to see if they notice it. Well yes they did. I took car into Suntrup Ford like 5/2015 they ran some kind of computer rized test on transmission claim the reprogram transmission. in June 2015 took it back to suntrup Ford Service this time the battery was ran down car would not start and transmission was jerking,, slipping in grears u name it ..well they again ran a computerized test and reprogram the transmission. drove car for about 30 days back to the same problem. When I call back in I believe July the service man told me last time I had car for service was for battery.. in which it was incorrect he wrote up service order to what he wanted it to say. at this point I took my car to Pundmann Ford they ran same test and agreed there was many problems and they had to go by Ford Motor Company to service the problem with the certification guidelines they sent to all Ford Service Center. My car still jerks and hesitate when taking off.. and transmission still slips. Last time I believe I took it back for same problems was like in 10/2015 or 11/2015 still same problems with transmission.. and now sometimes when I put car in R gear it sticks and I have notice the jerking, slipping,, and I can go on with transmission still having the problems. I am so fed up with this issue. what I would like to see happen that Ford Motor Company be Court order to replace transmission free of charge in all new Ford Focus and or other Ford vehicles. I am upset, I have not even enjoyed the car. Missing time off work u name it dealing with this TRANSMISSION ISSUE. AND I SEE IT BEING DANGEROUS COULD CAUSE SOMEONE TO HAVE A ACCIDENT..I HOPE THE LAW SUIT IS IN FAVOR FOR ALL BUYERS..EITHER FIX THE PROBLEMS BY REPLACING TRANSMISSION..IT THAT SIMPLE FORD MORT COMPANY KNEW IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THEIR VEHICLES WHEN THEY LEFT ASSEMBLY LINE TO BE SENT FOR PURCHASE... I MAY JUST TAKE MINES BACK TO DEALER SHIP AND LET THEM EAT THE BAL DUE.
The transmission keeps slipping - similar to when a standard transmission clutch is slipping, We had to take in to the dealership twice for diagnosis in the first 8,000 miles of ownership. The dealership indicated it needed a computer adjustment. IF this continues it is likely we will have to take it in for this issue 4 times each year. This is a very unpleasant first Ford experience.
Transmission slips going from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Shudders.
Update from Aug 21, 2015: Transmission "shuddered" shifting to 2ond gear. Called Lithia Ford in Boise and explained the problem. They mad me an appointment and kept the car for 2 days. Put new clutches in, and did a complete checkup on the car. "still in warrenty"
I was told it was a known problem, and would maybe shift kind of funny for 1000 miles, but "no shudder". They even rented me a car to use from Enterprise.
I bought my 2014 Ford Focus in March 2015. Only drive it to work and home. End of April, the transmission began slipping very badly. It started by getting stuck between second and third gear. Now it slips between several gears. I called the dealership who said all newer Focuses are having the same problem. The part to fix it is on back order because there is a shortage of the part nationwide. It could take two months before they get the part in and in the meantime, they said I have to keep driving it like that. I wondered if it's safe or if it will damage the transmission. They also said it is covered under the extended warranty. I told them I just bought the car. It's time for Ford to issue a recall notice on this problem since it's on all the newer Focuses.
I traded my 2012 Escape for a 2014 Focus SE Hatchback and since purchase the transmission has a slip in it between the 2nd and 3rd gear. I have questioned the dealership multiple times and had it in the service department once and scheduled again next week. I get the run around that it is the way the transmission is supposed to be and acts like a manual and that everything I was experiencing was normal.
I would quit driving a manual transmission if I couldn't drive it better than this car runs. I wish I would have never traded my Escape off and Ford and the dealership could care less since they got their money! I do not feel safe in my vehicle at all but can't trade it because I owe more than it is worth (which is nothing to me).
Update from Dec 9, 2014: Took my car to the Ford dealership to be looked at again for all the problems I am having and they stated they found the problem with the shuddering and hesitation I was experiencing. They have reprogrammed the clutch and computer and asked that I drive it again for a bit and see if the problem returns. Time will tell...
Update from Dec 31, 2014: Well, the car started having the same issues less than 24 hours after having it serviced. I will be taking the car back again right after the new year in hopes of them admitting there is a problem. Talk to salesman I got it from, he is not concerned and said that is part of car ownership. Will never shop there again for a car and at this point will never own another Ford!
Transmission slipping / hesitation on take off from a stop. Problem started about August 2014. Has progressively getting worse. In October I took it in to the dealer. They said they know that this is a problem with 2014 Focus'. They said they have a few mechanics that are only working on this transmission problem and it will be about December 2014 before they are able to work on this.
Slipping is getting to be more frequent and now I hear / feel some type of noise with taking off from a stop and turning left or right. I called the dealer again in Mid November and indicated that I am concerned with my safety driving this car now. They indicated that it still will be mid to late December when they can look at the Focus.
Here I purchase my first Ford (and last) and I have to have it run so horribly. Sad that Ford can't put enough tech's on this problem to repair them quicker.
Lastly, I work with someone that has a 2014 Focus that is on a lease that sound like it had the same problem. They are just going to deal with the problem and turn it in at lease end. I also just talked to someone where I bank - Ford Focus 2014. I asked if they had transmission problem. They said they were told by their dealer this slipping in the transmission is normal! I told them about my visit to the dealer ...
My issue is essentially the same as others have reported with the Ford Focus. I purchased the SE model hatch on August 30th 2014. Within a week I started to notice a significant loss of power when accelerating from a standing stop, combined with a grinding sound. I immediately called the dealer who gave me the run around for a week before suggesting that the car needed time to run in. It continued and i noticed a pattern where it seemed to happen more after the car had been driven for a longer period and warmed up. When i drive it 5 miles to and from work I don't always notice it but over a weekend I drove 15 freeway miles, stopped for 40 minutes then got back in the car and instantly very noticeable jerking, power loss and grinding. Note that this is significant enough loss of power that I am overcautious pulling out at an intersection.
After that episode I demanded the dealer look at the car, the car has less than 800 miles. I dropped it this morning and they called me to report that they did not notice anything when they drove it but that the car was "displaying a trouble code related to timing and that they had to refer to Ford and they are now waiting for Ford to respond". The car is still with them. I will update this description when I get the car back. If it is not fixed I will be adding a YouTube video of the cars poor performance including sound effects. After being a faithful repeat purchase Ford buyer this is very disappointing and inconvenient.
I probably should have done a little more research on this car before I bought it. I bought it in January of this year and for 6 months had no problems or issues with it. About mid June I started noticing that the car would jump, sputter and clunk in traffic. In July, the engine would sometimes rev really high when I was accelerating from a dead stop, as if the transmission wasn't communicating what gear it was in? Just recently, it has randomly started to chirp the drive wheels as the gears change, mind you, not under hard acceleration. This is happening in regular stop and go traffic, and there's no pattern to how these incidents occur.
I haven't taken it back to the dealer as it doesn't happen all the time and I already know that it would be a waste of time. My ex-wife is having the same problem with her 2013 Ford Fiesta, she's been back to the dealer twice and both times it was supposedly fixed and it drives worse. As I would rather not have that happen to me for fear of being the lead story on the evening news, I'm just going to wait until it totally fails or Ford issues a recall.
Not real sure about the transmission on this car. I went from driving a V6 to this 4 cyl, so I expected a little adjusting, but this slipping, stuttering, grinding does not seem normal. I am driving differently to get the most MPG and I started noticing problems immediately after delivery. I contacted my dealer and they say that it will improve after the car has 1000 miles on it. I'm over 1K now, and no change.
We bought this car oct 2013. It is now 11 months old. It has 11,000 miles on it. The transmission slips at every red light start up. Took it to ford dealership and they have to order parts. It also goes all over the road when driving. The steering is horrible. I have never had a car like this. We have had nothing but fords and have never had problems with them. I just feel very uncomfortable with this car if it is giving us trouble at eight to eleven months with 11,000 miles on it can I trust it to hold up after it has been fixed? It gets good gas mileage(40.3) miles to the gallon. And for a small car is comfortable. Just don't trust a car that gives trouble this early in ownership. Would like to know if others have had this problem and after it is fixed will it hold up. Thank you .JoAnnes
Car is jerky accelerating from a dead stop. The problem is getting worse and worse. Currently at the dealership to be looked at along with MULTIPLE electrical problems.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This is the worst transmission I have ever driven. The car shudders, jerks, slips. The transmission also shifts to neutral without warning. If this happened on the highway, I would have killed someone or I would have died myself. I can not believe this transmission has not been recalled yet.
- Ib C., Raleigh, US