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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2015 Ford Focus & its "Powershift" transmission has a defect trend where the car shudders when accelerating, especially when starting uphill.

Most owners have reported their Ford Focus remains driveable while the vehicle is still at low mileage, but the shuddering is annoying & unpleasant & may reduce the resale value of the vehicle.

However, owners of higher-mileage vehicles from earlier 3rd generation Focus model years report transmission failure & a host of other major & expensive transmission-related problems. Potential buyers beware.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,047 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.

2015 Ford Focus drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2015 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 14 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #185

Jun 232019

Focus

  • 18,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was at a stop light. When I began to slowly accelerate away from the light my car shook aggressively and stalled in the intersection. Luckily other cars were able to stop. I restarted my car and put it in gear it began to shake again. I turned the car off. Eventually I started the car and drove it home shaking every time I accelerated. I took it to beau townsend Ford. They told me it was a clutch shudder in the transmission and needed fixed. They said it is a common problem with my transmission. They told me they have problems with the transmission slipping into neural. I purchased my car one year prior and the salesman told me then that the transmission was reliable and effective. He it was a great transmission that never needed servicing during the life of my car. He knowingly lied to me.

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

problem #184

Aug 262017

Focus

  • 37,000 miles
This vehicle has severe issues with the transmission. It will shudder upon acceleration and slip gears. At least once while in motion, the vehicle shifted itself into neutral and I lost the ability to accelerate while on the highway. My request for relief in the class action suit was denied with no explanation or way to appeal.

- Southaven, MS, USA

problem #183

Apr 012015

Focus

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to akins Ford (220 West may St, winder, ga) where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure continued. The contact stated that the clutch was serviced approximately eight separate times for the same failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 5,000.

- Winder, GA, USA

problem #182

Jul 112019

Focus

  • 97,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Dps06, shuddering and bucking at low speeds (15-25mph) and slight vibration at around 55 mph that goes away when it shifts into 6th. Various problems seem exadurated in the rain explained as "driving weird"

- Cresco, PA, USA

problem #181

Sep 162016

Focus

  • 20,000 miles
When vehicle is in motion, it shutters, and slips gears. I experience power loss while driving, and have also experienced trouble trying to get it to switch gears properly when accelerating. When I initially purchased the vehicle (first time car buyer) and took it for a test drive, I was told these are normal, and would not be cause for concern, but have since become a huge concern.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #180

Jul 152019

Focus

  • 83,000 miles
Numerous transmission problems. Stalling when pressing on accelerator and lurching forward when not pressing on accelerator often are main issues. Transmission clutch and and tcm replaced previously under warranty without successful repair. Most recently my vehicle at 83,000 miles was diagnosed as needing a new clutch again and Ford refused to cover repair because my vehicle was built after their warranty cutoff date and I was charged almost $2,700 by Ford dealership to replace clutch (documentation attached). Not even 1 week after receiving vehicle back from Ford after repairs vehicle began exhibiting same issues which usually progress as time goes on. I felt unsafe in the vehicle after so many repairs and having to pay for the most recent transmission so purchased a new vehicle instead. I can also provided documentation if needed from all the previous repairs by Ford.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #179

Jul 122019

Focus

  • 95,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My husband was driving the car in rush hour traffic, on the highway, and the car suddenly made 3 clunks and then the car suddenly started losing power, almost died out.he could not get the car to accelerate, even though he was stepping on the gas pedal. He almost got hit. This is not the first time that the car has done this. The first time, it stalled out completely and left him stranded on the highway. Ford is aware that there is a stall risk, but they can not repair the car. I have contacted Ford headquarters regarding this safety issue. I have not heard back from them. The 2015 Ford Focus has a bad transmission and the vehicle is not safe to drive because of the stall risk. The dealership that has had my 2015 Ford Focus will not try to repeat the behavior that caused the car to completely lose acceleration. They keep trying to give the vehicle back to me and it is not fixed!! Ford motors needs to be held accountable for knowingly selling the 2012-2016 Ford Focus when they knew that all of these cars had bad transmissions. We do not want the car back. These vehicles should not be allowed to be driven because of the stall risk.

- Bourbonnais, IL, USA

problem #178

Jul 112019

Focus

  • 74,962 miles
Car hesitates when attempting to accelerate from stop, hesitation when coasting and applying throttle, shuddering (sometimes severe) after each gear shift from stop to first, first to second, second to third. Clutch feels like it's slipping mid-gear in first, second and third gear. Car went into limp mode on freeway and caused a jam while I nursed it over to the right shoulder to get out of the way of traffic.

- Roseville, MI, USA

problem #177

Jul 222019

Focus

  • 80,000 miles
We started having issues with the car bucking upon acceleration, not shifting correctly, when you slow down and then start again it hesitates. We almost got stranded in bumper to bumper traffic because the car was acting like it wanted to stall out. My husband was also driving it slow one day on a really bumpy back road and lost use of the car. He was not able to use drive or reverse. He had to turn the car off and then on just to be able to get home. Although our car is out of it's normal warranty, our mechanic told us that Ford extended the warranty because of all the issues with this car, but unfortunately when I took it to the dealer they said it was our clutch and right now Ford is not covering the clutches even though it is their faulty transmissions that are causing the clutches to go. I called Ford customer support and they seemed very disinterested in the problem. When I asked the service man why we weren't told about these issues upon our purchase he said, well then they wouldn't make money. I am very upset that Ford is allowed to get away with this. I have checked tons of websites and it's the same problem time after time.

- Moscow, PA, USA

problem #176

May 312019

Focus

  • miles
I paid $2,373.20 for repairs to the clutches/transmission for our daughter's 2015 Ford Focus. According to the detroit free press, Ford has instructed its dealers to pay for these exact repairs, after we had already paid for our repairs. So, I am asking for a reimbursement for the amount we paid to repair the 2015 Ford Focus. Https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/Ford/2019/07/18/Ford-Focus-dps-6-transmission-fiesta/1766990001/

- East Lansing, MI, USA

problem #175

Jul 202019

Focus

  • 35,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After driving like for 30 minutes if I make complete stop and when I press gas paddle my car starts shaking and hard to get pick up. It shakes for couple of time and then goes normal. And while driving also I can feel the same.

- Mechanicville, NY, USA

problem #174

Jul 182019

Focus

  • 57,205 miles
The car is slipping when taking off from a red light or stop sign causing it to stall and creating what could possibly be a dangerous situation. This is the 3rd time in the 3 years of owning this vehicle that we have had to deal with this exact issue and the dealership has replaced a 'part' on the transmission which evidently isn't the solution to the problem seeing that it continues to happen. This car belongs to my daughter and she is enrolled in college which 2 hours away from home and the car only has 57,205 miles on it. The extent of this issue, the fact that it could result in an unnecessary accident or leave her stranded on the side or middle of a highway or interstate leaves me very concerned for her safety. I would feel better as a parent knowing that my child was in a safe vehicle, which I thought she was when we purchased the car but now I'm questioning this decision.

- Empire, AL, USA

problem #173

Apr 032018

Focus

  • 39,450 miles
The vehicle was stopped but when I tried to accelerate it hesitated and started to shudder. Problem was the clutch in the automatic transmission. This has been replaced 5 times and Ford still has no fix for this defective transmission. This was on a side street attempting to pull out onto a busy numbered roadway. This almost resulted in a collision.

- Boylston, MA, USA

problem #172

Jul 182019

Focus

  • 108,000 miles
Transmission went into to neutral at highway speed. Was forced to drift onto the shoulder, shut off vehicle and restart. Happened twice today.

- Stafford, VA, USA

problem #171

Jul 012015

Focus

  • 10 miles
Ford's automatic transmission has constantly shuddered when starting and shifts in a jerking, hesitating manner. Ford replaced the clutch plates which provided minimal improvement. Ford has said the warranty on this transmission has been extended to 100,000 miles. I believe this is a safety issue.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #170

Jul 152019

Focus

  • miles
I picked up my car last week from the dealership after having the clutch replaced. When I left work on Monday 7/15, my car would not shift while I was accelerating in traffic. It was over 5,000 rpms...I had to go across lanes of traffic to pull my car over and was honked at several times. I was also rear ended in Dec 13, 2016 while accelerating but my car slipped into neutral.

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #169

Sep 132015

Focus

  • 13 miles
This vehicle stutters upon acceleration. It's feels like it's bucking after coming to a full stop and the putting the foot on the gas in drive.

- Winter Garden, FL, USA

problem #168

Dec 202016

Focus

  • 32,000 miles
Shortly after purchasing my Ford owned used Focus I noticed a shudder in the transmission. I took it back to the dealer and was told the clutch needed repalced under warranty but parts weren't available I waited 6 weeks for parts. The repairs took about a week. After about 3 thousand miles while traveling on an interstate the car lost power. I discovered it would only go in 1st or second gear using manual shifting. I was able to eventally get to my local Ford dealer and was told clutch needed replacing. Another three week wait on parts. Immediatly after getting the car back I noticed the shudder was back. I returned to my local deler where I was told another part in the transmission was broken. It was replaced. I drove the car another 15,000 miles when the shudder came back. Again I returned to the dealer where I was told the clutch woulkd need to be replaced at a cost of $2,600 because it was now out of warranty. I complained and was eventually charged $1,100 for the clutch replacement. I have owned nearly 30 Ford vehicles in my life but I have never had an experience like this with any other. I am perplexed that Ford seems oblivious to the problems this car has caused.

- Excelsior Springs, MO, USA

problem #167

Oct 032015

Focus

  • 15,000 miles
Took it to the dealer a year after I bought it new, trans problems ( shuttering ) they fixed it, a year and a half later it is shuttering again. I also had a 2014 Focus, did the same thing. Ford knew about this because my neighbor is a prototype mechanic in dearborn, and he said they never fixed the problem. I have always owned Ford, never again, in fact I bought a Toyota, and when I get rid of this pos, I will buy another Toyota.

- Southgate, MI, USA

problem #166

Jul 202016

Focus

  • 20,000 miles
Vehicles lurches and shimmies when trying to take of, in town traffic, it won't hardly pull itself, shimmies very hard and make grinding noises, lurches so hard I am afraid it is going to lurch in from of other moving traffic or lurch into someone in front of

- Oakland, KY, USA

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