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.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was accelerating, she heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a scheduled recall repair and the vehicle was diagnosed with a failed transmission clutch and failed motor mounts. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch and the motor mounts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.
2015 Ford Focus - Car has less than 50k miles has 3 transmission codes showing: P07A5, P090C, and P07A5pd. Car will not go into reverse. Car has not been looked at by a technician yet. However, with less than 50K miles the fact that I am having transmission issues is unacceptable. Ford really needs to recall for these issues. After researching these codes that are showing, seems like there are thousands of people complaining about the same thing on different sites.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a failed transmission clutch assembly. The transmission clutch assembly needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
My car has shuddered and stalled significantly since I purchased it brand new from Serramonte Ford on September 6, 2015. The car will lose acceleration quickly when I am on the highway and driving on hills. I have had the clutch replaced by Serramonte Ford three times over the last 7 years and I have been informed that it needs to be replaced again. I have only once, on 10/27/2023 had a warning displayed on my dashboard immediately after a shuttering and stalling incident. I was driving up a hill when the car began jerking and shuttering. I pulled the vehicle perpendicular to the hillside and received the message, "transmission fault, service now". The car would not go into reverse to allow me to back up and safely park the vehicle. I immediately had the car towed to Serramonte Ford, per the service waring, and have been told that the clutch needs to be repaired again. This car is a ticking time bomb, I have been fortunate not to have had this stalling and shuttering cause a serious accident where myself or others could be seriously or fatally harmed.
6 speed automatic transmission shudder's, shakes, downshifts and lurks vehicle. This is an automatic transmission with a manual clutch, part of Ford's "Powershift" transmission program. This vehicle is unsafe to drive as it causes driver hesitation, unpredictable behavior at stop lights causing the vehicle to lurch forward and unresponsive to driver input due to shuddering shaking and downshifting. The vehicle has been brought in twice to ford to have the clutch replaced at roughly 35,000 and 65,000 miles. Documents to prove, the clutch goes out every 35,000 miles even though it is automatically controlled. The vehicle is at roughly 100,000 miles and the same issue is happening again.
- Las Vegas, NV, USA
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The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when she shifted the vehicle into drive (D) and depressed the accelerator pedal the vehicle would shudder and not gain forward momentum. The contact stated that the vehicle would eventually slip into gear and gain momentum. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the issue had occurred in the past and was covered under manufacturer Customer Satisfaction Bulletin Number: 19N08 Transmission Clutch Shudder (Power Train) for repairs. The contact had another failure of the transmission and drove the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the failure as transmission clutch shudder and that she was no longer under warranty for the repairs. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and jerked before accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was related to TSB Numbers: 10237441 (Power Train) and 10164603 (Power Train) which covered a PCM repair and a clutch repair. The contact was informed that the PCM and clutch needed to be replaced. The PCM was replaced; however, due to the Extended Warranty Coverage the clutch was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.
I just bought this car 2 months ago after saving for a whole year. I-??ve been having problems week into the purchase due to the transmission. My car has been overheating with the transmission (almost every 4 miles), going on limp mode (when pressing the gas), jerking (while driving), not reversing and not starting right away. Im trying my hardest to get on my feet after a being in a domestic abuse relationship that affected my and my daughters life. I just want to get my baby back and fourth from school. So I BEG you to approve the transmission recall for Ford Focus. PLEASE!!!
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed, the RPM increased to high however, the vehicle failed to move. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated the vehicle had signs of transmission issues. The contact was informed that the transmission was slipping, and that the clutch needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000. The VIN was not available.
?The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate immediately. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The contact also stated that the transmission failed to shift into reverse(R) several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact about an unknown warranty coverage on the PCM; however, the dealer informed the contact that while inspecting the vehicle, it became noticeable that the clutch was damaged due to the faulty PCM. The dealer stated that the contact had to pay for the clutch repair out of pocket. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 14N02 (Extended Warranty Coverage for PCM). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that he received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 181V169000 (Power Train). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the recall repair was completed; however, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started jerking. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the clutch had failed, and the clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised not to take the vehicle back to the same dealer. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled and remained in the same gear. The vehicle also shuddered independently. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed by a dealer. The contact was informed that the first-gear clutch was the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined that the vehicle was not under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
Clutch shudder has been an issue with my car since I bought it but I was told that it was going to "adjust" itself after I drove it for awhile. Over the past few years I've seen my RPM randomly jump up and the clutch shudder issues have worsened over the years. Ford knew about this defect in the 2015 Ford Focus and was even part of a class action lawsuit. But I was never notified about the Customer Satisfaction Program that extended the warranty for repairs of the specific problems. Not even the dealership ever provided me with information on recalls or customer satisfaction programs that applied to me. I can't afford to get it fixed now that I am a year late and am stuck driving unsafely because Ford refuses to grant an exception for the repairs. They continue to sell the same makes and models that were part of this lawsuit and don't seem to care about the customer's safety long term
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and attempting to accelerate from a stationary position, the vehicle hesitated, rumbled, and the transmission was slipping. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the transmission clutch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Spark Plugs/Ignition Coils. Car was not shifting into gear while driving, jerking. Revs up in between 5-7 Rpms. Car has stalled while driving. Car got spark plugs and ignition coils changed and problem got worse. No. Engine light was on for codes that read spark plug and ignition coil. Fixed problem. Engine light still on problem worse and still the same. Reading same codes.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the service engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed with a failed clutch assembly. The contact was informed that the clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,653.
Transmission had randomly started to jerk and then stopped accelerating. Left me stranded on the side of the road on a 5 hour trip and when I turned it off and back on it would move very little and I could hear grinding noise from the gears. I had to get a tow truck which cost me 1.5 k to tow back to my house
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be serviced prior to a road trip; however, upon picking up the vehicle from the dealer, she noticed that the vehicle was leaking an unknown fluid. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated days later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission clutch shudder, and the dealer determined that the failure was related to Ford Campaign Number: 19N08; however, the campaign had expired. The dealer charged a repair fee. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 103,230.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle hesitated while attempting to accelerate and then stalled and lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact replaced the battery and drove back to the residence; however, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined that the TCM needed to be replaced; however, the following day the contact was notified by the dealer that the clutch plate bearing and not the TCM that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 96,731.
The contact's daughter owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact's daughter received notification of Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N08 (Transmission Clutch Shudder/Transmission Clutch Warranty Extension); however, the dealer declined to perform the repair. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was vibrating and failed to accelerate as needed. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that the Customer Satisfaction Program had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cary, NC, USA