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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 7 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #325

Jul 222022

Focus

  • miles

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

The transmission of my car has always been jerky and unreliable, sometimes causing the vehicle to shake when driving at high speeds. While driving through the mountains, the transmission continuously got worse, eventually causing me to be unable to put the car in reverse. The car also failed to switch gears adequately while driving on the highway, making it difficult to accelerate and increasing the likelihood of an accident. There were no warning symbols on my dashboard to alert me to what could be the issue. My vehicle has not yet been inspected by a dealership, manufacturer, or independent service center.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #324

Aug 202022

Focus

  • miles
The transmission has been repaired only to have worse problems surface. Overnight, I lost my Reverse and a week later the Drive function stopped working. It placed me in a dangerous situation. I was at a gas station, suddenly no Reverse. I was wedged between cars. I had to push it backwards to give room for the car in front. I took it to Ford and they wanted $3000 for a clutch, they made me pay $210 diagnosis fee at Gene Butman Ford. I was angry. I went to a part store, the part was $245!!! I told Ford this car has been in for recalls with transmission and evaporative system. This is at least the third time for the transmission. It's a 2015, only 115,000 miles on it and it already is a piece of junk. I'm never buying a Ford again. The dealership folk were rude and offered nothing even when I mentioned a recall on the transmission.

- Ann Arbor , MI, USA

problem #323

Jul 102022

Focus

  • 86,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH from the driveway, the transmission failed to operate as designed. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The contact related the failure to Ford Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N08. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

- Clinton, NC, USA

problem #322

Jun 262022

Focus

  • 87,415 miles

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

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate the vehicle shuddered before operating normally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer for a power train recall on the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired under the recall however, the failure persisted. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty coverage. The approximate failure mileage was 87,415.

- Saint John, IN, USA

problem #321

Jul 092022

Focus

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact towed the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 90,000.

- Spencer, OH, USA

problem #320

Jul 252022

Focus

  • miles
Transmission occasionally fails to shift into reverse and has issues properly shifting gears automatically. Gear shifting has been a very minor issue for at least 5 years, only happened once. In the past week, the issues mentioned in first sentence has grown progressively worse starting with minor juttering when gears are shifted higher. Reverse issue has started at the start of this week, and the juttering has gotten worse. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request at this time. Vehicle fails to speed up when acceleration is applied for a good while, engine reving into 4000-5000 rpm range before it corrects itself after 5-10 seconds. Acceleration issues may cause collision issues with drivers following. Lack of reverse leaves vehicle requiring to park in ways it can drive forward or roll back out of the parking spot, making parking more dangerous. This system has been a part of a prior recall. Since the recall was supposedly fixed, the system has not been inspected since. The check engine light illuminates from time to time, mainly when the vehicle can't reverse.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #319

Aug 022020

Focus

  • 80,000 miles

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

The contact's son owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her son was driving 65 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 20 MPH independently. The contact did not know whether there was a warning light illuminated. The contact's son drove to the dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the gearbox and the transmission clutch were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and jerking significantly while driving. The contact stated that while her son was attempting to reverse, he moved the gear shifter into reverse but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Laplace, LA, USA

problem #318

Jul 222022

Focus

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train). The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and received a second repair for the failure. The failure recurred after the repair. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was referred to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 103,000.

- Morristown, TN, USA

problem #317

Jul 102022

Focus

  • miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test determined a fault within the transmission. The contact then called the dealer where he was informed that there would be a delay in service due to overwhelming service demand. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Clinton, NC, USA

problem #316

Jul 182022

Focus

  • 153,757 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would jerk upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with the transmission fault and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a defective clutch. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train). The contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 153,757.

- Palmdale, CA, USA

problem #315

May 282022

Focus

  • miles

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

I had my check engine light come on afterwards the car started to hesitate. My car is having issues with shifting through the gears and feels bogged down. I took it to a Ford dealership where they tried for 3 and a half hours to get the light to come on again with no luck. They told me to bring it back if the light comes on again.

- Horicon, WI, USA

problem #314

May 212022

Focus

  • 127,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the vehicle was hesitating. The contact was able to continue driving and pulled into a gas station however, the vehicle hesitated and started sputtering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle. Upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The contact pushed the vehicle into a parking space with assistance. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact replaced the starter however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module had failed and the failure was associated to Ford Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 14M02. The contact was informed that the parts to do the repair were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts would be available within 9-10 months. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

- Sanford, NC, USA

problem #313

Dec 162019

Focus

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving on a highway at a disclosed speed the vehicle started shuddering and shifting then starting hesitating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was diagnosed as the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. This happen on several occasions The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The mileage was approximately 60,000.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #312

Jun 152022

Focus

  • miles
While driving the vehicle it begins shuddering and jerking, when parked and shifted into reverse the vehicle did not move, when brake was applied to shift to park, the vehicle lunged forward up and over the curb. This has been a continuous problem, when is the NHSTA going to do their job and make ford recall these vehicles.

- Prattville , AL, USA

problem #311

Jun 152022

Focus

  • miles
The car intermittently doesn't shift into reverse and struggled to shift from first to second gear and sometimes loses some power when shifting into or while in higher gears. I had it looked into by an independent service center who recommended replacement of 2 clutch actuators which I had done at a cost of $853.17. I didn't drive it for a week after the repairs while on vacation. When I returned, the same issues exist and the engine light is on. I couldn't back out of my driveway and had to drive through my yard to go to work.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

problem #310

May 152022

Focus

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to shift gear as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

- Hazlehurst, MS, USA

problem #309

Jun 012022

Focus

  • miles
3rd time the clutch has started to shudder violently during acceleration. 1st clutch replacement was covered under a Ford safety recall in Nov 2019 (58,000 miles), 2nd clutch replacement was paid in cash in April 2021 (76,000 miles), and now I'm looking at paying cash for a 3rd clutch replacement in June 2022 (92,000 miles). Ford has only covered ONE clutch replacement despite the clutch issue happening every 14 months. This is just outside the 12-month "warranty" for the parts & labor, and I'm fed up with having to replace the clutch almost every year.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #308

Jan 152022

Focus

  • miles
Transmission shudder when acceleration from a start. Sometimes it hesitates when starting out from a stop.

- Macedon, NY, USA

problem #307

May 202022

Focus

  • miles
The transmission went out and will not go in reverse. Thank goodness my daughter made it her friends from where we had it towed to bulldog transmission. The car is not drivable. It has 116000 mileage. The car did have a louder engine noise that other cars I-??ve driven. The car was fine for several weeks, we bought it used. The car had a hard time getting up the neighborhood hill then died in the friends driveway.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #306

Mar 162022

Focus

  • miles
I had a ford certified tech work on my Ford Focus and after my recalls were supposedly repaired my car is doing worse than ever, if I stop on a hill I will sometimes roll backwards due to apparent engagement issue, and after a new tcm to fix that my car now displays -??transmission overheating stop safely-?? after a few miles on the highway. it shifts really rough and I haven-??t ran the risk of stopping on a hill. Not what I would expect coming from a family who has over 100 years put into working at ford motor company.

- Clarkson , KY, USA

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