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 the check engine warning light had been illuminating from the time the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where no issue was found. The contact also stated that the vehicle failed to reverse when the gear shifter was shifted into reverse. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 11,000.
on multiple occasions, the transmission will shudder. this shudder occurs between 1st and 2nd and/or 2nd and 3rd gears. a few times, while driving in the snow, after some tire spinning or sliding, the transmission either slipped from a high gear or froze while driving on the highway at highway speeds. i have been told by Ford and the dealer that the clutch system has already been replaced under the recall and i would now need to pay for repair. along with the clutch recall, there was also a recall on the software component, and i don't believe that has been replaced. there are no warning lamps or messages with this malfunction
Upon entering Interstate highway 66, my car started jerking and the RPM gage was fluctuating and loosing power. A tractor trailer swerved and blew the horn. My car shut off on me in the right lane. I was able to restart and drive toward the shoulder and a warning light states -??Transmission Overheating Stop Safely-??. I took it to my certified mechanic and it read code P0460. When he lift the car, the gas tank is sunk in. Back in summer 2019 there was a recall on the -??purge valve-?? and we notified them in 2020 that the car stared jerking and acting like it wanted to shut off. Again the code #P0460 same part and they said the warranty on the valve expired they can not reopen the recall. Now my gas tank is caved in and the car is stalling out on the highway getting worse. Ford Motor company keeps brushing us off and not concerned about the safety of their vehicle.
- Locust Grove , VA, USA
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The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered however, the vehicle never lost motive power. The contact also stated that water was leaking from the bottom of the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 18V169000 (Power Train) prior to the failure. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with nothing needing to be replaced. The dealer updated the engine module to keep up with the rpm's however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
While driving in traffic, car started lurching, speed slowing down check engine light came on doing about 20 miles, barely made it to my home. Went from about 30 miles speed to barely 20. No warning, just started lurching and shuddering. Was on recall for clutch work was done on Sept 19, 2020.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at 10 mph, the vehicle slipped out of gear which resulted in the contact losing control of the vehicle and striking another vehicle. The person who was struck was the only injured and required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a storage facility where it was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with, NHTSA campaign number: 18V169000 (power train) however the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the transmission failed to upshift as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to mike castrucci Ford (1020 oh-28, milford, oh 45150, (513)275-1048) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no additional assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.
My 2015 Ford Focus started shuddering in its shifting about a a year after I got the car used in 2018, it's alot worse now. I've taken it to the Ford dealership twice and was refused...they did a reset of some sort before they test drove it and it didnt seem to shudder like it does with me, the Ford employee explained to me my car didnt quite meet the mark to where they can offer me the repair. After this I thought alright he reset something and now my car is a little better...couple hundred miles later it's back real bad from start till 3rd gear every gear shuddering and studdering jumping shaking violently, I took it back to them, samething...if I do this again I'll get it in writing that Ford states my vehicle is fine and go ahead and get a lawsuit going.
The transmission is not shifting gears properly. We took it to the mechanic and he said that it is a computer problem. The only thing that can solve the problem is a master reset. The mechanic said that that it is not something that can be fixed and the vehicle should be recalled.
On 2/15/2021 while in motion and under acceleration events on the highway or the city streets, the throttle will become complete unresponsive and engine will have complete loss of power. Dealer confirmed concern and stated that the mechanical actuators in the transmission which control the clutch and clutch need to be replaced. Ford already has a class action lawsuit for the transmission, however the clutch actuators is not part of the extended covered that Ford offered.
Ford has refused to honor manufacturer recalls due to "branded title". what recourse is thereto get these safety defects repaired? door latch & transmission
Car will lurch and shutter from takeoff proceeding throughout 1st to 2nd gear and from 2nd into 3rd, also while accelerating after slowdown while either in traffic or while accelerating out of corners. When shifting into reverse from a complete stop the car will sometimes not engage reverse and seem to catch neutral and just rev and roll backward or forward depending on incline. The car will sometimes catch reverse after a few seconds of revving, other times I have to shift into neutral and back into reverse for it to engage the gear
The transmission on my car has been occasionally stuttering and overheating at low speeds and high speeds. Ford has an extended /tsb for the transmission regarding the very same problem. However they refuse to service my car even though it fall within the mileage and year. Reason is because the car was involved in an accident last year which had nothing to do with the drivetrain and they have cancelled all warranties regarding the car.
2015 Ford Focus shutters upon acceleration. The clutch assembly for the automatic transmission now has to be replaced for the third time in owning it less than 4 years. Ford will not pay for the replacement and there should be a recall.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently downshift independently without warning. The contact was then notified that her vehicle was placed under recall for NHTSA campaign number: 18V169000 (power train). The vehicle was repaired at green Ford service center (3800 w wendover ave, greensboro, nc 27407). Despite the recall repair, the contact stated that the failure persisted. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed back to the dealer. The contact was then informed that the recall was a one-time repair and was offered no further assistance. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the repair was only supposed to last a year. The manufacturer offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact managed to coast the vehicle to the shoulder, turned off and restarted the vehicle to resume normal operation. The contact stated that after restart, the vehicle failed to respond when shifted into reverse. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission motor clutch failed and need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle then was taken to autonation Ford katy (20777 katy freeway, katy, tx 77450, (281) 305-8949) where the technician informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The contact mentioned NHTSA campaign number: 16V479000 (power train) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that warranty on the vehicle was expired. The failure mileage was approximately 151,500.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Essex, MD, USA