CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 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:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,947 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 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated the vehicle failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was previously repaired under an unknown recall for the dual clutch in the transmission. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The mechanic believed that the failure was related to the Transmission Control Module; however, the mechanic was unable to verify the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 128,056.
Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02. DPS6 Automatic Transmission. Ford customer service recommended I contact you as my vehicle barely falls outside of the rebiuld date requirement of this program but is experiencing the same problems. They said you could add this VIN number to the program to get repaired under this program.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his niece was driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle began to shudder, prompting her to reduce speeds. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed a shudder test and determined that the vehicle had a clutch shudder at 3100 RPM and recommended a replacement clutch. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number:?18V845000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 109,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to shift gears as intended. The failure occurred on several occasions. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was previously repaired under an unknown recall for the dual-clutch in the transmission; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated the vehicle was no longer under warranty and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal failed to function as intended. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond, and the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the service transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact was advised that the failure could not be diagnosed without the check engine warning light being illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. 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 126,000.
- Dallas, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle hesitated, and jolted while responding. The message "Service Transmission-?? was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at slow speeds, the transmission was slipping out of gear, and the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound. A relative, who was a mechanic, diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
Driving down the Highway, a Warning Message came up that my Transmission had a failure. My Steering wheel started to shake, and then my car shut off. In the middle of the Highway. Not Safe.
My 2016 Ford Focus has encountered repeated transmission and clutch problems associated with the DPS6 recall. My car has experienced sudden losses of power, inability to randomly start the car, and even though my car can be put into reverse, it will not back up. Going down the highway, my car will have reluctance to shift and when it does, it shudders severely. These issues have caused myself to feel uncomfortable being on any public roads due to fears the car or clutch will completely fail. Especially when I have my child with me. My car has now officially given out and had to be towed to Ford for evaluation. During evaluation they reported the clutch has gone bad. Even though I had the entire clutch system replaced in 2019. Meaning the transmission has caused two full clutch replacements in 7 years. During inspections and replacements under previous warranties, Ford refuses to address the transmission portion of the problem and will and would only correct the by-product which was the clutch itself. My car has the DPS6 transmission from the Michigan plant, but my manufacture date was a few weeks after the deadline. The car had the check engine light come on when experiencing power issues. It has been through two complete evaluations through Ford, who only will charge me for clutch replacements. The TCM also had to be recalibrated in 2019 when the clutch was replaced, but they did not replace the TCM itself.
My ford focus had experienced a clutch slipping and is stuck in 2 gear. The car also had antifreeze leak during this event. This occurred on January 31,2023. My Ford dealership is quoted a $3,240 repair cost for clutch system on an automatic transmission. Ford case number CXH01481389.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle was started; however, after the vehicle started, the vehicle was shifted into reverse but failed to respond. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. 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 81,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated and shuddered before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 110,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle started shuddering and hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact exited the highway and drove to a relative's residence. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond when shifting into reverse (R). The contact also stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the vehicle was significantly sluggish. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch had failed. The dealer determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.
Vehicle shudders or jerks when accelerating from a stopped position. Issue seems to be gradually getting worse over the past year or so. Car had well under 50,000 miles when issue commenced and is well maintained and responsibly driven. Ford dealer advises that clutch assembly is likely failing but represents that issue is not under warranty, recall or safety advisory, or customer satisfaction program. I am concerned that the clutch will fail when accelerating from a stopped position in traffic or while shifting at a high speed and cause an accident. There are no warning or other message lights. Thank you.
Was driving my car and all of a sudden it wouldn-??t pull itself wouldn-??t takeoff from a stop sign jumps from 3rd to 4th when gearing down it go from 4th to 1st Gear Bucks and jumps in it never dies however, you press on the gas and the engine just revs
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to drive uphill, the vehicle failed to properly shift gear as intended. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired twice under warranty however, the vehicle no longer fell under the criteria for repair under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
The dual power clutch has gone out in my vehicle, this causes the transmission to overheat and the vehicle cannot move. I-??ve experienced this a couple times with my children in the car, on a mountain, and had to be pushed off the road where we were stranded for hours. I had to pay $700 for a tow and getting the transmission fluid changed, which did not solve the problem. I couldn-??t afford to pay the car payment as I couldn-??t use the car for transportation to and from work and had to pay mechanical bills. I-??ve contacted the dealership and initially they said they-??d take a complaint but when I made it there, they turned me away and told me to call Ford. I called Ford and they told me to go to the dealer. Neither of them would take a complaint. It-??s $150 just for them to look at the car and confirm the problem, however the part doesn-??t exist to fix it and I was told it could be til 2025 before it could be fixed as they aren-??t making that part. The part would be covered under warranty but it-??s not guaranteed that they-??ll be able to get it. The transmission light came on right after purchasing the vehicle and I called the dealer to have it looked at but because the light went back off before I made it there, it wouldn-??t be covered under warranty. Ford had a lawsuit for something similar to this and I was never notified. My car is at risk of repossession, I-??m still paying on it and I can-??t even use it. It won-??t make it 3 miles at this point. I-??m not the only one who-??s experiencing this and there-??s no solution but there-??s no recall either. The car will just stop in the middle of the road and it won-??t move, leaving you stuck in the line of oncoming traffic on the interstate and you can-??t even pull it over. It won-??t move once it-??s in that state. Ford will not doing anything about it. I-??ve contacted the attorney general at this point and I don-??t know what else to do. We luckily were not hit but we were stranded for hours.
This is my second time reporting this the first time I reported this the person I talked to on the phone inaccurately put what I said and didn-??t put what I said. I was on my way back home from a little road trip and I had approached a stop sign and had come to a full stop. When It was safe I took off and my car stuttered and had loss of power and became jerky, started to buck and would have delay and sudden burst of acceleration and it felt like the transmission was slipping. And the message transmission fault service now and my check engine light came on. I proceeded to pull over and let my car sit for a bit and turned off and on my car and the warming message went away. When I started driving again my car continued to have the same issues as well as reving high and not speeding up then randomly shifting and suddenly accelerating
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was jolting and hesitating while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering while shifting gear. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
[XXX] daughter was driving her car on I87 in Albany NY when oil pressure light went on and car speed dropped from 65 to less than 30 while in middle lane of interstate forcing her to cross over lanes onto shoulder roadway and exit ramp where it lost all power. Have learned that the oil belt system failed without any warning or notice causing incident. Have since learned that vehicle motor has been damaged beyond repair and needs replacement. Contact with 4 separate representatives of FORD Customer Service has resulted in FORD denying our requests for assistance to replace the motor. Car is a 2016 Ford Focus SE with the 1.0 liter motor with 81,000 miles. Well maintained with records as needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakeland, FL, USA