CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford changed a lot of things for its 3rd generation, just none of them were a good idea.
The transmission tends to hesitate and jerk when accelerating. The new electronically-driven power steering can fail suddenly and without warning. Even Ford's SYNC can be a headache. Actually, scratch that last one — it's always been a headache.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
14 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 1
Average Mileage:
37,671 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 vehicle is short shifting and missing gears when at a stoplight. When the vehicle is hot, there are more issues. There is a lot of jerking and transmission shudders when taking off; feels like it doesn't want to go.
The vehicle shudders and makes noise when shifting gears. When accelerating at around 15mph, the vehicle bogs down and lacks power. Engine oil leaks also.
Shuttering, rattling and clunking when engaging the gears. Vehicle will jerk when accelerating like it will stall out. Sometimes the vehicle will just not start.
Check engine light is constantly on and the engine leaks oil. The transmission does not change gears, shudders excessively and lacks power going uphill.
Prior to incident, vehicle would intermittently shudder on take-offs. Incident involved vehicle traveling on an interstate highway at 70 mph on the outskirts of a large metro area when all power to wheels was lost. The check engine light turned on. Engine would rev when accelerator was pressed, but car acted as if in neutral. Car coasted to a stop. The car would not shift out of neutral until after the car sat for over an hour. The car was towed to a Ford dealership. Ford service department advised that the transmission control module (tcm) had failed and a new tcm was installed and car now works most of the time, but intermittent shudder on take off still occurs, though less frequently than before.
Transmission shifting issues that affect the safety of the vehicle in use. Transmission will lag, hard shift, vehicle will get "stuck" when attempting to accelerate. The vehicle will violently shake and shudder going around slow turns or when accelerating from a stop. In traffic, the acceleration lag as well as she shuddering are dangerous. The vehicles brakes do not respond as well when shuddering. Ford insists that all vehicle parts are operating correctly. If that is the case, Ford has designed an incredibly unsafe vehicle.
Transmission makes a metal type noise consistently and surges when warm. There is a random clicking noise under hood. Transmission disengages intermittently while driving.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle shook and shuddered while driving. In addition, the transmission was faulty and the vehicle decelerated a few times. The vehicle was driven to crane Ford (4601 colonel glen plaza drive, little rock, ak 72210) where it was diagnosed that the power train failed and an unknown part was needed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,000.
Just picked up yesterday after 4th transmission visit. Car was hard shifting in low speeds and when accelerating the car will hesitate and lunge. Won't drive distance or on freeway only good for local small routes.
Bolt sheared off in the transmission while on the highway causing the car to stall out & be unable to go into any gear, gates for the gears seemed to be gone as shifter knob could move freely around. It did re-start once, just long enough to get off the highway, then immediately stopped working again. Got the bolt replaced with a Ford bolt, it sheared off again while driving downtown within 4 days, had it replaced and bolted through a 2nd time, and it sheared off yet again while merging onto the highway, 2 of the three times this happened car was above 30mph, one time I was only going about 15mph. Car is still not functional & Ford has stated thus far, their suggestion is replacing the transmission, which seems to be a temporary fix, as everyone else who I know/have looked up that's had this done only gets the vehicle working for a short period of time and then the vehicle stops working again when the bolt shears off. This seems to be a common issue for the 2012-2016 Ford Focus, though I don't know if it's just manual or both manual & automatic transmissions.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. When the contact attempted to move the gear shifter out of park, the shifter would not engage and failed to function without warning. The vehicle was towed to huntington beach Ford (18255 beach blvd, huntington beach, ca 92648, 714-842-6611) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed. The dealer replaced the dual clutch system inside the transmission; however, the failure recurred without warning. While the contact's wife was driving 20 mph, the transmission shifted out of gear and the rpms increased. The driver attempted to depress the accelerator pedal, however, the vehicle stalled and failed to move. The vehicle began to resume normal operation and was able to be driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was taken to the same dealer where they replaced the engine, the actuators, both clutches, the engagement bearing, and the transmission control module. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered an extended warranty regarding the failure. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in a warranty extension. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 27,906.
Vehicle hesitates, shakes, and shudders while moving forward and stopping. It feels as though the car is driving over rumble strips. Stalled completely in an intersection.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tulare, CA, USA