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.
I called Washington Ford in Washington, pa on 1/17/2019 regarding a check engine light due to Ford Focus recall (purge valve). They scheduled an appointment for 1/30/2019 to fix the recall. Took my car in on the eve of 1/29/2019 and dropped it off. They called me the following day to say they didnt have the part available. They instructed me to pick up my car and said they would call when part came in. I had an inspection scheduled for 2/7/2019 and they told me it would come in prior to my inspection. I never heard from them but called back a few times, telling them I had new codes coming up on my obd sensor (fixd) the car had been running rough, stalling out while idling/stopped.. they assured me it was safe to drive. They did not get part in by 2/7/2019 and I missed my inspection. Two new codes came up on my car and I called angrily on 2/14/2019 to ask if they need me to take car to a different location, and they told me they were just about to call me to tell me parts came in.. we scheduled for 2/22/2019 to have recall fixed. They told me rental cars aren't covered under this recall when I explained the problems with scheduling so many appointments and having difficulty finding other transportation. On 2/17/2019 my car shut off while driving, on a major road (route 40). I was able to coast down a side street and pull into driveway at the bottom of the hill. Had the dealership fixed the problem the day they originally scheduled me, I would have a working car. Now, I'm afraid more damage has been done, as there are 7 total codes on my obd sensor(there were 3 when I first called about recall). The dealership should have never scheduled me when they didn't have the right part in stock, or a rental car should have been provided until they corrected the problem. I'm very unsatisfied with the customer service level at this location!
Engine light came on and car said to get out because the car was overheating. The dealership eventually fixed the car and claimed it was the transmission. Transmission issue is still causing issues.
2013 Ford Focus, was bought new from dealership and has had clutch issues from beginning. The car stutters on acceleration, shifts hard, and occasionally there is a delay when the gas pedal is pressed. A recall was performed on this car and the clutch was replaced, but still had same issue. This car has been seen 8 times for this issue, and has never been resolved. The clutch that was replaced during the recall has failed the performance test, but the dealership will not replace due to expired warranty. Recently another recall was issued on this vehicle due to a stuck cannister purge valve. This causes the engine to stall and the fuel meter to read incorrectly. This caused me to run out of gas on the highway when my gas meter reported I still had half a tank of fuel. On 11/29/18, the dealership performed the recall and believing my fuel meter to now be accurate, I ran out of gas again at a quarter tank full. My check engine light is back on and it is again throwing a code for the purge valve. This car has several safety issues which Ford dealer has been unable and unwilling to remedy.
- Liberty, SC, USA
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Vehicle purchased in 2015 with less than 20K miles. 1st problem, exploded tire causing minor body damage and sensor damage. Thankfully just came from a stop sign and not traveling fast, no injury. 2nd problem, driving down road at approx 35mph when airbags suddenly deployed. Wondered if hit small animal. Got out to investigate.....nothing. Vehicle then rolled off road (decline in terrain) landing rested in a chain link fence. Upon inspection, discovered that motor mounts had failed causing motor to drop forwards towards radiator therefore indicating crash and deploying airbags. All components connected to motor ripped forwards as well. Thankfully also no injury. If that would have occurred at high speeds, serious injury or death could have resulted. There is no reason or excuse for failure of motor mounts. This is clearly a defect. Contacted Ford at the highest level number I was able to obtain. Requested only to address safety issue. They issued a claim, dismissed it and would not allow me to speak to anyone with the authority to address the issue. Contacted Chevy dealership where vehicle was purchased, they said Ford would have to address the issue. Then took vehicle to Ford dealership to run diagnostic to evaluate why airbags deployed. This vehicle contains a module that contains data pertaining to airbag deployment. It is as simple as retrieving the data! only Ford field rep can do this. Towed vehicle to dealership to perform diagnostic to next be referred to rep for data retrieval. Employees of dealership were not allowed by their supervisor to examine the vehicle due to the extent of damage under the hood. Someone needs to be concerned with the integrity of the motor mounts on this vehicle. Other vehicles may have this problem as well. If mounts were to fail at high speeds, catastrophic crash would be eminent. Damage from crash would hide failed mounts as cause
My car start shuttering on acceraltion and shifting funny. I did some online research and a lot of people said there was a recall on the clutch. I called Ford immediately for schedule for the recall but they told me it's not longer a recall. I was under the impression that recalls were good for 10 years and also thought that Ford had to notify me yet I never even knew about the recall and now I cant seem to get it fixed. Is that right?
The Focus dps6 transmission continuously shudders and stalls when driving, especially when starting out and shifting between 1st and 2nd gear. After all of the incidences I have heard about this transmission, I believe there should be an official recall that allows for repairs or replacement of the transmission.
Transmission stuttered, jerked upon receipt of ownership. Northgate Ford serviceman, upon report, assured me the car was under warranty. Transmission broke after the warranty and I was stuck with all the cost of repair plus rental car until the fotrd Focus was repaired. I will accept nothing but a total reimbursement of my costs for repair and car rental.
The powershift transmission is defective, as I have had it replaced multiple times in a car with only 50,000 miles. I had my clutch pack replaced for slipping and shuddering twice within a two month/2,000 mile period. Initially the problems went away, but they came back and are worse now. There have been 2 incidences where I was driving and the check engine light came on and the car's screen said to service the transmission; the car would not shift gears so I could not accelerate. Both times I would turn the car off and after sitting for a while (overnight), it would turn back on everything would be normal. The transmission shudder happens when I accelerate from a stop or from a near stop, like in stop and go traffic; the car shakes and acceleration is very uneven. When the car is first started in cold weather, the rpms jump up rapidly when I am accelerating from a stop to the point where the tires slip and spin, regardless of how much I press the gas pedal. Excluding the issue above, the shudder seems to occur more frequently the longer the car is being driven, and the warmer the weather is. When I am driving and I push the gas pedal to accelerate more (like going into a roundabout or merging onto the highway) the rpms rise up very high but the car just coasts and does not accelerate for several seconds. Sometimes when I am at a stop, I will push the gas pedal and the rpms will rise, but the car will not accelerate for a few seconds. The issues are sporactic, as the car will be fine for a few days and then it will be almost undriveable for a few days.
My car is missing/stuttering, the fuel gauge doesn't show the accurate miles to empty, and my car shuts off while I'm driving both locally and on the highway. I've almost been in two wrecks because the car keeps shutting off. When I put gas in the vehicle the car won't immediately crank. I have to try to crank it about 3 times before it starts. My car does a lot of the same things that are listed in recall # 18V735.
When accelerating from a stop sign/ light, the car shakes violently. I've had the car in the shop multiple times where the information on the bill states "clutch misfire". the fix is temporary, lasting a month or two, and then the problem is back. I've had the car for two years and this has been a reoccurring problem.
Vehicle automatic transmission fails to shift gears causing stall, severe shudder, inability to accelerate through intersections and onto highway on-ramps. Dealers refuse warranty service to repair clutch assembly. Dealers acknowledge fault due to precisely same mechanical problems with 2012 Ford Focus models that are subject to recall, but for this 2013 model dealers require repair cost of $1,300 to $1,600 for parts and labor. Vehicle has only about 65,000 miles. Problem started circa 11/5/2018 and persists intermittently. Review of Ford Focus blogs and owner comment websites indicate problem well-known and ubiquitous.
Was driving to work and my car would not go. The rpms went way high and I could not go over 15 miles per hour in my car. Also my automatic clutch was bad and my stereo also has stopped working.
Car shudders at varying severities--sometimes more mild than others, mostly severe otherwise during accelration, and various moments while driving, and during the entire process of turning. I have brought my vehicle to george wall Ford Lincoln in shrewsbury NJ twice for this specific issue. First time they updated a module and it helped for about a week. Then the problem returned. Second time they had it even longer, and upon pick up I was told that the car was acting 'within spec', and doing 'what it is designed to do, ' so no fix was made. Car continues to shudder severely. Transmission is technically manual, despite being an automatic, and the computer does the shifting. That is what I was told. However, if that is the case, then this car drives manual terribly. I contacted Ford customer support chat and was told I do not qualify for buyback because of car's age/mileage. Care is under 50K miles, and I bought the car certified preowned November 2017, just under a year ago. I was not informed of any recalls, or the transmission's behavior upon looking, buying, and paying for the car in full all in one evening. I have just sent a lenghtly letter to Ford customer relationships this week. Awaiting response. May file lemon law if situation is not handled properly. I have been told my car's issue is not safety related so it is not dire, however during inclement weather, or when going through turns, or simply starting my car gently at lights has become an issue, and I have nearly been rear ended many times. Eventually I will not be so lucky as to escape yet another near-accident. Soon, I can only imagine, I will most likely have a car come crashing into my rear end because of failed and shuddering accelration due to the shoddy transmission clutch shudder.
Many people are aware of the transmission control module problem with the 2013 Ford Focus that has been recalled. However, I have had another problem with my Ford Focus that I researched and found that many more people are having the same or similar problem with their fuel tank collapsing and needing to replace most of the components in the entire fuel system. I had the purge valve replaced as an out of pocket expense as my extended warranty has expired, hoping this would fix the problem. I was informed by the mechanic that to fix my car completely, it would most likely need a new fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel line and of course the purge valve ( which I had replaced ). my car is only 5 years old and I do not know how or why I need to replace the entire fuel system. I have seen many posts describing the same situation on carcomplaints.com and know of someone locally who I know personally who has the exact same problem with their 2013 Ford Focus. When driving, my engine will shut off completely. From time to time, my oil light will come on as my engine stalls out and tries to 'die' and I can press the gas to 'revive' the engine and keep it from shutting off. This repair of the fuel system was estimated to cost $2,000 to repair and I just don't have it. I listed my car online for $5,400 as is and have no one interested in it at that price after I've invested nearly $20,000 in this car in the 4 years I've been making payments, maintenance and repairs on it. I've also had the power steering replaced on this vehicle when I had around 80,000 miles on it. The power steering failed while in motion and almost caused an accident. This particular vehicle is a dangerous one. Buyer beware.
Transmission shifting issues. This transmission started acting up and staying in first gear to long, and then when it does finally shift, it skips gears and goes directly into high gear. The vehicle only has 77,356 miles on it. Research indicates that this is a known ongoing issue with this model transmission. What action does a consumer have with a vehicle that has known issues? there has been no official recall on this model, although the issue is well known among Focus owners, and a class action lawsuit has been initiated.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Edwardsville, IL, USA