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.
While making stops and accelerating car would jerk after it just stopped going reverse got a warning on dashboard staying transmission hot over heating made it home turned off the vehicle in will not power on right now and makes weird noises when the driver door opens and closes and I haven't drove the car since
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after shifting from first to second gear, the vehicle was shuddering and vibrating and failed to shift smoothly into third gear. Additionally, the vehicle failed to respond after being shifted into reverse. The failure was intermittent, and the check engine warning light would illuminate occasionally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 90,000.
I have been an owner of a Ford vehicle for 3 generations. My 2013 Ford Focus has only 95K Miles and has had serious Transmission problems. The vehicle has been well taken care of and has been serviced at the dealership several times for regular service maintenance. All recalls have been taken care of. However, Despite the fixes performed by Ford Dealership. The car still has problems of shuddering, hesitation, and stalling or inability to accelerate. Most of the time the clutch experiences slips between 1 and 2nd gears. It is not safe to drive on the highway. Ford service center is refusing to fix the problem as the 10 year power train warranty has expired in May of 2023. I have spent thousands of $'s in maintaining the vehicle and my wife loves it. But we cannot afford to keep spending money. IT needs a new transmission and I feel Ford should fix it. I have been given a runaround. Can Someone in Ford customer care help with this request to get my Transmission fixed under customer satisfaction.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle started jerking. No warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but the mechanic stated that he would not repair the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to a Ford dealer where it was diagnosed with a wiring failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was then illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 199,862.
I bought the car in November, 2021. I had it immediately start to shudder, noticed that for example when I tried to accelerate especially in the midst of turning in the middle of a busy road at an intersection I would stall and lose the ability to move the car, then the hazard lights would never turn on, then lost power to the components of the car which used to function normally. I-??m a single mom caring for a child who has multiple disabilities and needs much assistance in which we are still being tested and on waiting lists for, and the last year our car was overheating always, despite the amount of work and repairs that we have paid for and other organizations helped us with, which is more than the cost of the actual cars worth and before any of these faulty parts or builds were common knowledge and available, I was never aware of this. I had the car in to multiple mechanics and we were told they couldn-??t find the problem. We-??ve repaired up to 5 grand or more and have been having to drive with the heat on for the last year full blast and windows down. We-??ve had heat sickness and thrown up or ended up having severe headaches and dehydration. We then had the loss of power worsen, til 2 months ago. It was dead one morning and after jumping it, I couldn-??t get it in reverse, so pushed it out and then it wouldn-??t go over 10-15 mph nor would the hazard lights work. I got it to Ogden Ford, who said it-??s the dual clutch part. I had it replaced and came up with the near grand. We have lost our entire life due to this, no help with outside assistance, almost homeless. Now we get a call saying the clutch part was replaced but the whole transmission has to be replaced and need to get 4 grand. Had told them no way I can. They had a salesmen call me to pitch a new car instead. I called Ford Motor company and asked customer relations to get help. They won-??t even fix the existing recalls and we are losing our life. We need help. Please we have tried all we can.
- Roy, UT, USA
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My vehicle has a faulty transmission that has been recalled by NHTSA but my VIN does not appear on database but yet I own this item with all defects. This is probably my third request to appeal but I never receive any positive responses. For example my last reply was not an answer or solution but instructions to submit a reply if I have any problems with my vehicle. It was grossly overlooked. I stated that I have every issue in the recall and yet no response. I have even taken to Ford to have it serviced and all they did was reset a module for $110 which when driven after pickup of service was no different. I am again requesting that my vehicle be considered for repair.
After the Stop Safely Now alert flashed I tried to get off a really busy street and my car turned off in the middle of traffic. I was blocking traffic and cars were trying to pass me on both sides forcing them to drive around my car using the oncoming lane. 3 men helped me by stopping traffic on both sides so that they could push my car off the street onto a church entrance driveway. This is the second time I have had my car stop dead in the middle of busy traffic. The first time I reported this very dangerous problem, my car stopped dead in the middle of a busy intersection.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact's daughter turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact's daughter heard an abnormal sound coming from the transmission and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that after the vehicle was towed to his residence, he started the vehicle and heard abnormal sounds coming from the transmission. The contact heard an abnormal opening and closing sound. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The diagnostic fee was not paid, and the contact was not provided information related to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that the repair was not eligible under a Customer Satisfaction Program related to a transmission replacement. The contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The contact's mother owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop and then attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond when the accelerator pedal was depressed. There was no warning light illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was covered under an unknown recall campaign. After the recent failure, the contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 64,812.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that within 6 months of purchasing the vehicle new, the transmission made an abnormal grinding sound while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, and the TCM was replaced; however, the failure became more frequent. The contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle jerked and hesitated to respond. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving at various speeds. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the two internal clutches needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
This is the second time my 2013 Ford Focus EV has just shut down while traveling. This time in the middle of an intersection. A Stop Safely Now warning came on first and then, in the middle of a stop sign, after getting off a late afternoon busy highway, the car shut down and refused to move. I turned on my emergency flashers to keep people moving around my car.
This is the second time my 2013 Ford Focus EV has just shut down while traveling. This time in the middle of an intersection. A Stop Safely Now warning came on first and then, in the middle of a stop sign, after getting off a late afternoon busy highway, the car shut down and refused to move. I turned on my emergency flashers to keep people moving around my car.
I drove this car for intervals and then purchased it on 6/05/23 from a used car lot. It had no problems and ran very well. About a month or two later the transmission started to slip so I contacted the Goodyear shop we take our cars to. They told me that Ford had a recall on a transmission problem so I called the Ford dealer and made an appointment to bring it in for a computer recall on the trans. I am 84 yrs. old and was driving to the gas station for gas and the car stopped and inched into the station. I had it towed to Ford and it sat there until my appt. day and was told the computer on the outside of the trans was under warrenty not the trans and it would cost $9000. for a trans. No other trans shop would repair because all the computers are on backorder. The used car dealer nor I were ever notified about a recall, At least 5 yrs of Focus have this problem. Check all the complaints. It's unsafe and unfair.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to start. The transmission fault warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while shifting the transmission into drive (D), the vehicle transmission stayed in neutral (N) and failed to accelerate. An independent mechanic came to inspect the vehicle and reset the transmission. The contact was able to drive the vehicle; however, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unintendedly downshifted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and made contact with Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02 (Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage). The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.
Transmission shuddered on takeoff every time. It made it difficult on takeoff. It quit on a single lane road. It was at the dealership on 8-18-23. It was driven 356 miles. No fault lights ever come on until the transmission quit pulling. The lady at the dealership told me it might be the clutch and they could inspect it and replace the clutch for $3,100. I told her no on I think it-??s bad.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while shifted into drive(D), the engine revved but the vehicle failed to accelerate. Additionally, the contact stated that while shifted into reverse(R), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the message displayed on the instrument cluster stated, -??Turn Vehicle Off and Wait-??. The contact stated that he turned the vehicle off and restarted after approximately six minutes. The transmission fault warning light then illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving and shifting gear, the vehicle hesitated. While in third gear, the vehicle failed to shift. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The "Take to the Dealer" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and a software update was performed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed about an extended warranty coverage, and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
My car will intermittently lose power, such as in the middle of an intersection, or turning in front of another vehicle, which puts me and my children at risk. The transmission is throwing a code for overheating and malfunctioning, and there is an open customer satisfaction bulletin for the transmission control module, but Ford refuses to replace it because it-??s not throwing -??the correct code -?? I have had the clutch replaced three times if not four in the time that I-??ve had the vehicle and it-??s more than frustrating. It-??s dangerous along with losing power. It will intermittently catch the gear that is trying to shift into and cause the car to accelerate rapidly, the transmission, shutter control module and clutch have been an issue in this car, along with a class action lawsuit, and now Ford has had my vehicle for three weeks, and refuses to do the open service campaign for the TCM because of the code issue and it refuses to do the clutch because even though it was replaced three years ago, they state that the warranty is only for 12 months regardless of the fact that it was the fourth clutch that put in the car, I am working with someone at Ford warranty in hopes of getting them covered because I know they have done it in other cases, but I am more than frustrated with the service. I-??ve received so far very unprofessional, which is unfortunate because overall I do love my car I would-??ve kept it all this time if I didn-??t I 10-year-old car should not have had to have the transmission clutch replaced three times or four times in 10 years and under 150,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started driving rough with the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with a clutch judder. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the clutch had been replaced twice before the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered to cover a part of the cost for the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 64,533.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Martindale, TX, USA