CarComplaints.com Notes: For the third year in a row, the 3rd generation Focus is experiencing massive transmission problems.
Most notably owners keep complaining about how there's bad hesitation and jerking when starting from a stop. This isn't the result of an old, worn out part. In fact, the average mileage it's reported to us is just over 15k miles.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
18 / 8
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 1
Average Mileage:
41,249 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.
My car is still at the dealership (CrossRoads Ford, of Indian Trail, NC). The vehicle has been there since 11/22/22. The Service Department keeps telling me they are waiting on a Recall Part to come in and have not given me anything else. The car will not drive, and they advised it was a Recall Part, but the system shows all Recall has been repaired? I need my car back- I have already paid 3 months for a car payment, on a car that is still sitting in the Service Department there.
I went to get into my car and it wouldn-??t start. I called a tow truck to have it brought to my mechanic. It wouldn-??t go in reverse once it did start. My mechanic thought it was the transmission module. I had it towed to Walls Ford Deslership. They stated it was the shift stuck in my transmission. Somehow it controls the power, etc. my car only has 51,000 miles on it and was past the 6 year warranty. It cost me $2,550 to fix it. I believe with all the transmission issues on the Ford Focus vehicles, this issue should have been covered and not paid out of pocket.
The rpm of the car all of a sudden felt like it was being forced just to accelerate. When I get to certain velocity the cars rpm shuts up and then come down again. After that it started saying that the transmission was getting over heated and that I needed to stop safely.
The entire car is a a safety issue. From the breaks and door latches, to the fuel system, electrical system, to the transmission. The 2014 Ford Focus SE needs to ne recalled aand taken off the roads.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while shifted into reverse(R), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact also stated that while shifted into reverse(R), the RPM increased and the engine revved while the brake pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an AutoZone where it was placed on a diagnostic machine and produced codes: P090C, U0100-00, U3003-17, U3003-16, U0101-00, U0401-00. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.
- Owensboro, KY, USA
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The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the clutch was slipping. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated and flashing on and off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000. The VIN was not available.
Took my vehicle to a dealership for TCM work they could not see anything wrong with it even though I had the check engine light on for it and read the code and it said it was the TCM. took it to the dealership again they said they replaced it but my vehicle is still having the same exact issue intermittently as always. I have been stranded once as it failed JUST after they said they -??fixed my car. I didn-??t even make it home at least the dealership towed my vehicle again saw nothing wrong with it then said there was a wire that was cut. (That was not there before at this point they were doing things and just wanted money) in the long run they said they fixed everything but my car is still having the stalling of tcm modual part failing and going to neutral. I-??ve had almost MULTIPLE car accidents with the TCM going out at stop and go lights, and stop signs. ford NEEDS to fix this issue in all vehicles before someone gets hurt or worse.
While driving down the road I went to accelerate and the vehicle revved up but didn't accelerate at all so I parked my vehicle and when I tried to move it again I had to back up yet I had no reverse all of a sudden. I limped it to my dealership and they told me that my clutch went out but it's an automatic so I didn't understand that, I had to get a new transmission and ever since it hasn't shifted smoothly and not even 50000 miles later I'm having the same problems only it's not under warranty and I can't afford a new transmission or a new car. I know that's my problem but what if I had been turning into traffic and it slipped? I would be at fault for an accident that wasn't my fault, it was a crappy transmission that failed and could have cost me my life, my son's life, or whoever I would have collided with's life. I just want to make sure no one else has the same false hope of merging into traffic and instead causes an accident.
The contact's son owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,317.
Transmission service failure comes on car runs like it is going 90 miles when it's just going at 25 and the car only has 30,000 miles. The system doesn't bring any codes of what's wrong with it and it keeps on doing it. It goes away and it comes back on and acts the same way all over again
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, after coming to a stop, the vehicle started jerking and sputtering. The contact stated that she thought the vehicle was going to lose motive power however, the vehicle remained running. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired under an unknown recall 2 years ago for the fuel injection or fuel tank. The contact stated that recently while driving, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle was sputtering. The contact stated that she had to depress the accelerator pedal for the vehicle to remain running. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Zone to be diagnosed. The DTC reading stated power train system and reprogram transmission control module. The Auto Zone employee advised her to contact a Ford dealer. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Over the years, the contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer for multiple repairs; however, the failure persisted. The contact was informed that the transmission control module was the cause of the failure. The dealer then informed her that parts were on back order and that due to a limited amount of parts available, the transmission control module might never become available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a case number. The manufacturer offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started to decelerate independently. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving to his residence while experiencing the failure. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the clutch to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle downshifted and inadvertently accelerated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted by phone and notified of the failure. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic with a control module failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
The components and systems that failed are my engine and gas tank, they both are available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk, approximately two minutes before my vehicle slowed down enough to stop my brakes wouldn't work. Yes I have called the dealership and the problems that the representative listed explaining a recall; is what I have been experiencing with my vehicle. Yes, 6/15/2022 the day after my engine failed my car was diagnosed by All 4 U Auto and he confirmed that the engine had blown and along with the gasoline tank both needed replacements. No, there were no warning lamps nor messages prompting alerts of my vehicle. There were several symptoms of the problem prior to the failure that occurred before and after the Ford recall; 18S32. I completed the recall fuel tank deformation 1/3/2019. I am still experiencing issues with my gas tank, which are listed on the official Ford website. I can only pump approximately 80 miles worth of gas or 1/4 full worth of gas. If I pump anymore the vehicle will stall and require for me to restart it multiple times 2 - 10, the more I "over pump" the more I will have to restart and longer it will stall. During pumping even 1/4 worth of gas my entire vehicle will shake and make a loud sound, and with re cranking causing engine malfunction. The website mentions; "Owners are advised to maintain at least a half tank of fuel until their vehicle is serviced for this issue." although I can only pump 1/4 full worth of gas at a time. Another issue is I cannot leave the vehicle idle over 5 minutes, even when in traffic if I do not keep driving up 6 inches every five minutes it will turn off. This problem has negatively affected my battery, on a few occasions leaving the vehicle idle has caused my battery to need to be recharged and replaced. Lastly the vehicle does exactly what the recall mentions; "inaccurate fuel gauge readings". While pumping gas the mileage on the dashboard sometimes does not increase.
There is multiple complaints with same make model and year involving shudder transmission. When you stop start or try to accelerate the transmission will stall and jerk at times even causing the vehicle to jerk violently this is a huge concern however after contacting ford themselves they refuse to repair.
Had a transmission fault a week after I bought it in 2019. Dealership did a quick fix and the transmission has been shorty since. Sputters in first gear and just today the rpm-??s shot up while on the highway and the check engine light came on. The dealership will not cover this. I feel like they should as it was a known issue from the start.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Monroe, NC, USA