TRANSMISSION PARTS FOR FOCUS & FIESTA ARE ON BACK ORDER TIL Feb 2015. hopefully!

Nov 19, 2014: I was forced to pick up my Unrepaired Focus from the dealer, as the parts from FORD are on back order. They diagnosed and confirmed my problem exists, and need to replace the tranny again, my 3rd attempt, so I am on 3a, because parts are on back order. They can't even finish repair #3! I told them to KEEP the car, they said NO, we are not a storage facility, and they have many others waiting for parts, as the Fiesta's too, so I Must wait too and Forced me to pick up the dangerous car, Unrepaired. I now must drive it with the chatter chatter, grinding noises.

FORD SENDS ME 2010 FORM LETTER - DOES NOT QUALIFY The parts are on b/o, til 2015, but Ford said I do Not qualify for a BUY-BACK!

I called Ford Customer Relationship Center, they are liars too, I waited 2 months just to get a response back, the response back is you are an idiot, and this IS normal? You the consumer are wrong! Deal with it! We need to teach you how this tranny is supposed to work. Seriously? I asked Ford to Buy-back the car, because it does not pass MY standards for safety for me and my family, it is that bad. I waited 2 more months, I got no calls or emails back, then I got a Fed Ex’d Form Letter, "DO NOT QUALIFY LETTER - rev 05/07/2010". it had NO DATE at the top, just my vin and a statement saying No and that I am wrong. YES, a form letter with my vin in it, dated 2010, and no date at the top, how many people have received this Form letter? Thousands! WE DON'T STAND A CHANCE, so I filed a lemon law law-suit. Actions speak louder than words, and Ford is telling us we are wrong in a form letter from 2010! Actual Form letter: Date: this letter is not dated Subj: My VIN To: Consumer Ford Motor Company appreciates your recent contact to the CRC. We have reviewed your concern and find it does not meet the eligibility requirements under California Lemon law. At this time, your file has been closed at Ford and no further action will be taken. If you have concerns or questions please contact (800) 392-3673. Form letter rev: 05/07/2010 Dec 11, 2014: Trust? My Trust with Ford is gone. The salesman at the dealership Lied to me saying he would fix it, then pleads the 5th and says its FORD’s problems please call them. Their service dept says, “this is Normal”. Ford Executives state this noise from the tranny is normal. I found myself Yelling at him to Stop saying that is normal. If this is Ford’s Normal, I now know they are Liars! And I can’t buy another Ford, plane and simply, you can #$% me once, but you can’t #$% me twice. My brain is now questioning what is normal and what is safe, am I wrong? Did I make a safe choice for my family? Ford thinks we are stupid! When I listen to the next ford salesman next time, I Know this, HE IS LYING!

I brought this to the attention of the service department at the dealership soon after I bought the car, within a couple of weeks. I told them it shuddered at slow speed, such as if you are inching forward in heavy traffic, or sometimes when you were stopped at a red light then slowly started up again. They told me this was normal for this new type of powershift 6 speed transmission. They told me that to get the 40mpg, they designed this engine that runs like a manual transmission but is automatic. I left thinking this was normal. Since I drive to work 25 miles away, I frequently hit heavy stop and go traffic and this is still annoying and sometimes it seems like it's even gotten worse. Last week, I again went to the dealership service department and they gave me a printout on the powershift 6-speed transmission's operating characteristics. They pointed to the section "Green" clutch brake in period. It mentions the shuddering, but I am well beyond the break in period at 7000 miles. I am taking it in next Saturday for an oil change and the service manager said he would also check the transmission for me. I will update this if the problem is fixed.

Update from Dec 10, 2014: I did take it to the service department at the dealership. They checked it out and said that the shuddering was worse than it should have been with this powershift 6 speed transmission. They did a computer update and it is much better now. The service manager told me that it would never completely go away and there will always be a little shuddering at very slow speeds but it is now not bothersome at all and I only feel a slight shudder sometimes when I am basically stopped in traffic and accelerate very slowly. I am liking the car much better now since the computer update.

Update from Jul 27, 2015: Tomorrow again I am taking it to the Ford dealership where I bought it. It worked OK for awhile, but gradually got worse, and again it's really shuddering again upon starting from stop or inching forward in heavy traffic. I stopped in to the dealership a week ago and told him this problem was intermittent but was happening again and I was again handed the standard handout which describes this as "normal" for this type of standard/manual 6 speed power shift type transmission. I left hoping it would get better but again it didn't so I'm taking it back tomorrow. My fear is that they do a computer update again, it works OK for awhile, then eventually when it is off the warranty I will be paying for them to do this every 3 months. I will update after tomorrows service.

Update from Oct 25, 2015: A month ago, I took my car in again for the transmission shuddering (again). The car has been doing it since shortly after I purchased it in May of 2014 and I've had it in several times to try to fix the problem but nothing did. Until this time. The Ford dealership tested it and agreed it was bad and said they were going to install a new TCM and clutch assembly. I've been driving it for a month now and it's almost too good to be true because it actually drives like a normal car. It has 20K miles on it now and for the first time I can drive at very slow speeds (such as in heavy traffic) without it bouncing around when I apply the gas. The shuttering of the transmission was horrible but this seems to have done the trick.

The said problem was brought to the dealership for the second time around. First visit, I was told that it just need to be re-programed and that's it. In about 2 months or so, the shuddering came back when I stepped on the gas from full stop and it was much worst than ever. On September of 2014, I brought my car to the dealership for the 2nd time and was told that the car needs a new AUTOMATIC CLUTCH ASSEMBLY. Really?..with just less than 6000 miles on it?.. Anyway, the problem still persist until now but somewhat unnoticeable at times.

What effect does it have? My gas mileage!.. My averaged fuel consumption (city/highway) combined back then before the problem began was at 26 miles/gal. Now it's 20 miles per gal. highway and city. Merging in the interstate highway proves to be tough because the much needed acceleration was not there when you needed it the most at the very instant. You've got to reach 3500 rpm.

Car has the same problems as everyone else is reporting. The transmission shudders and loses power momentarily between 1st and 2nd gears from a stop. I also had a 2013 Ford Focus rental car that had the same problem along with the grinding issue some are reporting. It was really bad on that vehicle and I am afraid the problem will only get worse on my car. Haven't taken it to the dealer yet but am expecting the same runaround everyone else is getting. I just sold a 2013 Ford Flex because the car had numerous unresolved quality issues. This Focus is my last Ford vehicle. Sad that Ford has known about this problem for at least 2 model years and won't acknowledge it or do anything about it. Hopefully they will learn from the Chevy ignition situation before it is too late!