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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2015 Ford Focus & its "Powershift" transmission has a defect trend where the car shudders when accelerating, especially when starting uphill.

Most owners have reported their Ford Focus remains driveable while the vehicle is still at low mileage, but the shuddering is annoying & unpleasant & may reduce the resale value of the vehicle.

However, owners of higher-mileage vehicles from earlier 3rd generation Focus model years report transmission failure & a host of other major & expensive transmission-related problems. Potential buyers beware.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,454 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.

2015 Ford Focus miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2015 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #106

Dec 042023

Focus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Stalling, jerking when stopped

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #105

Aug 192023

Focus

  • miles
In August 2023 Focus would not accelerate smoothly while in traffic. Check engine light turned on. Vehicle would not go into reverse. Diagnostic scan negative with personal scanner. Took to transmission shop. Actuators replaced per diagnostic check $880. TCM ok. Slipping on acceleration continued with RPM to between 5-6 on acceleration. Took vehicle back to shop and actuators resynched with TCM. I received Ford Recall for defective TCM module dated September 2023. Ford evaluated by local Ford repair shop. Diagnostics performed. Recommendation was to replace clutch assembly $4100. Was charged $200 for diagnostics. Ford diagnostic report states: Description-U0073 Control module communication bus A off Failure type-88 Bus off Status-28 (Not current DTC) *Fault previously detected, not currently present* My concern with this info is if the fault was detected there is still fault! Am concerned that the faulty TCM and actuators caused issues with the clutch assembly and do not feel safe operating my 8 year old Ford due to skipping while accelerating in traffic. Vehicle one owner with 70,000 miles. No accidents and am young senior driver-age 66. I can forward repair shop documentation. Thank you for your review and look forward to your recommendation.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

problem #104

Sep 162023

Focus

  • miles
Car will go into reverse but won-??t move. Car will not go over 2500 RPM and won-??t go over 11 MPH

- Sierra Vista, AZ, USA

problem #103

Aug 092023

Focus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission had randomly started to jerk and then stopped accelerating. Left me stranded on the side of the road on a 5 hour trip and when I turned it off and back on it would move very little and I could hear grinding noise from the gears. I had to get a tow truck which cost me 1.5 k to tow back to my house

- Newberry, SC, USA

problem #102

Aug 292023

Focus

  • miles
I bought my car off of a friend who bought it pre-owned certified from a local ford dealer. The car had 59,000 miles on it and had the transmission already replaced by ford (the second transmission on the vehicle under 60,000). After having the vehicle a year I was driving home and the clutch in the transmission got stuck and the car would jolt me forward and when I would come to a complete stop it would skip me forward and jolt me, I also experienced the car not being able to move uphill. My situation was very dangerous and happened all of a sudden with no warning signs of a check engine light or symptoms of the car before. If I didn-??t stop so far away from the other vehicles at stop lights I could have been very easily pushed into another vehicle, as well as other vehicles possibly hitting me when my car could not shift into gear. I was extremely disappointed due to the fact my car was at 80,000 miles and the transmission in the vehicle had already been replaced once before, this is also not a cheap fix and costed me close to $2,800. The transmission shop that fixed my issue told me this is the most common issue with the 2015 Ford Focus and that he-??s repaired multiple with the same issue at moderate/low mileage.

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #101

Aug 202023

Focus

  • miles
This car was previously recalled for issues with the clutch. After -??repairing-?? the clutch the issue has returned. Dealer refuses to pay for repairs as the repair warranty has -??expired-??

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #100

Sep 152015

Focus

  • 200,337 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I-??ve been having issues with my automatic clutch transmission since I-??ve bought this vehicle. There has been numerous repairs done but the company tells me they aren-??t responsive on covering another. It causes the car to jerk when accelerating aggressively and has almost caused a wreck. It has been confirmed by the dealership. No warning signs with this. First started to appear a few months after buying the vehicle and then upon repair the issue would return I few months after the fact and the dealership would not help.

- Opp, AL, USA

problem #99

Jun 252023

Focus

  • miles
Service engine soon light came on, repair shop said I needed a tune up and could still drive ok. Broke down. Got that done and still engine light on so transmission fluid changed too. Now repair shop says it-??s the transmission and clutch assembly that the dealer recalled and fixed a few years ago. I-??m stuck with payments still and no way to get the $5000 the dealer days it will cost to fix this. Car value is the same. Everyone I-??ve talked to has said this is a bad year-??s model and will continue to break down even after fixing. Can you offer any advice? Thank you!

- Lady Lake , FL, USA

problem #98

Apr 262023

Focus

  • miles
2015 Ford Focus, 67,000 miles would jerk, shudder & shut off completely, it would not accelerate or reverse half of the time. Stops in the middle of no wear.. the engine light would come on for a few days then go off and come up again.. the music stopped working& the RPM-??s would go pass the 6,7 or 8 at only 10-15 miles & jerk while goin forward.. a safety problem would pop up -?? transmission overheating stop safety -?? my air would blow hot some days and it would smell like something burning.. confirmed by dealership it-??s the clutch.. no warnings for these problems besides jerking / not accelerating at a reasonable speed and safety problem stating to -?? stop safely transmission overheating -?? &a burning smell & 2 safety recalls for the clutch & TCM with extended warranty. Warranty would not cover for the clutch problem they stated.

- Jennings, LA, USA

problem #97

May 052023

Focus

  • miles
My driver rear door does not shut. The latch is not broke but it will not latch on the metal part it is suppose to.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #96

Mar 172023

Focus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car I believe is transmission problem I just paid Ford to fix my car for $784 do to the care just completely stopped while driving and it shut down while driving and wouldn't restart. I have the receipt showing what the problem was suppose to be. Now 3 weeks later while driving the car I noticed it loses speed while driving and sound as if it want to cut off. I have a code popping up as PO3A7. I don't understand when my car was diagnosis this didn't pick up I'm thinking ford have know of the different problems with the engine or transmission and its began to be at the expense of the customers.

- Riverdale, GA, USA

problem #95

Jan 302023

Focus

  • miles
I found the ac compressor clutch hub plate in my driveway detached from my vehicle somehow...

- Mukilteo , WA, USA

problem #94

Oct 292022

Focus

  • miles
After getting gas my 2015 ford focus takes several times to start after getting gas & lugs/spitters when taking off. It has also dies at red lights & stop signs, & even while driving a few times, it starts back up but won't go & the more you push gas, the faster it dies. Then, out of the blue, it'll just start running fine again. This happens often & it's very scary & dangerous & costly as well. It also has a problem with something killing the battery even when the car is parked through the night. This may be 2 separate issues, but both are concerning & have stranded me numerous times for hours at a time. And the stalling issue has almost gotten my mother, my baby, and myself killed several times by stalling in traffic.

- Haworth, OK, USA

problem #93

Dec 122022

Focus 4-cyl

  • miles
Smells like gas especially after adding fuel and when idling with either defrost or heat on. Causes head ache, shortness of breath, blurred vision, light headed, and fainting while operating vehicle. I was lucky I fainted while stopped at a red light so the driver in the vehicle next to me assumed i had over dosed called 911 but when he came to see if i had a pulse and to turn my vehicle off he noticed the oder as he was opening the door and i came to so he told 911 operator i was not over dosing.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #92

Mar 152022

Focus

  • miles
Ive had this vehicle for almost 3 yrs and I've taken it to the Ford Dealership numerous of times. They have failed to repair ANYTHING that's associated with this particular model. I have been without transportation for a year now. I've had several break-downs that "I" had to come out of my pocket to repair. I really and desperately need help or some kind of reimbursement.

- Shreveport, LA, USA

problem #91

Oct 312022

Focus

  • 130,053 miles
Overheating. Car stalling. Jerking of the vehicle while in motion. Pauses in between acceleration.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #90

Apr 132022

Focus

  • miles
Ford Focus 2015 the does not shift to the next gear and I got stuck in the middle of traffic and had to push it to a safe spot in neutral. This car was Part of a Ford Recall buyback program. It has been at Car Max in Norwood Mass for months I was towed 4 times close calls with kids in the car. These cars are still being sold by CarMax mine can-€™t be fixed I am paying for a death trap

- Norwood, MA, USA

problem #89

Apr 102022

Focus

  • miles
My 2015 Ford Focus power shift didn-€™t work correctly which caused the transmission to not work correctly and it stopped working and the fuel tank deform and the coolant reservoir doesn-€™t work good all the time and causes the car to over heat. Many times my safety was at risk with myself alone and with my children because the car would not go sometimes and could cause an accident. I was helped a few times my police officers when I was in the side of the road because the car kept having transmission problems. I took the car to the Ford dealership and they confirmed the problems and about the fuel tank deformation recall. Many time the check engine light would come up on the dash board. The dealership told me the car had to many problems and they could not do anything about it. Which are common problems on 2010-2016 focus models. My car has been at the ford shop for 4 months and they haven-€™t fixed it yet.

- Garden Grove, CA, USA

problem #88

Aug 102022

Focus

  • miles
Car will not go in reverse and shakes vigorously when shifting gears. We think it is an issue with the transmission. I called multiple ford dealerships as focuses have known transmission issues with these exact symptoms, but they said they cannot take a look for weeks. They have a policy where they will give rental cars for these transmission issues, but they are pretending they are not sure what the issue is and will not take a look for weeks, leaving me without a car for weeks because ford sold me a defective car.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #87

Apr 282022

Focus

  • miles
Body control module is bad. Car stalls in the middle of driving and doesn-€™t start back up for days

- Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

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