CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 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:
7 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
42,175 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.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle hesitated and shuddered abnormally. Additionally, on several occasions the vehicle would not immediately start. The vehicle also failed to reverse as needed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission clutch assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The failure mileage was 20,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission with the "Transmission Fault" message displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. Additionally, the vehicle had experienced an oil leak and was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the chain gasket was faulty and needed to be replaced. The chain gasket was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 159,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the RPM quickly became elevated; however, the vehicle temporarily lost motive power before returning to normal operation. The contact stated that he was able to drive to residence however, the vehicle had since failed to start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module and determined that the clutch was stuck. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 123,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the transmission started to shift abnormally. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02- Supplement #6 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 81,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his daughter was attempting to shift gear, the transmission failed to shift as needed. Additionally, while the contact's daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. The transmission also failed to shift into reverse(R) as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact's daughter that the transmission was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission Control Module). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
- Houtzdale, PA, USA
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Have tried repeatedly to get the CPV recall performed however all dealerships or authorized repair locations have been giving me multi month waits since it started showing the alarm code for it in Dec. 2021. Due to it being the only vehicle my family has we were out in a wait list to bring it in when they had the parts and never got called back. Now the Transaxle is not engaging 4/5/6th gear intermittently. Was informed that it would be 3K for a new transaxle even though I have not had the vehicle for that long.
New clutch failing after 20000 miles about 1.5 years after factory change. Car shutters when trying to change gear. Dealership has been able to reproduce issue but doesn't want to cover it. Transmission randomly goes into neutral when driving on highway at speed. This has caused issues with maintaining control as engine power is not going to propel car while surrounded by other vehicles on highway. Dealer has not reproduced issue. Driver side door when ambient air temperature exceed 85 or 90 degrees, door not easily opened. Occurred for dealership personnel too. In none of these instances, warning lights appeared. My safety and others is at risk if the clutches fail prematurely, transmission randomly goes into neutral while in Drive at speed around others on the highway, and if the driver door is sticking closed when temperatures get hot. Car is available for inspection.
Transmission Fault Service Now warning light keeps coming on and off. I-??ve taken it to multiple places to have it checked out and nobody can find and actual issues that would cause the transmission to fail. I got stuck in the middle of an intersection because the transmission randomly stopped. I-??ve had to have it towed.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking and hesitating. On another occasion, while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the transmission downshifted, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would no longer accelerate forward and failed to reverse. During the failure, the message "transmission fault" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the Transmission Control Module (TCM) was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was jerking uncontrollably. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 67,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact's daughter was able to maneuver the vehicle into a nearby parking lot, where the vehicle failed to shift into drive. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home and later towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined that the failure was with the transmission. The contact investigated and related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Power Train). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 126,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while at a stop light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that several minutes later the vehicle lunged forward. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic test and the contact was informed that Trouble Code: P07A5 (Friction element B stick on and Transmission fault) was retrieved. The contact was referred to the local dealer for assistance. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed in house. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact made a local dealer aware of the failure and was informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was sputtering while idling. The contact had to depress the accelerator pedal continually to prevent the vehicle from sputtering. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the automatic shifter needed to be replaced along with other unknown transmission parts. The vehicle was repaired; however, approximately 2-years later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was returned to the dealer and the contact was informed that the repair needed to be performed a second time. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.
The contact-??s daughter owns 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle shuddered. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring while driving from a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the transmission clutch assembly was replaced approximately four times; however the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch assembly 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 36,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle was jerking back and forth. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving, and occurred increasingly while driving at low speeds. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the dual transmission clutch had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer charged a repair fee. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 38 000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an unknown transmission warning light appeared on the instrument panel; the vehicle began to stall and hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the clutch assembly was replaced. A few months later, the contact stated that the vehicle failed reverse while in the reverse(R) position. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the transmission clutch assembly was replaced a second time. Once the vehicle was picked upon from the dealer, the failure persisted with the transmission warning light on the instrument panel. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.
I was driving and the car started running hot. The overheating warning came on and said to pull over safely. I was not in an area where I could stop. The light eventually went off and the temp went back to normal. There are no noticeable leaks. The car has also been shifting hard, sputtering during acceleration, and revving really high. I think there needs to be a recall issued immediately. I'm only at 56k miles.
My 2016 focus has 32,000 miles on the powershift dual clutch transmission and needs to be replaced, per the Ford dealer. The warrantee I purchased at the dealer does not cover the "dry clutch" issue. I can see online dealers have repaired or replaced this issue for free as it is a known issue now, many lawsuits and even being paid by Ford, why not mine. Not only is car shifting funny, but sometimes won't go int gear.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New Milford, NJ, USA