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:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,933 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 Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to accelerate with the accelerator pedal depressed. There was an abnormal noise coming from the engine. The service transmission message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that his vehicle was under recall for the transmission. The contact then had the vehicle towed to mac haik Ford (10333 katy fwy, houston, tx 7702, and was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 18V845000 (power train) however, neither the year, make, or model vehicle was included in the NHTSA campaign. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Driving on a side road vehicle buckled forward. Had to stop the car. Another time I was trying to drive up a hill and the car would not accelerate, upon pushing the gas pedal, the car would shake and shudder.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact coasted to the shoulder and called a tow truck. The vehicle was towed to bozard Ford (540 outlet mall blvd, saint augustine, fl 32084), where it was determined that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 189,000.
The purge canister valve had a safety recall last year, which the dealership stated they performed and marked the recall as completed. However, the part was never replaced, and is in fact defective. When filling the car with gas, it does not want to start and stalls out multiple times. When it does start, it runs rough for about ten minutes. The dealership is refusing to fix the issue without charging me, despite the fact they never replaced the part. They also refuse to repair the transmission shudder that is a known issue because it's no longer under warranty, even though they said that Ford was covering that issue up to 100,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered without warning. The vehicle was taken to Ford of englewood Inc., located 40 van nostrand ave, englewood, NJ 07631, (201) 569-6500, where it was stated that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall nor covered under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided similar information to the contact. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the clutch was previously replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
- New York, NY, USA
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Faulty transmission causes car to shake or jerk when accelerating from a complete stop. Ford has reset computer 3 times now and the problem still continues. Vehicle also accelerated on it's own while at a complete stop. Ford will do nothing but complete a computer rest to fix the issue.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the gear shifter failed to shift into the reverse position making it impossible to reverse the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to allan vigil Ford of fayetteville, Inc located at (275 glynn St N, fayetteville, ga 30214, (770)461-1151) where the contact was informed that the clutch assembly, seal kit, release assembly, shift lever, and clutch blade cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the warranty period was exceeded and offered no additional assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 79,706.
The transmission, drive train, intensely vibrates, simmies, and doesn't want to accelerate when you try to press the gas pedal. Extremely dangerous when esp. Trying to pull out into traffic from any dead stop. Is this a consultant problem with the Ford Focus? have not had the car for a year yet, and do not plan on purchasing another ever again. Currently, 16,000 miles on it. It is a constant problem since purchased.
I had my transmission fixed for the recall in June 2018 & now it is doing the same thing clutch slipping. Took it back & they told me I was out of luck it was already fixed for the recall. If they were going to just put something in to last a year they should have told me.
Has recall for fuel pump deformation. And also transmission fault service soon light. Shifts weirdly and when coming to a stop the transmission shutters and brakes abruptly.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at 50 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle decelerated independently while shuddering without warning. The vehicle was turned off and restarted however the failure persisted. The service transmission and check engine warning lights were then illuminated. The vehicle was taken to greene Ford company located at 2365 browns bridge rd, gainesville, ga 30504, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.
My car has a hard time changing gears, when stopped is will be delayed on moving forward.. I was trying to pull out on a busy street and my car was very slowly to accelerate and move forward and then it had a different sound coming from the transmission area and it sputtered and then kind of skipped a little forward, this is dangerous because it can cause other people to possibly be hit by oncoming traffic if they're trying to pull out..
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon shifting gears from first to second, the vehicle shuddered without warning. The contact took the vehicle to white's Ford 1780 N main St, orrville, oh 44667 where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective clutch. The contact stated that the manufacturer previously agreed to repair similar vehicles however, the contact was informed that the vehicle was not qualified for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not subjected to a recall. The contact was referred to NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 73,000.
My car looses power the RPM gauge will go to the red and drop back down while the vehicle is in drive in motion like its in neutral then the car begins to slow down and when the RPM gauge drops it drives normal. I was on a highway.
For the last couple years, my transmission in my 2016 Ford Focus has stalled upon nearly all attempts to accelerate from a stop. On January, 17 2020 I returned to my car from the library in irvine, ca to discover that upon turning the ignition, the car did not start. I tried a couple more times and my windshield wipers went on one time and stopped, the lights on my dashboard lit up, the media screen lit up and the interior car lights came on. I called aaa, my insurance carrier, despite it not appearing to be a battery issue. The representative stayed on the phone with me after I explained the issue and tried to schedule roadside assistance. I tried the ignition one more time and the car started. A notification on the dash screen appeared reading "transmission service required" and remained on the screen for a second before disappearing. Usually if a dash notification appears, the small icon light will remain lit while I operate the vehicle, this icon light did not remain on. My insurance representative explained that an issue with a transmission would need a tow and it may be unsafe to operate my vehicle on the road. I sat in my car for a minute and noticed my average mpg had changed from 33.3 to 0.0. I drove the car home as I needed to leave the location to tend to other parts of my day. I arrived safely to my destination. The following day, the exact same situation occurred when I attempted to start my car and leave for the day. Turning the ignition several times did not work, the windshield wipers came on once, the transmission notice appeared and disappeared and the average mpg was at 0.0 again. This time, the car notified my that I had 0 miles until empty, despite the gas tank containing well over a quarter fill. The gas notification disappeared and the miles to empty section changed back to 175 miles until empty. I have not driven my vehicle since this occurred
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. While driving at low speeds the accelerate pedal was depressed however the vehicle hesitated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to automax Ford (3301 E central Texas expy, killeen, tx 76543 (254) 699-2629) where it was diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted who referred contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 67,000.
My 2016 Ford Focus SE gives me great concern when driving as the transmission consistently skips/jerks while accelerating. There were 2 separate instances where I have driven on the freeway and my car has skipped gears, causing change of speeds and nearly had 2 accidents on the freeway. My most recent one was right before I decided to file a complaint. I have been to the Ford service center right before my warranty closed and requested they fix, however was told there is nothing wrong and it operates properly.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Houston, TX, USA