10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,245 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Ford Focus:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #276

Sep 072023

Focus

  • miles
The car slips going from 1st to 2nd gear when at a complete stop. It is the automatic transmission, and acts as if the car will stall. I just purchased it from an individual, who had stated that is how it has been. I feel this is not normal, and after reading reviews, there has been may issues with this transmission. A lot of reviews have shown people getting the problem fixed, only to experience the same issue 20,000 miles later. It does feel dangerous as I'm completely stopped and start to move and the car wants to jerk, and slip into gear really slow. My model is the 2017 Ford Focus SE with the automatic 6 speed transmission. It is a regular occurrence, and I regret not doing a better job at reviewing this prior. I had a 2009 Ford Focus I had just sold with 219,000 miles on it without any motor or transmission issues. This car has 106,000 miles on it and way it sounds been doing this for a while. Just wondering what to expect, I don't have a check engine light on as of yet.

- Norton Shores, MI, USA

problem #275

Sep 072023

Focus

  • miles
In may of 2022, while driving at highway speed (approximately 65 MPH) my engine stopped working overheated and I almost crashed attempting to get off the highway. The vehicle mileage was just over 40,000 miles. The reason was vehicle oil pump stopped working due to pieces of debris from engine rubber drive chain clogged engine oil filter. This has occurred over and over on the 1.6 liter eco boost engine. Engine was replaced under warranty and I was given a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on replaced engine. During the time of the warranty I on numerous occasions dealt with overheating issues as coolant level was constantly low. On one occasion engine stopped working and steam bellowed out almost again causing a crash at highway speed. Engine was diagnosed in 7/2023 by local Ford dealership of engine block grooves allowing coolant to leak into cylinders which led to catastrophic engine failure. My vehicle now has just over 50,000 miles and Ford states that since I am over my 60 month power train warranty they will do nothing to cover costs on a 3rd engine replace. That is 2 separate instances where engine completely failed and stopped while driving at highway speeds and at least 2 times where engine overheating nearly caused the vehicle to become overheated to the point of causing a fire.

- Bakersfield , CA, USA

problem #274

Aug 152023

Focus

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a?2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle jerked while shifting from first to second gear with the RPM at 3000. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and?advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately?53,000.

- Bell Gardens, CA, USA

problem #273

Aug 142023

Focus

  • 75,460 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle would not immediately start. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was a loud revving sound while attempting to accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that while driving the message "Transmission Overheated - Pull Over" was displayed, and the vehicle rolled backwards while on an incline. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 75,460.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #272

Aug 172023

Focus

  • miles
Vehicle stutters while accelerating, constant issue. Recently will not go in reverse problem code showing Clutch B stuck engaged. Trans overheating and rev while accelerating. Told needs new TCM computer. Owned a 2013 Ford Fiesta and this is the same issue, but told it is out of warranty and not covered.

- Buffalo Grove, IL, USA

problem #271

Jun 122023

Focus

  • miles
Changing gears, jerking into gears, jumping into neutral, transmission hot warning light turns

- Odessa, TX, USA

problem #270

Jan 222023

Focus

  • 81,058 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power, with the transmission slipping. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality; however, the failure recurred and became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched and related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 81,058.

- Bristow, VA, USA

problem #269

Jul 112023

Focus

  • miles
Driving and car no longer would accelerate, this could have been very dangerous had I been traveling on a fast paced road/highway and even more concerning with my child in the car. oil pressure light and check engine light came on simultaneously when this issue happened. Car was immediately turned off in hopes of not damaging the engine. There was no warning of any type of issue with the car. Has been running fine for almost 6 years, until this. 2017 Ford Focus Ecoboost SE Approx 59,000 miles.

- Roanoke , VA, USA

problem #268

Mar 012023

Focus

  • 90,123 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 - 40 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle accelerated sluggishly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission control module (TCM) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, while leaving the dealer, the failure recurred. The dealer informed the contact that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train), however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,123.

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #267

May 042023

Focus

  • miles
On MANY multiple occasions the vehicle has undergone a transmission/clutch failure. The worst of which was when passing a vehicle on a busy section of interstate and the car effectively put itself in neutral, unable to accelerate, at which point the vehicle behind us had to swerve to not collide with us or cause an accident. After the third time bringing it back to the dealership for repairs, I looked into it. We have only been able to drive this car LITERALLY HALF of the time we-??ve owned it, and poured thousands in repairs for obvious and negligent manufacturing defects that YOU KNOW ABOUT. This is a well known issue, and FAR FAR beyond the reasonable requirements for a recall. I am stuck with this vehicle and am mounting debt because I cannot afford another car. The NHTSA has outright failed in its duties to protect people from Fords clear fraud and negligence. I-??m unsure if it-??s political pressure to not oust them, or because you-??re corrupt. Either way, I-??ve decided to mount a campaign to bring light to this issue, and your complete lack of response. Ford is at fault for fraud and endangerment. YOU are at fault for willfully ignoring an issue that has, ON THOUSANDS OF WELL DOCUMENTED OCCASIONS, caused real financial and/or physical harm. Which is literally the exact opposite of your institution-??s purpose. I will not be including the paperwork or screenshots of our (currently) 10+ shop visits and bills, because you already have thousands (if not literal millions) of examples. You make me a sick as Ford. Shame on you.

- Oakland City, IN, USA

problem #266

Jun 192023

Focus

  • miles
Engine rpm-??s race wildly when auto trans shifts from 1 to 2 and 3 to 4. Vehicle suddenly will no longer go in Reverse. Dealer says there are no applicable programs affecting my vehicle despite same problems reported on 2012 - 2016 models. Independent transmission shops refuse to attempt repairs on all models of Focus due to widespread knowledge of defective transmission design. I see no reason why my vehicle is excluded! I am told 4-5 month wait to be seen for dealer service.

- Walled Lake , MI, USA

problem #265

May 212023

Focus

  • 108,718 miles
I purchased my car 3 years ago from a dealer. I maintain maintenance on my vehicle faithfully. I was coming from work I had stopped at the stop sign, when I went to accelerate to make a left turn. My car started to decelerate as if I was in the wrong gear. I tried to drive and it would drive to maybe 10/15 mph and sound as if I-??m in the wrong gear. The car is automatic so I was completely lost. I-??m thankful I was able to make it home. The transmission failure service light came on. The car stopped going in reverse. My mechanic says the transmission alone is about 4500. I-??m still making payments on this car to help my credit. I know someone who has the exact same car with the same problem. The transmission. I called different ford places. They were no help. Then getting on here just made me feel worst because ALOT of people are apparently having the same problem with same kind of car. Please help.

- Waverly , VA, USA

problem #264

May 182023

Focus

  • miles
I-??ve only had the vehicle 1 yr 2 months. Purchased from CMA Honda and the vehicle powered completely off. The battery was replaced and the transmission control module, they are now saying it-??s internal. The entire transmission has to be taken apart and they are now saying it will be $5000 or more. Nope trading it.

- Petersburg, VA, USA

problem #263

May 122023

Focus

  • miles
This regards my 2017 Ford Focus. The car is 6 years old, I am still making payments on it, has a little over 50,000 miles on it, has been maintained by Ford every year since I bought it, and the transmission and extended warranty had just expired about 2 months ago. A few weeks ago, I'm driving down the freeway around 1pm Pacific, traveling about 60mph when the engine seemed to 'seize up', the engine light came ON, the car jerked several times creating a severely dangerous driving hazard as I tried to keep it under control. It slowly began losing speed, so I made my way off the freeway and made my way to the Ford dealer who had been maintaining the car. It felt like the car was going to stall any minute so I'm lucky I got to the dealer. It took them a few days to get back to me, and they then told me the entire engine and 'boost system' needed to be replaced at a cost of approx. $7,000 (probably just to get another defective engine). They tried to work with Ford to get some financial assistance since this is obviously a defective car, but Ford refused.The dealer suggested I call Ford, so I did, and spoke with a rep and a supervisor on May 22, told them their car was defective and my life had been put in danger, and they both told me they wouldn't help in any way. As I write this, the dealer has ordered parts and am awaiting repairs. I will have been without a car for 3 weeks, paying for Lyft and borrowing cars to get to work. I understand there's a class action lawsuit (Barnes et al vs Ford, US District Court of Delaware Case 1:22-cv-00823). Ford should buy my car back.

- La Habra Heights, CA, USA

problem #262

Apr 242020

Focus

  • 127,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light, the light turned green and the contact depressed the accelerator however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle revved but failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle started moving forward at a slow speed and was shuddering. The contact stated that she returned to her residence and turned off and restarted the vehicle, however the failure persisted. The contact stated that she also experienced a failure in attempting to shift the vehicle into reverse(R). The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and she had the clutch replaced two more times by the dealer. The contact stated that the dealer had replaced the Transmission Control Module due to the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

- Vineland, NJ, USA

problem #261

May 162023

Focus

  • miles
Transmission does not shift properly. Vehicle shakes and shudders while accelerating. Noticeable loss of power and acceleration while shaking and shuddering happens.

- Not Hispanic Or Latino, VA, USA

problem #260

Mar 022023

Focus

  • miles
I recently got this car, seen there was a recall so I took it to get fixed at the dealership. Ever since it got fixed, my car has lost power and the transmission won't shift correctly making me unable to drive.

- Independence, MO, USA

problem #259

Jan 012020

Focus

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking while shifting gear before losing motive power. The vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light illuminated with the "transmission overheating" and "transmission fault" messages displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced but the failure recently reoccurred. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

- Maywood, IL, USA

problem #258

Dec 272022

Focus

  • miles
Fors continues to have the same transmission issues they had in the 2011-2016 ford focus dual clutch transmission. 2017 & 2018 should-??ve been recalled. I have approximately 15,000 miles on my 2017 and the car was working fine and one day it suddenly lost some forward gears and reverse leaving the car in limp mode in the middle of the an intersection after starting to drive forward on the road. The lights changed and traffic is moving across leaving me in an unsafe situation and the other drivers having cars traveling 55 nearly rear ending them. There is no warning of this failure they suddenly happen and can cause issues where you-??re stuck at a light or cannot get through an intersection. I tried to bring my car in and they told me they had 80,000 focus cars ahead of me and that they wouldn-??t be able to fix my car due to a chip shortage. 80,000 other ford focus with this same issue is clear to me they-??ve never resolved the matter and continued allowing these unsafe cars to be on the road. If this happens on a busy freeway, intersection, or anywhere on the road its a serious issue. There needs to be a full recall on the transmissions control module, the two clutch actuators, and the shift forks. Because of the design the TCM first fails causing the actuators to rotate and sheer of the pin from the castings, causing the shift forks to come loose. The only way to fix it because of all the diat created when this happens is to replace the dual clutch, TCM, both external actuators and shift fork A and shift fork B. Of course they sold two more years of the same model they-??ve previously recalled and were part in a class action settlement that requires they replace these unsafe components. I cannot be the only person to report this safety issue. It nearly caused me to get hit on the road and I-??m lucky to be alive. The next person may not be so lucky. Ive only got 15,000 miles on this car it shouldn-??t have any issues like this. Recall these now.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #257

Sep 152022

Focus

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to reverse while the transmission was shifted into reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the control module needed to be replaced; however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

- Glendale, NY, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »