While driving at highway speeds, engine would rev up and not shift gears, once it did shift car lurched forward. Took to local mechanic who said transmission was burning out. Towed to local Ford dealer who confirmed. Ford stated there were no complaints about automatic transmission. Vehicle out of warranty and transmission had to be replaced for almost $3000. Ford payed $500. Car only had 27,027 miles at time of failure. The sudden lurch could cause an accident and/or the driver to lose control of vehicle. Internet search reveals multiple complaints of the same conditions of transmission failure and sudden lurching on the Focus. The re-manufactured transmission carries a higher mileage warranty than the original one which makes one wonder if Ford is aware of the problem and correcting it on the sly as failures occur and transmissions are replaced.

- Madison, WV, USA

2007 Ford Focus pzev model. Only when engine is cold, when transmission is put in reverse, it will suddenly surge and move much faster than the amount of pressure on the accelerator would cause. It began happening when I bought the car but only sporadically, it seems to happen a lot more now that the car is older. In the past I told the dealership about it on two occasions and they could find nothing wrong so I am just very careful when I am backing the car up.

- Lompoc, CA, USA

2007 Ford Focus throttle sticks! most of the time when I try to come to a stop, the engine races and I have a hard time getting it to come back down to idle. This also happens when trying to go slow. There is a problem with the throttle! this is happening all the time!

- Nunda, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when braking to a complete stop, the engine would exhibit an abnormal and excessive increase in rpms. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who ran a diagnostic test and reprogrammed the PCM to the latest collaboration. The dealer further tested the vehicle and found that the failure was corrected however when the contact retrieved the vehicle from the dealer, the failure recurred. The dealer advised that he was unable to determine why the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 26,600. Updated 04/15/11

- Muncy Valley, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 5 mph the accelerator pedal would stick and the vehicle would not respond when pressure was applied to it. The failure occurred intermittently and had occurred several times and became more frequent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the accelerator pedal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

- Port Orange, FL, USA

Vehicle automatic gear shifter was put in park and could move to reverse without pressing the release button on shifter. The key did not release from the steering column, so the vehicle was brought directly to the dealership. The automatic gear shifter was replaced at dealer. Approx 47,000 mileage on vehicle at a cost of 200 dollars. The dealer did not give me back the old part.

- Holland, MI, USA

2007 Ford Focus wagon with all the wires (about 10 of them) in the body to liftgate wiring harness cracked or broken. Found due to brake lamp fuse blowing repeatedly, causing loss of all brake lights and A/T shift lever interlock operation. It might have gone unnoticed if it wasn't for the interlock not working. Car is off warranty so Ford will not fix unless I pay for it. This is a definite safety item in my opinion. I will replace the wires myself as I am an aircraft electrician. I will use a better quality wire too. The stuff Ford uses is not meant to move and flex repeatedly. Wiring should last the life of a car.

- Arlington, TX, USA

2007 Ford Focus automatic transmission issues. Transmission shifts to neutral and downshifts to low gear at high speeds without warning, causing driver and passengers to be thrown forward.

- Mannford, OK, USA

Have 2007 Ford Focus SE with 50,000mil on it. 1st offense happened July 2009. Had to replace 100,000 mil warranty spark plugs(Ford product) @ 38,000 mil.they were burnt to crisp.replaced then 2 wks later btwn 45-50 an hr my car was shifting like a manual transmission. I was told I no longer had a warranty(Ford directly said this) went to another rep company. Told me my cylinders were going out. No engine light was coming on. Company told me to call Ford directly because maybe there was a recall. They told me there wasn't and that I did have a powertrain warranty but this was not covered, yet my owners manual says that cylinders are covered by powertrain. I paid over $200 to fix problems in Aug 2009.it is now Oct 2009 and I will have to replace everything again! I am to this date barely over 2 yrs old on the vehicle(bought Aug 2007) and just now turned over 50,000 mil. This should not be happening to this vehicle. The company I took it too said that they see this problem alot because the cylinders get too hot and burn the spark plugs because there is no cooling system for this area. This needs to be a recall.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Transmission slipping so I took in and had a trans flush and then, 6 months after that my whole transmission came out. A 2007 model should last a littler longer than that. I am stuck without a vehicle.

- Patrick Springs, VA, USA

Year of vehicle: 2007 make: Ford model: Focus SE date of purchase: July 2007 selling/: spreen Honda odometer @ purchasing: 24,900 current mileage: 49,000 problem(s) with the following: Transmission - repair attempts: SRS/airbag lamp - repair attempts: Steering shake/vibration - repair attempts: Seat belt repair/replacement - repair attempts: Air bag light is back on again in the 'on' position - multiple repair attempts: Complaint to dealer: Yes. Cld spreen Honda spoke to owner who sent me to a salesman. The next time I returned it to fritz dealership (since they did orig work), for same probs & I was told I wouldn't get a courtesy car and they had no idea how long it would take for repairs. The interior airbag light was in the 'on' position, the transmission began slipping, the front end was shaking like before. Car was returned the 2nd time for the same problems. I was told it was defective parts & had to be ordered. No courtesy car this time like the first time so I was stranded (I'm disabled and nd trans). The car is falling apart little by little with the back door handle broken completely. The seller (spreen Honda) said I would hv to get a new loan on a new vehicle instead of 'exchanging vehicles' as promised in my conversations with the owner, at spreen Honda, place of purchase. I refused this 'hustle' because this was not what I was told over the phone, but after 2nd set of repairs, the car would be replaced...not me purchase another car and give up another down payment! I didn't agree to this and walked out. This car has been under repair for weeks off/on for the same or similar problem I.e., the transmission first repair was only a few months after purchase, along with front end shaking. I was given a courtesy car while repairs we done w/out the 1st time, but not the 2nd. I was told my car had a 'defective part' & had ordered it. The car has been returned again for same probs mentioned above. Airbag light is bk on again and transmission slip.

- Grand Terrace, CA, USA

The transmission went out at approximately 5000 miles, no major incidents led up to it, however, minor sounds when it shifted, traction control would not shut off on one occasion.

- Pomeroy, OH, USA

As I was driving my car it started to stall and it wouldn't accelerate. A check engine light was on. I kept driving the car home and it was not shifting at 35 to 40 miles P/hr. I took it to a repair shop near my house and they didn't repair it at all. From there I took it to another repair shop where they recommended that I take it to the dealer. So, I took my car to bob baker Ford. Bob baker Ford told me the car needed a new transmission and they charged me $3,076.10 dollars. The car was repaired but I believe that the transmission in my 2004 Ford Focus was defective when I bought it from them and they should pay at least for the cost of the new transmission.

- Bonita, CA, USA

On an uphill section of road (slight incline) with an automatic transmission in drive while stopped for a stop sign, I released my foot from the brake and before I could step on the accelerator, the car started to roll backwards. I was able to realize what was happening and jammed down the gas pedal to avoid rolling backward into the next car in line behind me. A person crossing the street between my car and the car behind would have been crushed. I never had this happen on any other car with an automatic transmission before. The Ford dealer tells me this is normal for a 2007 Ford Focus with auto transmission. I think it is a safety hazard. This roll back problem is not addressed in the owner's manual.

- Chesterfield, MO, USA