10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 30 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 15 / 2
- Average Mileage:
- 59,197 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Grinding sound when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear and surging.
- San Rafael, CA, USA
My car shutters and shakes when I'm accelerating. Going from a dead stop is the worst. I've taken my car in and there is no resolution as of today. Ford knows of all of these issues and knew of them before my car was manufactured. My extended warranty runs out next month and will be on the hook for any future damages to my car.
- Taylor, MI, USA
Almost killed my self when lurched into intersection because clutch acted up, something it has done since night used. I trusted Ford, had no idea of transmission problems. Tranny has been done twice at Ford, no luck still bad. Mad as hell.
- Springfield, OR, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the 'transmission overheating' message displayed and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to Ford of ocala (2816 nw pine ave, ocala, fl) and the transmission control module was replaced. The failure was remedied, but eventually recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 80,000.
- Fort Mccoy, FL, USA
This car had multiple transmission issues and taken to Ford for expensive repairs that never sold the issues. The transmission would often hesitate when trying to accelerate. Other times it would leach forward while stoped. It was plagued with issues and after spending thousands at Ford with no resolution we sold the car so not to have to deal with it anymore.
- Gainesville, GA, USA
Have been under a recall regarding the transmition on my 2012 Ford Focus for 7 years. Have been very patient dealing with the dealership. They've told me that the parts on back order, did a computer fix multiple times and told me to drive the car as is... stopped answering my calls etc... called Ford customer service multiple times and been told to go back to the dealership... called Ford customer service again today only to be told they will not stand behind their contracted dealer... I've been in multiple times too have it fixed and its been worse after each time. It's stuttering while driving, bunny hopping while accelerating, making grinding noises, it's almost impossible to drive up a steep hill due to this, is almost impossible to get into a freeway and get up to speed quickly enough to keep from getting hit. I've been rear ended due to the stutter... its not safe. Now after contacting Ford and the dealership for the hundredth time I'm told there's nothing they will do to fix this problem.
- Kalamazoo, MI, USA
I own a 2012 Ford Focus SE that continues to display issues with the transmission. This includes delayed acceleration, jerking, and bucking. While I was driving on the freeway a couple of years ago the transmission control module failed resulting in the vehicle unable to shift properly. This endangered both my life and the lives of the other passengers in the vehicle. My Ford Focus has been in for service multiple times at different locations to include the dealership purchased from. The vehicle has been serviced both under the original warranty and the extended warranty and still displays issues with the transmission. I am having a hard time understanding why there is an extended warranty if even after I continue to explain what is happening with the vehicle the dealerships are not able to solve the problem. My concern is my safety and what Ford Motor Company plans to do. You ask for a date as to when this happened but it has been ongoing since I purchased the car in 2012. I look forward to hearing something other than the same lines I have heard for the past 7 years regarding my vehicle.
- Dearborn, MI, USA
The 2012 Ford Focus has had transmission problems for years. We have taken the vehicle to the dealership numerous times only to have issues return in 6 to 10 months. There is no fix for this issue. This vehicle rolls backwards when stopped, shudders and shakes during acceleration, inability to move forward on an incline, and vibration during acceleration. When taking it in for repair I was told the warranty extended and there would be no worries about having the car fixed in the future. Unbeknownst to me this was the case until we reached 100,000 miles. We have felt trapped in this car due to the fact that it has limited value as a trade in or as scrap. Recently, the car would start but would not shift into gear. While on the road it would drop out of gear and the shift would be frozen. I would have to coast to the side of the road and through a series of turning the car off and on it would eventually work. Over the course of short trips (5 to 10 miles) we had this happen on several occasions over the course of our drive. The car was taken to a local car repair shop and they referred us to a Ford dealership. At this point we decided to invest no more into this automobile. It now sits in my driveway and cannot be driven on the road.
- East Greenwich, RI, USA
Thr powertrain went bad again. This would make it thr 3rd time and Ford will not replace it because the vehicle has over 100000 miles.
- Lexington Park, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and would not restart. Also, the check engine indicator illuminated along with the gear that was selected. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The contact's father linked the vehicle up to his diagnostic machine, which indicated that the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. The contact called chenoweth Ford (1564 E pike St, clarksburg, wv 26301) and was informed that there was no recall for the failure; therefore, the contact would have to pay for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 71,100.
- Phillipee, WV, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle vibrated and failed to gain speed. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred intermittently and the vehicle had to be turned off and restarted in order to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to long-lewis Ford Lincoln (2551 john hawkins pkwy, birmingham, al 35244, (205) 989-3673) where it was diagnosed that the clutch and seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.
- Birmingham, AL, USA
My car is vibrating and will not accelerate at times. I have been told by Ford that there is a faulty clutch and seal that needs to be replaced. It was a part they were aware was a problem and they extended the warranty to 7 years but we are past that time now so they will not cover the repair. The car will lose forward power at any given time.
- Birmingham, AL, USA
2012 Ford Focus. Consumer writes in regards to issues with transmission. The consumer requested information on recalls for the vehicle.
- Bridgeport, WV, USA
There have been several recalls for my car regarding the fuel system and gas tank, my car exhibited all the same symptoms, I took it to a Ford dealership that refused to do the work unless I pai'd $2,000 for an expired previous recall for a different issue that was unrelated. They claimed without doing that work if they did this work the car wouldn't work at all. I complained to Ford who told me dealerships don't have to honor recalls and to keep trying other dealerships. I asked what to do if none would do the work and they said pay out of pocket. Worse yet, the first dealership cleared the recall as not being needed, so now I have a damaged car that I can't get the recall work on that I can't afford to do myself. I'm going to just have to sell the car.
- Fairfield, CT, USA
Takata recall started car and dash light indicated the following message, "transmission malfunction. Service now" also got power steering assist error message earlier in the month.
- Columbia, NJ, USA
The vehicle has been in the dealer 5 times for transmission related issues. They have reprogrammed the PCM, tcm 3 times. Replaced the tcm once, rebuilt the transmission. The car still shows signs of shuddering and vibration due to the transmission seals leaking on the clutches. The last time the car was in, the transmission didn't "lose enough RPM's" to warrant repair, although the dealer and mechanic stated the car should not drive that way. Now the extended warranty has expired for the customer care 14M01 and Ford will not do anything about it and wants me to pay $1600 for the repair. The car has low power, when pulling out onto the roadway it hesitates and sometimes is very slow to move. This can create quite a hazard when pulling out into traffic
- Clifton Park, NY, USA
Loss of drive while in motion. I had to coast to the side of the road in busy traffic. Likely worn clutch on automatic transmission.
- The Woodlands, TX, USA
The car radio goes off the windows don't go down and the transmission went on the car out off no where when I maintain my car every 3 months and as needed
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
The power steering for a while worked intermittently, but 1 month ago that stopped working completely.
- Gurabo, PR, USA
- Kansas City, MO, USA