I was starting to accelerate up a hill and the engine lost all power and was revving at a high rate as though it were in neutral. I had no idea what was happening. It was scary. After shifting a few times it eventually recovered in a weird, sluggish way. I took it to the dealer (torrington Ford, Lincoln and Mercury in torrington, ct) and they "reprogrammed the PCM and tcm to the latest calibration" and claimed it road tested ok. However, the car still shuddered excessively at times when shifting, especially at low speeds. I brought it in again two months later and the dealer report said "the shudder is present but not bad enough to perform any further repair, currently below 250 RPM difference and no repairs are needed at this time." A few months ago I had the salesperson drive it and he acknowledged the shudder was way more than what it should be with this transmission. He said he would speak with the service department but I never heard back from him until today when he sent me a "hi, how's your car doing" email that was a standard blast email to all his customers. I reminded him of the problem I am continuing to have with the Ford Focus and told him I don't like driving it. I haven't heard back from him yet. Actually the car scares me. Sometimes, like yesterday, the shudder lasts a full 3 seconds. Something is very wrong with this vehicle. Ford keeps saying it is supposed to shift differently than other cars but nobody would buy one if they experienced this kind of shuddering during test a drive. I first noticed the problem at around 7,500 miles, maybe a little sooner but I probably thought it was my imagination or that I was actually feeling a rough road surface.

- Litchfield, CT, USA

Clutch shuddering - vibrating at 13,648 miles - took in for repair - car was never quite right after that - now again at 29,000 miles its shuddering and vibrating again - Ford telling me the parts may arrive sometime between 8 to 12 weeks for the repair.

- Orchard Park, NY, USA

I'm not sure of the exact date of the incident, but I started the car and shifted it into D (drive), and the vehicle revved, jerked, and the "check engine" light came on. I drove the car home carefully, pulled it in the garage, and went to adjust it by putting the car in R (reverse), and the transmission would not engage. I did call Ford up, and the problem was "fixed" but since I have had this car the transmission has always jerked some, and I have heard some rattling in the transmission/power train often. I do not consider these good signs as to the reliability of the 2013 Ford Focus.

- Chandler, IN, USA

Purchased a Ford Focus in 2013 and have had consistent issues since purchase. Am currently on the waitlist (parts are back-ordered and not expected for 3-4 months) for the second clutch replacement. Car shudders when accelerating. Feels unsafe to drive as I can't predict when it will happen. This is a known transmission issue that Ford has acknowledged, however, the clutch replacements can not be the fix since I have already done that. They have also reprogrammed my "brain" so that wasn't the fix either. Now, for the next 3-4 months I have to continue driving an unsafe vehicle waiting for parts. This vehicle should be recalled before thousands of Ford Focus drivers get T-boned by a tractor trailer as their car shudders it's way across an intersection. The NHTSA needs to step in, as Ford isn't aggressively fixing this issue.

- Durham, NC, USA

My vehicle downshifted from approx 60 mph- 20mph immediately and unexpectedly in rush hour traffics. I temporarily lost control of the car and if I had not been able to get it back under control and almost ran off the side of the road rt. 7 traveling North towards winchester and almost was hit by a tractor trailer in the right lane it lurched. I decided to turn off N aback road to see if this was just a, fluke and it seemed to do its and off, but not as roughly, revving up and down and shifting up and down, then wa fine until I turned onto rt.81 North towards inwood, wv. The vehicle continued to have was seems to be continuous revving and shifting problems, I drive it home and had my best friend follow me slowly to the parsons Ford dealership to be looked at. There is a transmission/computer programming issue that Ford is aware of. I had this issue in the first 1000 miles that occurred once in front of my house on bac creek valley drive, upon parking the vehicle, turning it off and restarting the problem disappeared. I commented on it during the 30,000 mile maintenance and chalks it up to a glitch during the normal break-in period of the vehicle. The last incident almost resulted in a potentially fatal condition, here I almost caused an accident with an 18-wheeler and other vehicles. I do not want my wife to drive this vehicle and feel it is unsafe and should be immediately recalled before anyone gets killed as a result. Based on a research Ford has upgraded the transmissions in the 2015 line of the Ford Focus line, and should replace the vehicles.

- Hedgesville, WV, USA

Transmission clutch makes vibration noise, slips, rolls backwards when on hill when you first start, clutch and associated parts have been fixed or replaced at different times, was told at last inspection by dealer there is nothing they could do with it and would have to live with it due to Ford motor specifications. Car has refused to move at different times when you start up from a complete stop.

- Iuka, MS, USA

Car shuttered, grinded and rpms went up and down, and have temporary loss of power. Took into Ford and replaced transmission. After breaking in the transmission, it has started to shutter and grind again once the car warms up. Car had grinded ever since we purchased it and was told by Ford many times that it was normal, but found out later it was not normal.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

This vehicle has been into Ford service for a continuous oil leak from the transmission 4 times, 8/5/13, 8/25/14, 1/13/15, and 4/15/15. The transmission oil is leaking onto the clutches causing violent shuttering when the vehicle is shifting.

- Howell, MI, USA

Car would not start, would not go into gear. Clutch has been replaced twice. Car shuttering on acceleration in low gears and hesitates when changing gears and sometimes lurches.

- Plant City, FL, USA

While driving 40 mph behind a pickup truck, I came over the top of a hill and down to bottom where road is flat and was able to pass the truck. I slowed down to 30 mph when attempting to make the pass (I had my foot off gas and brake both). I could start the pass without pushing on gas at this time. I was beside the truck when I started pushing on gas to speed up then instead of up shifting, the rpms went up and acted like I was in neutral. I kept letting off gas and slowly pushing on gas. The truck ended up stopping in the road behind me. I almost had to stop with foot off gas till the transmission caught and I was fine the rest of the way home. This was not the first time it happened but this was the first time that it affected another driver and could have caused an accident. Luckily for me, the driver stopped and gave me the room to slow way down. Reading in the book from car says when foot of gas it shuts gas flow of for fuel economy. Saving money on gas is not worth getting in an accident. It looks like the torque converter clutch did not unlock to allow fuel to flow. I have only got 28,643 miles on this Ford Focus and I am not happy with this problem.

- Frazeysburg, OH, USA

At 10K miles I took my car into dealer to have service and ask about continued issues with shuttering and jerking of transmission. I was given a piece of paper from Ford stating this was a known issue with the transmissions. The dealer told me there was nothing they could do. This was not disclosed to me when I purchased the car and was told it was an issue with "break in period" and would go away; it did not, worsened. At 20K I went to a different Ford dealer for my service as the issue continued to get worse. At low speeds or coast into acceleration the car would jerk violently at times. A known seal leak that had damaged the clutch was found. I was told this was probably an issue from time-of-purchase since I there were signs of long continued leaking and clutch wear. At 30K I went to a different Ford service and asked to go to have my transmission looked at again as I felt unsafe. The car will need a 2nd new clutch replacement. However... the parts are on backorder from Ford and won't be available for 12 weeks!! that's 3 months waiting to repair a new car under warranty!!! I absolutely hate to drive the car because I never know when it is going to bolt forward or slip and not accelerate when the need is urgent. I have spoken to many many other Focus owners who have similar nightmares, out of pocket costs for rentals during service and lost days' work for service repair. I skimped and saved to pay cash for this car and it is heartbreaking to be told I have no recourse. Please please please... have someone look into this safety issue and lemon of model transmission. Thank you! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Chandler, AZ, USA

Transmission shudders & make a grinding sounds & sometimes jumps forward.

- Canton, GA, USA

Upon entering the highway and merging into the passing lane to pass a semi truck, car lost all transmission gears and entered "transmission fault mode" resembling a neutral transmission selection. The car immediately decelerated towards a closely following semi truck in the fast lane. This has occurred to me, a few months prior, at an intersection (from a stop) in which I had to place the transmission in park-then back to drive, which seemed to calibrate the computer in selecting a gear (quite harshly I might add) and allowed me to travel in transmission fault mode until I reached home. In this instance on the highway, I attempted placing the transmission in neutral then back to drive, which once again appeared to allow my transmission to roughly select a gear at a decelerating highway speed and slowly remove my car out of the passing lane out of the way of fast-moving traffic. Upon leaving the highway, I was stopped at a stop sign and learned that I had lost all gears once again. After rolling some many feet, it engaged into gear and slammed through multiple gears until I arrived at the car dealership, at which I had purchased the car. I later found that the car had lost reverse capabilities as well. The dealership subsequently (4/3/15) replaced the transmission control module (tcm) on the car for the second time and updated the software. After receiving the car, the same situation occurred on the highway on 4/6/15. Now I am awaiting the dealership's course of action. Am told warranty will only cover the clutch and tcm. Transmission has been defective since I purchased the vehicle. Have spoke to Ford customer service representatives and have been told that the two extended warranties are all they are willing to provide for transmission related issues. I fear driving this car, as I have now been placed in three separate incidents which put myself in immediate danger.

- South Charleston, WV, USA

I was in heavy stop and go traffic. Every time I would start to go the car would shudder, buck and stumble. It actually stalled in traffic. I continued to stumble, shudder and buck shifting gears until I got to free flowing traffic. I had been to dealer several times prior to reprogram the transmission but it never fixed the problem. The car got so bad in October 2014 that Ford authorized the dealer to replace the dual clutch unit to the transmission. That temporarily cured the problem. The car has since started to shift rough, shudder and stumble in slow traffic. The dealer is documenting the dual clutch unit is failing again. Ford refuses to replace the new dual clutch unit at this writing. The car currently has 20,800 miles on the odometer 4/2015.

- Monrovia, CA, USA

When turning car sometimes hesitates when gas is pushed, could cause accident when there is oncoming traffic. Automatic transmission (or dry clutch) also grinds loudly often, and car jerks and shudders when shifting. Been to dealer twice for repair, transmission replaced once. Still messed up and dangerous.

- Lakewood, WA, USA

After having the transmission checked for leaks yesterday at rizza Ford, they told me a new clutch assembly was ordered but the vehicle was safe to drive until then. On 355 this morning, the transmission slipped and I was unable to drive the vehicle. I can't get the car in reverse and can only drive forward at a low rate of speed. There are issues with this make/model's transmission nationwide.

- Orland Park, IL, USA

I own a 2013 Ford Focus. I haven't had the car a week and I already feel a grinding/shuddering in the transmission. It also has a hard time shifting at low speeds. I've taken the car to the shop and Ford employees keep telling me its normal and nothing is wrong. Ford needs to recall this car!

- Jacksonville , IL, USA

Bought on 2/23/15 and reported problem with car hesitating/shuttering at start of moving and at stopping. Set up appointment. Was told they could find nothing wrong and suggest to me I was under warranty not to worry. A week later it is now shifting hard from 1st to 2nd. I found a letter from Ford to prev. Owner about this exact problem I'm now describing. Recall this vehicle B4 someone dies.

- Pricedale, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving at various speeds, the engine stalled and the check transmission warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000. Updated 6/11/15 updated 9/28/2017

- Iron Belt, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle jerked and the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the input shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V495000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was 39,000.

- Dunn, NC, USA