I have noticed that my car shifts awkwardly and makes a grinding noise when shifting into second and sometimes third gear. Sometimes the car will bog down and then get a surge of power and level off. Sometimes I will start going and between first and second gear it will bog and cause me to jerk forward. Some days it won't do it but most of the time it does.

- Dallas, GA, USA

Since the Focus was first drove there has been a shutter, a noise coming from what we thin is the transmission. We bought this car in NY and took it to the dealership twice and told us that the car needed to be drive and should stop this at a 1000 mi. Moved to ar took it to the dealership they said it was under recall? that the car needed to be reprogrammed concerning drivetrain. Took it back 2 other times was told the car hadn't been driven enough for the program to take effect. Now the automobile has progressively gotten worse.it now shutter, decreases in power, and consider dangerous to drive. Took car in again to dealership.also contacted Ford corporate customer service and informed of problem. Customer rep gave me a number for my case and stated my issues will be assessed.

- Fort Smith, AR, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly shook and shuddered when in first or second gear. The vehicle was taken the dealer, who diagnosed that the clutch shaft seals needed to be replaced and the clutch needed to be reset. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,900.......updated 01/12/15 updated 4/26/2016 updated 9/11/17

- Riverview, FL, USA

Car transmission will hard shift, or shudder at speeds around 15 to 25 mph. This can cause a delay in shifting and is an issue in traffic and/or merging onto freeway. The car began to start a delay in shifting at higher speeds around 24,000 miles.

- Riverside, CA, USA

I have owned this car for a very short time and have had numerous interactions where the shifting (and grinding) would cause the car to make a halting/shudder after accelerating. At this time it felt as if I were going to get hit by another car due to how abrupt the whole thing was. I have contacted Ford a lot. They don't seem to concerned about the safety issues I have proposed which is why I am here. I live in Alaska but purchased the car from astro Ford in Mississippi. I am military and now have to drive this thing back home. Thanks for listening to my complaint.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

When vehicle is stopped and at idle such as at a red light, the engine shakes and when the accelerator pedal is depressed the car hesitates and does not want to move and feels like the vehicle will stall. Once speed is up to about 10-15mph acceleration is fine with no vibration or shakes. This issue can be very serious when trying to pull out into traffic. Took to the dealership and was told nothing was wrong. Something is wrong and is unsafe.

- Warren, MI, USA

As many other owners have mentioned, my Ford Focus has this problem with accelerating after being stopped at a light or stop sign. I do the best I can to play with the gas pedal, trying to find a sweet spot so the car behaves but it's pretty impossible. The car is great on the highway but for stop and go driving it is awful. I'm not sure I can keep the car with such a persistent problem that seems to affect all Focus models, but I will talk to the dealership repair people this week and let them know I have filed this complaint and that I expect them to take care of the problem.

- Westport, CT, USA

First the car was running fine when I bought it new in 2013. Then around 10,000 miles the car started to jerk shudder and slip out of gear.. the car jerks at stop and go speeds and when baking slowly out our driveway. The car also makes a grinding noise when making turns at low speeds. Lastly when riding the breaks at stop lights it sounds like something is grinding. Ford replaced the clutch and the problem is still their. The two dealerships said everything would be corrected when the clutch was replaced but it has not. The Ford customer service manager said that this is normal because it is a automatic manual transmission. Why would you sell a car that performs like a 30 year old piece of junk.

- Columbus, OH, USA

I was driving home from work, it was raining, as I pulled off the light, the car began sputtering and would not go over 10 mph. I merged to the shoulder and the dashboard lit up with critical engine fault, and a few others, the car stalled and I sat there for about 30 mins. I managed to get home that day and after sitting for 24 hours, it ran fine again.this morning (Dec.9th2014) raining again, I pulled into my parking lot and the car began sputtering and when I placed it in park, another critical engine fault appeared, I have read about 100 other cases describing the same situation.

- Saint Leonard, MD, USA

Was in the far left hand lane on I-15 in the mira loma, ca area going about 10-15 mph in stop and go traffic, as traffic started to clear I pressed the accelerator to increase speed and the car would not go any faster than 20 mph. I pulled off to the left hand shoulder and had the car towed to the nearest Ford dealer. This is the second time this has happened. In addition, the car constantly "shudders" at low speeds to which Ford has advised me is a design flaw in the automatic transmission, clutch assembly and that nothing can be done about it.

- Temecula, CA, USA

Sudden stuttering power loss when making a turn nearly caused a rear and head-on collision. Lack of acceleration for several seconds left vehicle immobile. Constant shuddering under different loads of acceleration with no passengers, multiple passengers, on different road grades and conditions occurs. Loss of confidence in vehicle to maneuver safely.

- Ventura, CA, USA

Grinding/rattling noise and heavy shuddering/shaking/lurching occurs at low speeds. Not normal sounds. I drove manual vehicles for over 15 years and never experienced this occurrence, with the exception of first learning how to drive a manual. It is currently in the shop for a recall (that this site doesn't note, for some reason, but Ford does find). I have never once (2 months time) gotten over 31 mpg either. This was purchased as a commuter vehicle, and for it to rarely get 30 mpg is sad, considering my driving an 8 year old, 175K mile corolla meant getting upwards of 34 mpg consistently. Have made 2 payments on the car and wishing I had never bought it.

- Kyle, TX, USA

Bought the car on 11/06/13, noticed hesitation when I accelerated from a stop. Brought the car in 12/04/13 to have the bucking checked. There was a transmission leak found and fixed, and had the clutch replaced. Second time I brought it in on 07/28/14 with the bucking again, this time they said there was nothing wrong with it, but the bucking stopped after I got it back. Third time in was 10/08/14. I was getting on the highway when the car accelerated on its own, engine light came on, and when I put the car in reverse to park it, the car accelerated, then it wouldn't move when I pressed on the gas to back it up, had to get out and push it back on its parking spot. Had the car towed the following morning, tow truck driver started the car and drove it up on the ramp with no problem. We contacted Ford Motor Company and was told there was nothing they could do. When we picked up the car the mechanics said they found nothing wrong with the car and that they thought there was something wrong with the computer but there was nothing they found wrong that needed fixing. A few days later the volume in the car kept going up and down on its own. Then the 80mph warning program was turned off by itself. The car is still bucking and the brakes now seem to feel slippery.

- Waltham , MA, USA

However it does take 1000 miles for it to learn how you drive, well we have had the car for almost 2 yrs now and it is still learning, there are thousands of complaints about this vehicle, from the beginning of purchasing this car we have had nothing but trouble with it, we have had passenger side seat belt buckle issues causing air bag problems, ignition switch problems, we have noticed that since we bought the car the transmission has had shifting issues along with shuddering and hesitation problems, we received a letter from Ford stating that there was a tsb to bring the car in to have the computer re-programmed to address the issue, we took it into the dealership and were told if we still have the problem to contact them and let them know, we were driving the car one day and was stopped at an intersection fixing to cross 2 lanes of traffic it was clear we went to pull out the car hesitated couldn't find the right gear to go into and suddenly surged into traffic, I then contacted the dealership immediately and the service advisor started asking if I have ever driven a manual transmission before, mind you this is supposedly an automatic "manual" as they call it and is controlled by computer and that it will act as a manual transmission, the advisor from was very condescending stating if I knew how to drive a manual transmission that I would understand, and that I can bring the car in for service that he could "care less" whether or not I brought it back in or not that he got paid every time I brought it in, I have spoken to the dealer principal about this and stated about it being very poor customer service, I then proceeded to contact Ford Motor Company the following Monday, no help was provided here, this car is not safe......major issues with the transmission.

- Clinton, TN, USA

My car currently has 31K miles on it. I have been to the dealership 7 times in the 2 years since I purchased it with the same or similar complaints. At low speeds it shakes/shudders/rattles/hesitates when shifting gears. I understand it's a manual transmission but I don't believe for a second that the manufacturers intended for the car to behave this way. It hesitates when accelerating from a stop to a point where it feels as though it will stall. I no longer make lefts before oncoming traffic for fear that it will stall completely. I have had the clutch replaced and the car has been "reprogrammed" countless times, always with the same result: After a few days, the problems return and it only gets worse as the car gets older. I am truly starting to hate this car and regret ever even giving Ford a chance. I will never buy a Ford again.

- North Attleboro, MA, USA

The car started experiencing very rough shifting problems after the it reached operating temperature. The car has been to the dealer twice and it still experiencing shifting issues, hesitation, surging, shuddering, vibrating. The only time the transmission is smooth is when the car is at a constant speed and is not shifting gears. I purchased this car so that I could hand it down to my daughter. I'm not going to be able to do that with these issues. It is not safe for an inexperienced driver to operate.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

After owning my 2013 Focus SE hatch for 20 months I finally bit the bullet, paid off my lease early, turned it in and walked away. The car is now only worth $10,500 (50% of original value) so that tells you all you need to know what the reputation of this car is doing to its value. What a shame because it truely is a great car - except for its terrible transmission. Took it in 3 times over the last 20 months to 2 different Ford dealerships and each time its deemed "normal" or the transmission is "reprogrammed with the latest update" but the shuttering, noise, hesitation, etc continues. The last straw was once again at in intersection while turning left the car hesitated and I was almost T-boned again (second time in 6 months). Complaining to Ford got me "customer satisfaction program 14M01: An extension of the warranty to 7 years. Are you kidding me! so the only way I know how to vote is with my wallet and so after over 20 years of Ford I bought a 2015 Honda Accord LX. The cvt transmission in the Accord is so smooth it's almost like driving an electric car. I'll take my Honda made in O-H-I-O over the Ford made in Mexico any day! good luck and god bless to all the other Ford Focus owners out there. I hope this never gets to the point of a fatality but unfortunately I'm not optimistic.

- Aurora, OH, USA

There is an obvious transmission problem with the vehicle. When going from 1st to 2nd gear from a stop it shudders and nearly stalls. This is a constant every day issue. I bought the car new, I have brought it to the dealership twice and was told that because there is no official recall Ford is not allowing the dealerships to fix the problem even thought there are aware of the problem across the board with the 2013 model of the Focus and the fiesta. I was basically told that with an official recall the car would have to stall out on the road or be the cause of an accident in order for the issue to be fixed.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

Transmission went into neutral, pulled over restarted, car drove in lower gear, then went into neutral again while driving on road. Pulled over once again. Restarted, then transmission shifted erratically. Again went into neutral, then into lower gear able to limp car into nearest dealer. This is happening to many cars to be isolated. Ford needs to own the bad design.

- Derry, NH, USA

The transmission shudders during accelerating and has continued to do so fir the past 18 months. The issue has progressively gotten worse.

- Pooler, GA, USA