10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 14 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 8 / 1
- Average Mileage:
- 38,602 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
On Friday 2/14/2014 @ 1100, I was driving on interstate 5 South, when my car, without lifting foot from the gas pedal, suddenly lost power going from 65mph to 30 mph, in a matter of seconds. A low swoosh sound from motor occurred at same time. I had to exit the freeway at sea world drive exit from the far freeway lane, making for a very dangerous situation. I am very glad I was not rear-ended as I exited the freeway. After exiting the freeway and pulled to the shoulder and stopped the car..after 5 minutes the engine went back to normal and ran like nothing had occurred. I took it to the mossy Ford dealership the same day (service number R020298788). They kept it overnight. They could not replicate incident and told me they had no idea what had happened. They told me to wait until it happens again, and to bring it in again. This is an unacceptable response from Ford dealership. On 2/25/2014, I took it into tune crafters to see if they could find out what was going on with my new car. They could not replicate the issue, but did note in writing the throttle is not as responsive on take-off acceleration, and there is a brief hesitation in the transmission shift and throttle. I am filing a formal complaint with Ford Motor Company today. I do not feel safe driving my new car anymore. Thank you, nellie downie
- San Diego, CA, USA
Automated manual transmission clutches are slipping causing moderate to severe (intermittent) hesitation. Dealer says that the way its supposed to be when I took it in first week we had it. Went to independent mechanic for second oil change and fluid is leaking in rear main seal, dealer didn't even check. Replaced clutch assembly at 21000 miles, hesitation from start, 8000 more miles, dealer says nothing wrong, take to independent mechanic and again leaking from rear main seal. Just got car back with new seal, didn't replace clutch. Contacted attorney to lemon law the car in Georgia and they have sent notification to Ford.
- Powder Springs, GA, USA
Automated manual transmission clutches are slipping causing moderate to severe (intermittent) hesitation. Dealer says that the way its supposed to be when I took it in. Went to independent mechanic and fluid is leaking in rear main seal, dealer didn't even check. Replaced clutch assembly at 12000 miles, hesitation from start, 8000 more miles, dealer says nothing wrong, take to independent mechanic and again leaking from rear main seal. Currently waiting for loaner to get fixed again. Contacted attorney to lemon law the car in Georgia and they have sent notification to Ford.
- Powder Springs, GA, USA
I bought a brand new 2013 Ford Focus in January 2013 after having previously owned a 2011 Ford Focus that was having transmission issues. The dealership had told me that the 2013 Focus models had a redone transmission that was more expensive and didn't have the "issues" that plagued the 2011 Ford Focus. Turns out it is the same transmission, except with a computer update which does not fix the issue. Within the first few weeks, my car was 'shuddering' for lack of a better description when accelerating; the RPM's go up sporadically to, revving the engine higher than it needs to go. It feels almost like it's going to die and then will catch the gear and go. I have taken my current car in for service once for another update, but my 2011 was in the shop multiple times to fix this issue, and always came back to me doing the same 'shuddering' as it did before it went in. I called Ford and they said they would talk to my dealer and they would take care of it. Well, by taking care of it, they meant that there is another 'update'. I had it updated on 8/26/13 and I picked it up only to find that the shuddering is worse. It's not safe to try and drive a car that shudders and lags when you have to cross busy streets and in normal daily traffic. I'm tired of dealing with this issue especially being that I bought a new car. And an american car at that. Ford needs to have some integrity and fix this before I do what I want to do and go buy a Honda or Nissan.
- Wichita, KS, USA
In 2/13, my husband and I purchased a '13 Ford Focus from brewster Ford in NY. Unfortunately, our car has never worked correctly. It randomly loses power. It feels like the gas pedal doesn't respond sometimes when we try to accelerate. Our car is currently in their service center for the 4th attempt to repair the problem without any intervention. 3 of the master mechanics, scotty, carlisle, and anthony, say they have driven the car multiple times without repairing anything because they claim that they cannot recreate the problem. 5/28/13 the hesitation and nonresponsive acceleration increased and we brought our car to the service center and paid for an oil change. We were given the car back and told there was no problem found. 6/14/13 we brought the car back to the dealer for the same problem. There was an update for the computer and we thought it might be fixed. 12/9/13 we came back to the service center for the same problem, but this time the car shut off while my husband was driving on the nys thruway and this time the check engine light was on when I dropped it off. Again the car was given back and we were told no problem found. They said that the check engine light was not on. It had been on for two days prior. 12/18/13 we brought our car back to the service center. After we called Ford corporate for help, the service manager, danielle got involved. The gas mileage dropped at this time from 32-27 miles/gallon combined. Our car was at brewster Ford service center for over 30 days without being contacted once. When my husband called to check on the status, he was told they were waiting on a service engineer to come out. After speaking to angela, the regional manager from Ford, we were told that the service center is unable to recreate the problem and we should again take our unsafe car. 1/23/14 today the regional manager agreed to approve a second opinion.
- Yorktown Heights, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact was driving 55 mph when the vehicle decelerated without the brake pedal being depressed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection but no issues were found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure was 15,000. Updated 04/04/14 updated 04/11/2014
- San Diego, CA, USA
I was driving on the highway at midnight 2/8/2014 at about 75mph when my car started to become stiff in the steering and lost speed rapidly. I down shifted from 5th gear to 4th gear the car would not accelerate even with my foot pressed all the way down on the accelerator, I shifted down to 3rd because of the sudden loss of speed and still nothing the cars rpms would go higher but the speed would not change. This nearly caused me to have an accident so I exited the highway and shut the vehicle off. Once the vehicle was shut off and turned back on the problem went away, I contacted Ford brought it in to their service center and they could not replicate this problem and suggested I continue to drive the vehicle until it happens again.
- Chatsworth, CA, USA
Purchased this vehicle on March 30th, 2013 and have had constant transmission problems ever since. The transmission grinds, lurches, rolls backwards on hills, on some occasions refuses to shift gears, squeaks and rattles. I have taken my vehicle into davies Ford in charleroi, pa (which is documented) for service and they have tried to reprogram the shift points. This has lessened the symptoms of the vehicle but they are still persistent at different levels of severity. Some days there aren't any signs of trouble and other days the vehicle grinds and lurches. I have been told that these are characteristics of the dct transmission. The problems have consistently occurred between the purchase date of March 2013 to the current date of 02/07/14.
- Donora, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while she drove at 70 mph, the place transmission in park warning light illuminated then the vehicle stalled. The failure was experienced several times. The contact stated that she was able to coast to the shoulder to restart the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times but the failure could not be replicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000 and the current mileage was 10,000.
- Royal Oak , MI, USA
My car like the rest of the complaints does not shift right. It jerks and shudders and makes a loud noise when it shifts. I took it to my Ford dealership and they will not fix it because it does not meet Ford guidelines to fix. They say it is in normal operating standards but I dont think a brand new car should be shuddering when shifts. Now it has an alert pop up saying hill start assist not available and it wont go off.
- Wathena, KS, USA
When going up hills the car's transmission refuses to shift instantly and makes loud grinding noise. It would eventually shifts but the split seconds of not shifting causes me anxiety and implies a safety issue. I brought this problem to the attention of Ford of kirkland's service department the first time in April and was told that the car was still "learning" my driving habits because it is still breaking in. The second time I brought my car in was in 12/2013, I was told that what I am experiencing is a known issue to the manufacturer and Ford is trying to come up with a software fix. No one knows when the fix will be available while drivers like me are suffering. In filing this complaint, I hope that with a help from a your Agency Ford will pay more attention to its customers who are enduring this problem when driving their cars every day.
- Sammamish, WA, USA
Transmission started slipping, then complete loss of forward motion while in traffic lanes. Dealer says that this is common and there is a two week waiting list for repair.
- Gardena, CA, USA
The transmission does not shift right. It hesitates, jerks and surging. At lower gears or speed under 40, the car is difficult to control. It shift to higher gear when the speed is not high enough for the gear. This causes poor acceleration and dangerous when merging into highway from ramp.
- Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
This car constantly grinds and shutters between the first few gears every day for the last 8 months of ownership. I bought this vehicle on Feb 2013 and it only drove good for 2 months and the remaining time I've had it, has been on the shop over 4 times for the same exact transmission problems. Symptoms; the transmission gears shifts incorrectly and makes louds grinding and shuttering noises. Sometimes the the transmission has power and sometimes it doesn't. not to mention I almost got myself into 2 car accidents because of this vehicle, during stop and go traffic the gears get stuck and I almost rear ended the vehicle in front of me. Please file a complaint to Ford and NHTSA to have these dct transmissions fixed or recalled.
- Lantana, FL, USA
As with over 100 other complaints, the transmission is very unstable. Hesitation and almost dying at a stop or in slow bumper to bumper traffic is a safety hazard. Attempting to merge on highways and attain higher speeds from a stop or slow (10-20 mph). Grinding noise from front end at low speeds.. the hesitation in acceleration and jerking at slow speeds, is a safety hazard and as previously stated almost caused numerous accidents. I had it reprogrammed at one dealer, with no results, and just two days ago, on 1-2-2014, another dealer replaced parts on the transmission and called me and said my car was ready. After leaving the dealer, the car started making a rattling noise every time I would accelerate at just about any speed. Took it back today, 1-3-2014, and had transmission tech ride with me. As soon as we pulled out from dealer onto highway, started making rattling noise and shuttering still happening.. now dealer has an actuator motor ordered. Who knows if this is a fix or another patch.
- Guin, AL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle jerked violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 12,552. Updated 02/11/2014 the consumer believed there may be a problem with the transmission and the tie rod. Updated 02/20/14
- Hawthorne, FL, USA
I've driven over 5,000 miles on this new Focus. The first 5K were ok but lately the transmission has become extremely erratic in its behavior. It shudders violently and frequently after shifting in to 2nd gear and then hesitates to accelerate. The transmission also has started making a clanking sound like two pie tins being hit upon each other. I took it to the dealer.. they confirmed it, reprogrammed the transmission electronics and sent me on my way. That did nothing to help it. I took it back a couple of days later after almost getting rear-ended when I pulled into moving traffic and it shuddered and hesitated unexpectedly. The dealer kept it for 2 days and then gave it back saying they could not reproduce the problem. They only drove it 1 mile which is not exactly an exhaustive or good faith effort to reproduce the problem! so, I'm now headed for trip 3 to another Ford service center to see if they can do something about it. The regional customer service rep actually told me that these transmissions should be expected to shudder, grind and hesitate as part of their normal operation. That's insane.. who would buy or want a car that did that!!! had it operated that way when I test drove it.. it would have stayed on the lot to be sure.
- Conyers, GA, USA
This is similar to the car that I am driving (another Ford Focus electric). My daughter was driving the car to school at the intersection of roseville parkway and douglas boulevard, in roseville, ca to day at about 7:15 am for no apparent reason, the car stopped. She was waiting for the light to turn green. My daughter freaked out and called me. I asked her to shut the car off, open one of the doors, wait for one minute and try to start the car again. After the second attempt the car started. Lucky for her, the other cars switched in the other lanes and she was able to move the car. Again. This is happening too often and feel this is a safety hazard. Same thing has happened in same model and make car that I drive.
- Granite Bay, CA, USA
As with over 100 other complaints, the transmission is a complete failure. Hesitation and almost dying at a stop or in slow bumper to bumper traffic is a safety hazard. Attempting to merge on highways and attain higher speeds from a stop or slow (10-20 mph) has almost caused me to wreck several times to due hesitation in acceleration. Grinding noise from front end at low speeds. Rolls back on a hill (automation transmission) almost caused fender benders. The hesitation in acceleration and jerking at slow speeds, is a safety hazard and as previously stated almost caused numerous accidents. I have had the fse inspect the car twice, a software "upgrade" that did no good, and everyone from Ford says it is operating as "normal characteristics". nothing is normal and someone is going to be seriously injured or die if these problems are not fixed. Dozens of complaints and nothing done.
- Soddy Daisy, TN, USA
- Etta, MS, USA