While driving at low speeds and stop and go situations, the auto transmission has a loud grinding noise and the car bucks, shutters and feels like it will stall out. The car rolls back immediately on hills even though it is supposed to have a hill start assist system that holds the car in place for 2 to 3 seconds. While making a left turn onto a busy highway and applying the brakes, the car jerked and pulled strongly to the left and four loud grinding/popping noises came from the transmission. It sounded like applying the brakes with no pads. The car has been brought to the dealership 3 times and every time they say it is normal. I even received a letter from Ford describing the above as common characteristics of the powershift transmission. I do not feel safe driving this car.

- Fairhope, AL, USA

"stop safely now" indicator came on while driving vehicle. At a stop light approximately 5 minutes later, the vehicle lost all power in front of intersection. This is an all electric vehicle. I placed transmission in park and attempted to power cycle car with no success for approximately 2 minutes. Once I opened the driver side front door, the car was then able to power back on. The "stop safely now" warning did not reappear.

- Cardiff By The Sea, CA, USA

The same afternoon after picking up my new car I noticed jerkiness while accelerating from a stop to around 30 mph. I blew it off and thought they maybe it was bad gas that was making car run funny. It only got worse from there. So bad I was scared to even pull onto a highway cause it would act as tho it was going to stall out. Then I started noticing noises kind of a grinding noise along with the hard shifting. I took it in a dealership said it was normal and give transmission time to get " use to how I drive" the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Needless to say my new car is in shop for however long. I'm not sure I even want it back from all the other horror stories I've read. Some catching fire and such. Ford needs to recall this vehicle and put a normal transmission back into it before something serious happens to someone.

- Conway, AR, USA

This complaint applies to the Focus electric. While turning into a parking lot, going approximately 5mph, the vehicle abruptly lost power, the "stop safely now" warning light came on, and I coasted the car to a halt at the side of the lot entrance. No other warning lights illuminated. Although the vehicle was inoperable, it also could not be turned off. Usually, pressing the power button to turn the car off disconnects the high voltage battery from the rest of the electrical system and shuts the car down, but in this situation it would just cause the warning bell and "stop safely now" light to pop up again in the instrument panel. After maybe 45 minutes, right as the tow-truck driver arrived, I was suddenly able to turn the car off by pressing the button. It then functioned normally when turned back on. Luckily I was in a reasonably safe situation when the failure occurred. However, many similar complaints exist for the Focus electric (many more in public forums than here), and the failure has occurred on the highway and in traffic for some people. Clearly the issue needs to be addressed.

- Williston, VT, USA

I recently purchase this 2013 Ford Focus SE 6spd powershift with appearance package on June 8 2013. When I took it only had 7 miles. As I drove the next couple of days I heard noise coming from underneath when accelerating from stop and go traffic and this happens between 5 to 20 miles per hour as I accelerate and then it disappears. I went online and google this noise and read the threads looks like it needed to break in. When I reached around 700 miles on the odometer the noise is almost gone but still there and not as bad as before. Today June 30, 2013, it has 1183 miles on the odometer as I was making a turn from the light accelerating I got a sudden shift felt like something hit me from behind and heard a thunk when it shifted after that it went through the shifting sequence as I accelerated. This is the first time I bought a new car and have this kind of issues. I read about the power shift tsb bulletin but something is not right in this car hopefully Ford will fix this problem before warranty runs out. I believe the way its shifting something will wear out fast and Ford needs to act on this.

- Parsippany, NJ, USA

Purchased the vehicle last Saturday June 22. About 2 days after purchase the transmission started making noise shifting gears. Sounds like rocks in a aluminum coke can. It hesitates and shifts hard sometimes. Contacted dealer and was told if it should mess up I am covered by warranty. This to me is not normal and its quite scary. My car has 300 miles on it I shouldn't be having trouble like this. I read reviews from others and this seems to be a widespread issue. Also this is my first brand new car purchase and I am not very pleased.

- Rossville, GA, USA

Traveling on a road. Stopped at a stop sign. When the pedal was pressed the car showed an error of "stop safely now" and refused to move. The car had to be pushed around the corner of the intersection while vehicles tried to pass.

- Massillon, OH, USA

On Sunday June 23, 2013 at approximately 3:00 pm on or about buffaloe rd at southall rd in raleigh, nc, we were heading West bound in the right lane of buffaloe rd. Approaching a green light. Approximately, 700 ft from the limit line, the light changed to yellow and we slowed to stop. Stopping was a little more firm than the slow paced regenerative charging, a noise was from the front was heard, resembling that of a loose brake pad hitting metal and the vehicle them sounded a warning and flashed "stop safely now" visual warning as we came to a full stop at the limit line at the light. Although there was no power to the motor, the system was active and the green go car was not visible. We attempted to reset the vehicle by powering off and powering on to no avail. The light turned green and cars began to sound their horns. I immediately activated the emergency flashers and stepped out the vehicle to direct traffic around the stalled vehicle (not recommended unless properly trained). Traffic on several instances came dangerously close to collision as this situation presented a huge risk to personal safety. Had we just sat in the vehicle, we surely would have experienced a collision. Several minutes passed and we attempted to restart the vehicle from a cold start. It was only after the vehicle was completely shut down, rested and powered on that we were able to proceed. Having a vehicle just stop in traffic for no reason presents a huge risk not only to the owner but those around.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Vehicle abruptly lost drivetrain power and came to a sudden stop in the left-hand lane of a major surface street in san jose. The vehicle suddenly displayed the warning 'stop safely now". attempts to restart or reboot the car failed leaving us dangerously stranded in moderate traffic for over 20 minutes until a nearby resident helped us to push vehicle to safety. All electrical systems on the vehicle continued to function but the vehicle was immobilized. Pushing the vehicle was very difficult, as if the brakes were engaged. The Ford dealer reported that the regenerative braking system was engaged and could not be disengaged. Ford dealership reported over 30 diagnostic trouble codes appearing on the vehicle that proved to be misleading. Inexperience of service team with electrical vehicles provided low confidence that they understood and repaired the cause of this failure. Ford Motor Company instructed the dealership to replace the electric motor and control module. Ford Motor Company agreed to refund or replacement of this vehicle.

- San Jose, CA, USA

Transmission sputtering, hiccuping going through low gears. Sometimes it seems fine.

- Vienna, VA, USA

The car is a brand new 2013 Ford Focus with an automatic transmission. After approximately 450 miles, the car started making a grinding noise in the lower gears - similar to one might hear in a manual transmission if you can't find the gear. In addition, the car stutters/shudders at the start in lower gears. An internet search reveals this is a common problem in the Focus which Ford seems unwilling to adequately address. While the stuttering/shuddering issue can certainly present safety issues, I'm not sure what the transmission problem relates to.

- Auburn, AL, USA

After an accident, tried to drive the car home and the car kept stalling out while trying to give it gas. I had the car towed to the dealer, they repaired the body work and said that the switch for the gas to shut off had to be reset. Picked up from dealer and the car kept stalling out and shaking when trying to take off or accelerate the car. Took the car back to the dealer and they said it could be the clutch in the transmission. Dealer kept for a week and could not find anything wrong. Ford is aware there is a problem with the clutches in the Ford Focus. They service department stated so far he has put in 5 clutches on the 2013 Ford Focus. Dealer refuses to do anything unless Ford will do a recall.

- Rossville, GA, USA

While traveling at approximately 50 mph on a busy highway, the car suddenly lost power and the "stop safely now" warning was displayed. This vehicle is the Ford Focus electric. The car would not respond to the accelerator and was coasted to a stop on the side of the road. The highway patrol promptly showed up to lecture on how this was a unsafe place to stop. No kidding. It was explained that we had no choice. Internet research has shown that this condition has happened several times to Ford Focus electric operators. One Ford spokesman has been reported to say that like a gas car, this warning is similar to the "check engine" light and can be caused by any number of things. However, unlike a gas car, when this happens on a Focus electric it may render the car powerless and may expose the driver to a very unsafe condition.

- Spanaway, WA, USA

My performance concern started within the first week of ownership. I had reported what I perceived as a performance issue to the dealer but opted to give a new car time to "break in". 4 weeks into my owner experience, the service department held and drove the car for 5 days and had determined that a transmission component was the cause of the issue I was experiencing. I now have over 10K miles on the vehicle and have had the same experience. The service department has since told me that the rough idle in park or in gear with brake applied is the result of the "direct injection" technology used in this vehicle. The hesitation experienced during 0 to >0 acceleration (gradual or hard) is also the result of the "direct injection" technology coupled with electronic clutch technology used in place of a torque converter. This combination has yielded numerous "almost stalled" conditions during normal driving maneuvers including acceleration during the completion of a left turn crossing oncoming lanes of traffic. I raise this concern as I understand there is an investigation of F150 vehicles with "direct injection" technology as a potential cause for the loss of power. My experience with the Ford Focus has not resulted in an accident. My goal is to raise awareness to a similar condition from the same manufacturer utilizing the same technology. I also have a second vehicle ([xxx]) that is leased and has the same performance issue described above. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Brick, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would jerk and hesitate to respond. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where the contact was informed that the software for the transmission would need to be updated. The vehicle was repaired. Eight hundred miles later the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the software was again updated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the failure was characteristic of the vehicle but not a defect. The failure mileage was 100 and the current mileage was unknown.

- Milan , MI, USA

I purchased the 2013 Ford Focus brand new on 2-09-13. Car barely has 1800 miles on it. While slowing down in a school zone to 15mph, I noticed the car seemed to lose power, and feel shaky. Once past the school zone I accelerated to 20mph and car shifted roughly into gear with a bumping noise. I pulled over and stopped and turned off the engine. After restarting car initially seemed fine. Exactly one week later same thing happened again when in supermarket parking lot. This time however the orange engine service light that looks like an outline of the engine appeared on the dashboard panel. I stopped the car again. When restarting the light went out but reappeared on the 2 mile drive home from the store. Car also seemed to lose power and not accelerate when I needed it to. I called my dealership 1st thing and was told it's most likely a sensor issue and very minor but I made an appointment and took the car in. The dealership ran computer diagnostics and service mgr. Came in and told me 2 error codes showed up of transmission malfunction/ and possible failure! a brand new car!!! they started talking about replacing the transmission and the on board computer, etc.. but dealership can't repair my car at this time because a specialist they don't have on staff needs to be called in. So I have an un safe, unreliable new car sitting in my driveway. 15 calls to dealership and to Ford's customer relations number and I can't even get an appointment to get the car looked at further to determine how defective it is!!! what a lemon! no matter how this is resolved, will never do business with Ford again. They seem unconcerned with the safety issues this defect is causing and they have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with!!

- Whittier, CA, USA

Vehicle has had oil leaking into engine compartment since purchased in November 2012. At 3000 miles, rear engine seal replaced - leaks continued. Rear main engine seal replaced again at 8000 miles - engine compartment leaks continued. After two more visits to dealer and two additional trip to different dealers, third service dept. Claims that transmission is source of leak, not engine. If this is the case, then vehicle has been driven for over 11,250 miles with insufficient transmission lubricant - great cause for concern.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Ford Focus electric vehicle stops suddenly with "stop safely now". when this occurs driver (me) looses all ability to accelerate. This even occurred today and left us in danger on the highway while we nervously waited for professional assistance. Many reports of this exact issue with this make/model vehicle on the public forums. Concern of loss of power train could mean injuries or death depending on the moment a car looses it's ability to drive while mobile.

- Canton, GA, USA

Vehicle has been leaking oil since it was purchased. (2) Ford dealerships have attempted repairs multiple times to stop engine oil leak(s), all of which have been unsuccessful. Was under vehicle on 5/12/13 and noticed there is still engine oil leaking from area around engine/transmission. Defect allowing engine to run without optimal amount of oil, leaking oil creates fuel for potential fire, used engine oil is known carcinogen, which is being deposited within engine compartment and allowed access to passenger cabin.

- Toledo, OH, USA

I was stopped at a busy intersection. When the light turned green I pressed down on the accelerator and immediately a warning tone went off, and a warning light lit up on the dash saying "stop safely now." Then immediately after that a "yellow wrench" icon would intermittently illuminate. The car still had electricity to the dash, but would do nothing when the accelerator pedal was stepped on. The car was dead. I was unable to get the car out of gear, into park. I put my hazards on, but was very afraid of being rear-ended due to the intersection being so busy. I tried holding the on/off button and kept getting the same warnings. It was only by continuing to push the on/off button did I finally get the car to reset, and turn off, then on. When it finally started the warning messages were then gone. I called Ford, and took the car the dealer who found no codes recorded. This is still a very small volume production car and there are quite a few people reporting the same behavior on the Ford Focus electric bulletin boards. Some have had this occur while the car is in motion with the car becoming non-responsive and with the same "stop safely now" warnings.

- Helotes, TX, USA