10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 23 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 12 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 39,541 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
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would jerk, shudder or hesitate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and the transmission service message was displayed. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure and referred him to a dealer for assistance. The dealer was also notified of the failure and provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that the VIN was not under recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Sanford, FL, USA
The car was having problems shifting and the check engine light came on. Took car to independent mechanic and they discovered the Transmission control module needs to be replaced, but not able to get one. Told there is a 50,000 on a waiting list to get one. Went to trade car in at ford dealership towards a new ford and they will give $100 for our 2014 focus with the TCM problem.
- Clayton, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V523000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop, the vehicle would intermittently jolted forward upon depression of the accelerator pedal with the transmission warning light illuminated. The dealer was initially notified about the recall and confirmed that parts would not be available for months. The contact then took the vehicle to another dealer where and left the vehicle in their possession. The contact was then informed that the manufacturer had instructed the dealer to order the parts then closed the recall. The contact was informed to pick up the vehicle despite the recall not being serviced; the recall was removed from the VIN. The manufacturer had not been notified of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Fort Worth, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the message "Transmission Fault" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the vehicle would surge while braking or accelerating. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module (TCM) had failed and the failure was associated with Ford Customer Satisfaction Program Campaign Number: 14M02. However, the parts were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the part to repair the vehicle was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
- Calhoun City, MS, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the clutch was slipping. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated and flashing on and off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000. The VIN was not available.
- Lincoln, NE, USA
The contact's daughter owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that there was a defect inside the transmission. The contact was then informed that the part to repair the transmission was on backorder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided a case number. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Westminster, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle began to shudder. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a transmission specialist where it was diagnosed that the Transmission Control Module (TCM) had failed. The TCM was flushed. However, the failure persisted. The transmission specialist diagnosed that the module needed to be replaced. The contact referenced Ford Customer Satisfaction Program Number:14M02. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 38,232.
- Austin, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond and jerked. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch had failed and the failure was associated to an unknown recall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the recall repair could not be completed unless the transmission had completely failed. However, the failure persisted and caused the vehicle to roll backwards while driving uphill. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Hiawatha Ford (1812 Oregon St, Hiawatha, KS 66434), who informed the contact that the recall repair could not be performed as the recall had already expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
- Atchison, KS, USA
The transmission continues to fail by losing power, jerking, gears slipping and the dual clutch shakes the car in low gear. The car has been in the Ford shop in Fayetteville, Ga on numerous occasions for the transmission. More than one time the shop said there was not any problem at all. We explained the car I-??d unsafe because the transmission shutters and jerks. The car was also at Mcdonough Ford and they said the same thing - there is not any thing wrong with the car. Before the transmission issues Ford replaced the fuel tank and fuel injectors. Now, the transmission failed the car will not go into any gear.
- Hampton , GA, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine and transmission overheating warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced transmission failure; however, the contact was informed that it was okay to keep driving the vehicle. On another occasion while the contact was at a stop light, the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer also stated that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was contacted and the contact was informed that the vehicle was over the mileage for Extended Warranty Coverage. The failure mileage was 107,000.
- Rochester, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would independently downshift with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and referred to contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
- Clinton, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission shifter failed to shift to park(P). The contact stated that the vehicle started to roll away. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the transmission shifter cable located under the hood had malfunctioned. The contact stated that a friend was able to manually shift the transmission to the park, preventing the vehicle from rolling away. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who confirmed that the shift cable bushing was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number. 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 95,000. The VIN was not provided.
- Snellville, GA, USA
After the engine light had been on for about a day and before I remembered to get it looked at, an alarm indicating "transmission fault" suddenly came on when I was in the middle of an intersection and the car completely stopped moving and wouldn't accelerate. Other cars went around me, but I was stuck there until I was able to restart the engine and try again and pull over. If another driver had not been paying attention, it could have caused an accident. This occurred at a four way stop, but on a busier street it might have been worse. We were able to get it driving again after restarting, and the independent mechanic diagnosed it with multiple error codes from the transmission control module. They reset the error codes to get it out of second gear and advised us that the TCM would need to be replaced soon. When reaching out to multiple Ford dealers and customer support representatives, we were told that though the TCM issues were under extended warrenty the replacement TCM part are backordered and we were offered no guidance on when parts would arrive and were told others had been waiting for months, so we have no recourse to fix the faulty system and were offered no compensation or assistance in the meantime. It has so far been about 6 weeks since the incident and have no updates. As a family with one car, this leaves us unable to trust that our only vehicle and we have needed to rent cars at great expense for longer trips.
- St. Paul , MN, USA
August 19th 2022 car violently jerked and check engine light came on I then pulled into parking lot. Stopped car and let cool off. After starting carbi put in reverse reverse gear would not engage. I was able to pull out of parking spot going forward. The 4 miles left to my house. The car transmission would loose all power and motor would rev up. Then tires would chirp and jerk would shudder and jerk then go into gear this was at light turned green. I almost completely stalled in busy intersection transmission would not engage. Ford has a field service action for the issue. Parts are backordered and months before they will repair or a diagnos issues
- Ft Mill, SC, USA
While driving down the road I went to accelerate and the vehicle revved up but didn't accelerate at all so I parked my vehicle and when I tried to move it again I had to back up yet I had no reverse all of a sudden. I limped it to my dealership and they told me that my clutch went out but it's an automatic so I didn't understand that, I had to get a new transmission and ever since it hasn't shifted smoothly and not even 50000 miles later I'm having the same problems only it's not under warranty and I can't afford a new transmission or a new car. I know that's my problem but what if I had been turning into traffic and it slipped? I would be at fault for an accident that wasn't my fault, it was a crappy transmission that failed and could have cost me my life, my son's life, or whoever I would have collided with's life. I just want to make sure no one else has the same false hope of merging into traffic and instead causes an accident.
- Manhattan, KS, USA
The vehicle suddenly lost power while driving and was unable to be shifted out of first gear. This happened while on a main road and thankfully I was not hit when this occurred. When the vehicle was put in reverse, it goes into neutral and revs the engine instead of engaging the gear. The check engine light is on, was on for two days prior to this incident. Since this incident the car has been unusable. I called many different Ford dealerships and only one would see my car since they all "have too many cars" waiting for the same repair. When I took my car into the dealership today (via towing, as they instructed), they did not even inspect it, and simply told me to have it towed back home. I believe this to be an egregious safety hazard that, despite the extended warranty, is in no way being ACTUALLY fixed. If nowhere will take my car to repair it then am I expected to just keep driving a broken, unsafe vehicle?
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at 35-40 MPH, the suspension of the vehicle started shuddering. The contact veered to the side of the road and inspected the tires but could not determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred increasingly while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the transmission clutch was replaced. However, the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact became aware of Ford Customer Satisfaction Program Campaign Number: 14M02. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module (TCM) needed to be replaced and reprogramed, and the transmission position sensor and the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. However, the manufacturer declined to cover the transmission clutch replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
- Hartselle, AL, USA
One day when I went to go fill my 2014 Ford Focus up, my car started and stalled randomly. I could not get my car to turn back on. After a few tries, it finally came on. This issue would go on for two weeks every time I filled up my car. If my car only gets $10 in it, its fine though. only happens when I fill it up. Then my car gas gauge started acting funny and will fluctuate between empty and full while driving. I can't tell how much gas I have in my vehicle. Then my husband, who so happens to be a mechanic, took a look and noticed my fuel tank is now caved in and is deformed. There is a problem with my CPV which has now affected my fuel tank. Upon further investigation, I did see where there was a recall about the power train quite a few years ago and then not long after, another recall about the CPV failing and causing stalling, not accurate gas gauges, and deformed gas tanks. I called my local Ford dealership about this. When I typed in my VIN the only active recall was the door latch system. Which means it was either fixed in the past or for some reason my vehicle wasn't recalled when it should have been. My ford dealership said there was no current or past recalls on my specific vin and were refusing to fix my car. I feel like it is unfair my car was affected by a recall but I can't get it fixed just because my vin says my car wasn't affected. It definitely was. I am a poor college student just trying to make a life of myself. I will soon have no car, unless my husband finds a way to fix it without spending an arm and a leg. Thanks for listening and please help me. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Lancaster, SC, USA
I recently purchased the vehicle second-hand with 57,000 miles on it. Six weeks later, while driving the engine light came on and the car would not accelerate properly- it hesitated severely and would not shift itself into higher gears. The local Ford dealer diagnosed the problem as a Transmission Control Module failure and informed me this is a known manufacturer defect covered by warranty. However, the part is back ordered 18+months. A car with a safety defect identified by the NHTSA, litigated in court, and unable to be repaired due to unavailability of parts should not be allowed to be sold. The Ford Customer Satisfaction Program provided no assistance to resolve the problem. The car is un-driveable and repairs cannot be made because the part is back ordered. The 2014 Ford Focus is a dangerous car that should not be bought, sold, or driven.
- Reeds, MO, USA
- Concord, NC, USA