While pulling from a stop sign, in the process of the dct transmission shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, the engine speed abruptly jumped to 7,000 RPM as the transmission behaved as if a missed shift had occurred or the clutch was slipping. This was the worst such incident involving many missed or erratic/searching shifts that can be disconcerting or dangerous depending on traffic conditions and situations. Even though I understand the operational characteristics of the Ford Focus dct is different when compared to a traditional automatic transmission, the erratic and anomalous operational performance of this design is poorly executed.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

The car is unsafe to drive and it has gotten worse since I purchased it new. As I pulled out into traffic the car suddenly lost power requiring me to quickly push the gas peddle to the floor to avoid getting rear-ended. The car only slightly accelerated, then jerked forward into a hard acceleration and sounded like the engine was going to explode. Even though I know about this behavior, (and try to take steps to avoid scenarios like this), the occurrence of this behavior it is very regular, (several times a week), yet erratic and unpredictable, meaning I can not take measure that guarantee it will not happen, nor should I have to. I have spoken with the dealership about this erratic behavior only to be told it will get better as I drive it as the transmission learns my driving habits and will adapt. I have driven many cars and trucks for over 40 years and have never had a problem driving any type vehicle. I can emphatically state that this transmission has not adapted to anything. At all. My concern is that the more miles I put on the car waiting for it to adapt, as per the dealer, the further away I get from being protected by any type lemon law. My basic complaint is that this car is unsafe to drive because of the transmission and it has gotten worse since I purchased it new in February 2015. And, I am told by Ford to just drive it because this is normal!?!

- Leesburg, VA, USA

The transmission shutters and shakes and doesn't go into gear smoothly. When pulling out into an intersection is very hazardous because it doesn't shift properly to accelerate. It is a constant problem not intermittent. There is usually a loud clanging from underneath the vehicle. It was taken to the Ford dealership and the service bulletin was performed which did not help and they ordered a new clutch. With the enormous amount of these same issues I have been waiting 7 weeks for a clutch to come in and it doesn't appear that it will be arriving anytime soon. Being a police officer for over 23 years I can recognize this issue as causing fatalities, if it has not happened already. I deal with inattentive drivers on a daily basis and this is a prime recipe for someone not focused and pulling out with a hesitant transmission which would cause a deadly accident. I hope you gather enough information to reach a remedy to this potentially fatal cocktail. Thank you for your time.

- Jefferson, MD, USA

Vehicle stumbles when attempting to accelerate on to a freeway. By "stumble" I mean lost power as I pressed on the accelerator. I came inches from being rear ended by a semi tractor trailer. This incident has happened 4 other times since. Very, very dangerous.

- Escondido, CA, USA

When pulling out into traffic from a stop, I signaled and started to pull out. While pulling out, the car jerked backwards and hesitated. A car behind me was a few inches away from hitting me. Due to the transmission hesitating it almost caused an accident. In my 2 years of ownership, I have had the transmission repaired twice and will be contacting the dealership asap for a 3rd repair.

- Watertown, NY, USA

This car is just over a year old. We have been back to the dealer four times to remedy the problem. The problem persists. The vehicle bucks, shutters and looses power while trying to accelerate. While on the mass pike, this occurred while in heavy traffic. (stop and go). The vehicle was almost rear ended and the vehicle almost struck the car in front on many occasions. The hesitation, then sudden acceleration is not safe.

- Medway, MA, USA

I recently purchased a 2014 Ford Focus with 33000 miles. Immediately the car started displaying what a mechanic described to me as transmission issues. To include, shuttering, delayed response, jolting, hesitating when taking off, slipping, stalling, and going backwards on a hill. This became a real concern when I was turning, the vehicle started taking off, it bogged down, lost power and responsiveness and then jolted. This occurred while in an intersection. The delay was significant enough that the vehicle common towards swerved out of the way. There was no accident but could have gone a lot worse. Second the transmission had the same action when passing on the interstate, bogged down after its started going and the person came very close. I just bought this car, and am concerned. I contacted Ford, no response. I took it to a dealer phil long Ford in Colorado springs, they initially said its suppose to do that and its normal. I had to explain the safety issues and what was going on before they would schedule someone to look at it. The first time they will look at it is in two months. Now am in a problem, because I either don't drive the car and pay rental costs or drive something that could cause an accident. I just bought this, and I showed it to two people today to try and sell, both experienced the transmission issue. One didn't even offer, the other gave such a price that they could replace the transmission. I feel I'm getting nothing from the companies that are suppose to care about this dangerous issue

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

Vehicle shudders, shakes and hesetates on acceleration. Vehicle has also lurched forward when coming to a stop. Transmission sounds like it is coming apart and ready to fall out of the car!

- Visalia, CA, USA

Transmission stalled as I was entering highway, was almost hit. Transmission shifts hard, transmission light has warrned of overheating. The car has been to the shop several times, but it still runs badly. My daughter also has the same model and year. Her car runs worst than mine. Ford has refused to help us with the problem. In fact thay have refused to talk to us at all. Someone at Ford needs to be held accountable. It only a matter of time before someone is killed.

- Canton, GA, USA

I purchased my 2014 Focus Dec 2013 with 44 miles on it. At around 6200 miles it was running rough and would hesitate upon acceleration. It also would shutter upon takeoff, like it was having a hard time getting into gears. I took it to a Ford dealership and they told me they knew about the problem and has numerous cars in for the same problem. Upon putting it on a machine they said it wasn't bad enough to repair to keep driving it. I took it back several time for the same issues until around 7800 miles they supposedly changed the gears. It was ok for a little while, but then it would act like it couldn't come out of low gear when I was going about 65 on the highway the shuddering was also getting worse than before. I took it back to the dealership at 14500 miles and they drove it for a mile and did nothing to it. Said I need to treat it like a manual transmission and give it a little gas then lift up and repress the accelerator. At 15000 miles it was back in the shop for the same problem. All they did was recalibrate the transmission, which didn't fix a darn thing. This was right before I went on vacation. I had been calling Ford Motor Company about my concerns with this car. I felt very unsafe driving it on vacation. We almost got rear ended 3 times because of this problem. At 15200 miles it was back at the shop again for the same problem. They just keep wanting to re calibrate the transmission and not really fix the problem. I feel that someone will have to get killed before they finally address this problem correctly. At 17600 it was once again at the garage for this problem. My car has been in the shop a total of 26 days and it still has the same problem as it did from the start. The transmission is a piece of crap and needs to be replaced with a better working transmission. Ford needs to own up to their mistake and make it right for the consumers.

- Colliers, WV, USA

After driving approximately 250 miles that day, we pulled into a gas station for gas. Once fueled and leaving the car started to bog down at about 5 mph. The gas station exit ramp was inclined, when I took my foot off the break the car rolled backwards approximately 3 feet. The car has an automatic transmission. I was in total shock. Getting home the problem grew worse. Crossing the Ohio river into Kentucky, on I-75 South, there is a major hill climb. The car barely made it up the hill, the tachometer needle jumped all around. When I called the dealership they new all about the issue and told me it would be two months before I could bring it in.

- Florence, KY, USA

This vehicle should be deemed unsafe. I bought this car last year and from the get go, the transmission just didn't seem right. The car would jolt unexpectedly and would have issues going through gears. I was told to just let the car break in more and finally after about a year I have had enough. Now when I try to push the gas, there is a delay for the gears to engage, which have almost resulted in 2 car accidents. This car should be taken off of the roads immediately. Going on the highway seems to be ok, but your lower gears the car jolts, makes loud sounds, and will randomly accelerate and go to high RPM's. I was told I needed a new clutch and seals and that the parts would take over 30 days to arrive on 08/24/2015. I informed the shop that I did not feel safe driving this car, and they informed me a rental would not be supplied for the nature of this issue. This could potentially lead to deaths so needs to be addressed immediately.

- Ofallon , MO, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While accelerating from a stop position, the vehicle started to vibrate and made an abnormal grinding sound as it hesitated to shift gears and accelerate. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The transmission was reprogrammed. However, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 22,000.

- Grottoes, VA, USA

The car buckles at low speed when accelerating. There is hesitatation or loss of power as the car attempts to find the next gear. This can also cause the car to jolt forward unexpectedly. There is a grinding noise when accelerating or slowing down. The car also feels like it jumps while turning.

- Voorhees, NJ, USA

Transmission issue: Failure to shift gears smoothly/appropriately. Failure to engage in gear. Problem occurs after transmission has reached full operating temperature (approximately 30 min of drive time). Vehicle contains 6 speed powershift transmission (electronically shifted manual transmission). Initial issue was shift from 1st to 2nd gear. Transmission causes vehicle to shudder severely causing partial loss of acceleration as transmission attempts to complete shift. Same problem then began occurring in the shift between 2nd and 3rd gears. Shifts from 3rd to 4th and above are not affected (at this time). 1st to 2nd shift has become worse now resulting in intermittent power loss (complete lack of acceleration). This is a particularly dangerous situation when accelerating into traffic as the transmission can take up to 3 seconds before engaging 2nd gear. Vehicle has been to dealership. Tech rode along in the car for test drive. Because issue is intermittent and varies and only occurs when the transmission is at full operating temp, at the time of the test drive, the transmission was malfunctioning (minor shudder from 1st to 2nd gear) but the tech stated it was not severe enough that he would be able to attach a diagnostic recorder to vehicle and send the report onto Ford for authorization to implement a fix. Ford is aware of the issue in these vehicles from the 2012 to 2014 model years (according to the tech and a search of various online consumer complaint websites). Ford has a prescribed fix that includes replacing clutches in the transmission and reprogramming and resyncing of the powertrain computers. While this defect has not caused an accident for myself, I fear it is only a matter of time before it does, especially since the problem continues to increase in severity. Others have experienced accidents because of this defect.

- Bradley, IL, USA

O5-08-14 I purchased a brand new 2014 Ford Focus with 49 miles on it. Within 500 miles I complained of a shudder in the transmission (transmission: Slipping, jumping, hesitating, slow to engage, safety hazard, faulty clutch, mostly on take off, etc )at 5900 miles I took it in for a service and asked about this. I was told this was normal its the new dual clutch transmission aka dct. If this was normal then why did it get excessively worse as I added miles? so I believed them and continued to drive until later it continued to worsen and be more noticable. 6-18-15 Ford replaced the clutch and it continued the same problem within 500 miles.

- Camano Island, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving at 5 mph, the vehicle jerked. In addition, the accelerator was depressed and the vehicle accelerated in excess. The vehicle was taken to a dealer multiple times who diagnosed that the software needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred on numerous occasions. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and as the vehicle accelerated in excess, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was not filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the gears in the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- George Town, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While accelerating from a complete stop, there was a delayed response and the vehicle accelerated in a jerking motion. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

- Cobleskill, NY, USA

I have the same issues as everyone else with my clutch/transmission. It causes my car to jump, stall, grind, fail to shift, roll, etc. I have been in numerous near-accidents and Ford won't buy back this unsafe car because of Oklahoma's lemon laws. I have had the clutch replaced twice now and work done on the transmission. I got the car back two weeks ago and now it's back in again with the same problems. The car is not safe to drive. If you're reading this, do not buy a Ford Focus!

- Tulsa, OK, USA

The wife complained about the transmission making noises periodically but I never did hear or feel any issues when test driving it. I first noticed the issue myself on 7/2/15 when I was driving. It at the beach on vacation. I spoke with the dealership on 7/6/15 about the issue and a recall I received on the fuel pump and was told they would contact me when the fuel pump came in and to monitor the transmission until then. Returning home from a trip the week of 7/28-8/2/15 the transmission started to violently shudder when leaving from traffic lights to the point there was concern if we would get through the intersection without getting hit or struck from behind. We contacted the service dept on 8/3/15 and an appointment wasn't available until the morning of 8/6/15. We did not drive it until we took it to the appointment due to safety concerns and it is now 8/10/15 and we are still without a vehicle. The dealership stated it was having problems but Ford wouldn't fix it until it fell into a certain RPM category or totally failed. They said they would reset it and if we have further issues let them know. The service tech told us the transmissions in the Focus have had issues due to using a converted manual to automatic transmission and that the system gets "confused" when to shift. We are also told, the six speed transmission learns the operator and if someone else drives it, it gets confused when to shift or what to do and creates failure of the clutch. The issues noted create a very dangerous situation that could lead to collisions at intersection or if pulling out into traffic.

- Connellys Springs , NC, USA