In July I purchased a new 2014 Ford Focus for my son. Immediately he complained about it being sluggish and it shifted when it shouldn't and didn't shift when it should. In August he was involved in an accident when he backed into a parked car. The event cost me $525. He shifted from reverse to drive and pressed the accelerator but his car kept rolling back until it struck a car. Last week was the first time my wife or I drove his car. When she returned she said that she would never drive the car again. She reported the same transmission and shifting problems my son had mentioned. When I drove it to the dealer I put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. After I was in the street and totally stopped I put the car in forward and pressed the accelerator. Nothing happened. I checked the gear indicator and pressed the accelerator again. Nothing happened. After sitting iin the the middle of the street for several seconds the car finally moved. It was very sluggish and within the first 100ft. It shifted at least 3 times. Performance like this continued every time I started from a dead stop. I spoke with the service rep about what I had just experienced. He said that the transmission was doing exactly what Ford says it was designed it to do. He said he had personally scheduled over 20 2014 Focus cars into the shop to check the transmission because of the same complaints. He said Ford has a set of tests and if the car passed those tests they wouldn't do anything. He said every 2014 Focus he and the other 7-8 reps had scheduled for the tests had, by Ford's instructions, passed the tests. I sincerely request that you force Ford to do a recall on these cars. Noting the large number of complaints the cars obviously have very serious safety issues, especially their failure to shift when the driver takes the action to make them shift.

- Springfield, MO, USA

My 2014 Ford Focus has all of the symptoms being reported by thousands of others such as jumping forward, engine RPM racing up after bogging down to recover from a stall. The transmission sounds like a bucket of rocks being shaken around. Cracks, bangs and worst of all when pulling away from a light it just takes a big gasp, bangs down to a lower gear and jumps forward. Getting on the freeway safely requires pushing the accelerator near the floor and hoping it will downshift before the truck behind you gets there. This car is not even safe in a parking lot. I have had to stomp the brake down hard to keep from hitting other cars in the lot at work. This happens after it nearly stalls the engine and recovers by racing up. My 2014 Focus spent two weeks at germain Ford and was returned with a horrible rumbling sound and it was nearly impossible to get it to accelerate. The rumbling, though felt through the chassis, was later reported to be an improperly assembled air intake? this made no sense to me. I believe it was the engine being heavy loaded because the Focus would not downshift. I returned the car to germain Ford where they kept it for one day and reported there were no further issues with the car. After this two week repair I was presented with a document explaining the operation of the transmission for the Focus, not before. The document does not mention the banging into a lower gear while pulling away from a stop. It does not mention the car jumping in reverse or the engine being loaded to a rumble because the transmission refuses to downshift. I have had the car back from the latest service attempt for as long as the "green clutch", break in time is supposed to require. The car now jumps in reverse backing out of a parking space and acceleration is what I would consider dangerous. I ran out of characters but would welcome a reply or call.

- Hilliard, OH, USA

When I first bought car at the end of March, the vehicle would sometimes jerk at low speeds. Almost like a stick shift that was improperly shifted. This would happen even in reverse. And sometimes I can push the accelerator and the car would not move and then lurch forward. But this was an infrequent occurrence. I went on vacation last week (9-5 to 9-13) and drove the vehicle 2000 miles round trip. While driving I got stuck in stop/go accident traffic and the transmission on the car was constantly slipping and the car jerking forward. Also it would idle really hard before the vehicle would jerk forward. This occurred during slow speeds. The transmission now makes noise at 15 mph and 35 mph. This almost like a low grind (errr noise). And the jerking has gotten worse. You can push the accelerator down and nothing happens and then the car lurches forward. Have to keep distance between myself and the vehicle ahead of me. I have an appointment next week for the dealer to look at but there is something wrong with the transmission on the 2014 Ford Focus.

- Toledo, OH, USA

While in a median turn lane, I accelerated forward to turn left from a complete stop. As soon as I reached the middle of the road, the automatic car slipped out of gear and in to neutral, leaving me at almost a dead stop in the middle of a busy, uphill road. While trying to get the car back in gear, I was almost rear ended by two cars coming up the hill. Luckily they were paying attention, but had to swerve in the next lane to avoid me. I put my car in "select shift" mode and manually switched to 2nd gear. It was the only way the car would go back in gear. The Ford dealership service department has it now, needless to say, as I don't feel safe. I have also been experiencing a grinding noise and shaking/surging when accelerating from a complete stop in this vehicle. I believe this is related to the incident that occurred.

- Liberty Twp, OH, USA

2014 Ford Focus transmission noise, 38,000 miles. Car has a grinding noise at low speeds ( under 40 mph ) car will lurch forward unexpectedly cause loss of control. Car will roll backwards while the transmission is in the drive position on an incline. Very concerned with the safety of this vehicle. Not to mention the resale /trade in value of this car is declining with every bad report issued. I would like to see Ford recall these cars and correct these issues before someone gets seriously hurt driving one of these defective vehicles.

- Parkville, MO, USA

My 2014 Ford Focus is a piece of junk! the transmission slips and shudders all the time. It's like it doesn't know what gear to be in at low speeds. To me this is a very dangerous car. Very unpredictable!!

- Pryor, OK, USA

2014 Ford Focus SE. The car has always shuddered and jerked when starting off from stop. I am afraid to pull out into traffic unless it is totally clear. My daughter has a 2012 Ford Focus and it does the same thing. I run premium gas and the top grade oil.

- Montgomery, AL, USA

Purchased car 8/27/14. Noticed immediate stuttering, and shifting whenever it wants too. Will not down shift and fails to accelerate from a full stop. Took to repair shop for dx test and was told computer was updated. Car downshifts now but still shifts erratically and still will not accelerate from a complete stop. The shuttering is worse.

- Harvest, AL, USA

Car stutters and almost stalls out when starting from a complete stop. The problem is worse the hotter the temperature (ie 90 to 100degs bad stutters).

- Sandford , NC, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle hesitated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The mechanic informed that the vehicle functioned as designed. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

- Denham Springs, LA, USA

Vehicle has extreme shutter/lurching forward when accelerating from a stopped position. The Focus has been taken in for service on four different occasions and computer updates have been made. We continue to experience the same jerking during acceleration but have been told by the service manager and also the owner of the dealership that this is "normal" for the Ford Focus. We feel that this is very dangerous and could cause an accident when it lurches forward especially in heavy (bumper to bumper) traffic.

- Long Beach, MS, USA

My 2014 Ford Focus has a 6-speed transmission that lurches and/or shudders and/or hesitates when trying to slowly accelerate - almost like someone driving a stick shift that never has one before. This happens if you are stopped and try to very slowly accelerate - could easily cause an accident while creeping up to whatever may be in front of you. Or - it happens if you are going at a slower rate (less than about 15 - 20) and want to just speed up a little. These problems cause many hair-raising events for me - especially in tight, rush hour traffic........... >>>>>>> the above problems have been happening since my car was brand new with 16 miles (and the other 2014 Ford Focus 6-speed transmission cars that I test drove acted exactly the same). I asked my salesman about it and he said that it was the how the transmission works. I have 4,000+ miles on it now and the same things are still happening. I will complain to the service writer about this "problem" when I take it in for its first visit to the service department for an oil change........ >>>>>>> as a P.S. - this Ford Focus gets less of an average fuel economy (28 mpg since first fill-up) than my 2010 Ford Focus (31 mpg since its first fill up).

- Clementon, NJ, USA

The car has severe transmission issues I have almost been killed twice for being thrown out into traffic once and trying to pull out onto a busy highway. Stopping at a stop sign or red light is a nightmare, my car will stop fine, but when you go to take off it jumps and the transmission slips leaving you basically sitting in the middle of the high way barely getting anywhere then all of a sudden your car will take off and make you loose control. The rpms are all messed up if I'm driving down the road the RPM hand just dances all over the place this car is a death trap!! thanks Ford for ruining my life and sticking me with this true lemon of a car...

- Chatsworth, GA, USA

The transmission was reprogrammed a month ago for serious shuddering and stalling. Within a week the engine would race and the car would not shift gears. The engine would also stall. In interstate traffic this is a scary dangerous situation. Now the dealership says the clutch is out. I filed a case with Ford and a customer service regional manager was to call me by Thursday..no call...Friday a call was promised..no call. Monday a promise..no call. Tuesday a promise of a call..no call. Wednesday no call..get the picture.

- Batesville, IN, USA

When you step on the gas the car hesitates then makes a grinding sound and lurches as the transmission engages. The problem has existed since we purchased the car its been in the shop multiple times, each time we get it back the problem still exists. This is completely unacceptable as we use it for a drivers education car!! the dealership was aware of this problem and they are just as culpable as for is for putting out an unsafe vehicle.

- Lynnwood, WA, USA

Car is jerky when accelerating. Feels as if I have a manual transmission with a clutch problem. Car shudders at low speed and also occasionally hesitated when entering a highway. This put me in dangerous situations numerous times.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

With car in cruise going down grade trans would down shift in lower gear causing car to slow and engine to over rev. Had to slow to 45 for trans to correct it`S self. Have also had issues with it in reverse jumping in and out of gear. It also jumps while at low speeds searching for the correct gear to be in.

- Rke, VA, USA

At ~18,000 miles vehicle started to hesitate upon acceleration to a point the car would stall enough that the vehicle behind us had to brake hard to avoid collision; experiencing heavy shuttering and vibration when vehicle changes gears. Took vehicle to dealer on 10/24/13, advised that the transmission clutches are defective, parts are on back order. Repaired at 20,166 miles on 12/05/13. At ~29,000 miles started to experience same problem as describe above; took in to dealer on 8/19/14, confirmed that the problem is present, furthermore upon inspection dealer advised that front tires are at '0' wear and noted they were 'unsafe', service manager stated that is due to the excessive vibration and slippage of the transmission. Parts are on back order. Car is unsafe, unexpected hard hesitation is causing near rear end collision. Tire slippage is causing vehicle to hydroplane/slip on wet roads.

- Palm Coast , FL, USA

Transmission constantly shudders and grinds. Tries to shift gears when in cruise control. Engine tried to stall. Very loud metallic noise. Returned car to dealership in February and was told it was all normal. Second time I was given a piece of paper explaining "normal" noises. None of which my car was making. Third time they re-programmed the transmission. Car is being taken back to dealership for same problems this Wednesday. Ford has known of these dangerous problems since the 2011. Yet they continue to knowingly sell dangerous cars. And no one does anything.

- Batesville, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while accelerating after a stop sign, the vehicle jerked violently without warning. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be reset. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100.

- Blue Eye, MO, USA