I previously had a 2012 Ford Focus, which left me stranded in the middle of a bridge after a recall part broke. (Ford in the letter sent on the recall stated they could not fix the part that broke until it broke). So I had to wait until that day happened. That was the second strike against them. I had already been in for diagnostic checks and reprogramming several times over the years I owned the car. Then they had to replace the clutch and tcm; kept my car for 3-4 days. So after all that was fixed I traded and got a 2014 Ford Focus hatchback. All that stuff was supposed to be behind me and no glitches in this year. After 15,000 miles was put on the car the clutch started acting up again and progressively got worse. The shuttering and stuttering become so bad I thought my car was going to fall apart. From a dead stop to a go (20-30 mph) it had such a hard time shifting gears that the RPM's would just take off. Grinding noises under the car upon acceleration. When in cruise control it would just lose speed on it's own, cruise set for 60mph and RPM"S would just drop outta no where like the car was about to stall. Took it in and sure enough new clutch and seals were already needed (this car was purchased in April 2015 and the clutch went out in January 2016). They kept the car a wk (at no time was I offered a rental) had to borrow my parents vehicles to get around; my husband needed his car. Had the car back a wk and have already taken it in to be reprogrammed B/C yet again we are having shuttering and stuttering issues as well as problems upon acceleration. When I check 2014 Focus recalls there are some major recalls. I was issued a recall on my VIN# for the tcm already. They have increased my warranty to 100,000 B/C they know I will be back for more repairs and the service guy stated replacing the clutch is only temporary, I will be back for a new one again and again.

- Omega, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving 35 mph down an incline, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle shook and took a longer distance to stop. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle vibrated and accelerated in excess. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,002.

- Lauderhill, FL, USA

From a stop the vehicle has a major problem with acceleration 0-30 seems to be where it's at. The vehicle shudders, revs rpms, de-accelerates, slow to accelerate to speed, and has a metal grinding sound on acceleration. This is not once or twice this is every time that the car has to slow down and pick back up speed. I am afraid to pull out into traffic B/C I don't know that my car will make it up to speed fast enough to not get me rear-ended. The car shakes like it's going to fall apart when we accelerate and almost feels like it doesn't want to go into gear. This is the second Ford vehicle that this has happened to my first was a 2012 that had a recall Ford wouldn't honor until the part broke and left me stranded on a bridge on my way home from work at night. This is a 2014 that I'm afraid to drive around in with me child B/C it feels as if the car is going to drop my transmission in the middle of the road. I'm also reading that it has problems braking with this acceleration issue and will jolt out into traffic at a stop light. This is from every stop getting ready to accelerate again. My car only has maybe 10,500 miles on it and I've only had it maybe 8 months. Ford says they will keep fixing it if it breaks under warranty, but my warranty is only so long then I have to pay for Ford' mess up out of my pocket. I don't have that kind of money.

- Omega, GA, USA

Letter from congressman neugebauer on behalf of constituents of the 19th district of Texas re Ford safety issues. The consumer owns a 2014 Ford Focus SE with the optional dps6 power shift transmission. The transmission exhibited a severe, erratic movement, along with shuddering/jerking, with the most severe being while the vehicle was in reverse, park or drive on four different occasions. On two of those occasions, it happened when the consumer was accelerating from a complete stop and the vehicle lurched backwards; once hitting a pedestrian and leaving scratches on the back of the vehicle with a dented license plate. On several occasions, the vehicle accelerated on its own and applying the brake did not slow the vehicle down. Last year, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and the consumer had to hit a curb, in order to avoid an accident with another vehicle. The consumer stated the vehicle had numerous transmission and engine leaks where seals had to be replaced. Five days after the vehicle was inspected, the vehicle went into park while in the midst of driving 65 mph/ the vehicle shook, and revved and the rp's were extremely high, then the vehicle started to slow down without any assistance from the consumer. The vehicle came to a complete stop, an error message appeared that said transmission not in park.

- Washington, DC, USA

Transmission control module is defective. My car judders severely. Failed to get up to speed correct. RPM is 4,500. I have contacted Ford corporate, they have failed to execute. There is a recall on the part but there is 6-8 week back order. I do not feel safe driving my vehicle

- Olathe, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle began to jerk and make an abnormal noise. In addition, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Dayton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without warning when the brake pedal was depressed and caused a crash. The contact drove into a ditch and the vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Citizenville, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission jerked between first and third gear. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on more than three occasions where the failure was undetermined. When shifting gears into drive or reverse, the vehicle independently surged. The brake pedal was depressed with force when the failure occurred. The dealer stated that the clutch assembly and the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- Concord, CA, 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

Beginning at 6000 miles and 7 months of operation, my 2014 Ford Focus began operating erratically. The transmission exhibited physical shudders, lurching when coming out of 0mph, and bogging down/failing to shift to accelerate when merging onto the highway. The first and most noticeable time, it resulted in my hitting the bumper of the person in front of me and a more than $5000 repair to their car. At the time, I was a safe distance away at a drive-thru and applied gas to move forward. At first, nothing happened, then the car lurched forward suddenly. I tapped the person in front of me-- no one was hurt and no damage was done to my car, but damage was done to theirs. This has continued to worsen until now the car exhibits violent shuddering coming out of first and second and has problems accelerating, to the point where it has nearly gotten me hit going through an intersection and caused issues merging onto highways.

- Columbus, OH, 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

Since about 6,000 miles, my car "stutters" upon acceleration. Going forward from a stopped position, there is hesitation prior to acceleration which is an accident waiting to happen as those behind me accelerate normally. Then, it stutters, or hesitates, as I accelerate to a point, at which point acceleration ceases and the rpms race. Again, a danger of being hit from behind or the side when merging. I asked my oil change guy to take a look at the transmission, but he refused as he has heard about transmission issues with the Ford Focus cars and suggested I take it to the dealer. When I called Ford to make an appointment, they were well aware of the problem and said they just needed to "recalibrate". my car "passed" their test, but the issue continued. I spoke with the dealership who said he is on the phone with 7-8 Ford Focus owners a day talking about this issue that is allegedly not a safety concern, but a design which is not a defect. He said if and only if my car were to fail the "test", then they would have permission to order a new part. I took my car in again, it failed, and now I am waiting 12-16 weeks for the part to come in. From what I understood from the dealership, the new part may make things a bit better, but the way it drives will be the same. This design is not only flawed, making for an uncomfortable ride, it is a safety concern. I can only hope the government steps in to force Ford to take responsibility and do what's right, because it seems they are unwilling to do so.

- Grayslake, IL, USA

Ransmission control module reprogramming for overt tcm failure warning shiftling problem. Went to dealership April 30 2015 and waiting on the part it has been over three months waiting

- Tampa, FL, USA

I began noticing issues around 8,500 miles. My car would hesitate when I would go from an idle into gear, surge forward, stutter as I was braking or going into speed, and lastly refuse to change gears as I sped up making me think I was in low gear. I now have to make sure all cars are clear before I make turns because my car will lose power as I make turns, which makes me feel extremely unsafe. I drive my car between rochester, NY and buffalo, NY often and this is quite concerning to me. I took it into the Ford service department since I am under warranty and I was told it was the clutch assembly part that is malfunctioning. The part is on national backorder, but should be in a couple days and I should be fine to drive my car as it is now. Well I looked up the issue and there is a class action lawsuit because of this transmission defect. I don't feel safe at all knowing I am driving with a faulty transmission, if I get in an accident I am at fault!

- Webster, NY, USA

The vehicle drives like it is in the wrong gear. It seems like the transmission or something is dragging. It does not go smoothly to another gear. It drives hard for a 2014 car. I don't know what the problem is..... updated 09/30/15

- Rocky Mount, NC, USA

While driven I had trouble with car jerking when trying to drive then error message transmission at fault and hill side assit not working. It would go for a little while then driving the message kept coming on. Rmp would jump real high and not moving then it would catch and jerk and continue going.

- Arlington , TX, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While the driver attempted to resume acceleration after a complete stop, the vehicle vibrated and abruptly accelerated and crashed into the preceding vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The dealer replaced the clutch and the computer system was reset; however, the failure was not corrected. The vehicle continued to vibrate and abruptly resumed acceleration. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,600.

- Miami, FL, USA

The vehicle has problems during initial acceleration from about 10-25 mph range where it exhibits a bucking or vibration. Also, it seems to have problems shifting at times at the right times where you may hear a winding sound, as if it's not getting into the right gear properly. I took it to the dealership and they concede that they have been getting these complaints. They just tried reprogramming as they call it, but this has not resolved the problem. On going issue, which I will tell them needs resolution. Definitely a safety issue.

- Sicklerville, NJ, USA

The transmission shutters very badly typically when accelerating from a stopped position. Sometimes the car will not move forward when I press on the gas and then suddenly jolt forward unpredictably. Sometimes it will get stuck in an intersection with virtually no acceleration because the transmission does not shift to the correct gear. I do not feel safe driving this car. Ford dealership looked at my car on 6/16/2015 and said they have to order a new transmission, but it will not come in for 8-12 weeks. So I am stuck driving this unsafe car for a long period of time until the new part comes in to fix the problem (if it even fixes the problem).

- Dumfries, VA, USA

Since I purchased this vehicle in March of 2014, it has bucked at slow acceleration at speeds of 10-25 miles per hour. This caused vibration of the rear end and inconsistent acceleration. It occurs more often in hot weather. I have had it check twice, but the dealers say that it is normal with this type of transmission. It also is more prevalent in stop and go traffic.

- Ballston Lake, NY, USA