8.4

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
16,450 miles
Total Complaints:
9 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. not sure (8 reports)
  2. replace clutches and seals (1 reports)
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This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Ford dealer.

problem #9

Sep 032023

Focus SE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 27,000 miles

started car and put shifter in drive started lurching and hesitating really bad, would hardly go , had no reverse at all , had it towed to Anderson Ford dealership in Clinton Ill. sat there till end of sept. brought car in shop charged me 1550.00 for parts and labor that did not fix it so they pu it back outside where it sat, I called them over a week from thanks giving and told them I needed car fixed my daughter lives out of state and told her I would come there for thanksgiving. they still did not bring it in shop , they ruined my thanksgiving !! I called the end of november and finally was not nice any more and told them they had more then enough time to have my car fixed and I wanted to talk to the owner , they had it in the next day and had it fixed like 3 days later , it lacked 2 or 3d days from being there for 3 months !!. So they tried to get me to buy a reman or brand new trans and I told them no open it up and find out what was wrong , it was cheaper then a new or reman one but still cost me over 5000.00 and also had to py the 1550.00 that did not even fix it !!! I am disgusted with the whole mess , they knew trans were bad , my mom had one replaced in hers and so did my brother , but they cut off recall before 2018 and my warrenty expired like 1 month before so I had to pay for mine !!

- Debbie M., Clinton, Illinois, United States

problem #8

Jan 092023

Focus SE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 28,000 miles

Called Ford and they said my VIN was not part of the recall. My car is doing exactly what the recall is stating. I spoke with two different customer service representatives at Ford and they said nothing could be done. I demanded to speak with a manager and she stated my car is not part of the recall. When I made the comment, "Ford just likes screwing their customers! She actually said, "Yes ma'am". I was like okay you just admitted it, she was like you are putting words in my mouth. I said, well either you were not paying attention to what I was saying or you agreed. I told her I know the conversation is being recorded go back and listen.

I have owned vehicles from Ford and never had any problems until now. I will never purchase another Ford again. The car has problems starting and now the engine light came on. Went to see what was happening and was told the error code P144A and it doesn't always want to go into gear.

FORD SUCKS at helping with any problems. I tried getting the car in before manufacturers warranty expired and nothing was available until January 4, 2023. Ford said my warranty was expired. FORD truly does screw their customers. Going to Toyota.

- Denise S., Honolulu, HI, US

problem #7

Mar 202020

Focus SE 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 24,076 miles

My 2018 Ford Focus would shudder on acceleration and would make a noise when coming to a stop. I took it to Lithia Access Ford dealer early in the morning and had to leave the car so they could check it even though I had an appointment, 24076 miles. I knew it was the same transmission problem that I had on a previous 2015 FordFfocus I had before even though the sales person told me the problem had been solved from previous yrs. Several days later I got a call to pick up my car.

The service tech said no problem was found however the invoice said: While test driving did hear clutch noises. Ford considers this normal and did nothing about it. I continued to drive it and the problem kept getting worse. I took it to a different dealer Auto Nation Ford even though it was farther away from my home at 34,440 miles16 months later again left my car, a few days later I got a call to pick up my car because the parts would need to be ordered. When the parts came in I took it back and the transmission got fixed.

At almost 14,000 miles later the same problem occurs, took it back however the car sat there for several days and when they tested the car was running normal, I was pissed. The power train warranty was running out so I had to buy an extended warranty to cover the problem which is getting worse again.

- Andres V., Sinton, US

problem #6

Sep 262019

Focus

  • Automatic transmission
  • 11,463 miles

When we took the car in again, they said that the concern was normal - how the heck can a car in drive normal for it to roll backwards in drive??? My son was at a drive thru and almost hit the car behind him because when he let off the brake the car rolls backward. So he has to drive with both feet.

- Sheri Z., Howell, US

problem #5

Jul 222019

Focus

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,391 miles

While car is in drive, when the brake pedal is released the car rolls backwards. Also the trans shudders when taking off from a stop. When we took it in they said that they couldn't duplicate the problem and the car is meant to roll backwards when you release the brake pedal. Funny, no other cars do that, and this is not a manual trans.

- Sheri Z., Howell, US

problem #4

May 202019

Focus SE 1.0L Ecoboost

  • Automatic transmission
  • 28,000 miles

I have taken my vehicle to the local ford dealer 2 times now for the same transmission issue. The transmission becomes very sluggish after long use, the transmission will slam itself into the next gear after you have accelerated and it hasn’t decided to shift yet. At higher RPMs the the RPM gauge will start bouncing before it goes to shift into the next gear, and you can feel the intermittent power loss. Makes it sometimes very difficult to get up to speed when entering an interstate. I keep being told by the dealer that they are not able to duplicate the problem. I call bulls***. I wish this car would be gone, I never should have bought this damn car.

- Hunter K., Cedar Rapids, IA, US

problem #3

Jun 292019

Focus Titanium Hatchback 2.0L 4 cylnder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,200 miles

Wow! Just had The Ford Dealer replace both clutches, seals, and hardware in the transmission Just 24 Days ago! and now the transmission is going out again. Delayed shifts, shutter at times the transmission does not engage in up shifting until after the RPMs hit 6,000. That's it I've had it with this car! Mind you it's a brand new car with just 2,300 miles on it and on the second major transmission repair in less than 30 days!

- classic1964, Tulsa, US

problem #2

Jun 052019

Focus Titanium Hatchback 2.0L 4 cylnder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,900 miles

Well here we go boys and girls....I just got a new 2018 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback. Beautiful car..it's that pearl white/black leather seats. Loaded with every factory option. Car was running and driving great, up until one day at about 1,800 or 1,900 miles on the car. Coming from the zoo with my child and the transmission all of a sudden made the car bog down and almost come to a stop. Speed dropped from 50 mph to around 25 mph and the rpm's were at 6,000. I coasted it about 3 miles to the nearest Ford dealer and they kept my car 3 weeks and ended up replacing both clutches, all seals, and hardware in the transmission under warranty. The bill to Ford Motor Company was around $4,500.00. I was told to get out of this car as soon as possible as it's just a matter of time before the transmission goes out again. Kind of hard to do now as I still owe almost $28,000 to pay it off and the value of this car has dropped like a rock to a trade value of around $14,500.

- classic1964, Tulsa, US

problem #1

Nov 022018

Focus SE 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15,000 miles

The Transmission was rebuilt back in May at 15,000, then again in November at 30,000 miles. In addition, we have had a serious water leak since we bought the car which still is not fixed. We had a Ford Fiesta before this car and that transmission failed also. We traded that in to get this car because Ford told us that the Fiesta was assembled in Mexico and this was assembled in Michigan where it's better build quality because we have more experience assembling cars here then in Mexico. (yes, but they still continue to assemble in Mexico: Fiestas, Focus, and Fusions now). But they did not tell us that the Focus had exactly the same transmission as the Fiesta we also bought from them. And which has been a problem since 2013 on all Ford Fiestas and Ford Focus cars. And Ford never fixed the problem, recalled the cars or redesigned the cars all the way from 2013 up to the current 2018 final edition, Knowing about this problem and putting customer through hell and danger.

Now after being subjected to a class action lawsuit they are going to end production on the current focus model for 2019 and in 2020 bring in a redesigned focus crossover with a new (and I mean, new experimental transmission - If you trust them with this, you are out of you mind).

They are currently, as of 11/2018, rebating $5-6000 as incentives to get rid of the rest of the focus cars. Do not buy them. It is not worth it. There is no fix for the transmission problem and once it's over warranty, you are out of luck many times to fix it from your own pocket. I even asked a local transmission place if they could put in a completely different transmission for me and they said, "no way are we going to touch this vehicle."

Ford has proven to me that they are: dishonest, has low integrity and business ethics. We will send Ford a message by not buying any kind of vehicles from them and you should consider doing the same. And don't even think about upgrading to a fusion. All 17,18, 19 and etc, fusions models are all being reported by Consumer reports as below average with various problems. See consumer reports April 2018 auto edition. Ford is also planning to discontinue the Fusion car as well and that may be why lack of attention to the current models. 15, 16 editions are fine. But again, they do not deserve your business after what they did to the American people.

- Millie L., Nj, US