Since Sept. 1, 2011 when I took ownership of the car I have had the following happen about once a month. The last time was on July 26, 2012 at 3171 miles. When coming to a stop for a light or slowing traffic and applying the brakes the engine starts to race and the car feels like it wants to surge forward. With continued pressure on the brakes, after a few seconds the engine racing and surging stops and the car stops. I think it may be a problem with a computer. Updated IVOQ 09/26/12

- Plainview, NY, USA

I'm having several transmission issues. My vehicle "slams" into gear when shifting into drive/reverse from a parked position. The second issue is "hard" shifts in low gears (1-4). This gives the sensation of being rear ended. Thirdly I am experiencing "flare" shifting in gears 4-6. in this case the RPM's rev before dumping into the next gear which also gives a hard shift sensation. The 4th issue I am experiencing is a "stutter" when acceleration. If I attempt to pass a car or simply speed up, there is a hesitation which I feel is a safety concern. Lastly and the most disturbing transmission issue is "down shifting". sometimes when I have the car in cruise control on the highway and traveling at highway speeds (55-65mph) the vehicle down shifts all on it's own and I find myself doing 55-65 in a lower gear with the RPM's through the roof! tapping the gas and/or brake will disengage the cruise control but still will not allow the car to shift to the appropriate gear. Finally after coasting for a while it will then shift to the appropriate gear and as with all my other problems, it involves a "hard dump" into gear. These issues are not only scary but I feel not safe at all to me or my family! my car is in my local Ford dealership now, for the 3rd time. They have applied updates that haven't worked and I'm being told "Ford is aware of the problem. They however don't know how to fix the problem".

- Waverly, OH, USA

My brand new car, in my possession for 7 days had to get towed to the shop. My 11 month old daughter and 2 month old niece were in this car when it suddenly stalled and jerked. I was almost hit from behind and had to pull over and drive jerking back around the block to my starting point. Luckily I wasn't on the freeway at a high speed but I could have been. This is a severe safety issue as the acceleration is affected by the throttle body which had malfunctioned. The part was replace but I believe the computer controlling the throttle body is defective not the throttle body itself. Ford needs to recall this hazardous component and implement a solution.

- Tualatin, OR, USA

While approaching a roll-through toll booth, the car lost the ability to accelerate; both the wrench light and engine light came on. I put on the emergency hazards and coasted to a middle island after going through a toll booth. The car continued to idle, but was non-responsive to the accelerator pedal. After making some calls for a tow (1 1/2 hour wait due to 100+ temps), I turned the vehicle off and waited several minutes. The car restarted and appeared to "reset", as both the wrench and engine light symbols were no longer illuminated. After traveling 500 yards or so, I switched the A/C back on (note: A/C was on at time of malfunction.) almost immediately, the car began to bog and idle roughly, and again lost the ability to accelerate. I again went into hazard warning/coast to the shoulder mode, turned the vehicle off, waited a few minutes, and restarted the car. It again "reset", but this time the engine light remained on (hopefully something was recorded, as with some other complaints I've read this didn't occur). I started my journey home again, this time without A/C, and immediately took the vehicle to my local Ford dealer (did I mention that I'm a lifelong GM guy and this is my first Ford?) upon contacting the dealer the next day (brought it in late on a Friday afternoon), was informed that the throttle body and accompanying motor would need to be replaced. When asked if this was an uncommon problem for a relatively new vehicle with 25,000 miles, he seemed to indicate that they're made of plastic and mass produced, so likely affecting quality - nice. On top of that, they don't have the parts in stock, so I'll have to wait 'til Monday for the repairs to be complete. You'd think the dealers would know by now. Seems to me to be an inordinate amount of complaints regarding this issue for a relatively new car. As has been suggested, Ford should investigate.

- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA

My new 2012 Fusion's 6 speed automatic transmission, under medium acceleration, hesitates from 1st to 2nd, and hesitates & over-revs from 2nd to 3rd until the car has warmed up (driven approximately 10 miles). I have taken my car back to the dealer three times and they each time they applied the software update, but don't fix the problem. The hesitation and flair from 1-2 and 2-3 is as bad as ever. This should not be happening to a car with 6000 miles on it and the loss of acceleration could cause an accident. It appears that Ford either can't or won't correct the problem.

- Edgewood, NM, USA

The 6 speed automatic transmission under medium acceleration hesitates from 1st to 2nd, and over-revs from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th. I took my car back to the dealer and they applied tsb 12-4-7 and the told me it takes a few days to re-adjust. 5 days later and 300 miles later the transmission is worse. Hesitation from 1-2 and 2-3 and over-revving 3-4 and 4-5; and a shutter during deceleration. This should not be happening to a car with this many miles. I wonder if it is not damaging the transmission; and once the car is out of warranty it will be my bill to pay.

- Arlington, MN, USA

When new, vehicle exhibited harsh shifts from 1-2. gradually worsened and came to include a soft 2-3 shift and a metallic friction noise in lower gears by 1000mi. Starting around 7000mi, vehicle started to shift erractially in traffic between 1-2 and 2-1, with a sudden and moderately violent lurch forwards during shifting. Vehicle was difficult to control in low-speed (primarily acceleration following any period of coasting) scenarios and required additional following distance to account for this. Vehicle became must harsher on the 1-2 shift in cold weather. By 8000-9000mi, vehicle developed slipping. This was particularly evident at lower speeds from 2-3, such as at a rolling yield below 10mph. Vehicle would momentarily lose almost all power during certain 2-3 shifts, requiring acceleration planning for intersections, to prevent sluggishness at an inopportune time. Tsb 12-3-7 was applied and resulted in additional slippage in higher gears, such that climbing an onramp following a 3-4 shift was challenging, and climbing a hill at low speeds during a 2-3 shift resulted in a loss of all forward momentum.

- Hendersonville, TN, USA

I purchased a new Focus. I drove it for two weeks. The transmission is of a poor design, I frankly refuse to drive it. It nearly crashed through my barn. I was simply backing it in when it decided to lurch hard. I slammed on the brakes. Luckily it did stop. Prior to this incident the car did not operate correctly at all.. seemingly endless clutch chatter, slippage, unpredictable shifting, its is a horrid car to drive. I was noticing the smell of clutch. I had it towed back to the dealer. I do not want it back. I do not know why Ford Motor Company would put to market a horrible dangerous erratic transmission into parking spaces is a pure adrenaline rush. You do not know what it might do. They say its a automatic, however it is not. It is a duel clutch transmission's would not drive this car again. Its frankly dangerous. However the salesman called and said" you don't know how to drive this car. Its something you will get used too". I did not buy a new car to get used to it. Its a road hazard. In my opine its a defective product. I'm pretty sure after 32 years of driving I know how to drive. Very unhappy at the blue oval team. Here is what Ford should do. Halt production. Use a torque converter type transmission. And refund anyone who asks for one. A cheerful refund is in order. How can they advertise a automatic transmission when mechanically its not?avoid this car. Boooo on the 2012 Focus. I guess the consumer is Ford Motor Companies R and D team. Why should consumers be stuck holding the bag. This is bad business practice and Ford has a social responsibility to make this right. As stated earlier I do not want it back!

- Aguadilla, PR, USA

Complaint 1) when accelerating, the transmission flares during the shift from second to third gear, and the vehicle loses acceleration during the shift. The problem is more severe when the car has been sitting in warm weather for more than 24-48 hours. The misbehaved shift causes distraction to the driver and the loss of control over acceleration for a brief period of time. This distraction could cause the driver to lose situational awareness, leading to a crash. Complaint 2) the transmission takes an excessive amount of time to shift from reverse to forward, and from forward to reverse. The time is sometimes in excess of 2 seconds. The inability to control the vehicle during this time could lead to a crash.

- Seneca, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle abnormally decelerated. The vehicle would also jerk forward while decelerating as if the brakes had suddenly been applied. The failure recurred intermittently when driving different speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing but the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 70.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

On January 2nd, 2012 on 2-separate occasions the engine accelerated to almost 6000 RPM while I was stopped or nearly stopped while parking the car. The car was in drive and I had my right foot on the brake but the engine acceleration happened very quickly and on the second incident the brakes were not holding the car. I was able to get the trans into neutral until the acceleration died down to the normal RPM. On the second occasion I shut the ignition off 2-times before the acceleration stopped. I have had this problem with prior cars and the manufacturers have had no system in place to diagnose the problem and because it is a random event it is almost impossible to replicate. Because of litigation in accident cases I believe the manufacturers are in denial of this electrical problem.

- Bonita, CA, USA