Ford Focus Complaints

22,326 consumer complaints on file.

#11668544June 23, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while idling at a stop sign and attempting to accelerate, the transmission failed to shift into gear and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact shifted to park until the transmission shifted to drive. The message that the transmission was overheating was displayed and informed the contact to park the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the traction control module and clutch had failed. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 18V845000 (Power Train) and 18V169000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668555June 23, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the engine overheated and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the engine was revving and the message to pull over was displayed. The contact turned on the hazard lights and waited for the engine to cool down. The contact stated that the vehicle was making an abnormal clunking noise. Additionally, the transmission was slipping, and the gears were sticking. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirmed there were no associated recalls on the VIN for the failures. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine mount, transmission, canister, water pump, and axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 198,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668452June 22, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My car smells like it’s leaking gas and when I took a flash light n went under the car it shows the tank and the hose connected to the tank has signs of it being wet but when the car is running it smells a lot worse and constantly is shaking, shuddering and causing my transmission to malfunction and I’ve read online that there was a re call # 14S20 But i can’t find it on this website
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668146June 20, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the "Oil Pump" message became displayed, and the vehicle decelerated and stalled. Additionally, during the failure there was a loud knocking sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the brakes failed to function properly while the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who determined that the engine had failed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 160,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668016June 19, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Purchased 2016 Ford Focus SE with 132,000 Mi on Wednesday June 11, 2025. Drove with no problem when I took it for a long test drive. Drove it Thursday June 12, 2025 with no problem. On Friday June 13, 2025 I thought I felt a little slippage going from 1st to 2nd gear. On Friday June 14, 2025 my 17yr old daughter drove it to the beach and while driving back home she got a msg "Transmission Overheating". She pulled over and called me. I was able to put the key 2 clicks into the starting position and switch to neutral where I got a msg " Transmission now Ready". I then put my scanner on it and was it read Shift Error PO7A3, Clutch "A" Disengagement P286F, Clutch "B" Stuck Engaged P287A. I took it to the dealer I bought it from but it was a As Is Purchase. Now I am stck even though Ford and the dealer knew about these problems.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667679June 18, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated the transmission unexpectedly downshifted before slamming into gear. The vehicle intermittently returned to normal functionality, or the RPM would fluctuate, and the transmission would shift rough. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who retrieved DTC: P07A3 (Failure with the clutch A stuck causing transmission friction). The contact was informed that the clutch actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667830June 18, 2025
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On June 10th 2025 the engine light came on in my 2014 Ford Focus and I lost transmission function. The car was slipping out of gear, completely losing power and speed between first & second gear and third & fourth gear. I pulled into traffic before realizing the issue and almost got hit by two oncoming vehicles - one locked up their brakes to avoid hitting me, the other swerved into another lane which thankfully was empty. Slowing down was difficult, it was very hard to stop and I lost reverse gear. The overall driving experience was very rough and jerky. Driving 3 miles home I almost got rear ended two times due to loss of power between first & second gear. Driving 6 miles to the Ford dealership I almost got rear ended 1 time & 1 time I could not completely stop until I was halfway into a busy intersection. I had no ability to backup and traffic was completely blocked in one direction until I was able to safely cross the other 3 lanes of the intersection on a red light!! Prior to this incident & since I bought the car with 12,000 miles in 2020, it ALWAYS had rough transitions between gears & sputtering/brief loss of power when accelerating from stopped. I formerly had a 2013 Ford Focus which had these same issues so I figured that’s just how these cars drive with the Powershift dual clutch transmission. I had no idea that I should have been extremely concerned about the hard shifts & sputtering. I never received a single Customer Satisfaction Program letter from Ford about the clutch, leaking seals, or TCM warranty extensions and issues. If I had I would have brought my car in for service a long time ago. I am disappointed & dismayed that a recall has not been forced by the NHTSA. Ford has gotten away with putting unsafe vehicles on the road with little to no accountability. I, and dozens of others, could have been killed or severely injured while I was on the road in this unsafe car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667352June 17, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While the contact’s daughter was driving approximately 30 MPH, the lost motive power and started to decelerate unintendedly. The driver coasted to the side of the road; however, while attempting to turn around to return home, the vehicle failed to reverse as intended. The driver drove the longer route back to the residence because the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The check engine warning light was illuminated but was off the following morning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667397June 17, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667520June 17, 2025
POWER TRAIN
There are known issues with the 2016 ford focus transmission dual clutch transmission shudder. My vehicle is the se and seems to have this but there is no safety recall for the se or my vehicle specifically. There was even a law suit for the 2016 ford focus se with this issue. My car has under 77,000 miles. When I asked ford about this issue previously they said there was nothing g they could do
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667537June 17, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping, and the message "Pull Over to Prevent Transmission from Overheating" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 153,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667109June 16, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, POWER TRAIN
Unknown
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666933June 14, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
I was starting to pull away from a traffic light but the car would not go to second gear and was shaking violently this has happened more times then I can count and I take care of my [XXX] we travel 50 miles a day in this car on one of the most dangerous roads in the nation [XXX] ) there are places on this road with no emergency lanes in case my car stalls again or just won't go into gear and I have drivers bearing down on me at 70 miles an hour. I know for a fact these issues have come up with countless others that have bought this vehicle and I just don't understand why this isn't a big enough safety concern is it going to take the death of me and my grandson for a recall to be made on this piece of garbage ford calls a transmission? I don't have $ for another vehicle and if this one doesn't keep getting me to work I'll be out of a job and we will be homeless a friend helped me buy this car and I assumed he checked it out first and he only looked at the accident report but not the overall report on these vehicles which shouldn't even be on car lots for sale they are unsafe death traps and when people start dying in them which im sure has already happened those deaths are on ford and on this so called national highway safety because your not doing your job this recall should have happened years ago INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666961June 14, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The transmission is awful, delayed acceleration, rough shifting and lack of power. Delayed acceleration is the main issue due to it “ lagging “ in the middle of intersections and at green lights, etc. may fall under the ford focus lawsuit but when I look up my vin on this website, no recalls pop up but all the signs of the other models recalled are shown and present in my model of the Focus.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666683June 13, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly shifted into neutral(N), and the message “Transmission Overheated - Pull Over for 5 Minutes” was displayed. The contact coasted to the side of the road and waited before continuing to drive. The contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start immediately, causing the contact to make several attempts to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was hesitating, and the vehicle was jerking while downshifting. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed failures with dual clutch, engine failure, Clutch A failure, and a failure with the Transmission Control Module(TCM). The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V523000 (Power Train). The contact drove the vehicle to work and while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to immediately start, and the vehicle became inoperable. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V523000 (Power Train). The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 169,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666688June 13, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was sputtering, and the engine was showing symptoms of losing motive power and shutting down. The contact stated that the transmission failed to properly shift between second and third gears. The contact stated that the vehicle previously shut down unexpectedly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the key, TCM, and clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Performance Ford (906 Route 10 West Randolph, NJ 07869); where it was diagnosed that the clutch and TCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but the manufacturer declined a buyback. The manufacturer confirmed there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666839June 13, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Jerking or shuddering when shifting gears Delayed or harsh gear changes The check engine light is on Trouble accelerating or decelerating The car stalls or has trouble starting
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666499June 12, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle had hesitated to start. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle started sputtering, the RPMs increased, and the vehicle lost drive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The messages "Transmission Overheat" and "Transmission Failure. Could be Overheating - Pull Vehicle over Asap" were displayed. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted and was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer, where the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,463.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666591June 12, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, POWER TRAIN
The car shows a warning transmission fault service now
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666609June 12, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, an alarm sounded, the message " Pull Car Over Safely " was displayed, and the vehicle turned off independently. The contact stated that the vehicle was turned off and was restarted several times; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate mileage was 67,855.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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