2007 Ford Focus: jerking or lurching

8 of the 391 complaints about the 2007 Ford Focus describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 8
of this car's complaints: 2%
typical mileage: 56,998
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 3 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

2018
76
2017
98
2016
129
2015
141
2014
486
2013
295
2012
346
2011
4
2010
6
2009
2
2008
4
2007
8
2006
6
2005
3
2004
5
2003
8
2002
11
2001
37
2000
36

What owners say

Filed Jan 18, 2016 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 56,998 miles · WV

I am driving on the highway, and the used car I just bought with in the last week is shuddering, jerking, and slip out of gear. It only had one owner, and a little over 56,000 miles. Now I have only put 125 miles on it, and it does this. Since it slows down quickly with a fierce jerk of the car, I was lucky and did not cause an accident because of the problem, and other cars behind me slamming on there brakes.

Filed Oct 2, 2014 · Airbags, Body · 117,000 miles · VA · crash · 1 injury

Front left tire blew causing to loose control of the car it went off road and slammed into a ditch. Front bumper and quarter panel damage, front axle broke, rims dented, suspension needs to be replaced to name a few. Almost 5000.00 in damage. Person jerked forward enough to have cuts in the chest/shoulder by the seat belt yet the airbag did not deploy.

Filed Sep 15, 2014 · Electrical · 70,000 miles · CA

Battery light lightened, ABS light came on, all the instrument panel lines went to zero, car jerked a few times, then died. Tried to start it and just clicked, got a jump start and got it home. Brother checked it out, fixed alternator. Now it is almost a month later and same thing.

Filed Jun 6, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 114,000 miles · FL

When I first noticed, it was around the 45 MPH when I felt the jerking of the vehicle. As time went on it started to do that at 35 and (sometimes or) 45 MPH. This past tuesday 3rd of june 2014 it started to do this at 15, 25, 35, and 45 MPH from sitting at the red light and moving forward. After getting a tune-up.. It is a little better but it still does that at 35 and some times at 45.

Filed Aug 27, 2011 · Transmission · 27,027 miles · WV

While driving at highway speeds, engine would rev up and not shift gears, once it did shift car lurched forward. Took to local mechanic who said transmission was burning out. Towed to local ford dealer who confirmed. Ford stated there were no complaints about automatic transmission. Vehicle out of warranty and transmission had to be replaced for almost $3000. Ford payed $500. Car only had 27,027 miles at time of failure. The sudden lurch could cause an accident and/or the driver to lose control of vehicle. Internet search reveals multiple complaints of the same conditions of transmission failure and sudden lurching on the focus. The re-manufactured transmission carries a higher mileage warranty than the original one which makes one wonder if ford is aware of the problem and correcting it on the sly as failures occur and transmissions are replaced.

Filed Jan 27, 2011 · Airbags · 53,019 miles · NV · 1 injury

Driving on the freeway at approx 60 MPH heard a very loud noise and all of sudden my 2007 ford focus came to a complete stop with the seatbelt becoming very tight against me and jerking me, within a few seconds the car was able to start again and it informed me that my airbags had been deployed. The dash dropped and the air vents cracked, my steering wheel has shifted. This has left marks on my neck, chest and pains throughout my neck and back. Possible whiplash. Car is going to dealership tomorrow, hopefully I will have some kind of explanation for what happened.

Filed Sep 13, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 42,000 miles · GA

I own a 2007 ford focus with 45k miles on it. Around 42k miles I begin to experience problems with my car when I need to accelerate quickly such as merging onto an interstate highway. The car would begin to accelerate but once it reached 3rd gear the car would jerk and start revving very loud but be stuck and would not accelerate. Initially it was occasional and would not be very bad to overcome, simply release the gas pedal for a while then it'd fix itself. But it has gotten progressively worse to the point where I cannot get the car over 30 MPH due to this issue no matter how slowly or fast I accelerate. The car will rev very loud usually at 3k+ RPM, but will not accelerate. I have to pull off the road whenever I can; turn the car off and try again. It turns out it is an issue with the alternator of this car particularly the 2007 model. I researched it and many other people who own the same make/model/year car are encountering this problem as well. And have been given a hard time by the dealers when it came to getting answers and help. Its become obvious that this must be a defect with this car. And it need to be addressed formally.

Filed May 5, 2010 · Electrical · 56,000 miles · MO

Battery light goes off and on. Then radio goes out, with low battery reading across the radio. Then lights start to dim. All meters stop working on the dash and then the car jerks while driving and dies as it was pulled to the side of the road. Replaced battery assuming since this was the dash warning. As soon as I pull off with the new battery, the battery light goes on and off again. Had to get car towed and after diagnostic testing it shows the alternator is bad. Read many reviews of the same thing happening. The car is only 3 years old, but over the warranty as far as mileage is concerned. Had previous cars with many more miles than the focus has with 56000 and had no problems with the alternator.