The vehicle does not exceed 50 MPH. The car would stall and jump under the hood. The car does not accelerate up hill. The car also shakes continuously and roars loudly when 40-50 MPH is reached. The wrench light comes on when driving but the wrench light also goes away when you restart the car. I took the car to mechanics who stated they could not service when wrench light is off. When I did take it to the mechanic when the wrench light was on the mechanic plugged up a system and informed me that it must just be a sensor. I avoid highways because the car does not accelerate after 40-50mph. I am concerned for my safety when operating the vehicle. I do not feel safe. I rely on my vehicle and am disappointed, afraid and uncertain what to do.
2008 Ford Focus transmission complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 23 of 23, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I purchased my ford back in may of 2014, it had 60,000 mile at the time of purchase. The car passed all inspections. I did purchased an extended warranty. For the past week I noticed the car felt as if it was idling high and not accelerating properly, on and off. On october 23, 2014, while driving at 20-25 miles per hour, the car began to shake and it felt as if it was going to be loosing power, the car never shut off, it reduced in speed and would not accelerate, soon after the wrench sign appeared. I turned off the car and restarted it, the wrench sign was gone and the car drove as it had prior to the light appearing. I took the ford into my local ford dealership and they diagnosed the issue as being the throttle body and needs to be replaced. I was told that my warranty does not cover the throttle body and was quoted $840.00 for parts and labor.
This 2008 ford focus has had slipping with the transmission in 4th gear from 30000 miles when I took to dealer they said until it has a complete failure they would not take down and inspect the transmission.it is now out of warranty and I sold car taking a significant loss. At 58,000 the 4th gear completely failed car could not be driven over 30-40 MPH .if this happened on a expressway a terrible accident could have happened.I'm am sure I am not a unique ford owner with this problem. Ford should be held accountable and a recall on this car should have taken place.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle loss power and stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 61,640.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford edge. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into drive. The contact mentioned that he was able to shift into the reverse position and the service engine, traction and transmission light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed. The failure occurred on two separate occasions. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was not able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 98,000 and the current mileage was 98,500.
I have an 08 ford focus s that has just under 80,000 miles and the car is horrendous recently it won't accelerate in low gear. You can put the pedal down but the engine rpms go up but won't accelerate until you slightly let the pedal go and it will jolt forward and engage the transmission. This isn't the first case from what im hearing and wanted to file a complaint on fords transmissions being faulty and or defective.
My wife was cut off on the highway she gave gas to move and the transmission band broke almost got hit. There's a huge problem with the focuses transmissions and should demand a recall. Car only has 77000 miles transmission should not break when given gas. Never buy a ford again.
I own a 2008 ford focus. In 2010 my car would jerk badly when I would press on the brakes. I took it in to ford and they said the problem was my transmission. Luckily I still had warranty and they gave me a new one. When I got my car back from the repair shop I still noticed some jerkiness to it and told them. I was told to keep driving it and it would go away, it never did. 6 mo.later I notice the car getting worse. The gas pedal is hesitant and the gears hesitate to shift. Especially when I drive uphill and turn a corner. It also takes a long time to go up to speed. I took it for service again and they said nothing was wrong with it. Note: they did not test drive my car. How can a doctor diagnose a patient if he doesn't give him a check up? I was very disappointed and they had the nerve to charge me $200. If I have a new transmission why is this happening? I service my car on time and have it well kept. It's now 2012 no one can tell me what's wrong with my car. I've had spark plugs, fuel filter, engine oil change, air filter changed and "new" transmission and the problem still exists. I am very disappointed in ford.
Got stuck in the snow and ice feb.2011. Low gear is out on my transmission at 67,000 miles on my 2008 ford focus. I think it's a coincidence the transmission has never felt like it shifted right. I've been a "motor head" forever until the computerized motors came out, I know my cars, motors and tranies, this is not right and I am calling ford tomorrow, feb. 14,2011, and have a discussion with them. I feel they need to take responsibility for this especially since I see other people have had trany problems also.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. Occasionally when the contact would place the vehicle into the park, the vehicle would continue moving forward as if it was not in gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the failure could not be reproduced. The contact noticed previously that the emergency brake would not stop the vehicle from moving whenever the failure occurred. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were 29000.
Ltr to the potus re a defective 2008 ford focus he co-signed for his grandson, car is a lemon and wants ford to take responsibility/accountability for their product. *kb the consumer stated the vehicle has been to the dealer 13 times for the same problem. Different parts in the transmission were constantly being replaced. The consumer complained of smelling burnt transmission fluid, the transmission would not shift, the cooler lines and control valve were replaced. Eventually, the entire transmission was overhauled.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. The contact heard a loud grinding noise coming from the transmission while traveling at highway speeds. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. He took the vehicle to the dealer on numerous occasions and they stated that there was a failure within the transmission, but they could not identify a solution. Currently, the vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer did not assist. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 15,000.
The transmissions shift points are not calibrated correctly. The shift points are off. Starting from a stop the vehicles first shift is 3000rpm. While under normal acceleration from that point the RPM's can go as high as 3500 before the second shift. Once in second gear, depending on the engine load the RPM's can go as high as 4000. As I mentioned,engine load. On a slight downgrade the trans shifts normal with lower RPM at all shift points. On a slight upgrade shift points are higher. Drive down the highway at a steady speed. The first shift seems ok. In second gear the RPM's will stay at 2500 to 3000. The transmission does no shift until you let of the gas pedal a little. Once in third gear the od does not kick in until speeds above 60mph. I had the vehicle to the dealer. They checked for codes and there were none. The shop foreman drove the vehicle then requested we drive another to see if the problem was present. We drove another vehicle that seemed to perform the same. I mentioned to him, if this is a normal operation maybe the computers program is wrong. Maybe the transmission needs to be reflashed. He claimed ford would not put out a product like that. Example: we had snow a couple of day ago and you naturally had to watch your speed. I drove around at 30mph with the RPM's at 3,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Ford Focus?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history