Car hesitates when at low speed; terrible grinding noise when going uphill especially when stop start on a hill. Gears slip while driving; I have owned and driven manual transmissions as well as automatic transmissions that can switch to manual but never experienced anything like this. Today my car would not start: all the interior lights came on just fine- definitely not the battery. Error message on the dash said "parking assist malfunction" - this ended up to be..... The transmission control module. There is definitely something wrong with the way these transmissions were made.
2012 Ford Focus transmission complaints
Page 29 of 49: complaints 821 to 850 of 1,448, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving at various speeds, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted. Approximately 30 seconds later, the engine stalled and did not restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the control module and the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired five times, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was inoperable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The transmission jerks and will not shift to gears
I bought the car used in july of 2014 with about 23,000 miles. Shortly after buying the vehicle, I experienced the transmission making grinding sounds and shuddering during acceleration. Generally after the vehicle is warmed up and been on a drive. A reprogram was done and I went back to the dealership for the same problem a few weeks later. At this point, with about 30,000 miles, a new clutch and plates were installed. The vehicle performed fine for about 5,000 more miles. The shuddering and grinding noises have returned. The transmission has been reprogrammed twice since the new clutch. I currently have about 45,000 miles. Ford will only reprogram or repair the vehicle if the shudder is outside of a certain range and attempts how to explain this is normal. I am still under factory power train warranty but it is like an act of congress to get the issue resolved. This is a recurring problem and I have been to the various dealerships at least 5 times for help. The transmission will sometimes jerk and struggle to accelerate. Really concerned about my safety and others. I have had this issue from about september 2014 to the present day.
Since the introduction of dual clutch technology, beginning with 2012 ford focus models, there have been numerous documented cases of transmission problems. At least two recalls were to address the sluggish shifting. In my case the transmission has never functioned adequately, however I never experienced total failure. On march 15th, in heavy interstate traffic, the transmission experienced a failure. The engine warning light illuminated and the car would not propel forward, even in drive. I turned the vehicles ignition to off then on. That reset the system and I drove home. Now just yesterday, march 23rd, the same thing occurred, however this time I had to tow the car to a ford service shop. In these events the warning light illuminates and the dashboard indicators flash. The car then idles and shakes failing to propel forward. This is a major safety hazard and I am reading this is a common occurrence with this model year. Serious injuries can occur with this type of failure while driving in traffic congested areas. Ford has not adequately addressed the issue and no resolution exists at this point. A class action lawsuit is in process against ford due to this issue. This is a very serious matter which should be addressed aggressively and promptly. The vehicle was in motion on an interstate expressway. Note the recalls for their automatic transmission.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and "pull over for six minutes" was displayed across the message board. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic on multiple occasions who diagnosed that the transmission and multiple other parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The transmission on this car is horrendous! I frequently experience severe grinding and shuddering when accelerating and have experienced complete stall outs when turning/merging onto roads and lanes. It is absolutely unsafe and have brought this up to the regional manager of ford during my current complaint with them. Their response? That it's my fault for how I am driving the car. I am waiting my 3rd clutch replacement due to a 3-5 week backorder due to the frequency of this issue but it's somehow my specific driving causing the problem. Worst of all is that their own service rep admits to this being a patch, not a solution. I will experience good performance for 2-3 months and then the problems will begin again.
Got in my car on a saturday morning to go to work. Noticed the transmission was shifting very roughly. As the day progressed, I noticed that when it shifted into 3rd, the RPM's would jump from 3500 and take a while to go back down into 2000rpms. In the afternoon, cranked my car up and now my check engine light is on. The shifting has gotten progressively worse. What makes this even worse is I have already had my transmission control module replaced once. I took it into the dealership on monday after not driving it all day sunday. I noticed as I got on the highway to get to the dealership, as my car shifted into 5th or 6th it went from 3500 RPM to 4500 RPM. I am afraid to drive this car! Got to the dealership finally only to be told they are 2 weeks behind on transmissions and that they can't look at my car till at least thursday. I have the extended warranty and won't be able to get a rental till they diagnose it. I will never own another ford. This is unacceptable!
Takata recall. My 2012 ford focus has multiple transmission issues. Including overheating issues, transmission seizure all while in motion in a straight direction on city streets and interstate highways. Constant vibration, shifting in and out of overdrive and shifting gears at the wrong moment. This has put not only myself in great danger but the passengers in my car and of course other drivers near by. I have been told it is being caused by the transmission control module which, to my knowledge, as stated by the dealership has been both reprogrammed and in some cases replaced due to damage of some sort. Replacement or reprogramming the (TCM) has never cured any issues. I've been going back and forth between ford motor company and my law firm with this nonsense to no avail to date. My attorney has written a letter and called ford motor company stating my concerns and ford responded with a small list of instructions as to what to send to their company (from the written letter but the phone call message was ignored). I followed every instruction ford gave and since then nothing further has been addressed by ford and I am still driving this very questionable product produced by ford. This issue is a problem for many 2012 ford focus owners. I am asking that ford steps up and takes responsibility for this known and dangerous issue before someone gets hurt or killed. Ford seems to not care about their current customers and shows little respect for others as this vehicle (and many others) is still being driven. I have been a loyal ford customer for over twenty years and now I am being disrespected and ignored. Evidently, ford's customer service leaves little to be desired as well. Ford, I am asking you to step up and own your responsibility, as it seems to me and many others, your company is failing. Restore faith in american auto makers and do the right thing.
1st time - car died on the highway and wouldn't drive. I took it to the closest dealership which was joe cooper ford. Said that they couldn't cover a rental and reprogrammed the control module and said it was fixed. 2nd time - car died again so took back into joe cooper because they said they fixed it the first time. Checked in by adam (rude) and went and got rental again. Dealership covered this time. Car was there for 7 days before I had to call to find out what was going on and I was told that adam who checked me in took no notes and it had been setting there not being looked at. Finally was looked at after 11 days and told the clutch test was "not bad enough" to warrant it to be fixed under warranty and we would do out of pocket. They also said "we were not used to an automatic and not used to a standard because this car had an automatic clutch for its standard option". 3rd time - took in and they recognized me and said right away we can't cover this rental and they can't get to it for 2 weeks. I called ford motor company to get help. At first I was told the same thing but asked for supervisor and received a call back 3 hours later that ford would cover only 3 days of the rental.
My car has transmission problems. Every single time I start and stop the car shudders and hesitates. The car is unsafe to drive. Also the car's cruise control broke within 3 months of owning the car, it was fixed and then broke again a month later. And hasn't worked in 2 years. This car is junk. I have taken it to three different ford dealerships and they refused to fix the problem. They would tell me there was nothing wrong with the transmission it was the way I drive. Every time I took it in for the cruise control ford would tell me that they were unable to fix the problem because the cruise was working that day, when it never worked for me. They refused to fix the problems and I finally ran out of a warranty and gave up. I don't have the money to pay to have this car fixed when I bought a brand new car I college to not have to worry about getting work done to a car. This has been the biggest disappointment and I just want them to be recalled. Ford owes it to all the customers that are currently stuck with this car and paying big money for a car that doesn't work. I don't not feel safe allowing my family in the car because it is too dangerous to drive. It stresses me out on a daily basis having to drive this car and never knowing when it's going to stop working. I have been having there problems since I bought the car in july of 2012.
Vehicle failed to move after transmission malfunctioned at 69,359mi after a few minutes the vehicle was operational enough to move off the highway to park it for the night.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle felt as if it were jumping in and out of gear. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred several times. The transmission jumped out of gear and the vehicle could not be driven. The vehicle was towed. It was diagnosed again as needing a new transmission module and clutch. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure kept recurring. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, extended the warranty, and placed an emergency order for the parts. The contact was informed the parts would not become available for a few weeks. The contact also wanted to file a complaint against ford motor company because she was unsatisfied. The failure mileage was 43,500.
Even after reprogramming the transmission control module, the car continues to present bucking, kicking, jerking, harsh engagement, and delayed acceleration, as well as lurching. Today, the transmission control module completely failed to start the vehicle, although all other electrical works.
Shuddering of engine between gear. Lose of power when accelerating. Red lines when trying to accelerate between first and second gear.
On 2/25/16, after a severe rainstorm, I went to turn on my car and tried to turn on the wiper blades, but they would not come on. The next morning they did turn on. That afternoon, when starting my car, the wiper blades turned on without the control being activated. The blades continued to run even when the car was turned off and no keys were in the ignition. The only way to stop the blades was to disconnect the fuse from the box. This has happened twice when I was not aware of this and my car battery was dead when I went to start the car. I cannot use the wiper blades at this time as they will not turn off. According to ford motor co., this is not covered under the recall on the wiper blades since my car is out of warranty. I have had my car in the dealership to repair the defective clutch and it is still not repaired due to ford motor co not sending out the necessary parts in a timely manner. My car is shuddering and jerking when accelerating and changing gears on all types of roads. I have had this issue since I bought the car brand new. The cruise control on my car works intermittently. When the battery is disconnected and then reconnected, the cruise will work for a few days. Ford technicians could not diagnose the problem. This has been a problem for as long as I have had the car.
The first time was going down 93 in boston area with my family the car went into transmission failure why I was in far left lane the car wouldnt go over 20 and I had to cross over to the far left lane to treach the breakdown lane. Luckily my family was not in accident because it could've have been far worse. It did the same thing a second time when I was going down 293 area going to a doctor appointment. This may end up killing my family if it doesn't get recalled and fix. We don't have extra money to be repairing it ourself every time it decides to do this.
Car dies on highway while driving. Fuel system and sensors seems to be failing or fell apart inside the vehicle it will not show appropriate fuel levels. It stuttering after filling up to full tank. Vehicle is very dangerous to drive on a highway to work when fuel system is failing. Many complainst have been filed on other automitive websites and forums about this exact fuel system issue. Collapsed fuel system / fuel guage I just purchased this car 3 weeks ago and my previous pontiac grand prix 2006 gave me less issues than this ford focus. Something really wrong is here with ford, I think they have gotten to a massive point they believe they cannot be held responsible for there mistakes or recalls since they are too tied into the dependecy of all the people.
I've already had problems with the transmission (recall issue) that causes the grinding and jerking of the vehicle...and still have to address these. But just this week my blinkers started coming on (when I turned off my motor), and some alarm started sounding until I started up the car. Really, really concerned at this point! Not a safe vehicle. My second ford focus (my 2003 was a dream!)...wondering what went wrong in the factory!
Shuddering, and bucking on take-off. Hesitation and delay in acceleration. City streets, from intersections, and worsens while turning a corner and gently accelerating. Known transmission issues with this model. Problem is constant, and continuous.
I have brought my vehicle into ford service center multiple times regarding the recall and replacement of my clutch because of stalling and faulty acceleration which has almost caused accidents on 2 occasions merging into oncoming traffic and also increasing an injury to my back problems by the jumpy acceleration. Ford dealer claims that the replacements are on such a high back order that they informed me to try back in "november 2016" and just reset the clutch programming for new memory and insists I drive it hard as possible. This is a safety risk for myself and other drivers . The specific recall is fsa title: transmission clutch shudder / transmission input shaft seal warranty extension field service action number: 14m01
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact had not experienced any failures prior to taking the vehicle to the dealer to receive a manufacturer's recall remedy. After the repair, the failure progressed randomly for longer than a year. Upon depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was slow to respond and the rear tires locked when accelerating. The contact later experienced the vehicle stalling without warning. The contact had to coast the vehicle over to a fuel station and, after several attempts, the vehicle restarted, shook violently, and stalled. The vehicle was not able to be driven and was towed to the dealer for inspection. The contact waited longer than a week for the diagnostic results. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The federal safety agency campaign number was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
My vehicle lost all power in regards to acceleration and deceleration on the freeway at the speed of around 40-45 MPH. I had to coast over two lanes and almost got rear-ended. The RPM would rev up but no power. Restarted car and problem went away. Next day had TCM flashed as part of recall. Two days later had the same issue only going 60-65 on freeway. Transmission went haywire and had to coast over and almost got rear-ended again. This time car wouldn't restart for about 2 min. No power. Engine revving and complete loss of power twice and I feel this car is a major accident waiting to happen. I do not feel safe while driving not knowing why my car is losing power even after the so called software fix.
Transmission shutters and slips and the power steering just shuts down at times, this is very dangerous. My wife was merging onto the interstate and the steering shuts down the engine still running. She has to shut the car off and start it again to get the power steering to work. This has happened around 10 times.
When you drive the vehicle, the transmission shutters, shakes, skips gears, and sometimes comes to an abrupt halt making it feel as if I have been rear-ended. It happens when the engine is cold or warmed up, at all outside temperatures and conditions and is a general safety issue waiting to happen. I have had mechanics that specialize in transmissions warn against driving it as it could potentially be a very severe or life threatening issue. None of these mechanics have a solution for me. Replacing it would just put an already bad transmission design back in. Ford has done nothing for me. And I am frankly afraid for my life every time I start it up. The vehicle feels as if the transmission wants to explode. Several times I have briefly lost control of the vehicle as the transmission jerks from one gear to another. This is my only vehicle for transportation and it is totally unsafe. Is it going to take people dying to get them to fix this? Are we having another general motors moment? Why is the government not doing anything about this? Your question below about the dates is irrelevant as it happens every time I drive it,
For the last two years, our vehicle has had several episodes of violently mis-shifting, into a final loss of accelerator use. This happens many times when we are on rural or highway, and at differing speeds of up to 70 MPH. We have brought it in for all regular and irregular maintenance to luther north country ford in coon rapids, mn. They first said it was how the "new transmission worked", they then said it was the TCM codes, then the clutch was replaced. Then the only time they got codes from the car, we had to pay 1200 dollars because it wasn't part of the recall, but less than a month later, we had the same symptoms. Every time they "fix" the problem it happens again, sometimes months apart, most recently it was less than 24 hours after they replaced the clutch. They themselves have admitted they have no idea of how to truly, permanently, make the car safe to drive, but continually allow us to pick it up and drive away. We have trusted them with everything and the assumption that they are giving us a true and honest try when working on our car. Now we have applied for lemon law, only to find out that we do not qualify for that because we have trusted the dealer and ford, extending over the warranty/lemon law refund period. My wife just made the last payment on this vehicle, and now (as we have been for some time) we are afraid to drive it, I am used to having to put on the 4 way flashers once a day to pull over when it stops accelerating. If it was something like the washer fluid sprayers didn't work I wouldn't care anymore. But we can't drive it, we can't resell it. We are reasonable people, but feel we've been robbed of 23,000 dollars with no where to turn. What can we do going forward I have every service invoice ever for the history of the car, but I don't have a scanner, I can mail them if needed please.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. When placing the clutch in reverse, the vehicle failed to move. The failure recurred twice. The engine warning light illuminated. In addition, while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,300.
I have had transmission problems shortly after I purchased the car. It has had seals,clutch tmc replaced and also a instrument control panel at my expense since they said I was out of my 3 year 36,000 mile warranty. I had the car at the dealership several times without receiving any paperwork only to be told transmission was fine and that's just the way the new CVT transmission shifts. Car has always has a heistation on take off role backwards on inclines and shudders like crazy! My wife who owns a 2014 ford escape refuses to drive the car complaining she doesn't feel safe in it. Just took it back to ford week of feburary 1st and they are now telling me the seals and clutch need to be replaced at a cost of $1500.00 to me as it is out of warranty. The clutch was replaced in november of last year at 93,000 miles. I drive 480 miles round trip a week to work not including grand kids sporting events. I feel ford has sold me a car and now want to punish me for the miles I drive. I have some paperwork from the dealership on what work they have done. Someone please make the dealship and ford motor company responsible for this poor quality transmission they are passing repair cost on the consumer which should be ashamed of and allowed to do.
Ongoing issue ' on acceleration car shudders, bogs down, jumps forward, also hear a grinding/crunching sound. I have had my car in to the dealer numerous times and I am always told this is normal. I have written to ford and they refuse to correct the problem. In regard to the question below ' when did this happen? ' it has been happening since I bought the car in 2012 but since I was not able to enter that into the box I entered the last date I brought it in to the dealer for this issue.
Clutch was recall and it was replaced by local dealership installed nov 2015, gillette wy, and now transmission gave out, dealership stated that it needs an overhaul.
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