My boyfriend and I bought a 2012 ford focus se hatchback on september first. After driving the car for a couple of days my boyfriend noticed that the transmission was not right but he thought this was happening just because the car was new. Then, when driving to work I noticed that when I stopped on any incline street between taking the foot off the brake and placing it on the accelerator, the car rolled back quite quickly to the point that I almost hit the car behind me. Days later, I started to feel that the steering required both hands at all times. It was constantly wandering and shaky specially during turns. To top it off on september 27th something terrible happened. I was in the drive way, I shifted from reverse to drive and the car took off at a lurch. The car accelerated so rapidly even with my foot on the brake pedal. I lost complete control of the vehicle. The car failed to slow down hitting two cars and tearing down a fence. I could finally stop the car when I quickly shifted to park. I do not understand how ford sells this car with all these problems risking people's lives. This is a serious issue. How many fatalities are they waiting for? Are they going to do something ever about these malfunctions? This is ridiculous if I have known all these issues with this car, I would have never bought it for sure.
2012 Ford Focus transmission complaints
Page 48 of 49: complaints 1,391 to 1,420 of 1,448, newest first, as owners wrote them.
After feeling the automatic transmission was excessively lurchy, I came to stop at a traffic light on a busy road. When the light turned green I sat revving my engine and was unable to get the car to move. I put car in park and then back in drive with the same results. I tried the s mode with manual shifting and car still did not move. I eventually turned the car completely off and back on and this seemed to correct the problem. I found the situation very dangerous . Apparently from what the dealership said the clutch was not engaging. It is an automatic transmission car.
3 separate incidents have occurred in my 2012 ford focus all related to the transmission. The first incident occurred on august 25, 2012 while traveling at 40 MPH, I suddenly lost power between the gas pedal and the car itself. The RPM's continued to climb but the car was no longer moving. Took to ford dealer to be serviced and was told they could not find a problem. The next incident occurred on september 8, 2012 - not necessarily a safety concern but contributes to overall problem - pulling out of a parking lot, placed car in reverse, it did not move. Took to ford dealer where the transmission was "reprogrammed". The most recent incident occurred on september 9, 2012, I pulled out into 35 MPH traffic, my car would not shift out of first gear, going 10 MPH and "revving" but not accelerating fast enough to stay ahead of traffic. Had car towed to ford dealer where it is at this time.
The rolling back problem came first. When you are stopped on any incline, between taking your foot off of the brake and placing it on the accelerator, the car rolls back quite quickly, and I have almost hit the car behind me. The steering problems came a little later. The steering requires both hands at all times, and even then it is quite shaky. I feel car sick when I am the passenger because there is so much side to side movement. During turns, the engine feels like it is cutting out, it loses so much power, and I have to push the accelerator extremely hard just to get enough power to finish the turn. The scariest of all of the problems happens at higher speeds. It has happened to me three times. When I am driving on the freeway (60-70mph) and I begin to slow down, the steering gets out of control and goes back and forth so rapidly, I hold on for dear life trying to keep it in the lane, and the braking is not as efficient as it should be when this happens, and I have nearly escaped hitting the car in front of me. When I have been in this situation, I have started to brake right when I see the brake lights ahead, and I have had ample space to stop gradually and safely if I were driving a normal car, but in this car, it is out of control and the brakes won't work well when this is happening. This has happened on dry roads. This car terrifies me and the rain and ice haven't even hit yet. After I experienced these problems, I looked on the internet and was surprised to see how many others are having them too. The shop had my car for 13 days and they called me and said that it is "perfect" and they didn't fix anything and to come pick it up. I bought this car in june, it is now september, it had 1074 miles when I took it to the shop. I left it there for now, I am terrified of this car and unfortunately I own it. *tr ..updated 09-26-12 *bf updated 10/01/2012
When accelerating, whether from a dead stop or coasting, 1st, 2nd (& now starting to do it in 3rd) gears audibly rattle and clunk. Very slow response time when accelerating after car is "warmed up." the more it is driven in stop and go and/or city traffic, the worse the acceleration (and rattling when shifting) becomes. So much so that when trying to pull out into traffic on 09/04/12 I thought the car would be hit. I had 3 kids in the car with me! And I always allow plenty of time to pull out because of this issue. It has been a near constant issue with this car which was purchased in may 2011. Car jerks when accelerating in stop and go traffic and will sometimes "jump" and rev into a higher speed. All the above issues had been addressed and "fixed" twice before the "customer satisfaction" recalls were sent out in may. Issues are resolved for a limited amount of time and then start happening again. Car still rolling back when brake is released at a stop on slight inclines. Another "customer satisfaction" recall. Minor issues: *can barely be heard when speaking on the "sync" system while driving *clock changes time randomly *rear defroster doesn't automatically turn off *fan speed changes after car is turned off to a random speed setting *radio will change to a random station *sometimes* after making a phone call.
Tl* the contact rented a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that the vehicle would abnormaly jerk forward or backward when shifted into drive. The contact did not notify the rental vehicle company or the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 4,954.
On 8/27/2012 I drove off the car lot with 7 miles on my new car. I noticed a little bit of rough shifting as the day passed. On 8/28 the car started bucking and jerking during acceleration. There was little power on inclines. The problem progressively got worse through the day. I set up an appointment to drop off for service the next day. Took in for service on 8/29 and was told that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The car had 187 miles on it. On 8/30 I was told the car was fixed and I picked up my car. Within a few miles the problem was back, but worse this time. I had some slight noise coming from the engine when the car was bucking and jerking. It almost stalled on a busy highway in rush hour traffic several times while on my way back to the dealer. It was struggling. The car is back in service with 220 miles on it. Now they want to keep it for at least 3-4 days. 8/31 I was asked to drive the car with the mechanic to see if problem would reoccur. With the exception of a kick while pulling out of the dealership, the car drove ok, although we only drove around a block together. Sales manager says that if the mechanic can't find any further problem, then I have to take the car back into my possession since it's my car. He says that sometimes things happen and I have to deal with it and let the mechanics do their job. I've had the car in my possession under 30 hours since I purchased it on 8/27. The car also has an issue with rolling back on an incline.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that once he shifted to drive and attempted to accelerate, the vehicle started to shake and lunge forward. The contact also stated that when the vehicle shifted from 1st gear to 2nd gear it hesitated and made a loud grinding noise and independently reverted back to 1st gear. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and was told that this behavior was normal and provided a letter from the manufacturer instructing the dealers not to repair those failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 16,000.
Recall done --not fixed abc control system. Still rolls back at incline. Accident parking lot stopped shifted from drive to park (thought) open door stepped out car started rolling back jumped back in not to get run over to hit brake pedal. Front door open hit parked truck (accident) destroyed my drivers door with major damage to door and some damaged to parked truck. Had friend in the passenger sit and saw what happened. Vin# [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while merging into traffic, the vehicle lunged forward without any warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer multiple times where the technician was unable to determine the cause of failure. The technician reprogrammed the power train control module as a safety precaution however, the remedy failed to repair the problem. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 2,493 and the current mileage was 10,000. Updated 9/25/12 *cn updated 10/03/2012
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the engine began to vibrate and make a lot of noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that a part in the transmission needed to be replaced. The failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not available.
My vehicle attempts to stall when stopping or when, from a standing position, attempts to stall again. The vehicle has shut off when the low fuel light turns on and I mean immediately. The vehicle will fail to turn on in the mornings at times. It will take a few turns of the key and then it will start.
Vehicle rolls back after I begin to accelerate when I am stopped at a red light. I did receive a recall notice that had this type of problem listed. Vehicle had about 4700 miles on it. I took it in and they claimed that they fixed it but it could take up to 6 months for the "adjustment" to take place. This did not sound reasonable to me but they would not do anything further. This is definitely a safety issue when you are stopped in traffic.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the transmission began to hesitate in a jerking motion and the vehicle stalled. The engine restarted and the vehicle was able to resume. In addition, on a separate occassion the transmission warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel for a few seconds. The failures occurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer eight times for the same malfunction. A diagnosis was performed in which a trouble code was not detected. The computer system, ABS, and drive train were reprogrammed more than one time. The failure persisted and the dealer was unable to resolve the problem. The manufacturer and dealer stated that the vehicle functioned as designed. The approximate failure mileage was 350.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle emitted a grinding noise and the transmission shifted erratically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on many occasions, but the contact was informed that the transmission was performing as designed and the grinding noise was normal. The dealer could not find a failure and stated that there were no recalls or warranties covering the failure. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 2,364. Updated 08/16/12
I am an owner of 2012 ford focus. My car rolls back every time I took my foot off the brake on a hill. It rolls so fast! It's really unsafe and scary; especially I have my 4 year old daughter riding at the back seat. I went to the dealership last month but the issue was never solved. The service man told me that it is normal for the car with automatic transmission to roll back when you're up the hill. I never had this kind of issue with my other cars before. I hope ford will do a recall for all 2012 focus.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact was uncertain of the speed being driven when approaching a traffic stop signal. When the brake was applied the vehicle began to roll backwards for a few seconds. The failure occurred whenever at a complete stop. The manufacturer offered a customer satisfaction program regarding the unintended rolling issue. The vehicle was repaired and the failure recurred. The vehicle had not been diagnosed for the most recent failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled backward whenever he removed his foot from the brake pedal while stopped on an incline. The failure occurred while the vehicle was shifted in drive. The contact also stated that the vehicle once rolled backward as much as fifty feet. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and an unknown recall repair was performed that addressed the failure. The failure continued. The manufacturer did not offer any assistance. The failure mileage was 11,000.
Purchased a new 2012 ford focus with automatic transmission in april, 2012. Immediately experienced low speed transmission shifting problems and also discovered complete free roll backward, unending, until hitting level ground and/or hitting an object while rolling backwards on an incline, even while in gear. This is a serious safety and driver liability issue . Dealership has re-programmed transmission on a technical service bulletin without success. Dealership had me test drive another 2012 focus thinking it would not demonstrate the same safety problem...and to their surprise..the test drive vehicle they gave me also performed the same way on the free rollback while in gear. I believe the fundamental problem here is that ford has designed and manufactured in the 2012 focus line a standard/manual transmission (poorly shifted by software and dysfunctional on the free roll back issue) and is marketing it to all consumers as an automatic transmission. Service department acknowledges that it truly is a standard/manual design. The window sticker and sales process misrepresents to the consumer that it is an automatic transmission. This may constitute consumer fraud on a national level leading to either class action litigation, total recall and/or individual cases of litigation. I am considering all of the above as the problem remains and has not been rectified.
The trunk lid is out of alignment the vehicle shudders at acceleration major suspension work required do to engineering and production engine shudders and clunks when shutting off rough idle and engine misses. Problems are inconsistent .
This is a ongoing problem with my focus. When accelerating from a stop the focus's automatic dsg transmission (in d) will quickly shift to a higher gear in an effort to minimize fuel consumption. During a stopped turn at a intersection this leads to a unsafe condition where commanded acceleration takes several seconds to happen. The problem happens like this: the car accelerates at a stop sign or parking lot. The car accelerates to 10-15 miles per hour. The driver lets off the gas during the "turn" part. The transmission shifts to second or a higher gear. The driver then commands a large acceleration - say due to oncoming traffic - and nothing will happen for several seconds. This is because the dsg transmission needs to shift sequentially into first and this takes several seconds. Also it appears that the powertrain is disconnected while this shifting takes place. When the transmission finally selects first the acceleration can be sudden and unexpected. This has happened to me several times and I believe it is a dangerous condition. It can be avoided by manually selecting first - then shifting to d when the turn is complete. The car jerks,shutter.jumps, misshifts, rattles. The car has been back 3 times and reprogram 2 time tbs,ABS.PCM. This car is junk and need be fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that when he applied the accelerator from a stopped position, the vehicle stalled and nearly caused crashes while in traffic. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 4,800.
When accelerating car jumps or hops violently. Engine makes grinding/chattering noise when changing gears. Experience roll back when on a slight incline. Power shift 6 speed is not safe. Have trouble crossing lanes of traffic for the jumping/launch judder problem.
Since day one of the purchase of my (march ) 2012 ford focus the steering "feels" like it is constantly wandering, after an hour drive time, your arm is give out from the stress. My car also seems to have a flutter in the transmission or engine during take off. The car will also roll back while stopped on an incline. The dealer checked steering the 4th day after purchase and assured me the steering was fine, that it was new & tight. I did recieve a recall on the transmission to upgrade or modify some type of chip. I cannot tell any improvment since the upgrade. My wife & son hate to drive my car because they are afraid of the steering and rolling back....by the way it is an automatic transmission---I have never experienced this on any vehicle that I have owned in the past.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact started the vehicle and the vehicle accelerated rapidly even with the brake pedal engaged. The vehicle failed to slow down and crashed into a cement wall. There were no personal injuries. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. In addition, the manufacturer issued a customer satisfaction program under reference number 123b7 (transmission control module) and after the recall repair was performed, the vehicle rolled away with the gear in park. In order for the vehicle to remain stationary, a block was placed against the two rear tires. Also, a strong antifreeze odor emitted inside of the vehicle and an oil leak was visible on the ground. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 12,917. Updated 08/23/12*lj updated 09/24/2012
I was driving on freeway at 5 MPH due to traffic and all of a sudden my 2012 ford focus shut down with no warning it sort of scared me because didn't know why? I said ok maybe just a coinsidence but to my surprise. It happened again on freeway since thats my daily route was going 45mph and again turned off I took to get serviced since I drive from riverside to burbank everyday thought maybe needs to get serviced and mentioned to fellow a ford but said well if it happens again bring it in and will check it out so I said ok well hopefully not but it happend for 3rd time and I was going 70 MPH and almost got in an accident thank god no one was next to me had to stop because it turned off completelty but this time said transmission on screen so I took it to ford and I explained everything to them because I'm scared I'm not gonna make it home to my family again because going at 70 MPH on freeway and all of a sudden car shuts down imagine how scared I was..... The people at ford checked it out and took it for a drive on freeway and said it was fine nothing came up but hello it doesn't happen everyday they explained they checked other ford stores to see if they have heard of such problem and supposedly it hasn't but I'm reading some of these complaints and I see some are related so I need to find out wht to do because I honestly do not feel safe driving this car. Just thinking when am I going to crash or die. Not fair that they don't want to see the problem so what needs to happen for them to do something for me to die.... I don't even let my wife drive it because it is not safe.....
I bought the 2012 ford focus sel on may 5th 2012. The car has had both front struts replaced, at 69 miles!! The car jerks and refuses to go when you give it gas after being completely stopped, I was almost hit pulling out onto a busy road because the care would not go!!!! The transmission needs to be replaced in this car, however grey daniels ford in brandon mississippi will not do that, so I have driven this vehicle approximately a week and a half since buying on may 5th, the rest of the time it has been in the shop. Ford should have to fix these vehicles correctly. Stop putting a bandaid on the problem and fix it already!!!! I guess they'll wait until someone gets killed because of their neglect to do anything about the problems.....but then who knows that might not even get their attention. I will never purchase another ford vehicle, that I can guarantee!!!
The vehicle was parked. I started it up and backed out of the parking space. I shifted into drive and began moving forward. After going approximately 20 feet the "I" sign illuminated on the instrument panel and the message "steering malfunction, needs service" came on, along with the alarm jingle. I tried to steer the car out of the middle of the drive lane and managed to get it over to the side, but the steering was practically frozen. I turned off the ignition and looked for any obvious signs of trouble, but could find none. After reading through the owner's manual and checking the engine compartment, I restarted the car (about 20 minutes after I shut it off) and no warning sign came on. I test drove it in the parking lot for a minute to see if the steering would function properly and then drove home and experienced no further problems. I took it to the ford autoway dealership for inspection and they diagnosed the problem as stemming from an ABS "corrupted" program. They told me the epas gets it power through the ABS. They rebooted the ABS program and I've had no further problems.
New car ...... This has happened 3 times since date of purchase 5/31/12 .......... From a stopped position and accelerating to go forward the car would jerk forward, hesitate as if stalling ....... Last time it stopped dead in the middle of the intersection .............. Told by ford tech this is do to the transmission being controlled by computer chips ............ Car is going in for service today.
Was told this car had "automatic transmission". After a few hundred miles on it, I noticed the transmission shifted sporadically and with no prediction. Engine shuddered, car lost power and was not safe to drive. The key here is no prediction as to how the car will react when under acceleration. Took to dealer and was told "this isn't an automatic transmission - it's a computer- controlled manual that has to learn how you drive". Dealer uploaded a computer update from ford. The next hundred miles of driving almost caused numerous accidents due to lack of acceleration and uneven performance. 6/4/2012 I tried to merge into traffic and car refused to speed up. I almost caused a major accident, but numerous drivers slammed on their brakes and/or swerved and averted multiple collisions. Took the car to dealer 6/5/2012 and told them what happened. Was told by head tech "it just has to get used to how you drive". I told him there were three different people driving this focus. He said we can't, because that would just end up totally "confusing" the computer. As the car is too dangerous to drive, it is still at the dealer. Miles on vehicle are under 800.
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