2013 Ford Focus: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed May 1, 2023 · Engine, Transmission · PA

While driving at approximately 60 mph on a highway in the passing lane, the engine shut off without warning, and the following lights appeared on the dash: check engine, ABS, and traction control. The speedometer needle also went down to zero. I was in the process of passing a tractor trailer, and another tractor trailer was right behind me. I was barely able to maneuver off the highway onto the left shoulder and was almost rear-ended by the tractor trailer. The lack of power steering made it extremely difficult. This is a major safety issue. My family was in the car with me. After sitting on the side of the highway, I was able to start the engine and drive home. I arrived home and tried to back into my driveway, but it would not go into reverse. I took the car to the local Ford dealer and I was told the TCM needs to be replaced for around $750. I asked about the recall and they said that it expired in October of 2022. I did not know that recalls had an expiration date. After reading through many other complaints on the federal safety agency website for the 2013 Focus, it seems that I have purchased a lemon. I just bought this vehicle in January at 57000 miles and have only put around 5000 miles on it. I still owe $9700 on the loan and the vehicle is undriveable. The manufacturer needs to buy this vehicle back so that I can purchase a replacement vehicle.

Filed Mar 16, 2022 · Acceleration, Visibility · PA

There are multiple issues going wrong with my car and I have 5 children and this makes me angry and scared to drive it 1. Vehicle completely shuts down if you go under 1/4 tank and NOT on red at all! No gas light or anything 2. The hesitation from stop to go is getting worse" mechanics tell me this is normal" for a focus and now sometimes when accelerating on the highway it gets stuck in certain speeds and feels rougher 3. Now there is a chain like rattling noise upon idle that is annoying and embarrassing 4 the codes state oxygen sensor ,speed sensor,fuel valve issue, and power train and abs... It's 100.00 per issue to diagnose. How is anyone able to afford this? I'm not a mechanic but everytime I take my car in they give it back saying there's no issue or I have to pay more fees to find the issue before anything can be replaced? This is crazy! I don't feel safe driving this car with my babies in it but with student loans and my kids school costs I can't seem to save if I'm paying all these fees to try to figure out what the issues are . The front windshield is horrible because it's hard to see out of even when I clean it w auto glass cleaner, which I have never experienced before and is very dangerous.

Filed Sep 27, 2020 · Transmission · 40,730 miles · CA

When I went to warm up my car the check engine light is on and the transmission doesn't work right. It takes a while to engage the gear and won't go past 30 MPH. It shifts very rough. It has been doing this for a while now every two days now. I have done the TCM adaptive learning service in forscan and I have updated the PCM and TCM and ABS modules to the latest calibration. After the TCM adaptive learning it shifts fine but the dtc's will come back on in a few days. The dtc's are p2831, p2833, and p287b. I don't know what else to do? The battery and battery cables are fine.

Filed Apr 17, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · UT

My car keeps flashing the multiple warning lights. I can't get it diagnosed because it only flickers on for a second before turning off. It's the ABS light, the traction control light, the brake light and the information light. This only happens while I'm driving, it doesn't matter what speed I'm going. It will also restart the radio. Once I get to my destination, my whole car will turn off as if my battery died. I've taken my battery to be tested and it's fine. When I try to turn on my car, it won't turn on but it will make clicking sounds like it's trying to restart a connection. When my car finally turned on, it said I had transmission issues. This car is terrible, I don't feel safe when I drive it but I still owe money on it and can't afford to pay it off in order to get a new car. I'll never get a car made by ford again.

Filed Nov 5, 2013 · Driver assistance · 2,000 miles · ID

I was backing out of my driveway and was putting some gas on to make it through the deep snow to the center of the road where the snow was compacted. I would have made it to the center; however the traction control reduced the power to the drive wheels getting me stuck in the snow, blocking half of the lane. If this would have occurred in oncoming traffic I might have been hit. I had to get out of the vehicle which also put me at a higher risk of getting hit by a car, or slipping and falling, or getting frost bite. If I had the option of turning off the traction control I could have gotten myself out of the snow and continued on my way safely. Conversely, if I did not have the traction control on in the first place I would not have gotten stuck. This brought to mind a few critical questions: 1. What if this had happened in a more remote area and I had been stranded in freezing weather without help; and 2. What if this had happened in a more congested roadway and I would have gotten hit due to the random operation of the traction control without a way to disable the feature. Because of this incident I feel unsafe with the traction control on, so I have disabled it. To do so I had to pull the fuse, which also disabled the ABS. I have driven for over half of my driving career without ABS and traction control and I can honestly say that ABS and traction control has never benefited me, even when I needed the features. A concerted investigation needs to be made to determine if forcing this feature on drivers is a better policy than allowing the driver's experience and training to be the controlling force when behind the wheel. I believe that there must be, in all cases, a way to turn off the traction control feature in a vehicle for the safety of the driver and their passengers.