Transmission started slipping, then complete loss of forward motion while in traffic lanes. Dealer says that this is common and there is a two week waiting list for repair.
2013 Ford Focus transmission complaints
Page 35 of 38: complaints 1,001 to 1,030 of 1,102, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The transmission does not shift right. It hesitates, jerks and surging. At lower gears or speed under 40, the car is difficult to control. It shift to higher gear when the speed is not high enough for the gear. This causes poor acceleration and dangerous when merging into highway from ramp.
This car constantly grinds and shutters between the first few gears every day for the last 8 months of ownership. I bought this vehicle on feb 2013 and it only drove good for 2 months and the remaining time I've had it, has been on the shop over 4 times for the same exact transmission problems. Symptoms; the transmission gears shifts incorrectly and makes louds grinding and shuttering noises. Sometimes the the transmission has power and sometimes it doesn't. Not to mention I almost got myself into 2 car accidents because of this vehicle, during stop and go traffic the gears get stuck and I almost rear ended the vehicle in front of me. Please file a complaint to ford and the federal safety agency to have these dct transmissions fixed or recalled.
As with over 100 other complaints, the transmission is very unstable. Hesitation and almost dying at a stop or in slow bumper to bumper traffic is a safety hazard. Attempting to merge on highways and attain higher speeds from a stop or slow (10-20 MPH). Grinding noise from front end at low speeds.. The hesitation in acceleration and jerking at slow speeds, is a safety hazard and as previously stated almost caused numerous accidents. I had it reprogrammed at one dealer, with no results, and just two days ago, on 1-2-2014, another dealer replaced parts on the transmission and called me and said my car was ready. After leaving the dealer, the car started making a rattling noise every time I would accelerate at just about any speed. Took it back today, 1-3-2014, and had transmission tech ride with me. As soon as we pulled out from dealer onto highway, started making rattling noise and shuttering still happening.. Now dealer has an actuator motor ordered. Who knows if this is a fix or another patch.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle jerked violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 12,552. Updated 02/11/2014 *bf the consumer believed there may be a problem with the transmission and the tie rod. Updated 02/20/14
I've driven over 5,000 miles on this new focus. The first 5k were ok but lately the transmission has become extremely erratic in its behavior. It shudders violently and frequently after shifting in to 2nd gear and then hesitates to accelerate. The transmission also has started making a clanking sound like two pie tins being hit upon each other. I took it to the dealer.. They confirmed it, reprogrammed the transmission electronics and sent me on my way. That did nothing to help it. I took it back a couple of days later after almost getting rear-ended when I pulled into moving traffic and it shuddered and hesitated unexpectedly. The dealer kept it for 2 days and then gave it back saying they could not reproduce the problem. They only drove it 1 mile which is not exactly an exhaustive or good faith effort to reproduce the problem! So, I'm now headed for trip 3 to another ford service center to see if they can do something about it. The regional customer service rep actually told me that these transmissions should be expected to shudder, grind and hesitate as part of their normal operation. That's insane.. Who would buy or want a car that did that!!! Had it operated that way when I test drove it.. It would have stayed on the lot to be sure.
This is similar to the car that I am driving (another ford focus electric). My daughter was driving the car to school at the intersection of roseville parkway and douglas boulevard, in roseville, ca to day at about 7:15 am for no apparent reason, the car stopped. She was waiting for the light to turn green. My daughter freaked out and called me. I asked her to shut the car off, open one of the doors, wait for one minute and try to start the car again. After the second attempt the car started. Lucky for her, the other cars switched in the other lanes and she was able to move the car. Again. This is happening too often and feel this is a safety hazard. Same thing has happened in same model and make car that I drive.
As with over 100 other complaints, the transmission is a complete failure. Hesitation and almost dying at a stop or in slow bumper to bumper traffic is a safety hazard. Attempting to merge on highways and attain higher speeds from a stop or slow (10-20 MPH) has almost caused me to wreck several times to due hesitation in acceleration. Grinding noise from front end at low speeds. Rolls back on a hill (automation transmission) almost caused fender benders. The hesitation in acceleration and jerking at slow speeds, is a safety hazard and as previously stated almost caused numerous accidents. I have had the fse inspect the car twice, a software "upgrade" that did no good, and everyone from ford says it is operating as "normal characteristics". Nothing is normal and someone is going to be seriously injured or die if these problems are not fixed. Dozens of complaints and nothing done.
I have owned this ford focus titanium for 11 months now. I noticed that the car would shudder while driving at lower speeds and just taking off from a stop position. Sometimes, the car would feel like it was going to stall. There is also grinding from the front end when the car is shifting form 1st-2nd or 3rd-4th gear. I took it in to the ford dealer, was told it was a sensor and they re-set it and was also told it was a common issue, really?.. Not normal to me. Well, it wasn't fixed, it went back to the dealer 4 days later for the same issue. Now I am being told I have to wait on a new clutch and that there is a long wait for the part (back ordered). If this is a major problem with the focus, these vehicles should be recalled. I have been contemplating on whether to buy another vehicle and just let this one go... I bought the vehicle to last as long as my other ford has (14yrs), I don't see that happening.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that when accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle would vibrate abnormally. In addition, there was a reduction in engine power when attempting to accelerate on an incline. The failures were recurring. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician advised that the clutches and seals needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 900.
Driving home from school with my grandson and the car started to jerk as we crept in the line of traffic. Almost sounded as if it was ready to stall! This car has just over 5000 miles on it and I enjoy driving it but this problem has persisted and is a safety issue as jerking makes it difficult to judge how close to get to the car in front of you ( because the "slipping " in and out of gear surges forward ) and could cause an accident. Even at speeds up to 35-45 MPH the hesitation makes me feel as if it is going to stall. So today I researched the problem and am shocked to find this is a major issue and needs to be addressed asap by ford. Also the door locks don't work properly when using as the manual states. I plan to be at my dealership first thing in the morning.
I have only had to car for a day. The car makes an awful rattling noise and hesitates when going in and out of traffic. To make matters worse, today I was in a parking lot and when I was in drive I pushed the gas to go forward and the car went in reverse! Please recall this car. It's so unsafe and someone is going to get killed. Luckily no one was behind me when this happened. Awful transmission. A danger!
I purchased a 2013 ford focus titanium in october of 2012. Shortly after, the transmission began to hesitate and shudder when accelerating or driving at low speeds, including pulling into and out of the driveway of my home. It then began rolling backwards on inclines. I have never had an automatic transmission freely roll backwards on an incline, much less on that is not very steep. I brought it into the dealership where I bought the car for repairs. They did a reprogram on the vehicle and sent me on my way. Shortly after it began doing it all again. I am currently waiting on a reply from ford as to what my next step needs to be to get this resolved.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that the accelerated pedal would become stuck to the floorboard abnormally. In addition, the rpms exhibited abnormal readings. The dealer performed a diagnostic and advised the contact that the transmission needed to be recalibrated every three months. The transmission was recalibrated. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 10,600.
While driving my ford focus it "stuttered", I.e. While I was pushing on the gas the vehicle stopped responding and jerked as though I had shifted to a lower gear. I have had this happened before, but didn't really pay attention to it until the 15 oct. Incident. I mentioned it to my wife who also just bought a ford focus 2013 model and she confirmed her vehicle had the same issue. Several google searches later I found out that the federal safety agency is investigating these electronic propulsion transmission failures. Please add our two vehicles to this report. Thank you.
This incident has now occurred twice in one week. The first time I was driving out of my apartment complex and the car just died. The fuel light never went on and still said I had about 30 more miles until e. Was towed to the dealership, and they told me they put gas in it and it started right up. It said I had 144 miles until e and they calibrated it and the mileage decreased to 133. I drove the car 80 miles and happened again yesterday, but this time I was on a busy state road going about 55 MPH with my son in the car. The car jerked and I could tell it was losing power. Luckily I was able to coast into a subdivision. The fuel light never went on and also stated I still had about 33 miles left until e. The car has been towed again to same dealership and no word on what is wrong. Was told they were on the phone with ford to solve the problem. I am currently in a rental and scared to drive my car as I am afraid this will happen again. Also, had many transmission and clutch issues this summer and those parts have since been replaced. The car is a year old and been in the shop more times than my old car that I traded in for my new ford.
Tl* the contact owns 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that the vehicle would stall and exhibit an abnormal grinding noise when driving 20-30 MPH. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 7,000. The consumer stated the vehicle exhibited a rough jerk, when shifting into lower gears, as well as a shudder and grinding metal sound when accelerating. The vehicle was sluggish, and did not perform as a new care should. The dealer was unable to find a problem and the technician informed the consumer, the vehicle was performing as designed. Updated 05/05/14
I have owned this ford focus for approx. 1 year. 10 months into owning it, I noticed the car would shudder when I was driving at lower speeds, or pulling into the driveway which has a slight incline. The car felt like it was going to stall unless I gave it a lot of gas to keep it moving. There is a loud grinding noise coming from the front end. After about a week of this I took it to a local ford dealer, a tech. Rode with me and agreed it was shuddering and making grinding noises. They said this was common in this vehicle, but they had a fix for it. They reset the transmission strategy and said it should take care of it. Within a week the same thing started all over, the jerking, the grinding noise was louder than ever and more chronic. I took it back to the same dealership that had reset the transmission. Again a tech drove it, confirmed my concerns. I was informed ford would not authorize any additional repairs on my vehicle, and that the grinding is "normal clutch ratchet noise". I took it to the dealership where I purchased the car this time, explained my concerns. I waited for approximately 2 hours while they inspected my car. I was informed that my car was operating normally, and no further repairs would be authorized by ford. The service consultant told me there were five other customers ahead of me for clutch replacements for the same kind of issue I am having. He stated the clutches were on back order due to the high number of problems with these vehicles. Talked to the regional customer service manager today, she told me ford was only responsible for mechanical failures. Her words to me were that I would have to "live with the grinding noise, the shuddering and jerking."what happens when I get rear ended at a stop light because my car shudders at low speeds and takes off slowly?" 3 times in for service within 30 days. No help from ford!
Transmission failure, slowing to exit off the interstate, vehicle shook violently. Took it to the ford dealer that I purchased it from, they refused to look at or service my vehicle and sent me on my way. I had already taken it to them on 3 different occasions for a noise after the vehicle was shut off, they assured me the noise was normal, saying it was lubricating the transmission so it didn't have to "cold start." I found a tsb about this noise and took it back to them to have them correct the problem they had told me was normal. After they made the noise go away is when the transmission started to slip. I took it to a different ford dealer who replaced the defective parts after a 36 day wait. I had the vehicle back for 3 days and the transmission started slipping again. I filed a complaint with the bbb requesting ford do a buy back of the vehicle, arbitrator ruled they didn't have to. I am now in the process of appealing this decision. These cars with this particular transmission are unsafe and ford is refusing to do anything about it.
My vehicle had difficulty starting, and once I did get it started, I could not put the car in reverse. The reverse gear would not engage on the automatic transmission. The car could operate in the forward direction, however, issues were noted when the car changed gears (from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd) even though it's an automatic. Rattling sounds we're heard as the car lurched into the next gear. After 80 miles or so, the display said to turn the car off and wait 9 minutes for transmission to cool. After waiting, car had issues starting, and same problems persisted. Car was towed to dealership.
I just bought this brand new 2013 ford focus titanium on friday 10/25/2013 and it had 107 miles. I drove around yesterday. While getting on ramp to 85 south freeway from fremont blvd, I heard this loud rattling noise coming from under the vehicle, as I accelerated the noise grew louder. I had no choice but continuing and existed at the next exit. Drove to a small street, driving slowly to see what the noise was. There I were, every time I accelerate, you can hear the rattle. This is brand new car. I went online all night last night and surprisingly, there are some many similar car owners with the exact same problem with new 2012-2013 ford focus. I'm taking the car back to the dealer but I can see so much headache ahead to get this fixed. Please look into this matter as soon as possible to avoid more future car owners of ford focus.
Vehicle going on lower gear (1st to 3rd gear) will slip. The transmission will jerk and choke. When it chokes the vehicle looses power and slows down causing the car behind almost hit me. Also there is a dry rattle from the transmission. Brought it back to ford dealer and they said all test is normal but can't do any other repair to test because I am under warranty and ford don't authorize them to do further repairs.
The engine and ford selectshift dual clutch transmissions are dangerous. They are very unpredictable.the transmission shudders, grinds and bucks in traffic. It has caused me to nearly hit the vehicle in front of me before. The engine's electronic throttle is also very unpredictable. Sometimes when I try to merge into traffic and press the accelerator, nothing at all happens for a couple of seconds. This has nearly caused me to be struck by another vehicle before.
With 9100 miles on it...while driving on the freeway the rpms revved to over 7000 and then down to zero. All gears were lost and had to coast to a stop on the shoulder. Towed to dealer where they downloaded software to it and said it was fine. *tr approximately 1000 miles later the same thing happened while crossing traffic on a highway. Towed to a dealer where a clutch motor was replaced. With 14320 miles on it the same thing happened while turning off a freeway ramp. Towed to dealer where the car was taken back in trade for a new car. Vehicle was powerless to move and could have resulted in injury or death of occupants due to shutdown occurring while moving in traffic at high speeds.
After coasting around a corner at 30mph I pressed accelerator and the transmission started slipping and then caught and the car launched forward. It did this three times and now its making a grinding noise.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the transmission began to slip gears in a jerking motion. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer three times where the computer system was reprogrammed on each occasion. The failure continued to recur after the most recent repair was performed. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000. ...updated 11-18-13
Car jerks alot! Always jerking at low speeds and usually through gears 1-4. Very unreliable in city driving and feels very unsafe. I totally regret purchasing this vehicle. Taken it several times to the ford camelback in phx az and they just say its the way the manufacture built the car and how the car is able to save gas. Ford needs to recognize this problem and give ford owners a break.
Was driving up my driveway which is fairly steep, the engine slipped out of gear (it's an automatic transmission) and started to roll backwards down the hill, the engine was revving/redlining as if it were in neutral. I quickly applied the brakes, and stepped on the gas. The car was still not in gear and continued to roll back, I applied the brakes again, and then the gas at which point the car shot forward, lucky that I was far enough away from the garage or any objects and remained in gear when I pulled into the garage. This same thing happened to me on flat ground in a parking lot one day. The lurch was less, but the car still shot forward faster than it should have, another instance where I was lucky that there were no pedestrians/cars/objects to run into. This car is dangerous and a liability.
When driving on residential roads, I often feel my 2013 ford focus stall or jerk. Often times there are glitches in the electrical wiring of locks and also in the radio. The door will stay locked after hitting the unlock button on the inside multiple times. The radio will not turn on, unless I turn off and re-turn on the car. As for the stalling, it often stalls when going anywhere from 30-65 MPH.
Traveling at 40 MPH when suddenly transmission disengaged and car slowed and only revved. Stop at stop signed, tried to accelerate engine only revved then transmission engaged and car jerked. This continued the 3 miles left to my house.
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