Cruise Control Problems of Ford Focus - part 1

On three separate occasions(today being most recent) when using cruise control while in motion on a state highway and traveling 60 mph, the vehicle on its own began accelerating without the driver using the acceleration button on the cruise control or pressing down with right foot on the accelerator pedal.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Focus 🔎.

Car will hesitate to accelerate leaving you to press the gas harder than needed at times and could cause an accident. Sometimes car wont shift into the correct gear. While driving with cruise control set my car will rev up to 7,000 rpm and stay there for a few seconds. I have multiple videos of this happening and im told its not bad enough for Ford to cover it under my warranty because it doesnt meet their requirements for a repair. They have replaced the clutch as well as tcm. A total of 3 transmission repairs and now im passed my warranty so they wont cover the diagnosis. Ive had it looked at multiple times and was told its not bad enough or they cant find anything wrong at all. And my videos arent proof enough even though you can see my cruise is set and my speed doesnt change but my rpms are all over the place, nor is it possible for me to make my rpms stay consistant at a rate. Very frustrating to buy a brand new car to have these issues continue to happen and get horrible has mileage.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Focus 🔎.

First problem were the transmission shifting very hard and on a couple of occasions the car would not go into reverse when trying to back out of my driveway. Dealer recoded the transmission. Car is now still shifting very hard, sometimes the rpms will hit 4,000+ before it will hard downshift. Other time I have had to press on the brake to get the rpms down. Also while on cruise control the rpms will also rev to 4,000 when trying to slow down. On a recent trip when I cancelled the cruise control the car actually sped up on two separate occasions. Car continues to shift hard and what other people in the car have described as the transmission slipping. This has been ongoing for almost a year now. Dealer always says they have not heard anyone else complain about the transmission which is funny since I get class action lawsuit mail about every other week about it.

(dealer info) tl the contact owned a 2004 Ford Focus. The contact heard a car horn sound while being away from the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed flames underneath the vehicle. The fire department was contacted and extinguished the flames. An investigator diagnosed that the failure originated from the cruise control switch. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard where it was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 09v399000 (vehicle speed control), but the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

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East-bound on freeway traveling approx 65 mph. On 3 different occasions the cruise control spontaneously turned on by itself. On those occasions I touched the brakes and the issue stopped. Shortly thereafter I exited the freeway for a 2 lane highway . Did not experience further cruise issues on 2 lane highway.

The contact owned a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving 70 mph with the cruise control activated, the steering wheel vibrated when the cruise control was deactivated. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed and deemed a total loss at the salvage yard. The police was notified but the contact was unaware if a report was filed. The contact was taken to the hospital by ambulance for observation of chest pains. The air bags did not deploy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 55,000.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Focus 🔎.

I previously had a 2012 Ford Focus, which left me stranded in the middle of a bridge after a recall part broke. (Ford in the letter sent on the recall stated they could not fix the part that broke until it broke). So I had to wait until that day happened. That was the second strike against them. I had already been in for diagnostic checks and reprogramming several times over the years I owned the car. Then they had to replace the clutch and tcm; kept my car for 3-4 days. So after all that was fixed I traded and got a 2014 Ford Focus hatchback. All that stuff was supposed to be behind me and no glitches in this year. After 15,000 miles was put on the car the clutch started acting up again and progressively got worse. The shuttering and stuttering become so bad I thought my car was going to fall apart. From a dead stop to a go (20-30 mph) it had such a hard time shifting gears that the rpm's would just take off. Grinding noises under the car upon acceleration. When in cruise control it would just lose speed on it's own, cruise set for 60mph and rpm"s would just drop outta no where like the car was about to stall. Took it in and sure enough new clutch and seals were already needed (this car was purchased in April 2015 and the clutch went out in January 2016). They kept the car a wk (at no time was I offered a rental) had to borrow my parents vehicles to get around; my husband needed his car. Had the car back a wk and have already taken it in to be reprogrammed b/c yet again we are having shuttering and stuttering issues as well as problems upon acceleration. When I check 2014 Focus recalls there are some major recalls. I was issued a recall on my VIN# for the tcm already. They have increased my warranty to 100,000 b/c they know I will be back for more repairs and the service guy stated replacing the clutch is only temporary, I will be back for a new one again and again.

Car makes noise. Car sluggish when I give gasoline. Went to dealer about 5 times before dealer decided I had transmission problem. Dealer told me would only repair transmission. Waited for part. Went back to dealer to say car almost stalled. Was applying brakes at the time on highway. Out of concern for condition car was in, had car on cruise control to limit sudden application of gas or brake. Was on road for about 20 minutes on highway. I worried car would stall and cause accident. Dealer later said machine review of my car says it was drivable. Advised dealer if it almost stalls, it may stall. Dealer said: I will have to wait for part. It has been over 2 months, part not at dealer. Latest is that Ford corporation advised me part was sent 8 days ago. Dealer does not have part. Last 3 days dealer does not call back after I left messages to tell me status of part. Car is unsafe to drive, need to drive long distance, but I do not want to risk it. Waited for part since 12/6/2015. Dangerous highway incident was 1/1/2016.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford Focus 🔎.

Car violently stutters and shakes on acceleration from a stop or at low speeds. No acceleration when going up a hill. Car was serviced, but the problem wasn't fixed. Parts are on back order. While driving the car died and a light saying there was a transmission failure came on. The entire tcm was replaced after towing into the dealer. Shaking only got worse. Now the rpms will jump at highway speeds even in cruise control. Parts still on back order. Ford says that this is "normal" for this car and there is no real fix. The only fix is to constantly have it serviced but even that doesn't fix the problem.

While driving down the interstate at 70 miles per hour, the car dropped out of cruise control and coasted to 5 miles per hour. Pressing the gas pedal had no result. We were lucky to avoid collision with nearby cars and coasted off the interstate into a park and ride lot. Car had to be towed to dealer repair. We were told by Ford dealer that the throttle body had died and had to be replaced. This Ford certified preowned car is still covered by powertrain warranty but this does not include throttle body. Numerous actions with Ford regarding faulty throttle bodies is widely reported and we believe this issue should be addressed in a formal recall for 2009 Ford Focus. Repair is $875 which we believe Ford should be covering.

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The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving at unknown speeds with the cruise control activated, the rpms accelerated. Additionally, the clutch was slipping without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer (Ford of clermont located at 1101 e highway 50 clermont, FL 34711 800-313-9787) where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module, electronic control module, and clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer opened case number: cas12559345 and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was 51,691.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford Focus 🔎.

When driving at highway speed 65 with cruise control engaged the vehicle feels as if the engine is cutting out or engine braking is being applied the rpm's drop from 2. 5 to 2. 25 feels like the engine is pulsing.

2001 Ford Focus. Consumer writes in regards to electrical system failure. The consumer stated the vehicle was a lemon. Over the past 2 years alone, he has spent $2,000 in non-routine repairs. Every time there was an issue, the vehicle was taken to the repair shop for the problem, but was never fully fixed. On one occasion, the vehicle started smoking and the wiring caught on fire. . The consumer was informed, the vehicle needed all new wiring, after the dash lights and tail lights went out 3 times. Also, the cruise control and all the lights inside the vehicle stopped working.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Focus 🔎.

We were driving home and had been on the road using cruise control for approximately 2 1/2 hours when the vehicle shut off completely going from 70 mph to no power or electrical. We were fast lane on I-75 north and the car was without any power or hazard lights. We attempted to restart the car several times and finally it started after 5 minutes. Luckily a car stopped and had their hazard lights on. Since then our car fuel has decreased to 12 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. When you take off car bogs down and you have to mash hard on the gas to get it to move. The idle is rough and you can feel it running rough. We have had it into the dealership five times and since car does not code they will not work on it per Ford's policy. Thus, we have that Ford has advertised will get 28 in the city and 40 on the highway which we did get the first month before it died on the highway. Since then we are afraid to drive using cruise on on a trip.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the cruise control was activated and the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated up to 80 mph. The vehicle failed to reduce speed even though the brake pedal was engaged numerous times . The vehicle eventually slowed down when the gear was shifted into the neutral position. The engine was then turned off. After restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who disabled the cruise control wires. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.

See all problems of the 2005 Ford Focus 🔎.

I was driving about 40 mph. Suddenly an error message popped up "service advancetrac". Then the car was disabled. The speed automatically reduced. The speed did not respond or increase at all when I stepped on the accelerator pedal. Luckily, I was able to pull over to safety. Then the car stopped completely. I turned off the car, then turned it on again. The error message "service advancetrac" popped up again. This time, the car automatically accelerated from 0 to 30 mph, then it ran constantly at 30 mph. This time, the speed did not respond at all when I stepped on the accelerator pedal. It was like the car was on cruise control, without you being able to turn off cruise control! extremely dangerous! I brought it to the dealership for service the 1st time. They replaced the accelerator assembly. About a week later, the same issue happened again. I brought it to the dealership for service the 2nd time. I even took a picture of the error message on the dashboard and shown it to the service adviser. They couldn't reproduce the issue, and told me there was nothing that they could do. Then it happened again right after I drove off the dealership. Then, I managed to drive back to the dealership with the error message still on and with the issue occurring. Service was able to collect some kind of code from that error message, but could not figure out what was wrong with my car, and told me they will contact Ford directly. It has been 3 days and I have not received a response at all. This morning, I turned on my car and drove for 2 minutes and the same issue occurred again! as for proof, I was able to record a 30 second video clip while the car was running on a constant speed of 30 mph without me stepping on the accelerator pedal. I do not feel safe driving this car anymore because this problem can occur randomly anytime in the middle of the road! not safe for driving!.

Driving to work traveling at 80 mph my Ford Focus 2013 hatchback se decelerates to 60 mph. I step on the gas to accelerate, but the rpm goes from 3000 rpm to 4500 rpm with no increase in speed. The car was only going up a slight incline in the road no more than 10 degrees of elevation. I release the gas and then try to step on the brake gently. If there were problems accelerating I wanted to be sure I would be able to stop. The brakes worked fine, but when I proceeded to accelerate I could not get the car beyond 60 mph. The cruise control was not on, and this is the first time it ever happened. The car was purchased new Jan 2, 2013. I live in san francisco so there were no extreme weather condition to cause this issue.

Traveling on highway in passing lane with cruise control on,noticed vehicle slowing down. Applied pressure to gas pedal,no acceleration. I had to get off road quickly because car was coming to a stop;almost caused an accident in doing so. Vehicle idled rough and I had no control of acceleration. I shut off vehicle and was able to start it up again and had acceleration control again. Took vehicle to Ford dealer ship and they replaced throttle body. Service tech stated that they have been replacing several of these throttle bodies on Ford vehicles lately and they except a recall. My concern is that this could have easily caused an accident. Ford knows this issue exist,get it recalled before someone gets hurt or killed.

While driving at highway speeds (60-65 mph), with the cruise control set, the vehicle has twice lost all engine power, though it remained running at idle speeds. The first time this happened, the car seemed as if it had turned off, though the engine was still running at idle speed. After pulling over, with the car in neutral, pushing on the accelerator pedal did nothing. . . It remained at idle speed. A dash light came on, indicating a throttle sensor fault. After turning off the car and restarting, everything seemed to be working fine. The second time this happened was about 2 weeks later under similar conditions, though this time was in heavier traffic on a multi-lane highway. It was difficult, not to mention dangerous, to cross two lanes of traffic to pull over.

See all problems of the 2008 Ford Focus 🔎.

While driving my car to work on 8/20/07 I noticed the car beginning to accelerate on it's own. The car has cruise control but the problem continued even after I turned off the speed control function. Given the excessive rate of speed the car had accelerated to I applied the brakes to slow the car down but once I released the brake it continued to accelerate upwards of 75-80 mph.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Focus 🔎.

Upon entering an intersection and having to stop at a stop sign, I pressed the cruise control off button and applied the brake. Instead of slowing down, the vehicle increased speed, and traveled into the intersection. I attempted to turn out of the way of oncoming traffic but struck a passing SUV. End result was my car was totaled and the SUV suffered heavy damage. I contacted Ford in dearborn, mi but they were no help. The consumer stated the cruise control would not deactivate when the brakes were applied or when the off button was pressed. Updated 10/10/07.

I was driving on a highway and turned on cruise control going up a hill. When the car cleared the hill, it continued to accelerate past the set point (probably 65 mph). At 70-75 mph I became alarmed and hit the off button to disengage cruise control, but the car continued to accelerate. I then hit the brakes lightly, thinking this would disengage cruise, but it did not and the car continued to accelerate to about 80 - 85 mph, at which point I turned off the engine and coasted to a stop on the shoulder. I then re-started the car 2-3 times, and each time, the engine immediately went to very high rpm, so I shut it down quickly. I had the car towed to a dealership where I live, and the next day the service manager had the same experience: car revved very high and he shut it down quickly. The second time he tried it, the battery was dead. When I spoke to the service manager this morning, he told me that the cruise control actuator had become "turned around" and that this had kinked the cruise control cable, preventing it from returning throttle control to the gas pedal. There have been two recalls on 2000 Ford Focus vehicles related to the cruise control system (NHTSA campaign id numbers 99v346000 and 00v302000), but apparently neither applies to my particular VIN, which is 1fahp36p1yw193651. This obviously could have turned out very differently had I been driving in heavy traffic or had I not thought to simply shut the engine off, and I view it as a very significant safety hazard for this vehicle. I hope that you will initiate an investigation, as this failure could easily have fatal consequences.

Consumer stated the cruise control went into full throttle position and could not be deactivated by pressing the brake pedal. The only way to shut it off was to turn the key off. The consumer had to have the cruise control disabled. He has not contacted a service dealer.

While driving down the montauk highway 27, I reached the speed of 50 mph. Approximately 5 minutes after reaching 50 and placing my car in cruise control, the car unexpectedly began to rapidly accelerate. I could not slow the car down, had to turn the ignition key off and stopped in the middle of the highway.

Consumer's vehicle experienced the same problem as stated in NHTSA recall 00v302000 concerning cruise control. A speed control cable could have a core wire that is long enough to catch on the sleeve at the throttle body end of the cable during wide-open throttle acceleration. Dealership was notified. However, they indicated sorry VIN was not include in this recall.

While driving the vehicle, the cruise control would not work properly. The dealer was not notified. When the consumer disengaged the transmission, the engine began racing uncontrollably. The consumer felt that this was caused by omission in the logic design of the cruise control system.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Focus 🔎.

While driving 65 mph with cruise control on the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would not restart. Consumer managed to pull over, and left vehicle over night. The vehicle started up the next day with no problem. Dealership was notified but the problem was not resolved.

Cruise control failed to respond to application of brakes. The second incident caused the consumer to strike another vehicle because the cruise control failed to disengage.

While driving cruise control will lock up and could cause an accident. Cause unknown. Dealer notified.

When the brakes were applied with the cruise control activated, the vehicle continued to accelerate. The dealer has been notified. Nlm.

Consumer would put the cruise control on and the vehicle would accelerate without warning. Dealer notified.

I was traveling northbound on GA hwy 400 at 7:30 a. M. Traffic was lighter than normal, so I decided to use my cruise control. I set the cruise at 70 mph & drove it for approx 5 miles. When I approached my exit, I pressed on the brake to disengage the cruise. The cruise light went off, but the cruise did not disengage. I fought it all the way up the ramp. I was very fortunate that the light was green & there were no cars ahead of me (normally extremely busy intersection). I exited at a high rate of speed as I continued to pump the brake. I got the car off to the side of the road, put it in neutral & once it was almost stopped, put it in park & turned it off. Every time I turned it back on, the engine revved back up like it was trying to reach the 70 mph speed in park. I had it towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed as a bad servo. This could have been potentially fatal to me & others, had the normal traffic backup been at the off ramp. I could have slammed into one or more other cars trying to get mine stopped. I understand there are recalls on the 2000 Focus cars, due to defective cruise controls, but have seen nothing on the 2001 vehicles. Needless to say, although I paid extra for cruise control, I will never be able to trust it enough to use it again.

99 v 346 000/cruise control: governor on cruise control would not operate when shifting into neural from drive, causing unexpected acceleration when it occurs. Dealer / manufacturer were notified. Feel free to provide any further details on this matter.

Consumer was traveling 68mph set on cruise control. Cruise control was disengaged to slow down. After resuming the cruise control, vehicle began picking up seed to 70mph & fish tailing across the road. Consumer lost slight control of vehicle, traveling forward. Vehicle hit a concrete wall & was totaled. Invetigation is in process.

Intermittently engine revvs up to 700 rpm when coming to a stop. This could cause a crash. Problem was reported to dealership. An adjustment was made on the idle. However, consumer was still experiencing a problem with vehicle.