Transmission Fluid Leaking problems of the 2013 Ford Fiesta

My vehicle keep leaking brake fluid. Then slowly but surely, I wasn't able to shift into 3rd gear. The car would "shudder" in neutral and started running loud. Finally, I think because of the brake fluid leak despite me continuously adding fluid, the car wouldn't shift into gear. I had asked around and was told my gearbox needed to be oiled and have the oil changed, gear shift needed repair or the input or output for the front end needed repairing.

Vehicle shakes and shudders on acceleration. It has loud noise and decreased speed while on ramps or inclines. The check engine light came on a lot and would overheat while I was on the freeway. There was also a fluid leak under the vehicle.

When I took my car in for an oil change they said my oil was leaking so I took it into a Ford dealership. The dealership put some dye in my engine fluid and told me to bring it back after I drove another 500 miles. When I brought it back in they said my transmission had a leak. While driving it for the past few months I've also noticed it sputtering when I accelerate. This has seemed to worsen since taking it in as well. My car is constantly stalling when I make left turns or start going after being stopped or slowing down. I am very concerned and scared that while I am driving with my 3 year old in the backseat it will stall just a little too long and cause an accident harming him. There have been some close calls already and I am not happy to discover many people are having this problem with the 2013 Ford Fiestas. This car is not safe for anyone to drive.

Within a few weeks of purchase, the shuddering from a stopped start increased in magnitude (I understand the transmission is supposed to act like a manual but this was too severe) and on occasion after shifting from reverse to drive there was no engagement in the transmission, stepping on accelerator only revved the engine, no movement. Took the car back in, they state that is normal operation, the computer has to get used to your driving. Here we are one year later, it is no better and now has a transmission leak. Took back in for that and the service guy says, OH yeah we are booked way out to Aug 17 (it was July 24th) on fixes for that and he mentioned it is a known issue. Seems it has been known since 2011 yet the sales guys never mentioned it. Evidently mine is severe enough that they got me scheduled for Aug 7. They said that the transmission fluid may have gotten into the dry clutch and all would likely have to be replaced. It is great that they can continue to sell these knowing full well there are problems.

When I take off from a stop, using light or hard acceleration, the automatic transmission exhibits an intermittent transmission violent shudder, which shakes the car and causes hesitation on acceleration, creating a safety hazard. This has caused me several near misses trying to cross traffic because the transmission hesitation and shutter, causes delay in acceleration across on coming traffic. Because of this, I do not let my teenagers drive the car. The car has now developed leaking transmission fluid. 2013 Fiesta. I have taken the car to the dealer several times, they say its normal, simply reprogram the transmission, and hand me a paper from Ford which says the phenomena is normal. Ive never herd of an automatic transmission that shifted so poorly and violently as normal. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).