general problems of the 2018 Ford Focus - part 2

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 152,910.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the transmission shifted between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear, the engine revved up, and the vehicle jerked and lost motive power. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle responded. The contact stated that several weeks later, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact’s neighbor used a handheld diagnostic machine to retrieve a code related to transmission failure. The neighbor performed unstated repairs to the vehicle; however, the failure reoccurred days later. The contact stated on the last occasion, while driving at an undisclosed slight incline, between 1st and 2nd gears, the vehicle started jerking and failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light illuminated with a message to "transmission safety - stop for 5 minutes" displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that unknown parts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission was blown due to the leaking of the transmission clutch fluid. The dealer determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the clutch canister was previously replaced while the vehicle was owned by the previous owner. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

My 2018 Ford Focus started to buck, hesitate, and felt like it was going to stall. I pulled out of an intersection and my car just wouldn't go. I almost got hit. Then my engine light came on. Took it to my mechanic and he checked it with the coding machine which showed that it was in the transmission. I looked on the recall page and although my vehicle wasn't on it, they did recall other Ford Focus vehicles for the exact same problem. Ford knows there is a problem with this. It is very upsetting that my vehicle isn't part of the recall.

Bought a used 2018 Ford Focus from a dealer in October 2024. In February 2025 the car started shuttering when put inn reverse when I left work. I drove ten miles to home and didn't drive the car util the next day. The next morning when I went to work the car would not do more than 25 miles per hour. I pulled over and called someone to come tow the car. The car would not go in reverse. Car was taken to dealership which told me I needed some kind of part for the transmission. The part was replaced but then the dealership could not get the car to go forward or in reversed. The car kept throwing codes for the mechanic. I had the car towed back home. The transmission light is on and cannot drive the car. The car has not been driven since the end of February due to unable to pay for more repairs.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that over time the transmission was difficult to shift into gear. The transmission warning light was illuminated, and the message "internal transmission failure" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 14 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended, and the transmission was slipping while shifting between first and second gear. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause of the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving 10 mph, the vehicle jerked, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, with the power train and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the transmission failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was towed to the residence and had not been driven since the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted with the check engine and transmission temperature warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted, and the dealer informed the contact that a used transmission was installed into the vehicle by the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 103,449.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate, and the transmission was slipping while shifting between first and second gear. Additionally, the engine overheated due to the coolant leak and the message to "pull over" was displayed. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The contact stated that the transmission had been replaced on four previous occasions. The failure mileage was 77,805.

My car is having a hard time shifting in lower gears, rpm's race, but car does not move forward. This is the 2nd time in 6 months we've had this issue. We've already had both clutches replaced the last time this issue happened. Car is at approximately 67,000 miles.

Additional information to existing case # 11636712. The 3rd evap canister valve repair on 1/15/2025 from cook Ford case# from Ford michigan regarding evap canister valve recall also, a 3rd pending code on the transmission control module on my 2018 Ford Focus listed on the cook Ford repair invoice.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift to reverse(r) as needed. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that when the gear shifter was shifted to drive(d), the transmission downshifted unintendedly. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 134,225.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate and had experienced hard shifting from first to second gear. The check engine warning light illuminated and the warning message "transmission overheating" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who replaced that clutch actuator but the failure was not remedied. The contact was advised that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 40 mph and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and waited for his girlfriend to pick him up. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch, the a and b lever, and the throw-out bearing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 18v169000 (power train); however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,731.

The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to start and failed to accelerate above 15 mph while driving. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact's son pulled over and restarted the vehicle and an abnormal burning odor was coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the clutch and actuator motor were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 65,607.

Slowed down to enter roundabout, when acceleration out of roundabout transmission shuddered, check engine light illuminated and failed to accelerate greater then 35 mph. When stopped transmission continued to shudder, and shifted awkwardly.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to immediately start. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the transmission failed to properly shift between first and second gear, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 mph. Additionally, the vehicle failed to respond while shifted into reverse. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the dual input clutch assembly, shift fork, and clutch actuator were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 75,000.

The car would not accelerate or shift gears. It just happened out of the blue with no warning. I kept up with maintenance schedule and it wasn't even recommended to have checked until 150,000 according to the owners manual that came with the car. I was only at 98,443 miles and had no warning lights or no leaks. I was driving with my grandchildren and was lucky I could coast safely off the road. I had it towed to the local dealership. The tech found that the car needed a new transmission.

Whenever the car is just being driven normally it has begun having issues shifting gears esspecially in the lower gears. The check engine light has gone one in the vehicle several times all producing the same error code of p07a3 "transmission friction element 'a' stuck on". All who have serviced the vehicle have expressed that this is a well known and common issue with the newer models of Focus with active recalls in the past for the years 2012-2016 due to the exact issue that my transmission is portraying now. The vehicle will stutter when it exceeds speeds between 7mph to 14mph. In extreme cases the vehicle will stall out with a set rpm of 1×1000. When a stall out occurs the vehicle becomes unwieldy as it'll start to shake violently prompting the immediate response of pulling off to the side of the road to prevent any potential damage to the vehicle itself as well as other vehicles on the road. From the countless mechanics I've consulted about this issue they have all brought forth the notion that this problem isn't fixable and the only solution is replacing the entire transmission unit as a whole as this is again an extremely common fault with the new Ford Focus models.

The clutch failed, and is available for inspection. The dealer confirmed clutch needs replacing. No warning lights which is why I scanned for any codes. Other than the dealer no other inspections. I was driving normally along on the highway in stop and go traffic. A/c was on and normal breaking and traveling 15-25mph. As traffic broke started to accelerate at a normal pace. Then the vehicle started to violently shake, got really loud like my exhaust had fallen off. I had to put the hazard lights on. Then put the vehicle in neutral as traffic was passing me on both sides. From neutral went back to drive and it make a loud noise but seemed power was back. I had to keep rpm’s under 2000 and get off the highway and drove slowly home. Applying any higher acceleration resulting in shaking and noises. I did stop to see if any fluids or objects hanging once safely off the highway but nothing was there. I scanned the vehicle in the following days and had zero codes, attached. Then made appointment for the dealership. They are saying no recall while my scanner says possibly. I called Ford direct and they point me to here as my VIN apparently doesn’t meet the criteria.

Lurching jerking shifting problems then transmission hot alert. Pull over wait five and start again. Rpm increase and feels like automatic transmission slipping. Won't start again until sitting for a while. Pulled over twice on the freeway. Went to autozone and engine light code indicates need to replace transmission control module.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the contact attempted to accelerate however, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the check transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised by the mechanic that there was a recall for the transmission, NHTSA campaign number: 18v845000 (power train). The contact called the manufacturer and was advised that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

Car shuddered horribly on interstate. Rpms revving up like crazy. Transmission struggling. This caused the car to slow down drastically in the middle of traffic, nearly causing myself a fatal accident amongst others around me. No warning indications, just transmission fault service now as soon as it happened. In the past this vehicle has had transmission issues fixed and replaced by Ford themselves, due to the same shuddering and stalling as listed above. All those times, no check engine light or warning lights. Care would accelerate/jerk/shudder badly. Making it unpredictable to drive.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v905000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed the vehicle stalled with the low oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the oil pump tensioner which caused the engine to seize. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact also stated while driving at an undisclosed, the contact became aware of a failure with the transmission. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and jerked with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed as a failure with the torque converter. The contact was informed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact called on behalf of her son who owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle jerked abnormally and lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with dual transmission clutch failure and the two actuators failure. The contact was informed that the dual transmission clutch and the actuators needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,248.

Engine failure warnings, overheating, and car loss power slowed down to 5 miles per hour. The engine was replaced four times; head gasket replaced three times. I have had the car for three years, and it has been out of service for more than 190 days with the same problem. I have pleaded and begged Ford motor company and the dealership to take the car back and give me a refund. It is at the dealership service department now. They have had it from July 3-July 15, 2024.

Driving into a parking lot the check engine light came on and the vehicle would only move about 10 mph - parked the vehicle and returning to the vehicle it would not go into reverse or any forward gear. 06.

Transmission is slipping causing the transmission to emit a “transmission hot” code on car . Dealer is aware of certain cars with the same issue . This is an automatic transmission but codes are reading that the clutch is stuck . Car suddenly loses power which can cause a major accident .

Driving on highway, message transmission overheating, park car. We were on highway, and had to pull over, this very much put our safety at risk. 2018 Ford Focus titanium 29,000 miles got it to dealership replaced clutch/levers with seal kit $4123. 05.

P219a, p064d total system shutdown was not recrank. Was in the middle of a four-way intersection when car died. Independent service diagnose the problem have checked the Ford recall list and there are three recalls address to my vehicle oil pressure light battery light and check engine light.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when attempting to reverse out of the dealership the vehicle showed a slight hesitation before reversing. Approximately 2 weeks later while in the parking lot, they had attempted to reverse the vehicle however the vehicle failed to reverse. Persons nearby had to assist the contact with pushing the vehicle out of the parking space. The contact was able to proceed with driving, however, the vehicle was unable to reverse. While attempting to drive home on the highway at approximately 55 mph the vehicle began to fail picking up in speed while accelerating causing it to stall. The warning message, "transmission overheating, switch off engine for 5 minutes," was displayed on the dashboard. The contact coasted to the side of the road where they had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The contact found that their failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 18v845000 (power train). The mechanic diagnosed that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic had not repaired the vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer who confirmed that the clutch had failed but that the entire transmission needed to be replaced as well. The vehicle had not been repaired. The dealer confirmed that the VIN not being included in the NHTSA campaign number: 18v845000 (power train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 105,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch forks. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v248000 (power train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 84,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed the vehicles clutch began to fail. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 18v845000 (power train); however, her particular VIN was not included in the recall. The contact took the vehicle to their local dealer where it was diagnosed as transmission failure. The contact was able to speak with the manufacturer and was told by them they would have to reach out to the NHTSA hotline to have her VIN included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000 .

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to shift immediately from first to second gear. The vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light was later illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the clutch actuator b and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Powershift transmission, including the 6dct250 dps6 version used in the Ford fiesta and Ford Focus, used dry clutches and electric motor/solenoid actuation, which is prone to failure. I have had the vehicle in shop for tcm replacement twice in a year. Now quoted 3300, for repair. This is not covered under recall or warranty by Ford.