Power Train Problems of Ford Focus - part 2

I am writing you today because my Ford Focus with transmission dps6,7spdct has all the same problems the older models have. Ford has stopped there 10 year 150000 mile warranty on there transmission on all models built after November 5 2015. Mine is January 1 2016 with all same transmission components. And all my warranty is ran out and still having transmission problems.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Focus 🔎.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle felt as if the transmission had slipped into neutral(n). The contact was not able to get the vehicle back into gear, and the vehicle lost forward momentum. The contact was in the parking lot of the residence and stopped and called a tow truck. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that it was the fifth time that the clutch had been replaced. The contact stated that the clutch was most recently replaced in may 2024. The contact called the manufacturer and was referred to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

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Driving and all of a sudden the engine light comes on while sitting at the light. Went to accelerate and it was like I was driving a stick shift and then it was a big jerk. The car has never done this. Pulled over in a parking lot and then was not able to reverse my car.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Focus 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "transmission malfunction" message was displayed, and the contact continued driving to the destination. Additionally, the message "transmission overheating – pull over now", displayed and the contact stopped driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to customer satisfaction program: 14m02. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to a lower gear and the vehicle jerked abnormally. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

I am reporting a recurring safety issue with the dps6 dual-clutch automatic transmission in my 2012 Ford Focus (VIN: 1fahp3k28cl261030). The vehicle intermittently fails to shift beyond 3rd gear while in motion, resulting in loss of acceleration and inability to maintain safe highway speeds. The most recent incident occurred in July 2025 while my son was driving. The car would not upshift past 3rd gear, forcing him to pull off the road. We took the vehicle to a Ford dealership, which ran diagnostics and ultimately identified diagnostic trouble code p2832: “shift fork b position sensor circuit low. ” this error points to failure of the clutch actuator assembly, a key component of the dps6 system. The dealership linked the issue to internal transmission component failure but stated the original warranty repair had already been used and no coverage was currently open. Ford customer relationship center advised us to have the dealer submit through the specialty recall program and to file a safety complaint with NHTSA. This failure is consistent with the issues outlined in technical service bulletin (TSB) 16-0109, which addresses shuddering, hesitation, and shifting failure in Ford’s dps6 transmission due to actuator and clutch contamination. The vehicle previously underwent warranty repair for transmission issues, and this is a repeat failure tied to the same known defect. This defect affects drivability and safety, especially for younger or less experienced drivers. Ford has acknowledged the defect in class action settlements and internal bulletins, but is denying coverage in this case. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this ongoing pattern of failure and pressure Ford to address these safety risks before they result in serious injury.

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I have had the clutch replaced and after 5 months I'm having issues with it again. The Ford dealer that I purchased it from it saying that there is no issue and they cannot duplicate the problem that I am telling them is occurring.

We have a 2017 Ford Focus hatchback with a 2. 0l engine and a powershift transmission. We are the original owners and the vehicle only has 56,000 miles. The vehicle, when accelerating and shifting from 1st gear to second gear, is slipping, yielding a loss of torque in an unpredicted fashion. My daughter has nearly been rearended several times. The slip and reengagement is only in this shifting pattern (I. E. Not evident in higher gears nor at higher speeds). Ford service acknowledges that there is a problem but is not warrantying the service do to the age of the vehicle. My contention that unintended acceleration is a safety issue and I would like NHTSA to investigate this very serious issue, on such a low mileage vehicle. I worry about the safety of my daughter and other vehicles.

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On July 2nd my daughter was driving her car and the engine slowed and turned off. She tried to out it in reverse and it would not function. We took it to our mechanics and he got a p287a - code - I then spoke with Ford customer service and they stated the extended warranty on that same issue expired June 30th and advised me to reach out to you as the extended warranty was not listed for our vehicle I am hoping someone can help us since we are under the mileage and it was only a few days past the time frame. Thank you.

Bought this car from dean arbour Ford in Feb 2024. Seven months later it had issues shifting and would sputter. Took it back to dealership, they replaced a transmission clutch. Now here it is 1. 5 years after purchase. Check engine light came on no issues causing alram, had the code reader put on it said it was the transmission actuator, later that night it no longer wanted to shift. But after a couple restarts it was back to normal. Husband found out that the same code had been cleared prior to us purchasing the car.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Focus 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle started shuddering and vibrating and decelerated unintendedly. The contact stated that the transmission failed to properly shift and failed to reverse. During the failure, the messages "transmission overheating" and "transmission fault" were displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA campaign number: 18v169000 (power train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 143,000.

The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and unexpectedly downshifted. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The owner of the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

Catastrophic engine failure, engine died and was unable to shift into gear my 16 year old daughter was driving on a busy highway when the engine died, causing her to stop completely on a 55 mph road. She was unable to get the car into a gear to have it pushed to the side of the road and had to sit in the car with traffic flying by her until we could get a tow truck (approximately 30 minutes). She was unable to get out due to the traffic being so heavy. The vehicle had a limited warranty left on it, and it was towed to a facility where they diagnosed with blown head gasket and/or cracked cylinder head. It was towed to a dealership where it was discovered the car had an active recall that caused the engine failure. There was no warning signs previously.

Transmission slipping. I was waiting to turn into my apartment and as I went to turn, my gear slipped where I was stuck in on coming traffic. Found out that there is a lot of Ford Focus having the same issue with transmission.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted into first gear and the transmission was slipping. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

Transmission control module failed and I had that replaced. Now the clutch pack failed and had that replaced. Now it says transmission hot and to pull over. All of this has been recalled on 2012 to 2016 but for some reason my car is not and its the same powershift transmission. Im over 4000 dollars into these repairs and still having problems.

Most recently, my transmission stopped working leaving my 12-year-old daughter and I stranded at an airport, in congested traffic, right around a bend where traffic was exiting in phoenix, arizona. It was 111 degrees outside and we had to be towed by the airport contracted tow company to a little area where we could only stay for 20 minutes. They were originally going to tow us to the top of the parking garage, where the sun blazes down, but decided since I had my daughter with me that they would take us to a shaded area. I’m a single mom, her father just got out of federal prison and hasn’t been any help her entire life. I don’t have any family besides my sister which lives in California. I couldn’t afford a tow truck back to kingman, az which is a which is a 3 1/2 hour drive. My car ended up starting and I was able to park in the parking garage so we got her flight moved back a couple of hours. Again, I was able to get the car started and it drove fine until it cut out about two hours from phoenix in wikieup arizona where I stayed for 12 hours in my vehicle waiting for somebody to come and pick me up with a tow dolly. Now it’s at anderson Ford in kingman with an $8000 bill for a new transmission. This transmission issue is a known issue with many of the Ford Focuses and I think that Ford needs to fix it and or give me a new vehicle because I’ve already had two new engines put in and I’m waiting on the third engine for the oil pump failure the first time the oil pump went out again. The first time the engine failed at 47,000 miles just outside of wikiup arizona, it was hot outside, I had two young girls with me and we we’re driving 65 mph up a hill in the car just lost power and we were stuck on the side of the road with no tow trucks even available for over 4 hours to come and help us. It was a mess. I included the repair invoices from both times the engine was replaced and then verbal communication between the dealership and I about the current transmission issue.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000.

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The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While the contact’s daughter was driving approximately 30 mph, the lost motive power and started to decelerate unintendedly. The driver coasted to the side of the road; however, while attempting to turn around to return home, the vehicle failed to reverse as intended. The driver drove the longer route back to the residence because the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The check engine warning light was illuminated but was off the following morning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

Purchased 2016 Ford Focus se with 132,000 mi on Wednesday June 11, 2025. Drove with no problem when I took it for a long test drive. Drove it Thursday June 12, 2025 with no problem. On Friday June 13, 2025 I thought I felt a little slippage going from 1st to 2nd gear. On Friday June 14, 2025 my 17yr old daughter drove it to the beach and while driving back home she got a msg "transmission overheating". She pulled over and called me. I was able to put the key 2 clicks into the starting position and switch to neutral where I got a msg " transmission now ready". I then put my scanner on it and was it read shift error po7a3, clutch "a" disengagement p286f, clutch "b" stuck engaged p287a. I took it to the dealer I bought it from but it was a as is purchase. Now I am stck even though Ford and the dealer knew about these problems.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the vehicle jerked, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and the vehicle stalled. The message "transmission overheating - stop vehicle" was displayed. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact waited for 20 minutes to restart the vehicle. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted; however, the failure recurred a short distance afterwards. The contact coasted to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The failure had progressively worsened. Most recently, the transmission overheated, and the contact had to pull over and wait for the transmission to cool down. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 13v523000 (power train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered while shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, or upon acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

The car shows a warning transmission fault service now.

Unknown.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, the transmission was slipping, the vehicle exceeded 3,000 rpm and suddenly lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact was able to resume driving; however, the failure recurred while at a complete stop at a four-way intersection. The contact was able to drive approximately 2 mph to his son's residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel pressure regulator had failed, and a fuel line was rusted. The dealer replaced the parts. Additionally, the dealer diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 179,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate or exceed 30 mph. The message "transmission overheating" was displayed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 13v523000 (power train); the VIN was included but was already repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 75,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle had hesitated to start. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle started sputtering, the rpms increased, and the vehicle lost drive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The messages "transmission overheat" and "transmission failure. Could be overheating - pull vehicle over ASAP" were displayed. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted and was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer, where the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,463.

Improperly shifting, intermittently stalls in shifting and loses transmission power. Scan code po902 clutch actuator circuit low plus 3 other possible.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated the transmission unexpectedly downshifted before slamming into gear. The vehicle intermittently returned to normal functionality, or the rpm would fluctuate, and the transmission would shift rough. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who retrieved dtc: p07a3 (failure with the clutch a stuck causing transmission friction). The contact was informed that the clutch actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while at a stop light, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to move forward. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving on a major highway. The contact stated that after the vehicle sat for approximately ten minutes, the vehicle was restarted, and the vehicle independently reset. The vehicle was driven to the residence. In addition, the contact stated that several days prior to the failure, the vehicle was started; however, the gear shifter failed to shift into drive(d). The contact stated the gear shifter only shifted into reverse(r), and the transmission fault warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.

Car shakes and shutters while shifting between gears, no other warning system came on to let me know about the transmission issues prior to this day.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while idling at a stop sign and attempting to accelerate, the transmission failed to shift into gear and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact shifted to park until the transmission shifted to drive. The message that the transmission was overheating was displayed and informed the contact to park the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the traction control module and clutch had failed. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign numbers: 18v845000 (power train) and 18v169000 (power train); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted for approximately an hour. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to customer satisfaction program: 14m02. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 171,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the vehicle briefly began to jump and jolted before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch, determining that the transmission friction element b was stuck on. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the “transmission overheating” warning light illuminated. Additionally, the rpm had become elevated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission clutch failure. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 18v169000 (power train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact had previously received the recall notification. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,500.