Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Ford Focus - part 1

The car would not shift into a gear, would not shift gear to propel itself in traffic causing a safety issue. A warning light would come on saying the transmission was getting overheated. Ford of glenwood springs colorado refused to look at the car because of its age despite the recall on the clutch for the year, make and model of the car. A napa shop determined the clutches were out. Napa quoted $4,253 to fix the problem. I called ken garff Ford in fort collins colorado at 4809 s. College avenue to get this fixed under the recall. They said my VIN number wasn't covered, and the cost would be $6,000. I called Ford 1-866-436-7332 spoke to ron employee #2192738 and was told he would document the call but could not do anything. Ford is aware of the safety issue we simply want them to standby their product and fix the problem or reimbursing us for the repairs to avoid a further hardship to get to work.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Focus 🔎.

Erratic shifting and eratic slipping gears , first happened while on highway and then it wouldnt go in any gear besides reverse and would say transmission overheat wait 5 min . Caused another veihcal behind me to slam on there brakes and they ended up getting rear ended from the car behind them . . . . . All becouse of my cars tcm or transmission issues>!!!! also not too mention ` random unusual noises coming from clutch or shifter when not even start car yet _delayed start and delayed shifting . . I could go on and on this car is a nightmare.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford Focus 🔎.

I was on my way to a 7-eleven to get gas once I filled it up. Those engine started sputtering and it did that for a minute until it finally started. I got to my school and then once I needed to go to school to school, my car was not going above 11 mph and when I was trying to reverse, it would not accelerate while reversing.

See all problems of the 2018 Ford Focus 🔎.

I keep getting denied for warranty tcm had the code I did a report after it was I would be covered had proof of the codes and deny me for another service that’s under warranty pretty much just take my money send me out the way and then I get stuck on the highway from the problem in having to fix it myself.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Focus 🔎.

2016 Ford Focus, VIN: [xxx] power train: automatic transmission: control module (tcm) this complaint details a recurring and severe safety defect in our 2016 Ford Focus. The vehicle's transmission control module (tcm) has failed twice, resulting in sudden, complete loss of power and dangerous stalling incidents at highway speeds. In January 2023, at approximately 8,000 miles, the vehicle suddenly lost all propulsion while traveling on a highway. We were forced to execute a dangerous emergency maneuver across lanes of traffic to reach the shoulder. A Ford dealership diagnosed a failed tcm which had, in turn, caused the clutch to burn out. In July 2025, after only 7,000 additional miles (total vehicle mileage ~15,000), the identical, catastrophic failure occurred again. The vehicle once more stalled without warning on a major highway, creating another life-threatening situation. The diagnostic codes confirmed the same tcm and clutch failure, proving the issue is a persistent, underlying defect and not a random occurrence. This failure is entirely consistent with the widely-documented defect in Ford's powershift (dps6) transmission. This problem has been the subject of multiple national class-action lawsuits and is detailed in thousands of other consumer complaints filed. The repeated failure in our low-mileage vehicle underscores that this is a predictable and systemic design flaw that makes the vehicle inherently unsafe. We attempted to address this critical safety failure directly with Ford motor company. Our concerns were met with dismissal, and despite being issued a case number, Ford has failed to respond to our calls registered letter. This vehicle is unsafe to operate. We are filing this complaint to implore the NHTSA to launch a formal investigation into this defect. The repeated, sudden loss of power presents an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to occupants and other motorists. We believe a mandatory recall is urgently required. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of informati.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Focus 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford Focus 🔎.

I’m pretty sure the tcm went out because the check engine light is on and it is shuddering and losing power randomly. Also will not go into reverse unless I shut car off.

On June 10th 2025 the engine light came on in my 2014 Ford Focus and I lost transmission function. The car was slipping out of gear, completely losing power and speed between first & second gear and third & fourth gear. I pulled into traffic before realizing the issue and almost got hit by two oncoming vehicles - one locked up their brakes to avoid hitting me, the other swerved into another lane which thankfully was empty. Slowing down was difficult, it was very hard to stop and I lost reverse gear. The overall driving experience was very rough and jerky. Driving 3 miles home I almost got rear ended two times due to loss of power between first & second gear. Driving 6 miles to the Ford dealership I almost got rear ended 1 time & 1 time I could not completely stop until I was halfway into a busy intersection. I had no ability to backup and traffic was completely blocked in one direction until I was able to safely cross the other 3 lanes of the intersection on a red light!! prior to this incident & since I bought the car with 12,000 miles in 2020, it always had rough transitions between gears & sputtering/brief loss of power when accelerating from stopped. I formerly had a 2013 Ford Focus which had these same issues so I figured that’s just how these cars drive with the powershift dual clutch transmission. I had no idea that I should have been extremely concerned about the hard shifts & sputtering. I never received a single customer satisfaction program letter from Ford about the clutch, leaking seals, or tcm warranty extensions and issues. If I had I would have brought my car in for service a long time ago. I am disappointed & dismayed that a recall has not been forced by the NHTSA. Ford has gotten away with putting unsafe vehicles on the road with little to no accountability. I, and dozens of others, could have been killed or severely injured while I was on the road in this unsafe car.

I have a 2014 Ford Focus. For years, the car has been shaking when I slow down and speed up. I never really cared because it got me from point a to point b. But now it stalls and won't shift gears unless I go to high rpms. The check engine light is on and a mechanic told me the transmission needs replaced. I have a dps6 transmission and discovered that it is part of the class action lawsuit and extended warranty. I called Ford and they told me to write a letter to their office of general counsel. I am worried that is a stall tactic so I want to report it here. I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle.

My car rpm get stuck on 3 and begin to jerk while driving on the highway.

When I drive my car it takes time before it kicks in to drive correctly.

My 2018 Ford Focus (dps6 dual-clutch automatic transmission) suffers from severe hesitation and shuddering when accelerating from a stop, especially under 10 mph. More concerning, the car has stalled multiple times while merging into traffic and during right turns at intersections. We can no longer safely take free right turns due to the risk of the car dying mid-merge. This poses an immediate safety hazard and mirrors known failure patterns in earlier Focus and fiesta models. Ford previously extended warranty coverage for the same tcm defect in 2011–2016 models, but my 2018 — which uses the same dps6 system — has been excluded without explanation. The dealership acknowledged the tcm failure but refused to cover the repair. Instead, they charged me $300 to tell me they would not perform the service Ford originally recommended (a fuel injector purge) and that I now need to replace the tcm entirely. This is a known, documented issue that Ford has admitted to in other years. My car has lost power four times in the last three months, and all signs point to this being the early stages of the same defect. Allowing this failure to persist without coverage or recall is negligent and dangerous. Ford is knowingly placing families like mine at risk by refusing to act. I request an NHTSA investigation into the 2018 Ford Focus dps6 models, which are experiencing the same failures that have already led to recalls, lawsuits, and warranty extensions in earlier years.

My vehicle was inspected in order to determine why my vehicle is stalling, jerking, not going into reverse and giving a warning message that the car is overheating. My spouse and I were told the transmission control module needs to be replaced. Upon reading about my car's maje and midel, I learned this is a problem with 2018 Ford cars. It stalls and almost cuts off in traffic which is very dangerous.

Ford Focus 2017 hatchback causing traffic jams and backup do to low speed, overheating, stalling, jerky shifting, failure to move or hesitation in the middle of driving, causing the car to stop or slow down in the middle of traffic and blocking exits and cars from moving around the vehicle. Transmission overheating and car says to pull over when driving after a few minutes. Powertrain is affected car not driving at correct speed. Transmission clutch a disengaged and having a hard time engaging. Constant clutch issues. Causing issues to driver safety and others on the road. Ford knows about these models but are failing to fix at affordable price or provide warranty. Not upholding customer satisfactory.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 15 mph and while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted. The contact was informed that a driver from Ford valet service drove the vehicle to the dealer for the vehicle to be diagnosed; however, the contact was unaware of the diagnostic result. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle rolled backwards while on an incline. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The contact stated that the transmission overheated, and a message to pull over was displayed. The vehicle was slow to move when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirmed there was no recall coverage on the VIN for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 138,000.

Unknown, the car refused to turn on one day and then started up again once I popped the hood. The car refused to go into reverse, I tried some reboot steps and the car started driving like normal, drove the car all the way from nv to nv, husbands new military station, took the car to the Ford dealership and they assessed it was the tcm and that the car would be fine to drive again but they recommend another part for up keep, as soon as they replaced the clutch aculators the car started to have more issues than before letting me know it's worse than they thought something about the engine going out and they mentioned its why Ford discontinued the dual clutch engine bc it was failing.

I have a current recall on my transmission I notify for it. I went up there to get the recall fixed. They plugged it up to the machine to see about my transmission, and they said it came back with a cold that was not associated with the recall for my transmission, but it did say something was wrong with my transmission, I looked into that popped up on the cold reader and it’s it. I gave them the number and they said that Ford will be unable to pay for it and they told me I would have to pay $175 in order to hook it up to the main machine to see what exactly the code is if it match the cold that will pay for me new transmission. I explained to them that if I have a recall on the car for my door, lash and my transmission , why would I have to pay for so he kept running around loops not trying to give me a correct response basically just making me trying to pay for them to hook up something that should be for free so my car is accelerating is not accelerating speed, it keeps on clicking is something to do with my transmission, which it has a recall on it before in orange will not fix it paid paid off so I need someone to help me solve this matter because Ford and orange is trying to make me pay for something that is a recall that should be fixed and free if someone call me back at [xxx] thank you information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Rpm going to high and irregular shifting . This happened after I replaced the part for the 24n07 campaign.

Vehicle engine hesitates, runs rough and stalls at low speeds between 1st and 2nd gear. The passenger door latch isn't working properly and the door sticks and is unable to be properly opened from the inside of the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected (diagnosed) by virginia tire and auto who found no codes and that the transmission is not the issue and advised during the call that there was an "open recalls" on the vehicle for these issues and to take it to Ford. I received a letter in the mail from Ford for this exact issue prior to me even setting up an appointment since I am the vehicles new owner. The vehicle is now with Ford and once driven (I was told that they did test drive the vehicle although its not stated on the receipt) are able to replicate the issue since you only need to push the gas pedal (every time you press the gas) to discover these issues but have refused to fix the issue because there are no codes/indicator lights on the dashboard even though the issue is easily replicated and is the exact recall issue. I was told that the door latch was working (its not) despite the open recall on NHTSA for the latch and I was told that their sssc (special service support center) was called for approval however my understanding from Ford customer support is that when you call the sssc its a simple yes or no question. If the issue is able to be replicated when driven the answer should be yes there is a problem, so that they can get approval to proceed. However my ticket/receipt from Ford does not state any of the above. They want me to pay for another diagnosis, $200 because there is no code/indicator light. If the issues are able to be replicated and are on Fords customer satisfaction program 24n07 they should be fixing the issue. This is a major safety issue and the vehicle should not be driven in this condition as well as I should not have to pay Ford to fix a recall (multiple recalls) which they have refused to fix, stating no repair per recall.

The car is shuddering on acceleration. Rpm currently rises and falls in an unnatural manner. Loss of power and gas mileage. This appears to be the same issue that other 2016 Ford Focuses are covered by.

Transmission control module, transmission clutch.

I was getting off of work to go home when I got on the main hwy my car just started to slow down and would not go over 10 mph and the speed limited on that hwy is 45 mph so I had to get off the road before I was hit from behind.

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.

With out warning my car lost power and went from 65 mph to 40 in an instant, I was able to avoid hitting the side wall of the freeway and with gods help avoided hitting any other vehicles. The oil light came on then the engine light soon after, I was able to take the first exit off the freeway and pulled over in a gas station parking lot. Tow truck took it to the dealership, this car has a recall and the recall description matches exactly what happed. The dealership told me it will take them 6-8 weeks before they can even diagnosis the car for that recall. I am stuck without a car, and I am lucky no one was injured. People with this type of Ford ecoboost need to be made aware they are driving a vehicle at any moment can have total engine failure putting lives in danger. When I received the original recall letter, I called five star Ford in April to set the appointment, and they told me they are not taking those recall repairs right now and to call back at another time. I called back in may and was told they are still not taking repairs for that recall, to call back 3rd quarter of 2024. You can see that Ford has put lives in danger if others who called for the repaired was turned away as well.

Since I have had this car the engine has been replaced 4 times and transmission once engine has been replace 3 times under the same warranty due to recalled part I was not in an accident however car broke down while I was in traffic I am putting the latest date car broke down.

When accelerating or breaking, my cars transmission would slip causing me to slow down whiled driving. Also, my check engine light has came on. It goes on and off unexpectedly. Car shutters and shakes when accelerating.

This tcm issue is a known issue with Ford. They issued recalls on this in 2015 and 2017 and extending the coverage in 2023. Please put this on the recall list as it has affected many people.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and then decelerated independently, surging several times before returning to normal functionality. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to customer satisfaction program: 19n08. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 84,000.

Vehicle won’t start on multiple occasions. Vehicle struggles to turn on and lag to turn off. Vehicle struggles to change gears to speed up.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford Focus 🔎.

The vehicle is a 2014 Ford Focus equipped with a powershift dual-clutch transmission-named dsp6. The vehicle exhibits a faulty automatic transmission/shift malfunction and is unable to shift properly; causing intermittent engine deceleration coming to a stop; this indicates there is a shift malfunction and a faulty transmission. This problem has been confirmed by the dealer.

While driving around 12:30 pm on Thursday, 4/18/2024, the Focus electric displayed a "stop safely now" message and proceeded to cut power going to the electric motor, allowing the car only to coast as if it was in neutral. Luckily no vehicles were around in my lanes, as that easily could've caused an accident. Electric steering, regen braking, and air conditioning were all disabled. I was able to coast it into a nearby firehouse subs parking lot, and directly into a parking spot. Had to disconnect the 12 volt battery for 5 minutes and reconnect to hopefully reset the computers in the car. Still displayed ssn message after reconnection. I let the car sit for another 30 minutes and was able to start it up like nothing happened. Drove it home and read the stored dtcs, which were the following: ===becm dtc p0aa2:00-08=== code: p0aa2 - hybrid/ev battery positive contactor 'a' stuck open ===tcm dtc p0af8:16-08=== code: p0af8 - hybrid/ev battery system voltage ===gfm dtc u0111:00-08=== code: u0111 - lost communication with battery energy control module a it will be going to thomasville Ford on Wednesday April 24, 2024. That is the earliest they can accept it.

The clutch on my 2017 Ford Focus needs to be replaced due to it slipping/shuttering when I go to accelerate.

My 2012 Ford se stalls out between first, second and third gear whenever I am accelerating to 40mph. The transmission error continues to pop up after driving for a long period of time. Whenever driving 50 mph to 70 mph as soon as I release the gas pedal, the car goes into neutral stall out & whenever I press down on the gas pedal nothing happens and I have to pull over & turn the car off and turn it back on to reset the transmission computer. If I don’t do that and I press the gas pedal again, the car would jerk and I have to pull over immediately and the car off. I cannot press full on the gas pedal because the car would not accelerate at full speed. Whenever I put gas in the car, it won’t start right away. It would jerk and choke just to start up. It takes me a couple attempts to start the car after putting gas in order for it to start and go. Whenever I’m finished driving and turn the car off, it makes it clicking noise in the engine area for about 2 to 5 minutes and it won’t stop and it only happens when you open the front doors or when the car is completely turned the car off. Whenever I put a full tank of gas or a half tank , the car would not dry properly install out on the highway or street I can’t drive at normal speed because I don’t know when the car is gonna stall out before it hits 1,2 or 3rd gear, which makes it very dangerous to drive on the highway.

I tried taking out the car and it completely stalled and went into neutral when driving . Ford has a recall for Ford Focus 2014-2016 but apparently mines not one.