Problems with 2012 Ford Focus POWER TRAIN

This car has been the shop 4 times for the same problem. the car randomly does not start for a period of time, absolutely no rhyme or reason. it does start eventually. everything electrical comes on, interior lights, a/c, heater, radio, exterior lights, just no engine. the problem only occurs after being driven. in other words, it never happens first thing in the morning after sitting all night, it never happens after a full work day (sitting 8 hours). the longest period of time it has set and still not started is about 3 hours. the problem also never occurred until they had to replace the transmission. *tr

Going from a complete stop to acceleration my car is shuttering & jerking as if it is stalling out. it is like the car isn't taking the gas and my car is struggling to get in gear. i can hear the gear grinding as they shift. they have a recall on certain 2012 ford focus with same issue; however, mine is not in that recall. the dealer says "it is the way it is made". well why is there a recall on certain vins that are doing the same thing???? *tr

When taking off from a stop sign the dtc transmission seemed to have a hard time going into gear and a large lurch followed then the car would not allow me to accelerate until the engine was around idle. once at idle the check engine light came on and the car would only allow me to rev the engine with the trans in drive. i had it fixed already due to trans oil leaking into the clutch area. 500-1000 miles later same issue awaiting to get it looked at again. *tr

Shudder vibration and acceleration lag is present when shifting from first to second gear in automatic transmission 2012 ford focus. shudders only at low speeds, usually while accelerating or reversing from a full stop, and only when the engine is warmed up. feels as though the transmission is slipping during shift, almost feels as if a stall is imminent especially when traveling up steep hills. *tr

My car shudders very bad taking off from a stop and almost comes to a complete stop then takes of like you have jerked it into gear its makes a horrible noise in and out of the car and will continue to do this until you let the car cool down for a long time. its been repaired once buy ford and now there telling me there's nothing else they can due for me because its in spec. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 20 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the contact stated that the transmission was replaced, but the vehicle shifted roughly after the repair. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 54,000.

There have been many complaints on the ford focus lately that involve the transmission and i am included in those complaining. my automatic car either won't switch gears and sounds like i'm pressing the gas while in park then violently lunges forward or while driving at an average speed like 40 it's just stops completely in the road. it also will not accelerate quickly making it very dangerous to merge on to a freeway. living in los angeles this poses a huge threat to getting in several accidents. after 3 near and severely close but avoided accidents i called the dealership where i purchased my car and i was told there was a 3-5 week waiting list to have my car even looked at to prove that it was in fact the problem all other fords were encountering. after calling round to several dealers in a 30 mile radius i found one kind man who said he could look at within 3 days. after being diagnosed as the clutches needing to be replaced as they thought would be the issue, i was told it would take up to another 3-4 weeks til my car was actually repaired leaving me already out of pocket for a week for a rental car. the dealer suggest i open a case with ford to request a loaner car for the duration of my repair as it seems ridiculous that i be paying $ out of pocket for an issue that they caused with a faulty part. 4 days later and ford still has not decided whether my request is reasonable. everyday i'm spending money while my inoperable car sits at a dealership waiting to find out if i can afford to pay for the rental while my death trap of a vehicle wait s as ford decided i'm being "reasonable". i find this treatment of customers of a faulty product disgraceful. *tr

Went to make a left turn and the car went into a neutral state and just revved up. the gear indicator on the screen was no longer there. after 15 or so seconds it reappeared and resumed normal function but the check engine light came on. went to an auto parts store to have the code read and it said a tcm low shift point or something to that effect.this was at 60700 miles. after driving a couple of hours the check engine light turned off. since then it has been happening randomly anywhere from days apart to a month apart. i have contacted ford assist and they said there is nothing they can or will do for me... *tr

I have owned my 2012 ford focus since new, i was driving on a local highway friday 4/25/14 cruising along at or around 60 mph, i was accompanied by my wife and my inlaws. as i was cruising along and all of a sudden lost power as if it was in neutral. i was in the left hand lane of sunrise highway but managed to avoid traffic coming up behind me and maneuvered the car off to the shoulder. the car was still in drive but did not move. i put the car into park and turned it off. i restarted the car and proceeded to head to the offramp, this issue occurred several times while driving on the shoulder until i finally reached the off- ramp. i shut the car off for 15 min then proceeded to take local roads home and contacted my local ford dealer to make a appointment. i have now been advised that the incident occurred do to tcm failure which the 2012 electric focus had been recalled already. i am faced with a 1200.00 expense do to a known issue coupled with the fact that the danger my family encountered. *tr

Purchased this vehicle in april. one week after getting it, i noticed the transmission "shuttering" before shifting. took it in and had it fixed. several other things messed up on this car such as the my touch system, "auto" up/down, as well as other minor things. after weekly going back and forth to the dealer, i noticed that the transmission is "shuttering" again while shifting gears. also when backing up, the car jerks. took the car back in again. told me they could not find anything wrong with the car. three days later, there is another minor defect in the car. its like the car is falling to pieces right before my eyes. transmission is a safety hazard as when i first noticed it i was entering the interstate and the hesitation (shuttering) of going into passing gear could have been a deadly disaster. this car is still under manufacturer's bumper to bumper warranty. *tr

I was making a left turn on a blinking yellow arrow. seeing a coming break in traffic, where it would be safe to execute the turn, i began inching forward. when the car passed, allowing me to safely turn, i pressed the accelerator and the car did not respond. for several seconds, my car sat in the intersection with traffic oncoming, without moving forward. the type of hesitation has happened to me a total of 3 times between april of 2014 and august of 2015. in addition, the car handles roughly in low gear, making grinding noises, stuttering in changing gears between 1st and 2nd, and sometimes shaking the car. the transmission on the car has a service notice. i did take the car in in december 2014 for the recall, where it was tested and a new seal was installed. i drove the car for 8 months before experiencing the 3rd hesitation to respond. however, the grinding noises, stuttering, etc. never did improve. i believe these cars is unsafe not only for the owner-operators, but also other motorists on the road who have no way of anticipating that a car pulling into traffic may intermittently fail to respond to the driver pressing the accelerator. updated 9/28/15 *ln

While driving my car, i have noticed a shuddering when i accelerate. when i first got the car, brand new, it had this problem. the dealership said that it had some kind of special transmission that had to get use to my driving style. i continued to drive the 2012 ford focus and now when i accelerate, there is a grinding sound like the transmission is having trouble grabbing the next gear and a shuddering/shaking sensation when ever i try to go up any kind of incline. is there some kind of transmission problem with the 2012 ford focus? *tt

Faulty powershift transmission would not engage gears properly causing vehicle to stall, shake violently, grind gears, drop first and second gear when accelerating, no reverse. *tr

Transmission was slipping engine revving very high upon pulling away car felt it was stalling or just losing power, under normal operations of the car i would have clearly had enough time to pull out of intersection but because it wasn't going forward as it should it felt unsafe to drive. do not feel this transmission operates in a safe way. *tr

Road as passenger in the car. going from a stopped position the car had horrible hesitation upon acceleration. dealer replaced clutch. didn't know an automatic had a clutch. it was sold to me as an automatic. to me that means you step on the gas on the gears move the car forward so you can safely get out of the way of oncoming traffic. service manager called. basically stated (according to what i recall),the car isn't shuddering but hesitating some still. traded the car yesterday. can't send my daughter to college with a car that has such a potentially dangerous transmission issue. here is the deal : would like to invoke the lemon law. can't play around though with the safety of my daughter or anyone else. not going to take responsibility for that. taking the car back 3 more times,in my opinion, makes no since because it is such a safety issue. took a financial hit on the trade in but at least my daughter is in a safe reliable vehicle now. my understanding is this is a transmission issue. even if they gave me a new car or replaced the transmission i would not take it. it is still the same transmission that , in my opinion, is an engineering defect that , based on the numerous complaints i have read, ford may not have a fix for. (not sure about the date of the incident when i rode in the car). it was within the last month. my daughter does not recall when it first started. this is her first car. it did, however, not perform like this for sure when we test drove the vehicle. thanks for your time. *js

Purchased this vehicle used from ford/nissan dealer. transmission makes grinding noise constantly. dealer says this is "normal and within specs" which is hard to believe. i can probably live with the noise factor but car shifting is also erratic and jerky. when merging into traffic and speeding up car will "bog down" before upshifting to faster gear and then makes high revving sound. purchased this vehicle to replace our families second vehicle and was also to be used by my daughter. don't feel safe having her drive this. driving safely in todays world is already a challenge but when you have to also adjust your driving and situational thinking to compensate for this vehicles abnormalities, it makes this ford focus an accident waiting to happen. very disappointed with this vehicle and very hard to believe that this was designed to perform this way and that ford has no fix or revision to correct this issue. *tr

Have had this vehicle at the dealership five times for transmission shudder. also, one time, vehicle decelerated to 35 mph while driving on a 4-lane highway, and would not go over 35 mph. dealership has reprogrammed computer four times, and replaced transmission control module once. purchased this car used in december 2013. it had 15,000 miles on it at the time. problem didn't appear during my ownership until approx. 20,000 miles, so vehicle doesn't qualify for ohio lemon law which states the problem must show up during the first year or first 18,000 miles. i do not feel this car is safe, and am afraid to drive it on the interstate.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving various speeds, the vehicle lost acceleration power. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician was unable to diagnose a failure. the manufacturer was made aware of this failure. the failure mileage was 85,815 and the current mileage 86,000 miles.

This transmission sucks! it started with a lot of shuddering during acceleration. i took it to me dealer where they claimed to fix it but i have photos proving otherwise. took it to the next dealer two days before christmas and it seemed to be fixed. now it's doing t again, 6k miles later. and now it tends to roll back on even slight hills. today i was at a red light with traffic behind me. i took my foot off the brake anticipating the light to change. it rolled back about 3-4 when i then reapplied the brakes. i was literally a couple inches from hitting someone because it wouldn't stay still even in drive. so i pressed the gas before i let go of the brake to ensure i wouldn't roll back more. when i let off the brake, there was a pop and the car jumped. not safe and i'm now trying to find out if any laws would require them to buy it back. *tr

Exiting freeway transmission made loud clunk and warning screen popped up saying "transmission malfunction - service now". pulled into nearby shop center parking lot. afraid to drive car. what would have happened if transmission failed at freeway speed? could i have controlled the car??? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while the vehicle stalled without warning while entering an intersection. the check engine light illuminated after the failure occurred. the failure was recurring. the dealer performed a diagnostic and advised that the transmission control module was defective. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 7,758.

While traveling on a roadway while still mildly accelerating a vehicle crossed the center line as i decelerated and turned to avoid a collision the vehicle would not engage the transmission at approximately 25 mph after the on coming vehicle had changed its path. after trying to accelerate the engine revved. the transmission appeared to be in an upshift position prior to the incident and would not re engage until the vehicle was almost fully stopped. no one was injured but this could pose a potential problem had i needed to accelerate to change lanes to avoid a collision. the transmission seems to shudder at times and has had other issues with acceleration and deceleration. i did not yet contact the ford dealership. this is a 2.0 l engine with automatic transmission in drive and not in sport mode. *tr

While merging onto the freeway my car would not accelerate. i pushed the gas pedal to the floor and the rpms shot up but car would not accelerate. finally after almost being hit by other cars it shot off like a rocket. after multiple incidents of jerking and not able to accelerate randomly i took it to ford and the clutch was replaced in april 2014. not long after, it started doing the same thing except worse. i took it back to ford and was told the tranny test results came back normal and that a motor mount was missing or loose. they kept it for 3 days to fix the motor mount. the car is now worse and today the check engine light came on and car had very little power. going to take it back to ford and hopefully they will fix it this time. my gas mileage is only 20.1 mpg. another problem was that my entire sync system went out and had to be replaced in august 2014, costing me $1093.00. it started messing up by having a very loud popping/crackling noise that would start randomly even when car was off. it was very scary when it would suddenly start making the loud noise while i was driving and almost caused me to wreck at one point. *tr

While driving my car, it often hesitates when shifting, turning, accelerating, or decelerating. i had it "repaired" at a ford dealership, which including replacing the entire clutch, in march 2014. the problem continued with added loud noises and grinding/shuddering. i returned it to a dealership, where the clutch was replaced again in july 2014. the car was fine for awhile, but after 200 miles, started having the same issues as before. the dealership replaced the clutch again in september 2014. on my 4th clutch, and it continues to have the same problems. i lack confidence in ford that they can fix the problem and i am continuously concerned that my car may have unexpected problems causing serious safety concerns. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving various speeds, the transmission began to hesitate in a jerking motion and the vehicle stalled without warning. after waiting ten minutes, the vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. the vehicle was repaired under the manufacturer's customer satisfaction program where the transmission control module was replaced; however, the transmission continued to exhibit hesitation after the remedy was performed. the contact mentioned that the rear exterior passenger side door failed to unlock until after numerous attempts. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified. the failure mileage was 45,000. updated 04/08/16*lj the consumer on a regular basis, while the vehicle was running, passenger had a difficult time exiting the vehicle. the door locks were difficult to unlock. the consumer had to press the door lock repeatedly before they would unlock. the consumer also stated the vehicle would stall at times at intersections. updated 04/14/16

I bought the focus new a couple of years ago. at first it seemed to do well but for the past year, and more often recently, the transmission has been shuttering and i hear a grinding sound coming from underneath the car. i have noticed it only happens at lower speeds(below 15mph) when in 1st or 2nd gear. when you press on the gas from a stop it sometimes jerks you into movement or if you press the gas a bit harder it will shutter through 1st gear and jump into 2nd gear. i have found it to be a problem driving around town or when merging onto a freeway where some acceleration is needed to get to speed. *tr

Car was purchased in november 2013 with 38000 miles on it. one previous owner prior to myself. the car began jerking backwards when parking on an incline. by the time i had 40000 miles on the car, i began noticing that the car would not change gears when driving, this was especially a concern when pulling onto a highway and the car would not go. then by the time the car hit 42000 the transmission would make a grinding noise when going uphill from a stop. the car went into the garage and the transmission was reprogrammed and clutch replaced. i never had a car with these kind of problems so early. ford should have a recall on the transmission with all the complaints/ concerns. *tr

It starts shuttering at take off .also when braking and trying to come to a stop the rpms rev up words and the car pulls forward when you are trying to stop at low speeds when trying to make a complete stop. also on any type of incline the car will roll backwards when it is in drive mode it is rolling forward as well when trying to back up into a driveway.we just purchased this vehicle a few weeks ago around christmas 2014 and it is in service at ford on january,12th and 13th 2015.the indications information in box in number 2 is information from the dealer provided me with that when it first went into service along with other problems i was told by ford and the place i purchased this vehicle that there is no fix and the recall has been done on it. *tr

Driving on freeway. loss power on "speed" it felt as though i was on neutral, so pulled over becuz i didn't want to cause an accident. would not start after i turned off engine, and i noticed although vehicle was in the park position. my menu kept stating it was in "drive" position. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while at a traffic light, the vehicle independently down shifted and vibrated abnormally. the contact continued to depress the accelerator pedal but the vehicle failed to respond. the vehicle regained speed as the contact coasted along the highway. in addition, the vehicle would roll backward whenever stopped on an incline and would begin shaking, causing difficulty in controlling the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly needing to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 30,685. updated 4/22/14*cn updated 04/25/2014 *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while traveling 35 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. the vehicle stalled several times before the resuming to normal acceleration. the failure recurred on seven occasions. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 40,000 miles and the current mileage was 53,000.

Car jerks/hesitates upon acceleration; shifting is jerky; when you go to accelerate the car does not engage into gear; front left vibrates/rattles upon acceleration; car will bog down when you go to accelerate. my concern is that when i go to pull out into traffic the car will not go. i was almost rear ended when i crossed an intersection and then went to accelerate, but my car did not go into gear. when i am on the interstate and in traffic, if i need to get around a car quickly i cannot due to the hesitation in the shifting. i have been to the dealership multiple times and have filed a case with ford and am told this is how the car is supposed to drive. *tr

This is the second accident caused by car suddenly surging forward. there was only 3384 miles between first and second accident. while turning into a parking space at low speed the car lurched forward slamming into a brick wall approximately 2 to 3 feet beyond curb. major front end damage totaling $6,127 in repairs and over $16,000 in hospital costs to myself. ford dealership reprogrammed instrument cluster lamps and gave the car back to me. i was afraid to drive the car again and purchased a new vehicle. at this time the dealership has the defective 2012 ford focus for sale on their lot, which worries me that someone else might get hurt driving that car.. i contacted ford motor company on 3/26/2014 regarding the issues that i had and am awaiting a reply from their general counsel. *tr

The transmission would not downshift and the rpm raced to 6500rpm with out increase in speed. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus se. the contact stated while driving, the car would violently shudder and shake, a grinding noise could be heard in the front of the vehicle and it stalled intermittently. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the dealer stated that the control module was defective and a new seal was installed. the dealer repaired the defect; however, a day after picking up her vehicle the failures persisted. while driving she also heard a "clucking" noise in the same place she previously heard the grinding noise. the vehicle was towed again back to the dealer who stated that they could not find any defects she "just have to get use to her vehicle". when the contact drove the vehicle home the transmission over warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000 miles. updated 04/17/14*lj the consumer stated the transmission was replaced. however, the shudder continued. updated 05/20/14

2012 ford focus. consumer writes in regards to vehicle "power shift" transmission stalling issues. *smd the consumer stated she would loose power while driving, and a metal noise was heard, as the vehicle shuttered and hesitated. a diagnosis revealed, the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. however, the parts were on a 30-day back order. the consumer stated 2 months have passed, and she has not received any notice or communication addressing the issue.*jb

Prior to this incident i had brought the car into the shop twice with complaints about the transmission shuttering in reverse and slow speeds. on january 18, 2014 when leaving a drug store to return to our hotel the car would not go in reverse, we had to put the car in neutral and push it out of the parking space. being a saturday night and 180 miles from home we had no option to bring it in to a local shop. my husband and son were traveling to colorado so they took the hotel shuttle to the airport early sunday morning and i had a family member follow me in the car the 180 miles back to our local dealership. the dash had no warning lights on at that point of the trip. when driving the car it would shudder at low speeds, but did ok around 60mph. about 1 mile from the dealership the service transmission light came on while stopped at an intersection. when i went to accelerate at the green light it nearly died- the rpms blasted but the car had no power. i barely made it through the intersection and to my next turn. the car lost all power about 1/4 mile from the dealership. i had to push the vehicle onto the shoulder and have it towed to the shop. the seals in the transmission had leaked and toasted the tranny and i had to have the tranny rebuilt. the entire process took almost a month. started to have similar problems a few weeks ago, brought it back into the dealership and they said the seals are leaking again and it's just a matter of time before my tranny goes but that it will be about 12 weeks for them to get the parts. *tr

Right after purchasing the ford focus 1/2014 we noticed a significant slipping/jerking from transmission. the car was covered under warranty and the car dealer took it right into the ford dealer in boise to get it fixed. it was returned doing the same thing. we notified them of the problem and heard there was a recall for this issue. they, ford dealer, took the car in and then returned it saying they did noticed a problem but was not significant to repair and returned it to us. the car is still not repaired and runs like crap. 04/6/2015 although this part is now a recall, ford has not fixed the problem and the car in almost inoperable. the part is on back order and will take 3 months to get it in. it has only been 6 weeks and they do not care. the car has been to the dealer in boise multiple times and is still not fixed. this car is still under warranty. *tr

After about 30-45 mins of driving the car will begin to shudder going from 1st to 2nd gear. it occurs most noticeably driving from a stop. i have brought my car in numerous times and have been told numerous excuses. at this time it is getting annoying, however it becomes a concern when turning onto roads because it does not produce any power during this time. its only a matter of time before a accident occurs because of this issue. there needs to be a recall on the transmission on the 2012 ford focus. updated 03/25/14*lj also, an oil leak was found, the vehicle would shudder in reverse and it felt as though the traction control was engaging. *tr

Brake light came on ,checked and fluid low in brake fluid container. this is just after i month oil and service done on the car. filled it and tow days later come on again.took to ford dealer in my town and they said it was a leak around the break pumping area. they wonted me to drive the car till the park came in . i insisted the give me a safe vehicle to drive.. . at the time i have also experienced a small jerking after i brake and take off again. i thought this was a break thin where related . but they where not. called them and told them about the jumping has been going on almost within a mouth of purchasing the car. on march 24 they worked on it and said they had to reprogram the gearing in the trans mission. picked the car up and it is better with the jerking but it is still doing it 5 days later now .so now i feel this is something that needs to be taken back to them again and fixed right or i should be given a different transmission,mjs. i also hand a weather striping repaired on rear passenger window at the same time they worked on the transmission. and i november 2013 the cruse stopped working and had to be fixed . i have had this car 6 months and have had all this trouble. *tr

This car is dangerous, living in a hilly state, this car rolls backwards down hill whilst still in a forward gear. in light of fords recent quiet recall for other focus transmission issues, they still have not addressed the fact that the car rolls quickly backwards when the brake is released and because of the shuddering transmission, it cannot grip and go forward. if i had wanted to drive with both feet i would have bought a manual. i am saddened by the fact that your organization is waiting for fatalities rather than order a large corporation to withdraw their dangerous product. i thought you worked for me and all americans to keep us safe on the road? protecting the public who have been sold an unsafe vehicle??? i would wager every focus sold since 2012 is an accident waiting to happen. please log my complaint with the thousands of others you have received about these ford transmissions. thank you. *tr

We took our car in yesterday because the engine kept lurching and stalling. they said it was the power train, and that it was a problem with the computer. the berge ford dealership reprogrammed the computer, and today when i got in the car the radio was on. i just unlocked it and opened the door, and the radio came on. the key was not in the car at all, and the only thing i did was unlock it with the remote and open the door. i did not have this problem prior to them "reprogramming" it to fix the power train/transmission problem. then when i started to drive it the engine seemed sluggish and it seemed to be lurching again, but not stopping for an instant like before. so i went from having transmission/power train problems, and a seat belt problem to having them both with a computer problem added in... i'm not a computer engineer, but when a piece of equipment has hardware problems it would make sense to replace or fix the hardware instead of reprogramming the software. i'll be taking it back in, and while the computer is out of warranty i think i should be able to get them to look at it and fix it without charging me because they caused the problem. *tr

I had my ford focus for about 1 week. bought used from the dealer. i started to take off from walmart parking lot and the car started jerking and stalled. so i took it to the dealership and they determined it was a faulty clutch. after repair my car has only gotten worse. now it rolls backwards on hills in automatic. grinds gears when it tries to shift out on hills. and still jerks terribly when taking off. the shop tells me its because its built like a manual for excellent gas mileage. note no manual shift ive ever drove "grinds or jerks" if it is shift right. this car is terribly dangerous

While driving my ford focus 2012, the engine would shutter inbetween shifts. this resulted in delays in the shift and then sometimes in surges in power, back and forth. there was also often a grinding or clicking noise coming from the undercarriage during the shift. i finally got ford to fix this problem after taking it into the shop for service three different times and making numerous phone calls. in the interim, i believe my life was in danger do to the unpredictable malfunctioning of this vehicle. there were several times when i was trying to get through an intersection or get on the highway when the delay/shutter/surge of the vehicle could have caused me to have an accident, as i could not predict when the incidents were going to occur, or exactly to what degree. i believe ford's repeated refusal to remedy this issue put my life in danger. the fix ended up being a replacement of the clutch. however, i was advised by the technician that this would only be a short term fix and that eventually the problem would return (no doubt next time only after my warranty has expired and i will not be able to afford the repair). please help resolve this problem before some is seriously injured by ford's refusal to take responsibility for their dangerous and defective product. *tr

While driving the transmission will slip out of gear and the engine will race and car will stop.

When lightly accelerating from a state of rest, the car hesitates when the gas pedal pressed, even when a little more pressure is applied. then it unpredictably "kicks" into gear, forcing me to hit the brakes to accommodate for the sudden jolt. it also slides backward when releasing the brake on hills. none of these issues occurred severely in the first year after purchasing the car new. the symptoms became noticeable around october 2013, and has occurred since, most often in the lowest gears -- slowly backing out from a parking spots, stop & go traffic, etc. i had the car serviced at the dealership under warranty three times, and taken to another ford dealer for a second opinion. three days from receiving my car back from the dealership after the third service, the car continued to shudder and hesitate while applying pressure to the gas. only this time i nearly caused an accident while reversing out of a supermarket parking lot. usually it shudders when in reverse, but this time the car did not respond at all when in reverse and with light pressure on the gas. after about 3-5 seconds of light, even pressure on the gas pedal to inch the car out of the spot, the vehicle shot backward, nearly sending me through the store wall. fortunately, no other vehicles or pedestrians were nearby, but this incident makes me afraid that the car is a danger to myself and others. *tr

Stopped at stoplight on hill in columbia sc. went to move and vehicle would not move forward, was in drive. turned off to see if that would work, then it wouldn't start. this was on busy road at night. dangerous situation. this vehicle has had the same complaints already listed on the nhtsa website with transmission stutters and loss of power on acceleration. towed to ford dealership and it was found that the transmission control module had shorted and had to be replaced. the ford focus electric version has already recalled the powertrain control module for similar problems as a possible safety issue. this needs to be recalled also. *tr

Severe transmission shuddering, lurching, lack of power and speed control especially at red lights. although i have entered that it occurred 12/12/13, it actually has happened since the day i bought it. when my husband took the car in, the service department said "maybe your wife doesn't know how to drive an automatic".

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving various speeds and shifting between first and second gear, the vehicle would jerk. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch kit needed replacement. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the transmission control module was replaced and the pcm was updated. the manufacturer was notified. the failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and the check engine and transmission warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch shudder failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred numerous times. the contact also mentioned that several other parts were replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 81,220.