Problems with 2012 Ford Focus POWER TRAIN

Bought the 2012 ford focus used in 2016. it shuddered when entering the roadway after stopping and also when going uphill. dealer said the car had to get used to me as a driver. after many complaints, they did something non-mechanical to adjust it. reprogramming, maybe. once it was out of its limited warranty, they said it needed a new clutch kit, which was $1500. the shuddering stopped. last month, shortly after leaving my driveway, the car jerked forward and the check engine light came on. i pulled into a neighbor's driveway to turn around and go back home and it wouldn't go in reverse. had it towed to the dealer. the tcm was replaced. this month, i pulled into my driveway, put the car in park, went to take the keys out of the ignition and saw a message that said the car was not in park. ok. the engine was off, i could remove the keys from the ignition. the gear shift lever was in park. the dashboard display said the car was in drive. i took my foot off the brake and the car started drifting down the driveway. i put the parking brake on. the car would not start. had it towed to the dealer. they said the shift linkage had come loose from socket. this is the worst car i've ever owned. there is no warning that a problem is about to occur. the car just ceases to function. i'm very lucky that i was in my driveway, or close to home when the car died both times. i'm afraid to drive this car and have 2 years left to pay it off.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and would not restart. also, the check engine indicator illuminated along with the gear that was selected. the vehicle was towed to the contact's home. the contact's father linked the vehicle up to his diagnostic machine, which indicated that the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. the contact called chenoweth ford (1564 e pike st, clarksburg, wv 26301) and was informed that there was no recall for the failure; therefore, the contact would have to pay for the repair. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. the failure mileage was 71,100.

Grinding sound when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear and surging.

Vehicle stalled in an intersection while turning after a transmission warning came on hud. attempted to restart and it would not turn over. the display showed that the car was in drive, even though i had pulled over to the side of the road and put it in park. it took me unplugging the battery to be able to restart the vehicle and get to a safe place. the vehicle had very little pulling power and struggled to get out of the flow of traffic. the dealership has diagnosed the problem as the transmission control module and the transmission, which has come to light recently as faulty and known to fail

2012 ford focus. consumer writes in regards to issues with transmission. *ld the consumer requested information on recalls for the vehicle.*js

Complaint #1 the car overheated during a trip on the highway,had to detour ...a hose was spewing water have a picture..i only had the car for 2 or 3 days!! complaint #2 very serious, while driving 65 mph on a highway. the car jerked very hard and then lost power.there was no room to pull over,it was grass and a slight ditch,late at night no street lamps...the car would not start the fuel left to e was 78 miles.i called road side assistance...semi truck swerved to miss us and every other semi and vehicle had to cross over the yellow lines to avoid smashing into the stalled car.my daughter and i sitting in the vehicle, the hour was 11:00 pm. complaint #3 the car sputters into gear taking off .. by the way it was a one lane highway. far from any town..

The 2012 ford focus has had transmission problems for years. we have taken the vehicle to the dealership numerous times only to have issues return in 6 to 10 months. there is no fix for this issue. this vehicle rolls backwards when stopped, shudders and shakes during acceleration, inability to move forward on an incline, and vibration during acceleration. when taking it in for repair i was told the warranty extended and there would be no worries about having the car fixed in the future. unbeknownst to me this was the case until we reached 100,000 miles. we have felt trapped in this car due to the fact that it has limited value as a trade in or as scrap. recently, the car would start but would not shift into gear. while on the road it would drop out of gear and the shift would be frozen. i would have to coast to the side of the road and through a series of turning the car off and on it would eventually work. over the course of short trips (5 to 10 miles) we had this happen on several occasions over the course of our drive. the car was taken to a local car repair shop and they referred us to a ford dealership. at this point we decided to invest no more into this automobile. it now sits in my driveway and cannot be driven on the road.

Takata recall started car and dash light indicated the following message, "transmission malfunction. service now" also got power steering assist error message earlier in the month.

The vehicle has been in the dealer 5 times for transmission related issues. they have reprogrammed the pcm, tcm 3 times. replaced the tcm once, rebuilt the transmission. the car still shows signs of shuddering and vibration due to the transmission seals leaking on the clutches. the last time the car was in, the transmission didn't "lose enough rpm's" to warrant repair, although the dealer and mechanic stated the car should not drive that way. now the extended warranty has expired for the customer care 14m01 and ford will not do anything about it and wants me to pay $1600.00 for the repair. the car has low power, when pulling out onto the roadway it hesitates and sometimes is very slow to move. this can create quite a hazard when pulling out into traffic

The transmission in my vehicle is a dps6 duel clutch transmission made by ford. it has been pulling codes for fork position a i have taken it to a ford dealership for repair 2 times in three weeks last time i got vehicle back it pulled 4 transmission codes within 1 hour of getting car back and now will not shift out of 1st gear and when it does and you come to a complete stop you have to turn the car off for 15 minutes before you can drive forward again. i have contacted the dealership about it they said they have done everything ford has told them to do, i have called ford motor company and complained and they have done nothing. my vehicle is unsafe for my child and i to be in. it has been parked and none running since 5/29/19.

Loss of drive while in motion. i had to coast to the side of the road in busy traffic. likely worn clutch on automatic transmission.

2012 ford focus repeatedly jerks upon acceleration. stalls on hot days after extended operation, dash warning says "transmission overheating, pull over for five minutes". will not climb hills without engine racing, often quits on uphill roads, or will not keep up speed. transmission quit entirely on may 20, 2019 in town of eager, az, with my daughter driving it on her way home from college. was able to have her follow me back to el paso. car has continued to stop due to transmission issue just driving around el paso city limits. car transmission was serviced twice in 2016 at ford dealership at owner's expense.

While traveling on city streets and on the interstate the vehicle experiences loss of power, shifting issues and inability to accelerate in traffic creating an unsafe condition while traveling on roadways

I have a ford focus with the faulty transmission. the dealer already installed 2 clutches and every time i bring it back now they just reprogram it which maybe lasts one day. i spoke with corporate a few years ago that is when they replaced the 2nd clutch. the car will just down shift as i'm driving it out of the blue, bucks, chatters like its going to blow up and a delay in starting. it's not a safe car to be driving they wont do anything about these vehicles now you just get the brush off from the dealer. when they replaced the first clutch the dealer admitted that is was the worst that they have seen.

Takata recall my driver side door want shut and i see it has a recall on my engine also. i was driving and my door just flew open i tried shutting it several times it wouldn't budge. my radio also don't work ether i don't know if that's part of it. *tr

11/13/17 my transmission stalled, making loud shudder noises and failed to accelerate. ford replaced the tcm and reprogrammed the clutch. there was recall for safety latches on the doors to be replaced as well. 10/24/18 vehicle started and would cut off. attempted to drive it but then the car died in the drive way. had to have car towed. replaced fuel pump module and gaskets. total of $810.96 not including towing fee. the very same night i picked my car up after it being fixed a recall was issued for fuel pump module failure. ford refused to refund my money and insisted that since the fuel pump was not affected it was not related. i had to go back to ford 10/3018 to have fuel vapor and seals replaced. so 2/3 parts needed replacing of which cost me. 5/4/19 i was driving down the road and my transmission went out. the car would not accelerate, brake or downshift. i was stuck at 60mph. i had to allow the car to coast home. had to have it towed three sepearte times during this event. my car was still under warranty and powertrain includes all internally lubed parts. ford told me that the one specific part that needed replacing inside my transmission, which is internally lubed was not covered. this repair including towing cost me $2,400.00 now there is another 2 recalls out on my very car for tcm/ transmission replace/shudder. this has been the most dangerous car i've ever owned. every time i turn around i'm shelling out hundreds and now thousands of dollars for a car i am still paying on.

My car has had transmission problems since i purchased the vehicle. the transmission shudders, jerks, and loses power while driving. i have lost power while driving on the highway at 65+ mph numerous times and almost caused crashes. the car jerks when accelerating from a stop and changing gears which causes safety hazards to other drivers. my car doesn't start (randomly) and my engine shuts down when decelerating. the dealership has continuously blamed the transmission issues on my driving abilities (although they've known about the faulty transmissions before mass production).

Vehicle intermittently loses all propulsion, both while in motion or after accelerating from a stop. i've had it happen both during city commutes and during a turn. throughout these episodes, the gear indicator on the dashboard goes from highlighting the current drive ("d") gear, or in some cases the reverse ("r") gear or parking mode ("p"), to nothing at all. when the gas pedal is pushed while this is happening, the engine will rev, but vehicle will not move. user won't even have a chance to pull over since it will stop dead. episodes are usually brief, averaging a couple minutes, however when this does happen it can cause an accident due to a sudden decrease of speed. as for what specific system is at fault, i'm uncertain specifically, though believe either the power train or main computer (esp. dealing with gear shifting) is malfunctioning.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift out of first gear and failed to start. in addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. the contact called mac haik ford (r0333 katy fwy, houston, tx 77024, (713) 932-5000). the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: cas-2244251-n1m5d1. the contact was informed about the extended warranty. no further assistance was provided. the failure mileage was 123,000.

'takata recall' my aunt bought the car in november of 2012, sold it to me in march the car shutters , vibrates and loses power after taking off from a compete stop, she's had the car serviced the last 4 years and has told them about it and they never documented it, they drive the cars after they fix them, they can fill what it does. car is unsafe to drive like that it struggles to accelerate from take off. took it to ford and they said i missed the extended warranty by 4 months, does someone have to die before they make this problem a recall!

My car is vibrating and will not accelerate at times. i have been told by ford that there is a faulty clutch and seal that needs to be replaced. it was a part they were aware was a problem and they extended the warranty to 7 years but we are past that time now so they will not cover the repair. the car will lose forward power at any given time.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle vibrated and failed to gain speed. the contact mentioned that the failure occurred intermittently and the vehicle had to be turned off and restarted in order to accelerate. the vehicle was taken to long-lewis ford lincoln (2551 john hawkins pkwy, birmingham, al 35244, (205) 989-3673) where it was diagnosed that the clutch and seal needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 66,000.

Shifting and transmission issues: vehicle started out with shifting problems from first to second gear. took to a mechanic and was told i needed a new transmission (at this time the car had roughly 80k miles). then took to the ford dealership, where my car was under extended warranty, where the car's computer was reset, and was told then that it would continue to have shifting issues; that's just how the car was made. about three months later, the problems started again and got worse. the shifting continued to dysfunction, which i "fixed" by parking and restarting my car, thus restarting the computer. it would usually drive okay after that. i drove like this for some time until i was having issues starting the car and once i finally got it started, it was unable to go in reverse. i immediately brought it back to the same place where my computer was reset the first time, and was told that my clutch needs to be replaced. at this appointment, i also discovered that my extended warranty was expired by a month, and would cost $2k to fix. there is a recall on this vehicle now, but this car is currently parked, unable to start or move, in my driveway.

While driving on a busy interstate the rpms on my vehicle revved to 5000, wouldn't accelerate, and quickly slowed down. i was in the fast lane while traffic around me was going 75+ and was forced to pull over on the left shoulder with my dog in the vehicle at 9:30pm on a friday night. once stopped, my vehicle wouldn't move as i tried to go into reverse and wouldn't go over 25 mph while trying to go forward. i was stranded on the interstate for 2 hours waiting for a tow truck paid for out of pocket because my 'warranty expired due to high mileage'. my boyfriend had to leave school to also pull over behind me on the interstate and take the dog from my car to his on the busiest interstate in the state we live in. mine, my dog's my boyfriend's lives were all in extreme danger due to the failure of a part on my vehicle i have had replaced twice already and is a known problem with the make model and year of my vehicle.

The power steering for a while worked intermittently, but 1 month ago that stopped working completely.

My vehicles transmission has been replaced several times and had a tcm replacement as well and still is not working it is also had two clutches and several software updates with no success. the car has started displaying new transmission issues related to the software in which now the vehicle will no longer go in reverse and just the other day while driving at 75 to 80 mph on the highway my vehicle slammed it self into second gear very hard and then into neutral i was almost rear ended at approximately 85 mph in which i could have died this is unacceptable afford to not except responsibility and offer a buyback for these vehicles i have spent countless hours of my time with this vehicle and have had several occasions with engine loss power transmission would not shift slamming into key lower gears at high rate of speed complete car shut down all of these issues in which i could have been in a fatal accident with and we still have no resolution after several years i am out raged

The clutch assembly has been repaired four times in the first 80000 miles, each time with the guarantee that ford has fixed the problems associated with the car. the car now has 94000 miles on it. last december, the car was taken to the dealership where we were told the clutch was once again close to whatever standard they used to replace them but wasn't there yet. they said to put 1000 miles on the car and then they could check to see if it meets the standard yet. over the past couple of months it has got progressively worse to the point we have to be careful pulling out of our driveway which is on a hill. we have returned the car now to be told that the vehicle has now gone out of warranty on time, they are no longer responsible, and i owe a charge just for them having checked.

The transmission is under class action lawsuit. having trouble with since buying in 2012, still waiting on outcome of that. today. march 27, 2019, "steering wheel assist- service needed". steering out wheel will not turn. i work i need a car. i will be calling ford today. my ford focus se is no longer under warranty, over 140,000 miles on it. i was not able to leave home for work today. sometimes when i turn the car off the time changes i then turn it back on and it goes back to the correct time. also in the past sometimes in would not start. i would wait a while and then it would start. it has not done that since i bought the car in 2012. this car has a lot of problems.

Transmission was not shifting into gears, then the reverse went out..talked to 3 different ford dealers..asked about my warranty then said no recalls on this and out of warranty would be out of pocket..so i did have an outside warranty for repairs but they said nothing was covered..so i paid aamco to fix it..3500.00 and 2 months later i am at another aamaco (because of their warranty) the new aamaco place says transmission shot need a new one..about 5 grand..so..no we drove it back home and put her to pasture..i have all paperwork on all work done..and not done..but we travel for my husband's job..so my paperwork is home in tx..we are now in tn..for a few weeks.my car acted up badly , hot transmission, had to stop several times just to get it to the shop.. also..would be great if it at least had a dip stick to check your fluids. also on first transmission work..we had to rent our motel room for 3 extra days waiting on the car repair to be completed. this after he had it a week already..i also have phone numbers and quotes from 2other people that would have worked on my car if they had the tools to work on a dual transmission.

Tcm went bad and the clutches of the transmission. ford dealer replaced the tcm but not the clutches. instead i must pay $2,300 to replace the clutches because i'm out of warranty. besides they charged me for the diagnostics. the car shudders often. tcm issues used to make the stall on the road.

The axel on my passenger side of the vehicle has broken twice. while driving on the city street it just randomly broke without any warning. i was at a stop sign when i tried to take off to resume driving the car would not move.

Electronic power steering failed at less than 50,000 miles. could not steer car. electronic control is located by exhaust manifold, which heat caused unit to fail. this is a common problem and ford has recalled the steering unit on other model, but not on focus. cost $2160 to repair. transmission shutters at low speeds making it difficult to control. had it into ford several times to diagnose and they state it is within parameters of this dual clutch type transmission. ford had extended warranty for transmission but refused to replace mine under warranty.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 20 mph or less, the vehicle shuddered and jerked. also, the transmission warning indicator was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to miller ford lincoln (1596 nj-38, lumberton, nj 08048, (609) 261-7836) where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 3193737765. the contact was referred to nhtsa. the failure mileage was 130,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while at a stop light and making a left turn, the gear shifter failed to shift gears and the vehicle stalled. the transmission warning light illuminated. the contact coasted to the side of the road and powered off the vehicle. the vehicle was restarted but the failure reoccurred. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for a diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign number: 18v735000 (fuel system, gasoline). the manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to have the vehicle seen by a dealer. the approximate failure mileage was 130,510.

Rpms zoom up and loss of transmission while at high speeds. also lunges into gears and does not take off when accelerator is applied

Ford is stating that my car's issue is not covered under any warranty for the clutch issue. i have had the tcm changed three times with the same or worse outcome. my car now needs 3000 dollars worth of repairs and i cannot get them done because ford is not standing behind their product. they bought my time and mileage by saying that it needed a tcm when it really needed a repair on the clutch portion of the transmission. ford refuses to help me with their defective product. i have 144kmiles on my ford with three tcm changes and now it won't drive correctly at all causing a safety hazard.

I have a called the dealership i bought my car from. they are refusing to help me. my transmission is going out on my car. that i've had for 1 year. i've had my car looked at 4 times. but the issue wasn't fixed. this car isn't safe for me to drive. i want this fixed.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. as soon as the vehicle was started, the "transmission malfunction service immediately" message populated in the message center. the vehicle was taken to plaza ford (1701 bel air road, bel air, md 21014) where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch had to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

Almost killed my self when lurched into intersection because clutch acted up, something it has done since night used. i trusted ford, had no idea of transmission problems. tranny has been done twice at ford, no luck still bad. mad as hell.

Started my car to leave parking lot. i was in forward motion and transmission light comes on with an exclamation mark. car is running but won't reverse or drive forward. this could've happened to me on the freeway and i would've been in great danger. i just picked my car up from ford dealership getting a recall ( 18s32/nhtsa recall 18v-735) completed.

The automatic transmition of my 2012 ford focus with 100k miles had hesitation and the engine suddenly shut off when driving due to the transmition fail (it happen too often drivind in the city), after i paid $ 2,200 to the dealership to get it fixed ( they changed clutchs and computer module). the steering wheels started to fail, it suddenly gets too hard to turn, then it gets normal and then fails again. just when i was turning on a corner the steering wheel got hard to turn and the car was going out of the road (straight). luckily i was able to hold the steering wheel too hard to control it. ford want to charge $2,400 to fix the problem (rack and pinion replacement) . i think there should be recalls for those dangerous issues. thanks.

While traveling at 65 mph on highway, vehicle suddenly lost all power transmission to the wheels with check engine light illuminating and service transmission warning appearing on console. vehicle coasted to a stop, partially obscuring right lane of highway. vehicle narrowly avoided life-threatening collisions with various passing vehicles until emergency personnel arrived in response to 911 call to block traffic and allow towing. vehicle was towed from the scene. upon restart of vehicle, power transmission to wheels was restored, though check engine light and service transmission warning remained illuminated. ford service department diagnosed as faulty transmission control module (tcm) and replaced tcm under ford field service action 14m02. ford has known of faulty tcm electrical soldering design with possible consequence of intermittent loss of power transmission to the wheels since at least 2015 when 14m02 was issued, but inexplicably no tcm safety recall occurred at that time. as part of ford "customer satisfaction program" 15b22 issued in 2015, vehicle received a tcm computer reprogram that was supposed to detect impending tcm failure so that tcm could provide warning about the need for tcm replacement, if need be, prior to hazardous events occurring. this software update proved to be ineffective, as vehicle's tcm failed without warning in highly dangerous scenario. a safety recall should be issued for all un-replaced tcms in all vehicles referenced in ford field service action 14m02, as stop-gap software reprogram levied by ford "customer satisfaction program" 15b22 has proven insufficient to detect impending tcm catastrophic failure. waiting to replace the tcm until it shows signs of failure will (and perhaps already has) lead to fatalities.

When my car starts driving, from 0 mpg to 25 mpg my car shakes. it feels like my car is slipping, and having a rough jerking motion. i also experienced my car roll backward when i was transitioning from a red light to a green light. i would have to just hope my car would accelerate in time or else it would roll and hit the car behind .

There have been several recalls for my car regarding the fuel system and gas tank, my car exhibited all the same symptoms, i took it to a ford dealership that refused to do the work unless i pai'd $2,000 for an expired previous recall for a different issue that was unrelated. they claimed without doing that work if they did this work the car wouldn't work at all. i complained to ford who told me dealerships don't have to honor recalls and to keep trying other dealerships. i asked what to do if none would do the work and they said pay out of pocket. worse yet, the first dealership cleared the recall as not being needed, so now i have a damaged car that i can't get the recall work on that i can't afford to do myself. i'm going to just have to sell the car.

At 84,000 miles, transmission clutches started to slip on acceleration in 1st gear.

I have had the a/c compressor go bad. i have recently fixed 2 coolant issues repaired. the tcm on transmission repaired yesterday u was almost in a collision when the cars transmission quit. the current problem is i need a transmission clutch now according to ford but because i am 7000 miles over the extended warranty they refuse to fix . i also have my starter going out now and that fix with ford is 729.00 .

Car has 60000 miles and has exact same issues as everyone else is posting. shuttering, slow starts, loss of power on highways! how is this not on a recall list by now or do we wait for fatalities? these cars are unsafe for the roads! i just had clutch replaced and i am even scared to get the dang car back and drive it. ridiculous something isnt being done by ford. wont be buying them anymore unless we get some help.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that the power steering was faulty and the steering wheel seized, which made it difficult to turn. also, when the vehicle was started and the contact shifted into drive, the vehicle automatically went in reverse. the contact had to immediately engage the parking brake. also, while the vehicle was parked on the street, it rolled backwards due to the parking position. furthermore, while attempting to reverse, the vehicle stalled. also, the door latches were loose and in danger of becoming detached. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was towed multiple times. the vehicle was taken to ted russell ford (9925 parkside dr, knoxville, tn 37922, (865) 444-6467) and serviced multiple times for each failure; however, each failure remained except for the power steering failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures and did not assist. the failure mileage was 130,000.

Took to a mechanic and he stated the transmission needs replacing. my vehicle was hesitant while driving

Some time ago i noticed my car revving but not accelerating. i took the car to the ford repair center and they told me the problem was an evap valve and a few other components which needed to be repaired totalling over $2000 in out of pocket repairs. shortly thereafter the evap valve gets recalled, i had to take it to ford again to re replace the parts they replaced earlier in the year. now i'm driving the car again, and continue to experience the same problem. i take the car in for breaks, shocks and struts. the mechanic asks me if my car feels sluggish and if i am having a problem starting the car, to which i responded yes and he proceeds to tell me i need to replace my battery so i do, thinking that may be the problem why the car is stalling. again, not the fix i was looking for. a few weeks later, i'm driving down the road heading to work, my car stalls, yet again, but this time it starts slowing down. i'm accelerating attempting for it to go and it just stops in the middle of the road. i tried turning it back on and nothing. a few more attempts later and finally starts. i get to where i need to go, park the car. upon returning the car would not start. had it towed to a mechanic who informed the the issue is the transmission. the car has now been parked for 4 months. engine light never came on and there was absolutely no indication on the dashboard that there was a problem. and the issue never came up a month earlier when ford repaired the fuel evap problem. at this point i'm at my wit's end and don't know if it's even worth repairing. after reading through some other complaints is seems the problem persists even after the attempted fix. who has money to keep dumping into a car and not know if ford will ever recall the transmission which they really should do. this car has been a problem since it was driven off the lot new!