Problems with 2012 Ford Focus POWER TRAIN

The car would get shaky at times when driving, and then yesterday, it wouldn't go into reverse. later, i tried to start it, and it wouldn't start. i disconnected the battery and reconnected it, then the car started and went into reverse. later, it went into reverse, and then it wouldn't go into drive. it has an automatic transmission. i took it in and was told it needs a whole new transmission. apparently this is a common problem with these vehicles. the vehicle was not in motion when this happened.

Issue with automatic transmission knocking and slipping at low speeds. i was made aware that this is a known issue, acknowledged by ford, but was told by dealership, my issue was caused by oil from real seal leaking onto trans. mechanic said transmission knock may have caused oil leak but it is not covered.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while at a stop light, the vehicle jerked violently and the service transmission warning indicator illuminated. the contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired five times per the same recall for the clutch pack assembly failure. the vehicle was not repaired this time. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the recall information was not provided. the approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

Stop safely now - ford focus electric i have had this ford focus since new and have had at least 5 incidents of "stop safely now" warning which renders the car powerless for at least a few minutes. this has occurred in situations such as in left hand turn lanes which is a hazard to me and other cars. ford did a recall -- customer satisfaction program 15n03 and 15b23 which was an inspection of the high voltage wire harness. this inspection was performed on 10/26/2016. there was another occurrence on may 1, 2017, after this inspection. my wife was turning left on a busy street and got the message "stop safely now". she could not operate the vehicle for about 5 minutes. i don't feel safe operating this vehicle and my wife refuses to drive it.

Car was parked. started the car and put it in reverse to pull out of parking spot. the car rolled forward, the steering locked and all brakes became disabled. had to open door and roll out of the moving car because it was headed for a lake. the ground flattened out and car stopped.. started car and everything worked normally. in addition, it will roll backwards while in drive on a very slight incline. this car is dangerous. ford: do the right thing before someone is killed.

1 the power steering stops working and hard to steer 2. the transmission shutters after getting it repaired for the third time

2012 ford focus se 65k miles: automatic transmission stops suddenly loosing power and can cause an accident when you go on the highway or on busy street. shift gear get lost and speed, velocity and acceleration decrease. wheel bearings make a lot of noise on the rear tires like if they going to fly out of the car. radiator have a hair line crack so is leaking coolant. note: the car is well maintained and have all maintenance made on time. no abusive driving. what happen ford???😡 no quality at all!!!

I'm currently on my 4th powershift transmission. i get a new one installed yearly due to unsafe driving hazards it causes. jerking, hesitation, rolling backwards on slight inclines. several times while driving at highway speeds the powershift transmission slipped out of gear and i had no speed control. very scary! ford keeps installing a new transmission but, it never fixes the problem. they did increase my warranty to 100,000 miles. i intended to keep this car for my teenage daughter when she starts to drive but, i would never trust her life with this car. i can't trade it in because all dealers know this car is a lemon.

Vehicle was stationary when i turned the car on. steering column locked up and the car started beeping and presented the warning "system check steering assist fault service required." this only happens when the vehicle is stationary and not in motion. in order to stop the above issue, i had to turn the car off and back on and then the steering would unlock.

Our family took part in the recall campaign that was due to defective transmissions ford sold previously. (this campaign was not easy to discover). the car would stop in the middle of traffic randomly, and still does after the dealership applied the fixes ford suggested. my mother experienced total power loss twice and was almost in two accidents because of that. (the problem still persists). there are only 54,000 miles on the car and it is in great physical condition.

My first issue with the vehicle is a malfunctioning horn and front passenger side window. then the transmission failed on me while i was driving. i had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership for service. ford replaced the transmission after having the car for about a month. the dealership said they also fixed the horn. but that is not the case. the horn is still not working. i don't use the horn much, but i realized how dangerous not having one can be last week. i had to signal a vehicle backing up into the main road in order to avoid a collision. since my horn was not working, i had to swerve. the vehicle is back at the dealership for service. the vehicle has been there for 3 days and they still have not updated me on the status of my vehicle.

I have had noumorous issues regarding the transmission. the vehicle shut off while driving, losing all power trying to accelerate, shutters really bad when shifting, the transmission light come on randomly and shuts off before i can get in to the dealership to have it checked out, and when they look at it they tell me if the light isn't on they can't diagnose it. now my warranty is up i am still having problems and refuse to pay thousands of dollars to get it fixed on a car that is worth almost nothing because of the manufacturer issues driving the value down due to there negligence and not wanting to really fix the issues that have plagued this vehicle. these problems have happened on and off for the last 5 years and are continuing to this day.

The transmission constantly shudders, shakes and grinds. sometimes it won't even go into gear. it feels extremely unsafe.

Recently, on march 18, 2017 i was driving my car again on major roadway and all of a sudden the 'engine light' comes on in the car and the car comes to a complete stopped in the middle of me driving in which almost caused a major accident out of my control. i turned the car off and sat with my hazard lights on for a few minutes. i restart the vehicle in which the 'engine light' was still illuminated and the vehicle was barely moving upon acceleration. i was able to get it to firestone complete autocare located at 7320 elgin st, philadelphia, pa 19111. i asked them if they could check to see what the issue may be with my vehicle. they informed me that the transmission control module appeared to be failing again and that i should take my vehicle to the dealer due to the past recall. i did extensive research on this dps6 automatic transmission. although, the transmission is supposed to be automatic, it actually operates as a manual transmission. the car drives like a manual vehicle. this issue is extremely urgent and operation of this vehicle is extremely dangerous due to the fact that you do not know what it may do next. also, due to the fact that ford technicians continue to state that this issue is not fixable. at this point, i no longer want this vehicle and would like to know my options about full refund or option of another vehicle. i have also contacted lemon law in regards to these issues in which there are hundreds and thousands of others who have had the same issues with the same vehicle along with other models such as the fiesta. consumers should be able to trust that a company would sell us a safe vehicle rather such a hazardous one. i am extremely concerned and am looking for an answer for my issues with this vehicle before this has to proceed to legal action.

When taking off from a dead stop there is a slight shutter feeling. i proceded to google this issue and its a very common issue with these cars. dont understand why there is not a recall. the dealershp told me its a bad clutch in the automatic transmission. why would that be the consumers fault? i have a receipt from them stating that with a charge of 50.00 i had to pay also.

Sometimes it won't go in reverse, it stutters, shudders, stalls (which is not great when trying to pull out in traffic or make a turn) won't go into gear (shift). brought it in for tcm recall and they fixed and extended original warranty to 100,000 miles but now it's past that, my extended warranty is up. took it again to dealer because of trans and they wanted $170.00 just to look at it. i'm on a fixed income and just don't have the extra. i had it "fixed" by a mechanic friend at his shop and he said this is an ongoing problem with this particular transmission! it has now become a safety issue and i don't know what to do! something needs to be done! ford needs to make good on this!

2012 ford focus. consumer writes in regards to vehicle transmission programming issues. *smd the consumer stated the modular switch was replaced. the consumer stated the vehicle was at the dealer six times for the same transmission issue. the vehicle would not move, when he pressed the accelerator pedal. *jb

Purchased car used and financed it and the second day the transmission started shuddering,getting stuck in low gear and almost got into an accident because it wouldnt go.took car back and had transmission replaced and the car does the exact same things it did before going out first time.

Was driving down freeway at 65mph. rpms shoot past 5 and car accelerates on its own up to 80mph. cars message screen read "transmission malfunction- service now". i was able to pull over to the left - as there was traffic. was able to get off highway but could only get my car to get as fast as 30mph before the rpms were past 5 again. ford replaced transmission computer module. drove car for ~hour and a half next day. car is jerking forward worse than before. shaking in the transmission. would accelerate ~5mph on its own. happened 5 times during the duration. doesn't matter if you're in motion or stationary - this car has a mind of its own and i'm scared to drive it. i'm positive had someone been in front of my on the freeway, when it accelerated to 80mph on its own, i would have rear ended them.

02 sensor reading want go out after 02 replacements and transmission all of a sudden want go in reverse.

This car also has that terrible transmission, mine replaced four times the fuel flaps both get stuck and it floods, won't start problems with tire lug nuts, two piece design? who designed me what a piece!

I got in my car, but it in reverse and began backing out of my parking space when my suddenly car lost power. the car was in motion but the steering wheel and brake pedal locked up and i could not steer or stop my car from going backwards and i hit a parked car in the parking deck at school as a result. the code on my dash was (i) steering assist fail. i turned the car off and on several times before the steering wheel and break released and i was able to gain control of the car again. this is the 3rd time in 2 weeks it has done this (jan 28, feb 2 and feb 8). all three times the car has been in motion and in reverse gear. i contacted ford corporate offices and the ford dealership where i purchased the car from and they said there is nothing they can do unless the car duplicates the problem in their presence.

When i start the car initially i can't turn the wheel of the car. i have to tug on it to get it to turn eventually. i'm afraid that i'll be driving in the power steering will go out. also have been having troubles with the transmission slipping. they say my car has too many miles to qualify for the clutch recall that ford has put out. i don't see what this has to do with a malfunction saying i've had troubles with it since i bought this car. both of these issues are safety issues. i have no money to replace this stuff. so i don't understand why ford won't work with people on this there needs to be a recall on the steering as i seen many others complaining about it. and they need to suck it up and take the expenditure of replacing all of these crutches that they have a recall on regardless of mileage. sometimes my seatbelt comes loose after i clicked it. i have to latch it while trying to drive. i'm tired of this car. i'll never buy from ford again. i've been having problems with this car since i bought it. and have informed the dealership that we bought it from and they clean there is nothing wrong with it period after taking it too but it's going to cost me $3,000.

I've had multiple transmission/clutch issues and it continues no matter what temporary fix ford gives. i've had 2 clutches put in and multiple trips to the dealership for shaking and the car jerking and also the car wont shift sometimes and accelerates out of nowhere. today, and the reason i'm complaining, my transmission started acting up and then my "transmission malfunction" light came on and and the car jerked and wouldnt shift and caused me to almost lose control. this transmission issue needs to be resolved. i inly have one picture but have all the service records

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving various speeds, the vehicle suddenly shut off. after restarting the engine, the failure continued. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 90,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving approximately 20 to 40 mph and when the gear shifter was placed into the drive and/or reverse positions, the vehicle shuttered and the display panel indicator illuminated and displayed "hot hot pull over". the vehicle was pulled over, restarted and driven to the dealer. it was diagnosed that the transmission and clutch needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 22,000. updated 03/07/17*lj *cn

I was on my way home via typical city streets and the car's transmission would not catch gear after coming to a stop at a stop sign. it felt like the car was in neutral. i was able to pull into a parking lot to look under the car and see if there was any visual damage. nothing visual but there was a slight burning smell coming from under the hood. i tried to drive the car again but this time it would not shift out of first gear. a warning appeared "transmission malfunction service now" i put the car in neutral to get down the street to a safe parking spot and before coming to a stop the "transmission overheating" warning appeared. this is the second time in 2 years that the car has had this problem. there were several tsb's issued by ford for the transmission on the focus and i had my car serviced accordingly so i was assuming the problems were fixed.

My 2012 ford focus has been nothing but a piece of junk. the transmission has been replaced 5 times. i continue to have problems with shifting, acceleration, lunging forward, hesitation, and overall performance issues on the transmission. the last transmission ( clutch system ) was installed by paul miller ford in lexington ky. i reported problems with the same issues on the transmission. each time i dropped my vehicle at the service center, i was told "everything looks good, we show everything is within parameters, no problems found." what a load of crap. i take it back for the same problem and oops, "we are sorry but the test we ran failed." you will have to pay to replace your transmission. when i asked it ford has figured out how it fix the problem with the transmission, i received no answer, only that " we are so sorry about my transmission. i called customer service to open up a case (#cas11662039) and was basically told the same thing, " we are sorry, we don't have any programs that help pay for fixing your transmission, but hang on to your receipt and if there is a recall you can get your $ back." also, paul miller ford refuses to provide me with a list of parts installed on my vehicle each time transmission was replaced, thier computor would be having problems each time my transmission would be replaced. why hasnt there been a recall on my 2012 ford focus if there is no way to fix the transmission?

I was driving the vehicle on the highway and suddenly the transmission failed and the car speed dropped suddenly from 70 m/h to 30 m/h. the car behind me almost hit me.my kids and i were very close to die. called ford and told me there is a recall on the transmission. took it to the dealership and they said my car is covered by the extended warranty but they don't fix it because it's a salvage title. they said this recall program doesn't fix salvaged vehicles. few weeks before they fixed the door latch because there was a recall on it. they never mentioned salvaged vehicles. what salvage title has to do with the transmission. i understand if the car was hit at the transmission site, then you don't have to fix it. however, if a car was hit at the door or had hail damages and the insurance company changed the title to salvage, why don't you fix the transmission? ford people don't care if i or my family die on the road because of their fault. all what they care about is to save few dollars. please investigate this issue and see how they can put unrealistic terms for the recall. how come the company makes fatal mistakes and they still put their rules what to fix and what not to fix. i'm asking you to investigate this recall program. i'm asking you to watch the recall program and make sure that these companies are making vehicles to take us places not to take us to hell.

Takata recall so i was told after having multiple problems with my vehicle after bob lowth ford selling me it that some parts are on recall and i have small children i don't want to put in risk if anything happens during the winter weather here in mn for insistence my engine light came on and it started feeling like it wanted to die out on us early morning around 7:30 am central time so i always try to make sure that my small children have blankets in case we die out in -20 weather. *tr

Vehicle disengages and leaves you stranded right where you set, no matter if the gear shift is in drive, park, reverse, or sport it disengages without warning. this has happened to me numerous times. once, pulled into gas station to get gas and put vehicle into park, got out, filled tank then got back into car and put into drive and, nothing. transmission would not engage. another time, driving on interstate and same thing, disengages then would lunge then disengage completely, stranded on the highway. another time, and this has happen so much that now i try to time myself while approaching traffic signals as to prepare myself as if it where going to lose power every time. these times you will be setting in traffic at a light or just rush hour bumper to bumper and the light changes or traffic starts to move and without warning transmission, disengages. stranded, in the middle of an intersection with oncoming traffic. i am surprised with all the problems that i see everyone is having with these vehicles pertaining to the transmissions, someone hasn't been killed. this problem isn't a secret anymore. just google ford focus transmission problems! the nhtsa needs to "(as a federal agency, nhtsa regulates the safety of motor vehicles and related equipment)" do what is right for the consumer. call ford motor out on this issue and make them stand behind their product that are selling. go to http://wlos.com/news/news-13-investigates/ford-sued-over-faulty-transmissions-in-some-focus-feistas this pretty much explains it. this is why ford stopped using this transmission in end of 2015. there is no fixing it! it is a defective design issue and they know it. and as far as the when did this happen box at the bottom of this page, these aren't isolated incidents, this happens often and to most people who own these cars manufactured with this transmission between 2011-2015. *tr

The vehicle loses power even though it is still in drive; engine still running fine, transmission is not. makes no difference where the vehicle is driven; highway, city street, turning, the transmissions simply slips out of gear. yikes.. driving on highway and lost power, yet engine still running. like transmission is slipping out of gear into neutral but still in drive. also, turning into driveway and did it again. *tr

My car constantly smells like gas when i start it up after filling the gas tank up, the car dies when driving down road i have to pull over to start it because it dies while i am on the road so i have to pull over since last year the fuel reader stopped working causing me to die on side of road because of running out of gas. the car still has transmission issues it jerks from time to time and the half shaft bearing and wheel bearings are currently going out in this car. i bought the car brand new at the ford dealership. this is car is a lemon i have owned over 15 used cars and never had a problem as much i have had with this new car.

Pulling to a stop light, as the transmission downshifted, it jerked really hard twice. when the light changed, we drove off, it wouldnt shift out of first gear. it had no reverse. towed to the dealer, they placed a tcm on it without testing it first, said it was fine, we drove 3.5 hours and were now a total of 6 hours from home when it started feeling restritcive while doing 75 on the interstate at midnight in the rain. my husband thought it was road noise, but then it wouldnt pull the car at all and was slowing down. at this point, it had no movement forward or backwards. we had it towed to the dealer in bowling green ky, spent 3 days in a hotel for them to lead us on that there was potential for ford to fix the now not covered transmission. the car has 47000 miles on it. they even tried to sell us a new car! the car was then towed back to the dealer in greenwood indiana for potential repair. they didnt check the fluid in it, they didnt check the failure codes, they just put a tcm on it and said it was good to go, when clearly it wasnt.

Lost power steering to vehicle, unable to drive due to safety concerns. transmission hesitates when driven or when gasing from a stop.

My ford focus automatic transmission shudders and hesitates when shifting.it has been to the dealer four times.there have been updates done to the computer.it still has the same issues.

I have taken my 2012 ford focus to the local dealership 3 times, 2 times by a letter sent to me wanting me to being my car to the dealership to have the kam reset and the pcm reprogram because the shaken and shudders when accelerating and the 3th time the same thing again. now the car is doing the same thing again up to a speed of about 20-25 mph the shaking and shudders and noise stop.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the grade assist warning light illuminated as the vehicle independently revved. the contact stated that the vehicle was brought to a stop however, it continued to rev independently and the instrument panel illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 67,000.

2012 ford focus. consumer writes in regards to transmission slippage, sunroof leakage and requests a repurchase. *ld the manufacturer advised due to the age and mileage of the vehicle they would not be able to review the vehicle for repurchase or replacement. *js

My car is in the fourth time for transmission related issues. also this time the check engine light came on. bill brown ford in livonia mi diagnosed the problem as a failing catalytic converter. this is a known problem with the focus, but ford hasn't done anything about it. i've researched the issue on line and there are many complaints about the catalytic converter. i also have a friend who is a mechanic at a ford dealership and he said ford is quite aware of the problem. two years ago i was almost rear ended when the car suddenly went out of gear and the check engine light came on and flashed a warning. ford replaced the tcu. the car is now hesitating again along with shuttering when accelerating.

My vehicle has been in for service 3 times this year alone for the same transmission issue. every time i go in they adjust something or replace a small part, but never completely fix the problem. it shudders, hesitates, bucks, and kind of stalls because the transmission is trying to shift or making grinding noises. it can do it speeding up or slowing down or in the middle of the drive, it is unpredictable. i have had the transmission also over heat and tell me to pull over on large busy roads and have a loss of power when not stopping fast enough. it is scary when my car is shuddering going no where and i am in the middle of traffic or going through an intersection with my 2 kids in the car. fords response is to continue driving the car, some times they say it is within specs and sometimes they say that i have to drive it while i wait for parts to come in, which are usually back ordered. the service adviser told me herself that she wouldn't drive the car but i am expected to drive it because they can not give me a loaner and they have no parts to fix my car, and even when they do "fix it" the same problem starts again within a couple months. i think they are just waiting and riding it out until the warranty runs out on it. now to top it off there is also a recall on the door latches where the doors can just open and they also do not have those parts. it is an unsafe car and a horrible experience that i am going through. *tr

Automatic transmission disengages while traveling at speed. card rolls backward on any type of hill. i have been driving and was passing a vehicle on a 2 lane road and had the transmission disengage and narrowly avoided an accident as there was no power to the drive wheels to get back into the traffic lane. this car has been in multiple times for transmission work. the tcm and automatic clutch replaced with another faulty tcm & automatic clutch. this model of transmission is a danger to the driving public. *tr

My 2012 ford focus has a transmission clutch defect.. my experience with the problem has been a rattle noise, during low gears, check engine light appears off and on, vehicle stalls as your driving, speedometer goes up when you are in park, and it causes the car to "flutter" in and out like it's about to shut off. i have had the defect fixed by the ford dealership three times.. i am now having take the car back to the dealership to be fixed for the fourth time. i just got my car back from being fixed again for the third time. that same day of picking up my car my son and i stalled out in the middle of the interstate three times! my son is 19 months old, as you can imagine i was fearing for our life.. cars going 70+ miles an hour, going past you, while your stalled out in the middle lane.. i couldn't get out the vehicle with my son, because remind you, i couldn't get out safely, all i could do was hope the people behind me could see my safety hazard lights.. this was not the first time i have stalled out in this car.. this makes stalling out number 6.. i have a huge safety concern with this car. i don't feel safe driving it, especially with my son in the car.. i just want the dealership to replace my car.. i want to feel safe driving and i am terrified to drive mine. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving various speeds, a green and red light flashed on the instrument panel. the vehicle's downhill indicator illuminated without being activated. the vehicle revved and shifted into neutral. the contact stated that the vehicle eventually returned to normal. other times, the contact would have to turn off the vehicle and restart it a few times until it returned to normal. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 71,000.

I was driving in traffic at approximately 40 mph. my vehicle lost all power. i almost got rear ended. my vehicle will not automatically shift now. it has lack of power and it jerks and lunges while driving also it lost its reverse gear this all happened at the same time get on to the freeway

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle independently shifted into neutral and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. after five minutes, the vehicle became operable. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the clutch position sensor needed to be replaced. the dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not repaired due to the workload of the dealer. in addition, the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v643000 (latches/locks/linkages); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

My car has a problem with the transmission and i found out that there is a recall from the company. they have 3 recalls on the transmission: transmission control module reprogramming for overt tcm failure warning transmission clutch shudder / transmission input shaft seal warranty extension transmission control module extended warranty coverage i called them twice and they checked my vin number and they found me eligible to get my car fixed at one of their dealers. i took my car there and the dealer refused to fix my car because my car has a branded(salvage) title. now, if you can't build a car right, leave this business to somebody else.when you have all these failures in the transmission, this tells me the whole transmission is just a scam and it shouldn't be there.if a car got a hit in the trunk far away from the transmission and didn't even touch it, what this has to do with your mistake. why do i have to pay for your mistake?do you even know what this transmission problem does to the car?here is what happened,i was driving my car on the freeway almost 70 miles/hour with my family and suddenly my car was not going forward and although pushing on the gas pedal,the car was not speeding. do you realize that any car from behind could just hit me from the back because i didn't hit the brakes and no brakes lights were on nor any warning that i was slowing down.do you know how i was terrified to go from my lane to the shoulder while losing speed and any truck or car can hit me and kill me with my family.no,you don't know because you don't care about other people's lives. if you care you won't let these cars run on the roads. 3 failures in the transmission, 2 of them will cover my salvage title and 1 won't cover it, why?? the way i see it is you messed up in the transmission and they are all connected with each other, why do you cover 2 faults and not the 3rd one? *tr

Transmission - transmission on late model ford focus is dangerous. car shakes, shutters and transmission will not go in gear at time when in traffic. clear safety hazard that vehicle is dangerous when operating and concerning when car has movement issues in intersections and at stop lights. car has been to service center over a dozen times for transmission reprogramming over past 4 years, car has received three clutches and now other major components are failing within the transmission. car recently broke down while driving and started missing gears, lurching and shaking on a road at 50 mph. had to pull over. was able to travel 1 mile to get home but car was difficult to stop and jerked uncontrollably. car would not go into reverse and had to push out of road upon arriving home. *tr

Recall of pcm/tmc recall 15b22 - i do not understand if a part is on a recall to be replaced why is a mileage restriction placed on the vehicle? i took my car to dealership for a failed recalled part and i had to pay for the part and the installation!! i commute over a hundred miles round trip each day to work by july 2016 i had already reached the 150,000 mile mark. my family has been a ford owner's for over 35 years. we own 3 ford vehicles today. including the one in reference. i plead with you to help with the cost of this. please feel free to contact me anytime at [xxx]. thank you, [xxx] may you and yours have a blessed thanksgiving. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Very rough idling of engine while proceeding forward at start of acceleration. the "hill assist not available" light on the instrumentation panel came on, while the transmission seemed to transfer itself from a drive position to a neutral position. the car remained stationary while i attempted to accelerate using the foot pedal. at that point, i could not get the car back into a drive gear position. immediately following "hill assist not available" message, a second warning light "transmission malfunction, service now" came on. during this moment, an additional red exclamation light engaged. when i stopped at a red traffic signal, my focus's rpm idle quickly increased causing the focus to lunge forward a few feet into an active traffic intersection. as i proceeded to make a right hand turn, the instrumentation panel displayed no warning signs, then suddenly came back on as the rpm idle went from 2,200 to 5,500 rpm in a neutral gear state. at this moment, i was nervous, as my mind was racing with thoughts of an accident; such as, the transmission could re-engage to a drive position at such a high rpm rate, forcing vehicle to thrust forward at an uncontrollable high speed, or the engine could perhaps overheat and/or the engine block could crack. the warning panel sporadically turned warning messages on and off as it affected the powertrain/transmission control. the waning light displays "hill assist not available" every time the transmission goes into a neutral position, while the gear is physically in its "d" (drive) position. this focus leaves me wary while behind its wheel. will this car eventually injure me or another person (s) while the transmission suddenly accelerates once again, causing an accident?