Problems with 2013 Ford Focus POWER TRAIN

Loud grinding noise coming from a brand new ford focus. being told that the sound is normal. i didn't sign up for a vehicle that sounds like it's dragging metal down the street only to be told this is normal for this vehicles dual transmission.. *tr

Automatic transaxle seals leak, eventually causing the car to hesitate badly during acceleration. primarily happens from a stop, which has caused "close calls" on several occasions. clutch and seals have been replaced 3 times in less than 8000 miles.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving 30 mph, the accelerator pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to respond without warning. additionally, the vehicle hesitated, jerked, and shook. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer (coconut point ford, 22400 s tamiami trl, estero, fl 33928) where it was diagnosed that the transmission, clutch, and control module needed to be repaired. additionally, a software reflash was needed. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified and referred the contact back to the local dealer. the contact was informed of the buy back program. the failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

Cpsc: i1490081a. 2013 ford focus. consumer stated the car stalls, stutters and also lurches between shifts. *ln

Experiencing shuddering with acceleration from a stop position. my car makes a very loud noise along with vibrations, took my car into the dealership today, they checked the transmission said it was fine, they test drove it and of course since it is intermittent it didn't do it. i was told this is normal due to the fact that the transmission is an automatic but functions like a manual transmission. soon as i get in the car drive it about 5 miles and it starts doing it. i'm nervous driving it cause it also feels like it's going to die in the middle of acceleration. i feel that safety is compromised by this issue. it shudders the most at about 18-20mph from 0mph. i don't see how this can be normal, it feels so unsafe. *tr

While accelerating from standing position (at stop light pending green left turn) i hear grinding and a pop noise coming from engine when transmission apparently slipped (disengaged) so that the forward drive will not operate. car's momentum kept car moving forward but without power from drivetrain. putting car in reverse gear causes severe grinding noise and no change in motion. car does not have forward or reverse movement when put into gear and is completely disabled. car that was behind me suddenly swerved to prevent rear-end collision with my rapidly decelerating vehicle (with no brake lights activated to warn of rapid deceleration). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving at low speeds uphill or on an incline, the transmission hesitated as if the vehicle would stall. the vehicle was included in a manufacturer's recall related to the failure; however, the recall part was not available. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was not available.

This is a follow on to an original complaint submitted. this first time the entire transmission was replace and fixt the issue for 10,000 miles. the new transmission again started to hesitate when the outside temperature is over 80 degrees. severe shudder when shifting from 1st into 2nd. then the vehicle would reach 5 mph accelerating from a stop and the engine rpms would jump to 5000 and the vehicle would only creep along at 5 mph. this happened in heavy traffic without warning. limped the car into the dealer who had to replace the transmission tcm. the controllers seem to last between 10,000 and 16,000 miles. when the vehicle experiences a failed transmission controller in heavy traffic, this poses a very unsafe condition as other cars are trying to drive around at 45 mph. *tr

My ford focus is having transmission and stalling issues as reported many times before my 2013 focus has had a recall and was to be correct, a year later it seems i am still having the same issue. at anytime while driving stop and go or just driving my car feels like it wants to fight to shift, causing the car to putter like motion and jerking motion, the car has stalled out on me before while driving 70 mph, as i feel this is a growing concern i want others to know that is not just your car. i do see many post with the same issue and its all 100% true as i love ford and will never drive anther car i feel for my safety each and every day that i drive my car. my car has been in the shop a hand full of times. as my car is brand new and should not drive the way it feels. *tr

Car will not shift,sputters, stalls, jerks. has been to dealer 4 times with no results. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. the contact stated that the transmission slipped while accelerating. the dealer did not find any issues with the transmission. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 8,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle jerked and hesitated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 22,000.

There is an obvious transmission problem with the vehicle. when going from 1st to 2nd gear from a stop it shudders and nearly stalls. this is a constant every day issue. i bought the car new, i have brought it to the dealership twice and was told that because there is no official recall ford is not allowing the dealerships to fix the problem even thought there are aware of the problem across the board with the 2013 model of the focus and the fiesta. i was basically told that with an official recall the car would have to stall out on the road or be the cause of an accident in order for the issue to be fixed. *tr

Shuddering, jolting, lurching, grinding of the transmission between 1st and 2nd gear. this had been the main issue, i went to ford 6 times for this and it still has issues. most recently, my car wouldn't go into 2nd gear and would rev very high and then slams into gear & has a very intense lurch forward. it has done this in intersections and pulling out onto bus highways. i went to the local auto parts store as the check engine light was on. the error code they received was "p0902 clutch actuator circuit low".

My 2013 ford focus has demonstrated jerky shifting, engine sputtering and stalls related to ineffective shifting of the transmission since it was first purchased. however, at approximately 55,000 miles, the transmission was sputtering and stalling excessively. at that time, we were notified of a recall on the transmission. on september 16, 2014, my transmission was "reprogrammed" by a local ford dealership. thereafter, the sputtering slowed for a short period and my gas mileage was also reduced. not long after that, the sputtering and stalling returned. in october 2014, my local ford dealership replaced the electronic clutch in my focus. during the week of may 4, 2015, the car failed to accelerate on the highway approximately three times. on the morning, of may 12, 2015, my transmission failed to shift while i was attempting to exit the highway onto a busy, three lane exit ramp. i put on my flashers and tried frantically to get my focus to shift into gear and move forward. rather, it started rolling backwards. next, a mack truck nearly rear-ended my car. my car has been towed to a local ford dealership, and i have been told that the ford dealership will evaluate what is wrong with my transmission, but they have not seen any other ford focus automobiles in our area demonstrate these symptoms. i see endless blogs with ford customers who do have this same problem. i believe that a further recall is required regarding the 2013 ford focus.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while stationary and driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning upon acceleration. in addition, the rear passenger door latch became unlatched and the door opened. furthermore, the vehicle's transmission failed due to the inability to shift to second gear properly. bertwolfe ford in charleston, west virginia was made aware of the series of failures. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was 20,000.

Note: the following issues are intermittent but progressive i.e., getting worse. erratic transmission shifts: (1) lags (opposite of #2 next) during acceleration from full stop. (2) sudden high speed acceleration that is out of proportion from force applied to accelerator pedal from full stop i.e. the front wheels brake traction and spin. (3) transmission shutters during normal acceleration. (4) transmission appears to gear search during normal driving conditions at speeds from 40 to 50 mph. this is indicated by changes in tachometer readings (up and down) as well as feel to the driver. (5) vehicle will not maintain position i.e., rolls backward, on the slightest incline. brake pressure must be maintained to prevent roll back. *tr

My car has a very loud rattling noise when it shifts, took to dealer,flanders and patch in lebanon nh on 07/22/13 they looked at it, and said its the transmission, {some part} ? was told it was the nature of the beast, and i would have to live with it. will very likely try my hardest to , tell every one not to buy this type of car,. *tr

I have had my 2013 ford focus at the dealer three times now for transmission problems with their dual clutch transmission including excessive noise during acceleration, hesitation when attempting to accelerate into traffic, and jerky acceleration, especially from 1st to 2nd gear. they have replaced the clutch and reprogrammed the transmission but the problem has persisted - the noise and hesitation returned within a day of the repairs. i simply do not feel safe driving the vehicle, especially in heavy traffic as i never know when it is going to fail to accelerate. ford insists these issues are normal, but i can't imagine a car that sounds like this and fails to shift when accelerating into traffic is "normal". *tr

Engine shut off while driving, after displaying transmission not in park. has happened twice now. car just had tsb 14-013..pcm/tcm reprogrammed. they also replaced clutch and seals under same tsb. *tr

My 2013 ford focus has a bad transmission shudder that happens mostly when starting out from a dead stop and the transmission is shifting from 1st to 2nd gear . at times it shudders and shakes so bad when starting out the vehicle will actually delay and stop moving momentarily while the transmission is shaking and shuddering. it is very dangerous when this happens while crossing a hwy or trying to go through a busy intersection and the vehicle stops moving and just sits there and shakes for a second or two. the last time this happened it scared my wife so bad she now refuses to drive the vehicle anymore and doesnt really care to ride in it anymore even when i'm driving. had it to the dealer about 5 or 6 times for this problem and they replaced the clutches in the transmission once and re flashed the computer a number of times and while that did help for a short time after these repairs it always starts shuddering again. ford says this is normal for the transmission to shudder and shake so if its normal why doesnt it do it all the time and why did the new clutches completely take care of the shudder for about 6 months?? i would like to meet the engineer that designed this transmission and have him tell me this is normal to my face after taking him for a ride in this vehicle.

Upon acceleration, from stop or moving, the vehicle shakes, jerks, and rattles violently. the transmission will grind and will hesitate to engage. trying to pull out into moving traffic, i was almost in an accident multiple times due to the engine properly "revving up" but the transmission failing to either engage, late to engage, or missing the proper gear. on even slight inclines the vehicle will roll backwards quickly when moving foot from brake to accelerator. taken to dealership who confirmed failure of clutch and seals but ford does not have availability on parts. multiple dealerships told me this problem is in every 2013 focus, and reading online confirms thousands upon thousands of people with the same issue. this is clearly a safety issue and i'm now driving a car with a confirmed failure item that cannot be replaced. dealerships also have told me "this problem will be present forever" or is "not fixable". *tr

Alarms went off, loss of instrument panel, complete loss of transmission power and engine cut out. "transmission fault, service transmission now" was the message received. had vehicle towed to ford service center. on august 17, 2014 at 60 miles an hour it happened again. have had car towed to service center again. *tr

Took delivery of a 2yr old certified 2013 ford focus se a week ago. when accelerating from a stop the car transition slips similar to a driver learning how to drive a manual transmission. when accelerating and turning a corner the car with studded and jump. i called the dealership who told me this was part of the dual clutch design of the car. appreciate the other posts to validate the situation. *tr

I was driving home from work, it was raining, as i pulled off the light, the car began sputtering and would not go over 10 mph. i merged to the shoulder and the dashboard lit up with critical engine fault, and a few others, the car stalled and i sat there for about 30 mins. i managed to get home that day and after sitting for 24 hours, it ran fine again.this morning (dec.9th2014) raining again, i pulled into my parking lot and the car began sputtering and when i placed it in park, another critical engine fault appeared, i have read about 100 other cases describing the same situation. *tr

My transmission is great progressively worse. the judder, slipping out of gear, deceleration when i need to accelerate, and the random buckling of car is getting too horrible to ignore anymore. my dealership told me that there has been no issues with the transmission and that i was wrong. i am reading way too many of the same stories with the same car. this is getting dangerous and i am stuck with this car. when i accelerate from a stopped position, i feel as if i am riding a bucking bronco (shuddering). the jolting and shuddering is enough to loosen my kidneys. this has always occurred on my car. but it is getting worse. but according to ford, this is 'normal' and 'this transmission is suppose to feel like a manual.' i have driven manual transmission cars and they do not behave this way. they have made it seem like cars are suppose to drive this way now.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving 15 mph, the vehicle shook violently and failed to start. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. in addition, the front passenger and rear driver side power windows failed to function. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

Erratic shifting during a cold start resulting in ridiculous jolting of the car. my head hit the steering wheel from the forces applied due to the erratic shift programming. the seat belt keeps my body from impacting the steering wheel from the resulting movement each and every time i accelerate from a stopped position. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the transmission shifted into the neutral position independently. the transmission was shifted back into the drive position and the vehicle resumed normal function. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 17,800 and the current mileage was 18,200.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated and jerked before accelerating. the failure occurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer. the technician diagnosed that the transmission program needed to be updated. the repair was performed, but the failure persisted. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the approximate failure mileage was 11,000. updated 12/09/14*lj updated 05/11/2015 *js

This vehicle has been 'fixed' multiple times. shaking and rumbling when shifting in the transmission, lack of power when accelerating and rattling when around 50 mph.

When starting to accelerate, or driving and press hard on the accelerator, the engine may take off as expected, or may sputter, and hesitate, and have a jerky acceleration. i some intersection left turns, i have almost gotten into an accident due to this problem. i have learned to be careful, and assume the worst, and to allow plenty of time to make the turn. this is a very dangerous situation. i have owned this car for about 3 years, and this has happened many times through the 3 years. i have taken the car to a ford dealer 3-4 times, and they tell me there is nothing wrong - the care is within the specs it is supposed to be within. nothing they can do.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving approximately 30 mph, the transmission warning light illuminated and the clutch made a loud noise while shaking forcefully. the failure was diagnosed by the manufacturer and the clutch was replaced; however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the manufacturer where it was diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced again. the failure mileage was 13,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving 15 mph, the transmission shifted with little acceleration and all the warning indicators illuminated. the failure occurred numerous times. the dealer stated that the transmission control valve needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000.

Cvt automatic transmission shutters, knocks, delays then accelerates. difficult to predict when. sometimes ok other times it hesitates upon acceleration. while turning left was almost hit by oncoming traffic due to the unpredictable shutter and delay. ford dealer says transmission is normal and to expect that. there is no way this is safe. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle independently jerked forward without warning when driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch on the transmission failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 5,000. the vin was unavailable.

I was starting to accelerate up a hill and the engine lost all power and was revving at a high rate as though it were in neutral. i had no idea what was happening. it was scary. after shifting a few times it eventually recovered in a weird, sluggish way. i took it to the dealer (torrington ford, lincoln and mercury in torrington, ct) and they "reprogrammed the pcm and tcm to the latest calibration" and claimed it road tested ok. however, the car still shuddered excessively at times when shifting, especially at low speeds. i brought it in again two months later and the dealer report said "the shudder is present but not bad enough to perform any further repair, currently below 250 rpm difference and no repairs are needed at this time." a few months ago i had the salesperson drive it and he acknowledged the shudder was way more than what it should be with this transmission. he said he would speak with the service department but i never heard back from him until today when he sent me a "hi, how's your car doing" email that was a standard blast email to all his customers. i reminded him of the problem i am continuing to have with the ford focus and told him i don't like driving it. i haven't heard back from him yet. actually the car scares me. sometimes, like yesterday, the shudder lasts a full 3 seconds. something is very wrong with this vehicle. ford keeps saying it is supposed to shift differently than other cars but nobody would buy one if they experienced this kind of shuddering during test a drive. i first noticed the problem at around 7,500 miles, maybe a little sooner but i probably thought it was my imagination or that i was actually feeling a rough road surface. *tr

The engine and transmission stutter when taking off.

When starting to accelerate there is a skipping and/or surging, with an accompanied shuttering coming from the transmission until the car reaches as fast as 25 mph. this defect has almost caused one accident. i have been in contact with two dealerships to try and get the problem repaired however the parts are on back order for as long as 4 more weeks. the dealerships have stated this is a common problem with various service notices on it. they have informed me that it is due to faulty seals that cause leaking lubricant. *tr

The car started experiencing very rough shifting problems after the it reached operating temperature. the car has been to the dealer twice and it still experiencing shifting issues, hesitation, surging, shuddering, vibrating. the only time the transmission is smooth is when the car is at a constant speed and is not shifting gears. i purchased this car so that i could hand it down to my daughter. i'm not going to be able to do that with these issues. it is not safe for an inexperienced driver to operate. *tr

Car transmission will hard shift, or shudder at speeds around 15 to 25 mph. this can cause a delay in shifting and is an issue in traffic and/or merging onto freeway. the car began to start a delay in shifting at higher speeds around 24,000 miles. *tr

June 2014 - pulled off the main highway onto a side road. accelerating from a stop sign, the car started to shutter severely between the 1-2 shift but continued to run normal once up to speed. when i got home, i took the car to the ford service department. they had to replace the clutch pack in the automatic transmission and reprogram the tcm at 22,700 miles. october 2014 - car started shuttering again during 1-2 shift and had a rattle sound coming from under the car. took the car to dealer and they had to reprogram the tcm again. april 2015 - returned to the dealer because the shutter was getting worse. they reprogrammed tcm again. june 2015 - car shuttered severely and hesitated as i pulled out of a parking lot onto the road, almost causing me to get rear-ended. it finally shifted and we were able to get the car to the dealer. they said the pcm had to be reprogrammed as well as the tcm again, but they could not detect any shutter. july 1, 2015 - car shuttered from take-off at a stop sign, then hesitated before shifting. took the car to the dealer and they said no shutter was detected but they reprogrammed the tcm again to relearn how we drive. july 11, 2015 - 39,000 miles. turning left on to a road from a stop sign, the car shuttered, hesitated and jerked but would not shift into the next gear. it did show the engine service light then. i pulled to the side of the road to keep from getting rear-ended. called the dealer and was told to try and get the car to them. i managed to get the car turned around, headed to the dealer. the car shuttered then hesitated again before shifting. it was only shifting from 1st to 3rd then to 5th. at the dealer, i had the service writer drive the car with me in it and it shifted normal, but the code was still there. he said shutting off the engine may have reset the fault. this needs recalled before injuries happen. recall now!

The car is experiencing transmission problems. it shudders and bogs down as i am accelerating, and often lurches forward unexpectedly. the car makes a loud grinding noise when shifting through gears. the problems began in low gears, but i am now experiencing problems at all speeds, including lurching forward. i have taken the car back to the dealership twice, only for them to tell me this is a normal occurrence. i am afraid the transmission issues will cause an accident. i am also concerned that the grinding of the gears will cause damage to other components of my vehicle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle did not accelerate without warning. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to a dealer. the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

I purchased the car in may it drove fine for 2 weeks. then the transmission started hesitating, shutter noises, and vibrating. i took it to ford 2 days later it started all over again. the car has already been repaired before i purchased it. i was not disclosed that information when i purchased it. now i have a unreliable car, thanks ford! *tr

I've had the transmission redone twice one at 58k the problem started at 31k and again at 86k two weeks later the same surging, jolting, loss of power is still happening. ford motor co. and dealers are horrible to deal with. ford motor co. won't respond they take messages if you can actually talk to someone. there are thousands of these cars with this transmission which is crap. they need to discontinue use because the fix is not a fix. someone needs to stop ford from producing unsafe cars. any time i drive this care the jolts start after second gear then it doesn' change gears correctly it's sluggish this happens on streets and highways or when slowing down and attempting to speed up it has very little power and i end up wasting a lot of gas so the mpg's aren't correct in rating. vehicle health report in syn is a joke, it will tell you your breaks are ok and they aren't. it goes through a quart of oil every 6 k miles. now it's hard to start i jiggle the key and it sometimes starts there's a loud clicking noise and all the lights and electronics flicker then it finally starts. don't buy any focus! i've submitted a previous complain not sure if this is even being read...i have all my service records. don't have a scanner if you want to see them. dealers initially told me several times i'm not "giving it enough gas" even though there was already a recall on the transmission and i had 30k on the care.

Engine started idling rough while down shifting, once the vehicle came to a stop the vehicle shuttered (rpms) and then stalled. this has happened quite a few times, but is intermittent. engine started idling rough while traveling through a corner and down shifting from 3rd to 2nd, at that time the clutch was pushed in and the car stalled. i lost power steering and slightly traveled into the on coming lane of traffic at 25 mph. the stalling while down shifting has happened quite a few times, but is intermittent. engine idles rough while at stops or down shifting, but does not stall. this happens almost all the time, does not always stall, but is also intermittent. hill assist seems to be intermittent as to when it wants to work or not work. after performing a tsb on my car the clutch stuck to the floor. after i pumped the clutch a few times it started acting normal. *tr

I own a 2013 ford focus. i haven't had the car a week and i already feel a grinding/shuddering in the transmission. it also has a hard time shifting at low speeds. i've taken the car to the shop and ford employees keep telling me its normal and nothing is wrong. ford needs to recall this car! *tr

When driving at highway speed 65 with cruise control engaged the vehicle feels as if the engine is cutting out or engine braking is being applied the rpm's drop from 2.5 to 2.25 feels like the engine is pulsing. *tr

Traveling on i-80 in new jersey after slowing/braking due to heavy traffic ahead and slowing to about 40 mph, the vehicle for about three minutes would not accelerate to highway speed of 65 mph. vehicle was service at ford dealer requiring the replacement of clutch and software reinstall. similar incident occurred a year later june 24, 2015 while traveling on i-77. was driving at about 70 mph and had to slow down due to police action on the right side of the road. after slowing to about 50 mph the vehicle would not accelerate or was very slow to accelerate to highway speed. scheduled a service check with ford for july 8, 2015. but the technician "could not verity concern." note the vehicle was taken to ford for other transmission issues november 4, 2014 and june 13, 2015: grinding, rumbling noise from transmission area, jumping/stuttering forward when accelerating from stopped position and tendency for transmission to slow vehicle when traveling under 30 mph. transmission/ software issues. the clutch was replaced for the november service date and only software was installed on the june 13, 2015 service date. updated 09/09/15*lj