Focus owners have made 1,851 complaints about the 2012–2019 model years. Using our PainRank™ system we've ranked it 87th out of 94 Ford generations in overall reliability, with real transmission and steering concerns.
The Consumer Protection Attorneys of Alex Simanovsky & Associates, LLC are currently representing Ford Fiesta owners with claims against Ford Motor Company with defective dual clutch ("Powershift") transmissions. Their services are at no cost to the consumer. Get free Lemon Law help!
Click here for more informationSome of the worst issues 3rd generation Focus owners have to deal with.
Most lug nuts are one piece of hardened steel, but Ford chose a design that puts an aluminum cap over a steel core. The cap is notorious for swelling and delaminating when it gets hot, and it’s also a great place to trap moisture and promot…
Continue reading article "Swollen and Stuck Lug Nuts"
PowerShift promised the fuel efficiency of a manual with the ease of an automatic transmission. What owners got instead was a lurching, surging, and shuddering ride that has been the focus of multiple lawsuits and one settlement to date.
Continue reading article "PowerShift Transmission Problems"
Ford is having a tough time with its door latches. The seemingly simple devices keep finding new ways to fail allowing doors to fly open while driving, or rebound and hit you when you go to close them. The issues have been investigated and …
Continue reading article "Door Latch Failure"
Power steering is one of those things you don't think about until it's gone. And owners of Ford cars with electronic power assisted steering (EPAS) are thinking about it all the damn time, if you catch my drift.
Continue reading article "Power Steering (EPAS) Failure"
Ford's customer satisfaction has been in steady decline since 2010. MyFord Touch was also released in 2010. This is not a coincidence. The system was Ford's attempt at an all-in-one, in-dash communication and entertainment system. What owne…
Continue reading article "MyFord Touch Complaints"
Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.
133 complaints
108 complaints
106 complaints
67 complaints
59 complaints
887 complaints
179 complaints
160 complaints
128 complaints
89 complaints
Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.
Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.
Overall reliability rank out of 94 eligible generations.
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They say the cars can experience clutch slips that cause elevated temperatures that damage the clutch plates.
This may cause the transmission housings and clutch covers to leak transmission fluid.
Ford knew about the clutch plate fractures and the threat of fires as evidenced by a previous recall. But it wasn’t until European models with the same B6 transmission started to go up in smoke that Ford decided to expand its previous recall … I guess we could call it, effort?…
keep reading article "Clutch Recall Expanded to Prevent Fires in Ford Focus"The settlement, once approved by a federal judge, will include about 1.5 million model year 2011-2016 Ford Fiesta and 2012-2016 Ford Focus cars with automatic transmissions that caused Ford to issue two customer satisfaction programs.
The full settlement details are complex, but will provide owners with options such as cash payments, reimbursements, or credits towards the purchase of a new car with a arbitration-monitored buyback from Ford.…
keep reading article "PowerShift Lawsuit Settlement Waiting on a Judge's Approval"The dual-clutch lawsuit alleges the vehicles suffer from a long list of problems including shuddering, slipping, bucking, jerking, hesitation while changing gears, premature internal wear, delays in downshifting and sudden or delayed acceleration.
Where have we heard that before? Oh that's right, California and Illinois have similar class-action lawsuits on the docket.
This case, however, is the first to add the EcoSport to the list of affected models.
keep reading article "Another PowerShift Transmission Lawsuit, This Time in Texas"Those vapors are stored in a charcoal canister and then, in certain situations, a purge valve opens and allows some of the vapors out to be burned off by the engine. But what happens when the purge valve sticks open?
According to a proposed class-action lawsuit, a stuck purge valve is causing the 2012-15 Ford Focus engine to run rough and sometimes even stall. Additionally, the valve is causing problems with the gas gauge.…
keep reading article "Focus Purge Valve Causing Engine Stalls?"The owners were tired of their doors flying open while driving, the "door ajar" light never turning off, and whatnot. The investigation found that the problem ran much deeper and it eventually led to a recall of 2.3 million vehicles spread out across 6 Ford and Lincoln models, including the Focus.
Now that the investigation is closing, we'd like to raise a glass of eggnog – the spiked variety – to the owners who filed their complaints online and got the problem fixed.
More details about the recall→
keep reading article "Focus Door Latch Investigation Closed Following Recall", saying the plaintiff's claims don't merit class-action certification because the steering problems are too widespread to prove any "common defect." Nothing says confidence in your product like saying there's too many defects to prove one, singular defect.
"In addition to denying the electromechanical relays are defective, Ford says the claims should be dismissed because the alleged defects, if they exist, occurred during manufacturing at different times and with different models. Due to this, the plaintiffs cannot claim a "common defect" is associated with the Focus and Fusion cars."…
keep reading article "Ford Tries to Steer Around EPAS Lawsuit"
It's likely NHTSA asked Ford to expand the recall because all affected vehicles weren't included in the August recall. That recall was for only certain areas of the country which Ford said had higher ambient temperatures. Vehicles outside those specific areas weren't included in the recall, but Ford said they could be included in a "customer satisfaction program.
So much for the "solar loading" defense.
keep reading article "Goodbye Regional, Hello Nationwide Recall of Ford Door Handles"**Fo
d's pawl spring issues have had their doors blown wide open. Yes, I went there. Ford says a recall of 830,000 vehicles in North America is needed to fix doors that may open while driving, but only if those vehicles are in certain areas.
This comes after the feds opened an investigation into 400,000 Focus cars experiencing similar problems to a door latch recall from last year.…
keep reading article "Regional Recall For Another 830,000 Vehicles with Busted Pawl Springs"The legal investigation includes the 2012-2013 Ford Focus, the same model currently under a safety investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
This isn't surprising.
If the current investigation determines that the Focus uses the same defective pawl springs that were recalled last year, and Ford knew about it, then that's potentially a criminal offense. Or, at the very least, really crappy of them.
keep reading article "Attorneys Investigate Ford’s History of Door Latch Failures"The plaintiffs list similar complaints to another class-action filed last year, namely that the transmission "slips, bucks, kicks, jerks, gets hot, stutters, harshly engages, has premature internal wear, sudden acceleration, delay in downshifts, delayed acceleration, and difficulty stopping the vehicle." Other than that, how is it though?…
keep reading article "Dual-Clutch PowerShift Transmission Lawsuit Filed in Illinois"Ford Focus door latch problems are under investigation by the government, an investigation that could possibly lead to a recall of 400,000 Ford Focus cars.
The original investigation involved the Fiesta. It was later expanded to include the Fusion. And now the 2012-2013 Focus will get an investigation of their own.
The problem can be traced to busted pawl springs which allow the door to shut without ever latching. When that happens, owners may see a "door ajar" warning light or have their doors open while going around a corner.
My guess is the investigation will be to determine if the Focus used the same pawl springs as the other cars. If so, Focus owners should expect a recall soon.
keep reading article "Ford Focus is the Next in Line for a Door Latch Investgation"The lawsuit alleges the transmission was manufactured defective and is causing Fiesta and Focus owners nothing but headaches. Owners complain about vehicles that lurch forward, experience delayed acceleration, delayed downshifting and vehicles that have trouble stopping.
The lawsuit says that all the shuddering leads to premature failure and costly repairs. Repairs that Ford, allegedly, isn't covering under its standard warranty.
PowerShift transmissions are supposed to provide the efficiency of a manual, with the ease on an automatic. Unlike other automatic transmissions with torque converters, PowerShift uses two clutches that hand off responsibility to one another. And if this lawsuit is any indication, they're doing a terrible job.
keep reading article "Fiesta and Focus Are Shipping with Defective Transmissions According to a Lawsuit"