2012 Ford Focus Power Train

the transmission is stuttering/slipping when accelerating. it's dangerous when getting onto the interstate trying to get up to highway speeds of 70mph and your transmission isn't shifting the way a automatic transmission should shift. then when letting off the gas and gradually applying the breaks the transmission will downshift to many gears and increase your rpms dramatically, and then sometimes when you think your car should downshift going down a steep hill the car seems to stay in a high gear which then your car picks up speed and you have to heavily use your breaks to slow down hoping your car will downshift to a lower gear to help slow your car down to the safe speed limit. Ford says they'll have to diagnose the car first to see if it's the transmission control module. if it's not then I gotta pay $200.00 for the test. I find that [XXX] cuz im not getting the warning on my console about my transmission acting up or overheating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Transmission becomes jerky and fails to shift.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission clutch bearing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown class action lawsuit. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started and the gear shifter was in reverse, the vehicle would not reverse(R). In addition, the check engine warning light had been illuminated before and remained illuminated after the transmission replacement in June 2023. The contact stated that the transmission had been replaced by the previous owner also. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed transmission clutch and actuator and the transmission clutch and actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced under the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), and after picking up the vehicle, the vehicle shifted into park and inadvertently stalled, almost causing a rear-end collision. The contact also stated that the navigation system and the lights were not working as needed. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

The vehicle shudders Jerks and feels like it shifts hard I’ve been doing my research I just bought a car with a defective transmission year 2012-2018 I would like it repaired it’s not fair that I’ve spent all my money on this car and it’s a lemon by ford

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the transmission hesitated and then jerked into the intended gear. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed clutch failure. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted but the vehicle was unable to be shifted into gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was unable to properly shift gear. Additionally, the transmission began to lose motive power. The message that the transmission was overheating was displayed. The vehicle was able to restart after 30 minutes. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the transmission control module and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the dealer stated that the shift module also needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 112,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch was slipping. The dealer determined that the clutch and the levers needed to be replaced, as per Ford TSB Number: 16-0109. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

The contact's daughter owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at high rates of speed, the "Pull Over Transmission Clutch Hot" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective transmission and the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to shudder, prompting the contact to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch, requiring a replacement clutch. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 89,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated the while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. Additionally, while attempting to drive uphill, the vehicle rolled backwards. During the failure, the message "Transmission Overheated" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the clutch was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 199,152.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While the contact's son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred a short distance from the residence. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission clutch assembly failure. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The contact stated that the transmission clutch assembly had been replaced in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and the repairs were covered under warranty. The contact stated that another Ford dealer had completed the previous repairs. The contact stated that in 2021 after the repair was performed, the contact was provided a discount if the failure reoccurred; however, the discount was not applied during the July 2024 repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 139,164.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon the start of the vehicle, the "Engine Malfunction, Service Now" message was displayed on the instrument panel. In addition, the "Parking Aide Malfunction Service Required" message was displayed on the instrument panel when the vehicle was shifted into reverse(R). The vehicle also stalled upon the depression of the accelerator pedal after coming to a complete stop with the check engine warning light flashing on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and replaced the battery, starter, and spark plugs; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the transmission control module (TCM) was defective. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and transferred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Jerking on first and second gear shutterings

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speed, the engine revved up; however, the vehicle failed to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal and the vehicle shuddered. Additionally, the transmission failed to shift into the intended gear. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated that she continued driving; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the transmission control module (TCM) was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle failed to shift gear as designed. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module (TCM), resulting in damage to the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 119,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving from a stationary position, the vehicle shuddered while accelerating and would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the powertrain engagement clutch was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired for the vehicle. The contact stated that the dry clutch packs were previously replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and stalled while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the service transmission and check engine warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure and the contact was informed that the failure was most likely related to the transmission. The contact later received a Customer Satisfaction letter related to the transmission control module (TCM). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and remained in the dealer possession for a week. The contact was informed that the transmission might need to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Took vehicle to Ford dealership after being seen at transmission shop. Previous transmission shop said TCM was bad as well as clutch. Took car to Ford for TCM recall, they said it wasn't broken and refused to replace it. The did say clutch is broken and needs replacement which Ford is not willing to help with on cost.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the transmission shifted erratically. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting rough between gears. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with PCM and TCM failures. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred four additional times. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 38,600.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the clutch failed to perform properly while shifting gear. Additionally, the transmission made grinding sounds while shifting gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the warranty had expired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage) however, the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when her grandparent started the vehicle and attempted to shift into reverse, the gear shifter was inoperable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with failure of the clutch and transmission. The contact was informed that the clutch and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

The transmission shakes and shutters went to dealer and asked about the issue and they stated it was known issue and I should just accelerate very quickly which would clean the clutches. It did work temporarily. in August 2023 while driving the car it refused to down shift while climbing a hill. AFter stopping by the side of the road, the car would not start on the first try. After trying again car did start however it would not go into reverse. It would move forward however driving in heavy traffic the car would not shift out of second causing very high rpms. Limped it into the dealership where they stated it was the clutch and shifting forks. One month later I got the car back and on the way home it once again would not shift while climbing a hill and the check engine light came on. The next morning when I went out to start it once again it would not start. Once it did I could not shift it into revers and once again only second gear was available.