331 complaints reported

2017 Ford Focus Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
331
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jun 2026

My 2017 Ford Focus transmission failed at 113,000 miles. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flashing warning light and no cell signal.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Feb 2026

While driving on the highway, (I-40) my dash lit up with "transmission fault stop car" The it shudders, bounced in and out of gear to finally completely stopped. Although I wasn't killed, my life was in danger. I believe the 2017 dual clutch transmission is faulty and should be added to the 2016 recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2026
Feb 2026

Driving down the road the car shimmed a couple times I parked it turned it off when I went to turn it back on. It wouldn’t turn over when I finally got it to turn on. It wouldn’t go on reverse sometimes it’ll start sometimes it won’t sometimes it’ll go in reverse and sometimes it won’t.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2026
Jan 2026

I have 2017 Ford Focus that is experiencing transmission issues related to the DPS6 Powershift transmission and TCM recall but my VIN number is [XXX] was not included. I am experiencing issues with the car shifting into 1st and 2nd gears, it will revv up at a stop but not accelerate immediately. I have been to a mechanic multiple times and had the lower actuator replaced, new radiator fan installed, clutches scrubbed, and TCM reprogrammed. Multiple mechanics have recommended replacing the transmission as a solution. I called my local ford dealership who denied to service my vehicle under any recall or warranty, I spoke with a manufacturer representative who also told me that Ford is unwilling to do anything for my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2025
Dec 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle had hesitated to start. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle started sputtering, the RPMs increased, and the vehicle lost drive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The messages "Transmission Overheat" and "Transmission Failure. Could be Overheating - Pull Vehicle over Asap" were displayed. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted and was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer, where the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,463.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2025
Dec 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle misfired. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2025
Dec 2025

The vehichle was shuttering upon while it shifted into higher gears for a while and then about a week ago the vehicle stalled and would no longer go into gear.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2025
Dec 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 15-30 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle started to stall; however, the failure was not consistent enough for the vehicle to be diagnosed. The contact stated that recently the vehicle started struggling while shifting gear and started to stall more frequently. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with clutch assembly failure. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired because the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Dec 2025

A "P07A3" code on a 2017 Ford Focus indicates that the transmission's "Friction Element A" is stuck on, meaning a clutch within the transmission is not releasing properly, likely causing issues with shifting and potentially putting the car into limp mode; this is a serious issue that requires professional repair as it usually points towards internal transmission problems. I see slot of people are having the same issue online but yet there is no recall on this issue and there should be.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2025
Nov 2025

Bought this car last June of this year and ever since then. First gear will buck sometime and second gear too. After I gotten to thrird gear it goes away. My local Tires Plus says that's with all Ford focus'es he think I'm crazy but I have let a friend drive it when I there and he says the same thing as me. It bucks..

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2025
Nov 2025

The transmission has been slipping since I got the car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2024
Oct 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Focus Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the transmission had malfunctioned and the vehicle did not properly change gears causing the speed to suddenly reduce and the vehicle experienced a loss of automotive power. Also, the vehicle would not drive in reverse and the message "Transmission Overheating" was displayed. The contact indicated that the failures were intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failures and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000(POWER TRAIN). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2024
Sep 2025

Transmission actuator A and actuator B making the Transmission not able to shift. Happened after new battery installed and was told it could have been a surge sent to Transmission control module breaking the actuators.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2025
Sep 2025

The contact owns a 2017 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 restart after cooling down. The transmission overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train); but was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000. The VIN was not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2025
Aug 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the check engine warning light illuminated, and the transmission failed to shift to second gear. The vehicle was also unable to shift into reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to an Auto Parts Store, where a handheld scanner retrieved a code indicating that “ Clutch B-Fork Stuck”. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2025
Aug 2025

My 2017 Ford Focus has problems with the automatic transmission. It shudders and jerks so badly. It has even shut off on me in the middle of a 4 way intersection with the message “Transmission Fault Service Now” it was not safe. I could have been hurt, or worse. I had the transmission control module replaced, but it did not help. It continues to shift and jerk horribly. It’s hard to accelerate in speed as well.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2022
Jul 2025

I was driving and got a large nail in my tire. I pulled over and fixed my and went to start my car. The battery had died and we jumped it. We let it charge for a little bit and then started it back up. It started just fine and I went to put it in reverse to drive away and it wouldn’t engage but would engage to drive forward. We hooked the scanner to it and it was showing the TCM code. We took it to ford and they’re saying the A and B clutch are stuck and they need to replace both clutches as it’s a dual clutch transmission and the lever and actuator. The focus has 89,000 miles on it and ford is charging $4100 for a known transmission issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Jul 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 73,001.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Jul 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered, and the transmission was slipping. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, a message indicating that the transmission had overheated, and that the vehicle was overridden and would shut down was displayed. The vehicle stalled. The service warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to Akron Transmission Inc, where it was diagnosed that the dual clutch assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 6.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2017
Jul 2025

We have a 2017 Ford Focus Hatchback with a 2.0L engine and a Powershift transmission. We are the original owners and the vehicle only has 56,000 miles. The vehicle, when accelerating and shifting from 1st gear to second gear, is slipping, yielding a loss of torque in an unpredicted fashion. My daughter has nearly been rearended several times. The slip and reengagement is only in this shifting pattern (i.e. not evident in higher gears nor at higher speeds). Ford service acknowledges that there is a problem but is not warrantying the service do to the age of the vehicle. My contention that unintended acceleration is a safety issue and I would like NHTSA to investigate this very serious issue, on such a low mileage vehicle. I worry about the safety of my daughter and other vehicles.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2025
Jul 2025

The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and unexpectedly downshifted. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The owner of the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Jul 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving on the highway at various speeds, the vehicle would not shift properly, the transmission would make a loud scooting vibration sound, and it was very evident that the transmission struggled to get into the next gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the transmission was replaced under warranty on two occasions, and out of pocket on the third occurrence, this was now the fourth incident where the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2025
Jul 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that his wife was driving the vehicle on the highway at 45 MPH, when upon accelerating the vehicle did not accelerate. The contact stated that his wife then attempted to shift the vehicle into park, and again into drive however the vehicle did not move. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission and the gear shifter were faulty and both would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 138,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2024
Jun 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered while shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, or upon acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2025
Jun 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the transmission hesitated while attempting to shift gear. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The contact self-diagnosed the vehicle but provided no result. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2024

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2017 Ford Focus has 331 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.