207 complaints reported

2018 Ford Focus Power Train

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

Reports
207
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2023

The Ford DPS6 transmission has lost reverse and buck, jerks and possibly sudden acceleration. It’s a 2018 Ford Focus with the same issues as the 2012 models and up.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2023
Feb 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started to shudder and then decelerated without warning. The contact stated that after several minutes the vehicle started operating normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the clutch was replaced, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the transmission module was updated, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again and the mechanic stated that the transmission module needed to be updated. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 8,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2019
Feb 2023

Car started making a noise and jerking, couldn't go above 12 mph and wouldn't go in reverse. Check engine light came on. This is same fault we had with our previous Ford focus which was supposed to be corrected in 2018 models but clearly isn't. Dealership said it is tcm and back order for part could be months, told us they don't do loaner cars but the repair is free. The repair isn't free because this is our only car and my disabled husband needs transport to weekly hospital appointments so it is costing 30 dollars a day for a rental we shouldn't have to pay for. Ford TCM is clearly a huge issue no matter what year you buy.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2023
Feb 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to restart. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,133.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2023
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the transmission started to hard shift. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2021
Jan 2023

Slipping of transmission in my Ford Focus 2018 SE With transmission not in-gaging fully and sluggish have difficulty with it not pulling up hills. My vehicle has an automatic transmission, not a clutch. Had repair vehicle about 2 years ago. Under supposed recall. Vehicle is now reacting the same as before. I am not sure what the previous repairs entailed. However, the vehicle has ran fine until 2 days ago.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2023
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition switch had to be turned several times before the vehicle started. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and shuddered while changing gear, with the check engine light warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who determined that the transmission control module (TCM) was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2023
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after stopped, or while the vehicle was idling, upon acceleration, the vehicle hesitated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact then stated that while shifted in gear, she heard a grinding sound. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was then taken to AAMCO where it was placed on a diagnostic machine and produced undisclosed codes indicating a faulty transmission. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be diagnosed until a failure had occurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2023
Jan 2023

Transmission Control Module (TCM) does not work and the car does not start on.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2023
Dec 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission control module (TCM) to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the part being on backorder. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2021
Nov 2022

This VIN needs to be updated clearly because I was experiencing transmission issues that were extremely unsafe causing the vehicle to jerk left and ride on the road as well as not go into reverse - I almost got killed by upcoming traffic!!!! Ford as well as the dealership took no accountability but stated there was a recall with the clutch system and it needed to be replaced as well as codes that needed to be reset. My vehicles year, make, and model indeed have similar recalls so my VIN should be under that classification as well because it left the repair shop with $1,000 worth of repairs and it arrived to me unable to start! There’s still internal issues and unfixable transmission issues like many of the pending lawsuits have stated.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Nov 2022

The car sputters consistently in 2nd gear

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2022
Nov 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle started to stall as if there was no gasoline inside the fuel tank. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that after several attempts the vehicle started as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the PCV needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2022
Nov 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light, the vehicle inadvertently moved forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Mtn. View Ford (301 E 20th St, Chattanooga, TN 37408). The dealers had replaced the transmission on three separate occasions; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and several cases were opened. The manufacturer declined to buy back the vehicle since it was not purchased from a Ford dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2019
Oct 2022

While driving service transmission light came on, car won't shift, no reverse, 76,000 Miles on car. Check engine light on but no codes showing. No warning as this happened.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2022
Oct 2022

bought my car 2018 ford focus in 2019 used. its since been at the dealership 3 times. transmission is jerking and taking off by itself. they had my car for 5 months said it was fixed but almost a year later doing the same thing. the warranty just ran out, they said i would have to pay for it. the car is very dangerous. i still owe 10000 on the car. i am so heartbroken. i have no one to help me.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2022
Oct 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was jerking. While driving approximately 30 MPH and shifting into 3rd gear, the vehicle jerked. The check engine warning light was illuminated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as designed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2022
Sep 2022

Transmission / Clutch Slippage. Apparently a well known issue for the 2018 Ford Focus. I am now looking at my 3rd replacement for the clutch as it continues to fail, most recently within 10k miles from the last replacement. Vehicle has less than 85k. Simple daily driving and the vehicle transmission starts to slip gears when leaving a stop, from 1st to 2nd gear. This is not good when crossing larger interceptions or going up hills. The longer I drive the vehicle, the worse it gets. Ford is well aware of this issue with the 2018 and earlier models, as are the Ford dealerships and Focus owners.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Sep 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated she depressed the accelerator pedal harder than usual and the vehicle jerked and accelerated abruptly. The contact stated that on another occasion there was an abnormal sound while shifting gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the transmission and clutches needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 58,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2022
Sep 2022

Transmission control module went out in my car while on the highway. Car decelerated and sputtered almost causing a rear end collision. I was almost struck by a truck driving behind me.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2022
Aug 2022

I informed the dealership twice that something was wrong with my vehicle. I had it serviced twice, now I’m being told my TCM needs to be replaced.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2022
Aug 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the clutch pedal was vibrating and slipping. There was an abnormal transmission noise detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that an electronic update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2022
Jul 2022

Automatic transmission shudders going into 2nd gear, and can be felt through the steering wheel.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2022
Jul 2022

My 2018 Ford Focus has less than 35K miles on it. It has sat at a dealership since December 2021 waiting on a TCM while I am stuck with car payments and zero help from Ford. Ford has stranded over 50k customers and has no ETA on this part. Their dealerships are advising customers the vehicles are safe despite the fact that they shudder, lurch while braked, and decelerate for no reason. This is a known issue that Ford already lost a lawsuit for ok earlier models and now they’ve been sued for the 2017/2018 models. NHTSA needs to investigate this. These cars are not safe and should not be on the road.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2021
Jul 2022

The contact called on behalf of her daughter who owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that her daughter attempted to start the vehicle, but the engine failed to turn over. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2022

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Ford Focus has 207 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.