What 3,789 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Focus Bev

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FOCUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, HE ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND THE VEHICLE JERKED BACKWARD. THERE WAS ALSO A GRINDING NOISE WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS, WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE TECHNICIAN ALSO STATED THAT THE FAILURES WERE NORMAL AND WOULD STOP OVER TIME. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20.

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WE BOUGHT OUR FOCUS EARLIER THIS YEAR AND IMMEDIATLEY NOTICED STUMBLING ON ACCELERATION AND ROUGH IDLING. THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT'S GOING TO STALL WHEN IT TAKING OFF FROM A STOP OR WHEN MAKING HARD ACCELERATIONS. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER THE FIRST WEEK OF OWNERSHIP TO HAVE THIS LOOKED AT, BUT FORD TOLD US IT NEEDED TO BREAK IN AND THAT THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES WHEN THEY RAN A DIAGNOSITC. THE PROBELM HAS NEVER BEEN FIXED ALTHOUGH THE SYMPTOMS WERE CONFIRMED BY THE SHOP FOREMAN. THE SECOND TIME WE TOOK THE CAR IN AS THE SHUDDERING WAS WORSE, THE DEALER HAD IT FOR OVER 30 DAYS AND PUT 700 MILES ON THE CAR TO NO AVAIL. WE HAVE ALL THE PAPERWORK DOCUMENTING THEIR TESTING AND THE DATES THEY HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE. A REP FROM FORD CAME OUT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE CAR AS WELL DURING THIS TIME, AND ONCE AGAIN TOLD THEM THIS WAS NORMAL AND WOULD GO AWAY. WE NOW HAVE ABOUT 2300 MILES ON THE CAR AND IT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE. WE HAVE FILED A CLAIM THROUGH FORD MOTOR COMPANY FOR A BUY BACK ON THE CAR DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS BUT WE WERE DENIED AS OF TODAY, AND ALSO TOLD THAT THE CAR DOES NOT QUALIFY AS A LEMON IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THEY HAVE SET US UP FOR ANOTHER APPOINTMENT TO GO BACK TO THE DEALER AND SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO. BEFORE FILING ANY COMPLAINTS, WE DID RESEARCH TO SEE IF OTHERS WERE HAVING A SIMIALR ISSUE. THERE ARE MULTIPLE FORUMS OF PEOPLE HAVING THESE SAME ISSUES (THE BEST SITE TO VISIT IS FOCUSFANATICS.COM). UPON READING ABOUT EVERYONE ELSES TROUBLES, NO ONE SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN A RESOLUTION AND WE FEEL THAT THIS NEXT APPOINTMENT WE HAVE SET IS REALLY A WASTE OF TIME. SEEMS THAT FORD IS SWEEPING THE PROBLEM UNDER THE RUG AND HAS NO SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. IN CONCLUSION, WE DO LOVE THE WAY THE CAR LOOKS, RIDES, AND ALL THE GREAT AMENITIES FORD HAS PUT IN IT'S VEHICLES BUT THIS IS A DEFINETE SAFETY ISSUE THAT IS NOT BEING ADDRESSED AT ALL BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY. *TR

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THIS VEHICLE HAS SOME SCARY AND SOMETIMES DANGEROUS TRANSMISSION ISSUES. IT'S NOT LIKE A NORMAL AUTOMATIC WITH A TORQUE CONVERTER, SO SOME ROUGHNESS IS EXPECTED. BUT, THIS CAR OFTEN GRINDS GEARS, SLIPS, GRABS AND LUNGES, AND ALSO ROLLS BACK ON INCLINES. I HAVE NEARLY BEEN IN SEVERAL ACCIDENTS WHEN I HAVE TRIED TO ACCELERATE INTO AN INTERSECTION AND THE VEHICLE DOESN'T RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR BEING DEPRESSED COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR. IT SOMETIMES ACTS AS IF YOU ARE TRYING TO START FROM A STOP IN 3RD OR 4TH GEAR. FORD MOTORS HAS CONTINUALLY SAID THESE PROBLEMS ARE NORMAL AND THE VEHICLE NEEDS SOME BREAK-IN TIME. WELL, THIS VEHICLE NOW HAS OVER 6,000 MILES. I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO GET BETTER. IF I GET INTO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS TO HANDLE WITH FORD. I KNOW I'M NOT ALONE IN THESE PROBLEMS. I HAVE BEEN ON FORUMS WITH MANY PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. *TR

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WE PURCHASED THIS CAR ON 08/19/2011 AND THE NEXT DAY WHILE TAKING OFF FROM A STOP SIGN THE CAR WOULD SHUDDER, I DO NOT HAVE THIS ISSUE WHEN THE TRANSMISSION IS COLD BUT IN STOP AND GO DRIVING AND NORMAL CITY DRIVING AFTER IT HAS WARMED UP. ALSO WHEN YOU DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR FROM A STOP THE VEHICLE WILL GO FOR A SECOND THEN HAVE A NICE SIZED FLAT SPOT SO EVEN THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR WILL GO FORWARD AS IF THE BRAKES WERE COMING ON. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THE TECH DROVE IT AND VERIFIED THAT IT DID HAVE THIS ISSUE. THEY CONTACTED FORD AND FORD STATED THAT IT WAS NORMAL AND TOLD THEM TO DO NOTHING. I COMPLAINED TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ALL THE LADY HAD TO SAY WAS THAT IT IS NORMAL. ALSO FORD HAD STATED THAT THESE ARE ISOLATED INCIDENTS, IF THEY ARE INDEED ISOLATED THEN THEY CANNOT BE CONSIDERED NORMAL BUT RATHER A DEFECT THAT FORD DOES NOT WANT TO ADDRESS. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CLUTCHES REQUIRE A BREAK-IN BUT FORD DOES NOT STATE ANY BREAK-IN PROCEDURE THAT PERTAINS JUST TO THE CLUTCHES OTHER THEN THE NORMAL 1000 MILE BREAK-IN FOR THE VEHICLE IN GENERAL. I AND OTHERS I HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH ALL HAVE THESE ISSUES AFTER THE 1000 MILE BREAK-IN AND FEEL IT IS BOTH A SAFETY ISSUE AND A MECHANICAL DEFECT FROM FORD THAT WOULD COST TO MUCH TO REPAIR SO THEY CLAIM IT IS NORMAL. *KB

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I WAS DRIVING AND STUCK IN TRAFFIC. GOING SLOW, 5-10MPH, THE CAR STARTED SHIFTING REALLY STRANGE, NOT MOVING WHEN INITIALLY ACCELERATING AND THEN JERKING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR. MY DESTINATION WAS 3 BLOCKS AHEAD OF ME SO I STAYED ON ROUTE AND PARKED WHEN I ARRIVED. AS I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR IT WOULDN'T START. I MANAGED TO GET THE CAR TO START AFTER "MESSING" WITH THE AUTO SHIFTER AND LEAVING THE CAR IN NUETRAL. ONCE STARTED THE CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR, OR MOVE WHEN PLACED INTO D, R OR L. I SHUT THE CAR DOWN AND IT WOULD NOT START AGAIN AFTER THAT. THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE (TCM) IS WHAT TH EDEALER TOLD ME HAD FAILED. IT TOOK A SOLID 7 DAYS TO GET MY CAR BACK. THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS WERE SPENT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS SHIFTED STRANGE AND CONTINUES TO SHIFT STRANGE TO THIS DAY. THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED BUT I THINK IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE IT FAILS AGAIN. *TT

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