What 979 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Focus Bev

I was driving home from work when I got a "steering fault" notification, followed by very limited control over my vehicle's steering system. I was going between 55-65 miles, as I was on an expressway, and came very close to colliding with other vehicles on multiple occasions. I was able to make it home and then when I went to drive it to the shop for repairs, I received the "steering loss" notification and I could no longer move my vehicle. There are quite a few noted complaints about Ford's power steering assist failing with the Focus and many other models.

NHTSA ODI 11449709

Vehicle looses all power while driving on freeway. Gas guage inaccurate, after filling gas and driving 150 miles it is out of gas without warning and will loose power under any operating condition. This has happened numerous times.

NHTSA ODI 11449101

I started to notice a rubbing sound when I would turn the steering wheel. I also noticed when I turned the wheel to the right, there was a slight hesitating resistance. A week later, I was going down the highway about 70 mph, when a warning message popped up “power steering fault”. At that moment, the steering completely lost power and it was difficult to steer. Going at that speed on a busy highway was very dangerous. Without any power steering, in heavy traffic, I had to manually steer my way from the speed lane to the right outer lane to take the exit. I had to cancel mission, turn around and go back home, hoping to get back safely. I was put at risk and so were other folks on the road, that day. I haven't taken my car for repair yet.

NHTSA ODI 11448493

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. Four years ago, the contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, excessive force was needed to steer his vehicle without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the rack and pinion were replaced. Recently, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal creaking noise would emit from the power steering without warning. The vehicle was towed to Woody Sander Ford (235 W Mitchell Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45232) and he was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle; the contact was then referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

NHTSA ODI 11446656

Check engine light went on 2 minutes later a notification came on dash saying transmission hot safety pull over for 5 mins. Sat there for an hour scared to drive it cause I didn't want to make worse. When I went to drive home it struggles shifting into 1st and not even 3 mins after it shakes into 2nd gear it notifies me that transmission is hot to pull over. I will not drive it afraid it could catch fire and won't shift Car in a shopping plaza waiting to tow to house. Called 2 shops in Canton Ohio and they both said not a shop in town would touch the dual clutch transmission to take it to ford.

NHTSA ODI 11446111

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the power steering assist failed, and the steering wheel locked up. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with electric power steering module failure. The electric power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

NHTSA ODI 11445493

My 2015 ford focus has continually stopped in traffic causing a safety risk to other drivers and myself. I've taken it in for recalls and repairs but the problem still exists. The front rail hp switch was replaced and the hp fuel pump was replaced too. I'm afraid for people and my life. I have googled the problem and I see thousands of people have the same problem and can't get it fixed without dumping thousands of dollars into it. This has gone too far. I need help. Please. I'm old and not rich.

NHTSA ODI 11444666

CLUTCH ASSEMBLY part of Ford recall. This vehicle had CLUTCH ASSEMBLY recall repair in 2017, 2018, 2019. I purchhased in Jan 2019 & NO info regarding ongoing SAFETY issue of this CLUTH ASSEMBLY failure was ever disclosed to me by dealership, King's Ford Cincinnati, Ohio! I now am told it needs the 4TH repacement of CLUTCH ASSEMBLY @ the cost to me of over $1800.00!. This is a total failure on Ford Company & the dealership that sold me this car without disclosure! I am on a fixed income, senior citizen with an active life to live and should not have to endure the cost or more importantly the SAFETY ISSUE on this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11443747

We have brought the vehicle in twice to the dealership, once at 30k miles and another at 64k miles for a clutch replacement in the automatic transmission due to shuddering. It is now at 88k miles and the clutch is shuddering again. Ford reuses to fix the problem even though this is the third instance of this issue occuring. This shuddering makes merging unsafe as the vehicle hesitates and the car jerks back and forth. It extreme cases, it causes motion sickness to the passengers. Shuddering takes place up to third gear which does not help the driver concentrate and negotiate traffic if the car is shaking or jerking back and forth. There is a constant fear that the vehicle will just fail in the middle of traffic and we will be stranded. No illuminated lamps on the dash board to indicate a potential code. As stated before this vehicle has been brought to Ford twice already and the part they replaced keeps failing at roughly every 30k miles. We have tried to work with Ford to have them fix the problem but instead of replacing the faulty part they now want to charge us $2500 dollars. Why does the transmission seem to fail at every 30k miles? The dealership does not return our calls: we have called roughly 10 times and left messages. When calling Ford directly they state we have to bring it to the dealership, the same dealership which does not return our calls. Having a component in the transmission that makes it unsafe to drive is unacceptable. What makes it even more unacceptable is the fact that Ford has replaced this part 2 times already and it is failing again just 30k miles later, but now it somehow is not covered under the part warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11443505

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the engine would stall while idling causing the driver to restart the engine while in traffic. The vehicle was then taken to the local dealer who performed a reprogramming of the powertrain control module under NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). Approximately one week later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer who diagnosed that the canister purge valve was faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact was told that the repair cost was not covered under the recall although the failure and the failure part was listed in the recall that was previously serviced the week before. The manufacturer was then contacted regarding the failure but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 92,800.

NHTSA ODI 11442898

I financed this car with Wii Auto in Arizona , I have had work done multiple times trying to fix the problem and nothing Wii auto mechanic or Ford dealership can figure out the problem. Every time I get my car out the shop and spending all this money “to fix the problem” my car does the same thing. My car will shut off while I’m driving because it thinks it’s over heating. I’ve had my battery replaced, fuel pumps/modules replaced, coolant tank replaced, everything they can thing of. I haven’t drove my car in months and I’m still making payments because when I try and talk to the dealership they basically say oh well, the car in my eyes was sold to me as a lemon my car has been in the shop more times than I can think. I have all the paperwork and I feel so helpless because every time I try and talk to Wii Auto they just brush me off like it’s not a major problem. I almost lost my life in this car because it shut off while I was driving in the freeway. I’ve even gotten loaner cars from this dealership when they were “working on my car” and they’ve done the same things like shut off on me or even almost cost me my life because the back tires were literally coming off the car. I’m in need of help. I’m tired of making payments on a car I haven’t even got to drive. I had to literally go and financed a whole Different car from a different dealership because Wii Auto won’t help.

NHTSA ODI 11441969

I have read multiple reports on ford focus from 2012 and newer having the same issue as me. I was driving one day and the car started to rev, shake and drastically slowed down then the check engine light came on as I was almost rear ended. I took an obd reader and got code P07A5 came back to transmission friction element B stuck on. I Have found I’m not the only one with this issue I feel ford should be responsible to fix this problem before someone gets hurt or killed from the car just at random not wanting to go and shake violently. My car only has 89,000 miles for a 2015 it shouldn’t be having this kind of problem already.

NHTSA ODI 11441179

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V331000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the "Brake fluid level low" warning message was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with transmission control module failure. The mechanic informed the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer for repair. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the dealer informed the contact that it would be 2–3 days before the vehicle could be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired and was towed to the contact's residence. The contact also contacted another dealer, Dick Smith Ford (9505 E State Route 350, Raytown, MO 64133). The dealer informed the contact that the transmission control module was on backorder. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,900.

NHTSA ODI 11439914

Loss of power to transmission, extended warranty not honored on repair

NHTSA ODI 11439343

A message keeps coming up on my car saying that the Transmission is over heating and my car is will stall out and stop driving

NHTSA ODI 11438840

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-45 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled temporarily. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving uphill and while driving at slower speeds. The contact stated that the vehicle would also hesitate to respond when accelerating from a complete stop. The contact stated he received an unknown recall notification from the manufacturer for transmission control module failure however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000. Parts distribution disconnect

NHTSA ODI 11438899

Transmission stopped working after overheating of engine. Clutch stopped working as well.

NHTSA ODI 11436517

The door latch on my driver side rear door just stopped working and it won’t shut at all.

NHTSA ODI 11435539

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that she had discovered that her vehicle had been placed under NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact took the vehicle to a dealer; however, upon return of the vehicle, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving home at 35 MPH. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had illuminated the instrument panel and that the vehicle eventually restarted after multiple attempts. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was made to have the vehicle serviced. The failure persisted and the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer. Once the vehicle was back in the possession of the dealer, they informed her that due to the size of the fuel tank, they could not repair the vehicle. The contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 66,844.

NHTSA ODI 11434760

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while reversing out of her driveway, the “Contact Dealership” appeared on the rearview camera of the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rearview camera module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434074

The steering assist on on our 2015 Ford Focus failed at 35,000 miles as I was backing out of the driveway. The steering fault was indicated on the dashboard and the car became very difficult to steer. Had I been driving on the street or expressway this very well could have resulted in a serious or even fatal accident. I checked with the dealer to see if a Ford safety recall had been issued. There was no safety recall on this year Focus. Sure seems like Ford should issue a safety recall regarding this issue since there is one for the 2014 Ford Focus and other Ford cars. It is the same steering assist unit. The car was undrivable, of course, and the local authorized Ford dealer charged me $2,470 to replace the steering gear. It was in the shop for more than a week. My wife and I are retired on a fixed income and an unexpected $2,470 expense is devastating to us. We bought this car hoping to keep it forever and save money along the way. After dealing with the defective transmission, sync that doesn't, radio and brake repairs we see now this was a big mistake. My grandfather built Model Ts in Detroit and both of my parents were Ford employees in Dearborn their entire adult life. We have always been a Ford family. I will never buy another Ford.

NHTSA ODI 11433276

While driving to work, my transmission started to slip. On the freeway, if I pressed the gas pedal, my car would NOT go faster. Instead, my engine would rev to almost redline and my car would continue to coast, but loose momentum. Once the transmission downshifted to a lower gear, then the transmission would begin to work. Once I got into the City, I almost rear ended someone when the transmission surged. I was pushing the gas through an intersection, and suddenly my car lurched forward, the tires squealed, etc. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid slamming into the car in front of me.

NHTSA ODI 11432924

My car shut off randomly in the middle of lane and on the highway too. My car show "system fault". Didn't start until I put a new battery. The next day it happened again it show again "system fault". So I change a wire sensor that connects to the battery. It work then while you are driving it stop or when you are parked too. I really don't want to drive I'm afraid I get into a accident while on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11432383

The vehicle is slow to move when put into gear, (or from a stopped position on the road), and then suddenly lurches forward. This has been reported to several FORD car care centers but they do nothing about it and expect the driver to "adapt" to the way the car handles. This can cause an accident when making a turn from a stop because there is no acceptable predictability of it happening.

NHTSA ODI 11431756

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while accelerating from a traffic light, the clutch failed to operate as designed. The contact was unaware if any warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated she heard an abnormal noise. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the clutch to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

NHTSA ODI 11431199