What 1,022 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Focus RS

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission malfunctioned and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. On several occasions, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the engine revved and the RPM’s increased; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 129,000.

NHTSA ODI 11483447

Start the vehicle, put it in reverse, stop and change gears to drive and the vehicle will not move forward the steering wheel jerks. I have to put the car in park turn off the engine and then power back on and try again.

NHTSA ODI 11483073

The front windshield wipers will slow after only a few minutes of use, in a heavy or light rain, and eventually come to a stop after about 30 more seconds. This happens every time I use the wipers in the rain. I have had it looked at by a Ford service tech at a dealership on at least 3 occasions, but they claim either that they cannot recreate the problem, or that they are designed to work that way to avoid burning out the wiper motors. Wipers should not be designed to stop working when it is raining, that is just ridiculous. Despite Ford's position that this is all new to them, or that it is how they are designed to work (depending on whom you talk to at Ford), the fact the wipers stop working during rain...heavy, moderate, or light rain...it is a well-known issue across the Ford Focus ST enthusiast community. A simply Google search will uncover many identical reports. When the wipers stop working during a rain, you obviously cannot see clearly ahead. You can turn the wipers off then back on to get them working again, but they stop all the same soon after.

NHTSA ODI 11482180

The transmission of my car has always been jerky and unreliable, sometimes causing the vehicle to shake when driving at high speeds. While driving through the mountains, the transmission continuously got worse, eventually causing me to be unable to put the car in reverse. The car also failed to switch gears adequately while driving on the highway, making it difficult to accelerate and increasing the likelihood of an accident. There were no warning symbols on my dashboard to alert me to what could be the issue. My vehicle has not yet been inspected by a dealership, manufacturer, or independent service center.

NHTSA ODI 11482200

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH from the driveway, the transmission failed to operate as designed. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The contact related the failure to Ford Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N08. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ODI 11482016

On August 14th at approximately 2 pm my Ford Focus came to a complete stall at the intersection of Seymour Hwy and Brookes Ave in Wichita Falls, Texas. After several failed attempts to restart the vehicle it was pushed into a saver location and towed by Mike's Towing in WF to Quality Lube on Pearlie Drive also in WF. Fuel gauge was sitting at a little over 1/4 tank and panel was reading 78 miles to empty. I ran the VIN and pulled up a recall from 10/22/2018 that Ford neglected to contact me the owner of. The mechanic at Quality Lube would not touch it because of the recall. On August 15th I put gas in and the vehicle started right up, I drove the vehicle from Quality Lube straight to Pruitt Ford (location of purchase) located in Burkburnett, Texas. Left the vehicle and my mother called the next day and explained the problem and dangers improper vacuum through the fuel tank could cause and recall was pulled up. Pruitt Ford failed to run diagnostic to insure their fix actually fixed the issues, stating that they performed the recall and the check engine light was no longer on so they were done on their end. Picked up the vehicle from Pruitt Ford midafternoon on August 18th. August 24th the Check Engine Light came back on, Pruitt Ford was called and stated I would be responsible for $135 to run a diagnostic. I had the code pulled up and it stated P1450 Unable to Bleed Up Fuel Tank Vacuum. Pruitt Ford failed to repair the vehicle to a safe condition. On the 25th the vehicle was taken back to them after being supplied a case number to get the vehicle properly repaired through Ford Motor. CAS-38298302-J2R8C6 This morning I get a call from Pruitt Ford stating that Ford Motor will not honor the recall due to the mileages on the vehicle. This is a 2015 with 65,844 miles on it, there is no mileage limit on a recall and recalls have no expiration date. Ford Motor states it is not a warranty problem therefore the dealership is responsible recall repairs.

NHTSA ODI 11482047

The transmission has been repaired only to have worse problems surface. Overnight, I lost my Reverse and a week later the Drive function stopped working. It placed me in a dangerous situation. I was at a gas station, suddenly no Reverse. I was wedged between cars. I had to push it backwards to give room for the car in front. I took it to Ford and they wanted $3000 for a clutch, they made me pay $210 diagnosis fee at Gene Butman Ford. I was angry. I went to a part store, the part was $245!!! I told Ford this car has been in for recalls with transmission and evaporative system. This is at least the third time for the transmission. It's a 2015, only 115,000 miles on it and it already is a piece of junk. I'm never buying a Ford again. The dealership folk were rude and offered nothing even when I mentioned a recall on the transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11482120

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate the vehicle shuddered before operating normally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer for a power train recall on the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired under the recall however, the failure persisted. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty coverage. The approximate failure mileage was 87,415.

NHTSA ODI 11481427

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while the vehicle was in the driveway, the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact related the failure to Ford Technical Service Bulletin 19N08. The vehicle was diagnosed with a transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ODI 11480819

Car will not go in reverse and shakes vigorously when shifting gears. We think it is an issue with the transmission. I called multiple ford dealerships as focuses have known transmission issues with these exact symptoms, but they said they cannot take a look for weeks. They have a policy where they will give rental cars for these transmission issues, but they are pretending they are not sure what the issue is and will not take a look for weeks, leaving me without a car for weeks because ford sold me a defective car.

NHTSA ODI 11478808

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact towed the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11478433

Body control module is bad. Car stalls in the middle of driving and doesn’t start back up for days

NHTSA ODI 11478242

When a transmission recall was corrected I was advised that the lug nuts were warping and needed to be replaced. Substandard lug nuts should be covered by the manufacturer

NHTSA ODI 11477383

Transmission occasionally fails to shift into reverse and has issues properly shifting gears automatically. Gear shifting has been a very minor issue for at least 5 years, only happened once. In the past week, the issues mentioned in first sentence has grown progressively worse starting with minor juttering when gears are shifted higher. Reverse issue has started at the start of this week, and the juttering has gotten worse. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request at this time. Vehicle fails to speed up when acceleration is applied for a good while, engine reving into 4000-5000 rpm range before it corrects itself after 5-10 seconds. Acceleration issues may cause collision issues with drivers following. Lack of reverse leaves vehicle requiring to park in ways it can drive forward or roll back out of the parking spot, making parking more dangerous. This system has been a part of a prior recall. Since the recall was supposedly fixed, the system has not been inspected since. The check engine light illuminates from time to time, mainly when the vehicle can't reverse.

NHTSA ODI 11477412

The contact's son owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her son was driving 65 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 20 MPH independently. The contact did not know whether there was a warning light illuminated. The contact's son drove to the dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the gearbox and the transmission clutch were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and jerking significantly while driving. The contact stated that while her son was attempting to reverse, he moved the gear shifter into reverse but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11477179

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train). The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and received a second repair for the failure. The failure recurred after the repair. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was referred to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 103,000.

NHTSA ODI 11477022

Car turns off after filling with gas. Does not start properly after refilling tank. If I stop sometimes even in traffic it’ll automatically turn off.

NHTSA ODI 11476680

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test determined a fault within the transmission. The contact then called the dealer where he was informed that there would be a delay in service due to overwhelming service demand. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11476257

My sound system in my vehicle, OEM, started making loud crackling noises in my speakers. It comes at no warning at full volume. When I'm driving it may cause me to jump when it happens. I've already caught my self veering to out of control when it happens, because of jumping out of my seat. The only solution I have is to remove the fuse that supplies power to my center console. Now it is completely blank. No radio, backup assist, being able to use my phone through the vehicle to prevent accidents or have a clock for time.

NHTSA ODI 11475872

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration with the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,778.

NHTSA ODI 11474939

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would jerk upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with the transmission fault and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a defective clutch. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V169000 (Power Train). The contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 153,757.

NHTSA ODI 11474779

The car feels like it's skipping when I try to pull out at stop signs and lights. Also does it when I'm driving. Feels like a gear slips or something

NHTSA ODI 11473879

I had my check engine light come on afterwards the car started to hesitate. My car is having issues with shifting through the gears and feels bogged down. I took it to a Ford dealership where they tried for 3 and a half hours to get the light to come on again with no luck. They told me to bring it back if the light comes on again.

NHTSA ODI 11473018

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over safely and activated the hazard lights. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the fuel pump was defective. The contact stated that an unknown sensor was reprogrammed. The contact indicated there was more damage to the vehicle from the sensor; however, the dealer was unable to repair the additional damage. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.

NHTSA ODI 11471898

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the vehicle was hesitating. The contact was able to continue driving and pulled into a gas station however, the vehicle hesitated and started sputtering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle. Upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The contact pushed the vehicle into a parking space with assistance. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact replaced the starter however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module had failed and the failure was associated to Ford Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 14M02. The contact was informed that the parts to do the repair were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts would be available within 9-10 months. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

NHTSA ODI 11471408