What 1,137 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Focus Bev

Vehicle shudders or jerks when accelerating from a stopped position. Issue seems to be gradually getting worse over the past year or so. Car had well under 50,000 miles when issue commenced and is well maintained and responsibly driven. Ford dealer advises that clutch assembly is likely failing but represents that issue is not under warranty, recall or safety advisory, or customer satisfaction program. I am concerned that the clutch will fail when accelerating from a stopped position in traffic or while shifting at a high speed and cause an accident. There are no warning or other message lights. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11569845

Was driving my car and all of a sudden it wouldn’t pull itself wouldn’t takeoff from a stop sign jumps from 3rd to 4th when gearing down it go from 4th to 1st Gear Bucks and jumps in it never dies however, you press on the gas and the engine just revs up

NHTSA ODI 11569143

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11568004

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her son was driving approximately 70 MPH, the engine revved, and the vehicle started losing motive power. Additionally, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that her son turned on the hazard lights and veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the oil pump drive belt had failed, causing the engine to seize. The dealer determined that the engine and the turbo charger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened; however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

NHTSA ODI 11567781

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to drive uphill, the vehicle failed to properly shift gear as intended. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired twice under warranty however, the vehicle no longer fell under the criteria for repair under warranty. 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 55,000.

NHTSA ODI 11567240

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH while depressing the accelerator pedal. The message "Engine Fault - Service Engine Now" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The mechanic advised the contact to drive to the nearby residence, and to tow the vehicle to the dealer from the residence to the dealer. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil pump drive belt was degraded and there were rubber fragments inside the oil, resulting in loss of oil pressure, and engine and turbo charger failure. The dealer determined that the oil pump drive belt, the engine, and the turbo charger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer informed the contact that she could repair the vehicle at her own expense and then be reimbursed. The failure mileage was approximately 134,752.

NHTSA ODI 11566998

The dual power clutch has gone out in my vehicle, this causes the transmission to overheat and the vehicle cannot move. I’ve experienced this a couple times with my children in the car, on a mountain, and had to be pushed off the road where we were stranded for hours. I had to pay $700 for a tow and getting the transmission fluid changed, which did not solve the problem. I couldn’t afford to pay the car payment as I couldn’t use the car for transportation to and from work and had to pay mechanical bills. I’ve contacted the dealership and initially they said they’d take a complaint but when I made it there, they turned me away and told me to call Ford. I called Ford and they told me to go to the dealer. Neither of them would take a complaint. It’s $150 just for them to look at the car and confirm the problem, however the part doesn’t exist to fix it and I was told it could be til 2025 before it could be fixed as they aren’t making that part. The part would be covered under warranty but it’s not guaranteed that they’ll be able to get it. The transmission light came on right after purchasing the vehicle and I called the dealer to have it looked at but because the light went back off before I made it there, it wouldn’t be covered under warranty. Ford had a lawsuit for something similar to this and I was never notified. My car is at risk of repossession, I’m still paying on it and I can’t even use it. It won’t make it 3 miles at this point. I’m not the only one who’s experiencing this and there’s no solution but there’s no recall either. The car will just stop in the middle of the road and it won’t move, leaving you stuck in the line of oncoming traffic on the interstate and you can’t even pull it over. It won’t move once it’s in that state. Ford will not doing anything about it. I’ve contacted the attorney general at this point and I don’t know what else to do. We luckily were not hit but we were stranded for hours.

NHTSA ODI 11567024

My gas tank system my engine light came on so I took my vehicle to the nearest auto zone to put on the machine and it popped up a code for a canister purge valve piece. My safety was put at risk because it was messing with my gas can’t fill my take up so I can get stranded really quick especially if I’m far from a gas station that offers my gas which is E85. No it haven’t I tried but ford claim they didn’t see no recalls in my vehicle but I have pics from other ppl of the recalls .my engine light came on I don’t remember the date but it was a while ago still didn’t get it checked out yet

NHTSA ODI 11566861

I'm having problems with transmission and clutch fracture

NHTSA ODI 11566654

The car has issues with the transmission in changing gear. Error messages transmission over heating. The transmission over resets.

NHTSA ODI 11566662

while driving on the freeway the engine became noisy. I pulled to the shoulder , the brakes hardly worked. I talked to a friend who advised me to drive home . At home I noticed that the oil warning light was on ,engine running. Oil level was checked ,was full. Engine was replaced at a ford dealership and returned to service on 23sep2021 at great expense to me.

NHTSA ODI 11566664

Two weeks after an oil change (not by Ford) my 2016 Ford Focus 5dr EcoSport engine lost power climbing a hill outside my home. On inspection two mechanics told me it needed a new engine. $8000 for me to pay. The local Ford dealer replaced the engine and gave me a 3yr unlimited mileage warranty. No symptoms prior to the failure, now that is a recall (Campaign/NHTSA#23S64/23V905) I would like Ford to reimburse all of us who are out of pocket.

NHTSA ODI 11566700

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while her son was driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started to shake and vibrate abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine and check oil warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the vehicle engine had seized due to a lack of oil pumping through the engine. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was 66,426. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11566328

This is my second time reporting this the first time I reported this the person I talked to on the phone inaccurately put what I said and didn’t put what I said. I was on my way back home from a little road trip and I had approached a stop sign and had come to a full stop. When It was safe I took off and my car stuttered and had loss of power and became jerky, started to buck and would have delay and sudden burst of acceleration and it felt like the transmission was slipping. And the message transmission fault service now and my check engine light came on. I proceeded to pull over and let my car sit for a bit and turned off and on my car and the warming message went away. When I started driving again my car continued to have the same issues as well as reving high and not speeding up then randomly shifting and suddenly accelerating

NHTSA ODI 11565552

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was jolting and hesitating while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering while shifting gear. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

NHTSA ODI 11563585

Check engine light keeps coming on and it give error EVAP control system fault/unable to bleed up fuel tank vacuum

NHTSA ODI 11562707

Vehicle will stale after driving for some time engine light shows fuel system issue similar similar to other Ford focus models.

NHTSA ODI 11562738

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the gear shifter failed to shift out of park(P). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but no failure was found. Additionally, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle shuddered and vibrated while reversing and the transmission erroneously shifted into neutral(N). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed message "Pull Over, Transmission Overheated" was displayed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the vehicle did not qualify for the s power train Extended Warranty Coverage. The failure mileage was 15,090.

NHTSA ODI 11561289

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the contact approached a stop sign and depressed the brake pedal and stopped the vehicle. The light turned green, and the contact proceeded to move forward and the transmission fault service now warning light illuminated. The contact drove to a location and allowed the vehicle to set for several hours because he had an additional two hundred miles to travel to get home from a road trip. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked and idled roughly the remaining drive back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11560739

Vehicle hesitates, stutters and stalls when accelerating at any speed. The dealership told us it is either a transmission module or fuel module problem. They don’t have parts to fix it. There’s been a recall and a lawsuit about this same year, make and model, but they tell us our Vin is not included in any of this. it continues to do this to this day. The dealership wants us to drop it off and leave it for 3 to 4 weeks. We can’t be without a car so we are struggling with it. We wrote Ford Motor Company a letter and they told us to contact you. The lawsuit that they lost, gave us an extended warranty, but they refuse to honor it.

NHTSA ODI 11560574

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the husband was driving approximately 50 MPH before coming to a stop for traffic ahead. While attempting to accelerate the vehicle erroneously began to drive in reverse. During the incident, the check engine light was illuminated. The vehicle was later taken to the local 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 but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11560057

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered while shifting gears. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed and determined that the TCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 92,500.

NHTSA ODI 11559865

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle shifted abnormally. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 148,000.

NHTSA ODI 11559209

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to shift gear while losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission friction element "A" was stuck in the on position and failed to keep the fork engaged. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who had not diagnosed the failure. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 82,000.

NHTSA ODI 11558737

My 2016 Ford Focus SE is exhibiting the same PowerShift issues that are well known with this model of vehicle. I had the transmission replaced in April 2020 at 59,000 miles, as well as the TCM reprogrammed as part of the customer service program. Now, in 2023 and at 79,000 miles, my vehicle exhibits the exact same issues. I have contacted Ford to try and rectify, however they are saying my vehicle is not within any customer program/recall as it was built in April 2016 (the original scope only covered Focus' up to November 2015). I can 100% attest that, after 3 years/20,000 miles since the repair to transmission and TCM was made, this car is exhibiting the same transmission slip issues that now make it extremely dangerous to drive.

NHTSA ODI 11557844