What 1,143 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Focus RS

When I accelerate from a stop, my Ford Focus has a very jerky acceleration. I took it in for service at a certified Ford dealer and was told I need to replace the clutch for $1900. After doing research I found the "Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta PowerShift Transmission Settlement," however, my Ford Focus is not included in that recall. I believe it's because the build date is outside of the recall/warranty extension, yet I'm having the exact same problems that are mentioned in the settlement. I'm concerned there are more Fords that should be recalled as this issue has persisted for a long time now in my car and is putting myself, my passengers, and other drivers at risk because I can't trust my transmission. And in spite of this ongoing problem, the "check engine" light has never come on.

NHTSA ODI 11452270

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, on multiple occasions, while slowing down, the vehicle would stall or attempt to stall before self-correcting and driving normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failures but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11452274

According to NHTSA my vehicles VIN#, 2016 Ford Focus SE, 60,000 miles is not one of the vehicles covered under this recall. However, my vehicle has been evaluated by a credited mechanic and has found this is the exact issue with the transmission. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with a 1.0L Fox GTDI engine and a 6-speed manual transmission. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak. The 2016 Ford Focus transmission problems are jerks and stuck in gear. I feel this recall should be evaluated further.

NHTSA ODI 11451953

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact continued to depress the accelerator pedal and was able to pull into a parking lot. The vehicle was taken to Pep Boys where it was diagnosed that the purge valve had failed; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the water pump, the O2 sensors, and the battery were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that while his wife was accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle stalled inadvertently in the middle of an intersection. The vehicle was pushed to side of the road with assistance. The contact’s wife was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts and continued to drive. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that he would need to pay for the diagnosis of the vehicle before they could complete the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the recall repair was completed in July 2019; however, VIN tool and manufacturer website showed the recall incomplete. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

NHTSA ODI 11451214

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop the vehicle jerked violently. Additionally, while driving on the highway, the vehicle jerked occasionally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly was faulty and was causing the excessive shuddering. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 26,998.

NHTSA ODI 11451235

I have had my shudder in the transmission of my car replaced thru the dealer, and now I am having the same problem. Am I going to have to get this fixed every 9 months?

NHTSA ODI 11451284

•Car has problems upshifting/downshifting gears, especially going at high speeds. When braking it takes a while to downshift in result the car tries to maintain the speed resulting in a hard jerk in the car. •since the car has a problem shifting gears especially braking could end up resulting in rear ending or being rear ended. •A dealer has confirmed the transmission issue. •UNKNOWN •There weren’t any warning lamps for the SE the problem appeared 3 weeks after I bought the vehicle. The dealer tried to charge me over $4000 for a new transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11450119

The contact's husband owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle started jerking and was moving very slowly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle with normal acceleration returning after a while. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving from a complete stop and had increased in frequency and intensity. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

NHTSA ODI 11449282

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate and shudder while shifting gears without warning. The contact had initially taken the vehicle to the dealer where she had the clutch replaced; however, two years after the repair, the failure returned. The contact had then taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train) however, upon speaking to the dealer, the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11448979

I have had this car since it was new, it has had 3 clutches installed and now needs another one, I am told the car has no extended warranty even with 3 clutches being replaced and dozens of trips to the dealership, the cost of a new one is $2700 and they say it is not covered. I'm wondering how a 2016 with all the trips to the dealership regarding the clutch and 3 clutches being put on this car, the car only having 35,000 miles, why is this not covered under the extended warranty? In my opinion these cars that were manufactured for 10 years KNOWING that they had faulty clutches/transmissions should be covered for the life of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11448588

Engine light came on while driving (1/14/2022), drove to a local auto parts store to check the code. Came back with code P1450: Unable to Bleed Up Fuel Tank Vacuum. This is the first instance of this issue in this particular vehicle to my knowledge. While I am fortunate to have avoided safety issues so far, Ford has issued a recall for similar models because "the excessive vacuum may result in an engine stall while driving, without warning and without the ability to restart the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash" (Ford recall #18S32, NHTSA Campaign #18V735000). My vehicle is not included in the current recall, but should be due to the similar issue and therefore a similar safety concern.

NHTSA ODI 11447779

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was slipping. The contact was informed by his wife that while driving the vehicle stalled. While adding fuel the vehicle failed to start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with the clutch actuator, purge valve canister, and purge valve failure which needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified however, no further assistance was provided. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ODI 11447302

The backup camera is often blank, distorted, or shows "camera not available".

NHTSA ODI 11447126

The drive train consistently shudders when starting from a stop and also at low speeds.

NHTSA ODI 11446090

I’ve had powertrain issues for going on 4 months now, I brought this vehicle in for repair soon as it started acting up. The clutch would slip and it didn’t want to shift. It would jerk really hard if it did. And the rpm’s would red bar and would get stuck in gear. I brought it into the shop and 2,500$ later they said it was fixed. 2 days later same issues, only worse.. now it wouldn’t even reverse and was making extremely weird noises even while the car wasn’t started or had the key in. You could literally just open the door and it would make weird clicking noises for minutes straight. Another 400$ later they said it was fixed for sure this time. 3 days later the car didn’t even want to start. And when it did it still wouldn’t reverse. I drove it home from work and it started to smell awful. Not sure what it was. While driving I heard a loud noise as if I had hit a brick wall… and my car jerked so hard I almost hit my head on the steering wheel. The transmission light comes on and I got stuck in the middle of an intersection and my car just shut off. I turned it back on and had to gas it to get onto the side of the road and I could only reach about 25mph max. Mileage is only 84K. 2016. I don’t understand why this powertrain is giving me so many problems and is becoming a huge safety issue for me, as well others. Ford says there is no recall on it even though this has happend to so many others. I don’t understand

NHTSA ODI 11445903

The powertrain continues to have issues on my ford focus, specifically the transmission clutch continues to fail this occurred on 12-10-21 and previously had same issue with the clutch on 3-21-19 at 56, 949 mileage. Vehicle is available for inspection , my safety was put at risk because i was driving on freeway/expressway with cars going 65 mph and the vehicle clutch stalled and would not move forward in the middle of roadway endangering my safety in middle of freeway. The vehicle has been inspected twice by the same Ford Dealership. There were no warning lamps before my safety incident until after the fact where the check engine light appears. For these clutch issues ford says my vin does not qualify yet all these fords have the same issue and ford says im not eligible because my VIN which is ridiculous since they have even extended warranty repairs for 10 years or 100,000. I have attached my work repairs that document this same clutch ford issue. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED AN UPDATE.

NHTSA ODI 11444523

Driving on the highway with cruise control on at about 60MPH, with no warning, engine revved to a high RPM with a near total loss of power. Message on the dashboard said to have the Transmission serviced. Car was brought to the dealer where they diagnosed that the Transmission Control Module needed to be replaced, and also the clutch needed to be replaced. Invoice attached. There is a Ford Customer Satisfaction Program associated with this problem that includes Focuses manufactured up to November 5, 1995. When they checked my car's VIN, they said it was not covered because my car was manufactured on November 11th 1995. This CSP is also attached. I believe that the actual number of vehicles affected is more than they have indicated in the CSP and that mine is also affected because it exhibited the same problem and was manufactured within 6 days of the cutoff. This is a dangerous situation that could have resulted in an accident. Luckily the highway was not very busy when it occured.

NHTSA ODI 11444107

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 25-30 MPH, between first and second gear, the vehicle started shuddering inadvertently. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring since purchasing the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the dual-clutch transmission needed to be replaced and that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The dealer also advised the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair because the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 6.

NHTSA ODI 11443890

The contact’s girlfriend’s daughter owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while his girlfriend’s daughter was driving 65 MPH, she either drove over a pothole or a rock on the roadway and the vehicle started jerking. The driver veered to the side of the roadway to inspect the vehicle and noticed damage to the front driver’s side bumper that was detached from the subframe. The contact stated that the hood release hinges on the driver’s and passenger’s side of the vehicle fractured causing the hood to inadvertently, smashing into the windshield shattering the windshield. The driver called the contact to the scene for assistance. The contact was able to secure the hood with bungee cords for the driver to drive the vehicle to the residence. The following day the vehicle was towed to a body shop to be inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11443216

Wed. 12/1/2021. Driving about 45 MPH suddenly when pressing on the gas pedal to accelerate there was no response it would just rev like it was in neutral. Then a warning light came on stating that the transmission was overheated and to pull over as soon as possible. At this point I am stuck in the middle of traffic and the accelerator would not respond because the transmission seems to be stuck in neutral not in gear so I could not control the speed of the car. I was able to coast over to the side of the road. I had to wait for about 15 minutes for the transmission to cool down and tried again. The same thing occurred about 15 minutes later. I was able to get off the road to a mechanic. The mechanic stated that the transmission was bad and needed to be replaced. This transmission only has 22,150 miles on it, the car was not driven that much. There is no way a transmission should go bad with such low miles. This seems to be a widespread issue from what I see online several other people with the same issue. Ford does not want to admit they have faulty equipment but the transmission problem is a safety issue. I almost lost control of the car. Thanks.

NHTSA ODI 11443167

When driving on a residential street, the wheel snapped and a truck parked in the neighborhood was almost hit (scraped the rim of the truck). Luckily, the incident did not happen once I got onto a faster road.

NHTSA ODI 11442783

Oil pump failure 2 times in a role within 75,000 miles. Had to have a brand new engine replacement each time.

NHTSA ODI 11441806

The car would shake and jump when starting from a stop or going up hills , also feels like it’s slipping when shifting gears will not shift when going up large hills or when on Highway and passing if it needed to change gears it would slip.I called Ford dealer told them same info they said my car is not under recall , well it needed to be , I took the car to trans shop he pulled a code of Transmission Friction element a stuck on. (Tans needs repair most likely clutches,He said take it to ford , I called ford they were backed up months in advance,and acted like they had never heard of this .I called Ford Motor company told them about issue , same response never heard of it and no recalls . Took the vehicle back to dealer I purchased it from and traded it for a different brand car , just wanted you to know Ford that’s wrong! I panicked and took the car to be traded in.I hope they don’t try to sell that car like that , I was not about to let my child drive that car one more day so I took it to the thieves that sold it to me and gifted it back to them.if you have a 2016 Ford Focus and it gets 80k miles like mine was your just screwed!Ford needs to fix these cars I’ll never trust Ford again.

NHTSA ODI 11441418

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated after refueling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the canister purge valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to call NHTSA. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11441275

I have been having nothing but problems with my Ford Focus transmission. And it’s 2016. I’ve only had it for about 4 years and it’s not working again. Ford said it was the clutch.

NHTSA ODI 11441069