What 888 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Ford Focus

My car has a faulty transmission from factory, having some issues now for some months, Ford advised to change the transmission at 103K miles. My car start becoming very shaky and slow on hills, I was afraid i will remain with in the middle of the street!

NHTSA ODI 11700711

Bought this car last June of this year and ever since then. First gear will buck sometime and second gear too. After I gotten to thrird gear it goes away. My local Tires Plus says that's with all Ford focus'es he think I'm crazy but I have let a friend drive it when I there and he says the same thing as me. It bucks..

NHTSA ODI 11699536

Received recall notice 24N07 from Ford in December 2024, stating that we should get the canister purge valve replaced if the vehicle ever displayed any of the listed symptoms. The vehicle started displaying symptoms in April 2025. Brought the vehicle to Kruse Motors, Ford Service dealership in Marshall, MN. They replaced the canister purge valve. Shortly after this, the vehicle was still displaying symptoms of running out of gas, even though the gauge said it had 3/4 tank still. Continued to drive it for a few months, but continued to get worse and the car almost died a couple of times while driving at highway speeds. This could have caused an accident because the engine was stalling while still in gear, causing the vehicle to suddenly jerk and decrease speed rapidly. Brought the vehicle back to Kruse Motors, Ford Service dealership and they found that the fuel tank was collapsing. The technician stated that this was most likely caused by the canister purge valve malfunction that was part of the recall. Because of this, they submitted a request to Ford to replace the tank and any necessary parts and labor as a result of this damage. Ford responded saying that they will not cover this as it is not part of the recall. I appealed to Ford customer service explaining that the damage was caused by the recall but they still refused to do anything about it. The dealership gave me a quote for $2600 to repair the issue. Ford has created an unsafe situation by not replacing the necessary parts caused by the malfunctioning canister purge system.

NHTSA ODI 11696105

My rear view camera only works about 15% of the time. I get a little dust on it and it's useless. You recalled a bunch of older Ford models today but not on my vehicle despite it being the exact same camera as on the fusion model. I've been waiting for this recall for years and am greatly disappointed. Same thing happened with the bad transmission issue previously. The transmission skips just like all the other models that got recalled and you did nothing for the 2017 Ford focus. Extremely disappointed in this inaction

NHTSA ODI 11695278

Transmission is overheating is the warning I keep getting on the dashboard read out. The transmission is shifting very hard and you can hear it grinding and winding up when it is trying to shift. I had the car put on a computer at a shop and the codes were reading that the clutch was not releasing and he tried to reset it and it kept failing. I googled my car and saw that this is a known problem with them and that Ford hasn't acknowledged the problem yet.

NHTSA ODI 11691479

I purchased this vehicle 4 days ago. On the second day I noticed a shutter when accelerating, going uphill and often continuous. I have been told that it is the clutch. I am aware that the same issue on the 2017 focus has been recalled. I do not understand why it is just certain vehicles. Especially, since it is the same year and issue as the recalled ones. I am a police officer that has had some health issues with my heart. My parents gave me the money to buy this car. They do not have the money to repair it and neither do I. I called two Ford dealerships as well as the Ford manufacturer. Nobody was willing to help. I discovered that this is the place to file a complaint all on my own. Please try and help me.

NHTSA ODI 11691284

Transmission actuator A and actuator B making the Transmission not able to shift. Happened after new battery installed and was told it could have been a surge sent to Transmission control module breaking the actuators.

NHTSA ODI 11688517

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the light changed, and the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle hesitated and then jolted into gear. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The contact stated that the engine symbol was displayed, and the vehicle failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the RPM gauge was RED-lined. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate above 10 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that at first, he was stopping the vehicle and turning off and restarting the vehicle to reset the transmission. The contact stated that turning off and restarting the vehicle no longer resets the transmission. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 92,619.

NHTSA ODI 11686883

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while stopped at the bank drive-thru line, the vehicle stalled. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The failure was progressively worsening. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and the fuel pump, AX Sender, and pump assembly, AA gasket, B sensor, and fuel injector pressure parts were replaced. The contact stated that on another occasion, while driving in heavy traffic at 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that several months ago, on a separate occasion, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart, and the contact waited for approximately an hour before the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was taken to several dealers to be repaired. While an employee from one of the dealers was test-driving the vehicle, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that there were fuel vapors in the line, and that the high side sensor pressure dropped, and low side sensor pressure dropped. The vehicle was repaired. Most recently, the contact stated that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a claim. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11685380

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the check engine warning light illuminated, and the transmission failed to shift to second gear. The vehicle was also unable to shift into reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to an Auto Parts Store, where a handheld scanner retrieved a code indicating that “ Clutch B-Fork Stuck”. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ODI 11683145

My car has been having on going issue with the canister purge valve causing my vehicle to stall I’ve had this replaced by an emissions approved mechanic and this issue still persists if the fuel isn’t above a half tank of gas it has stalled on highways and put me in dangerous conditions. I have been trying for years to resolve and I can’t

NHTSA ODI 11681772

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 ( ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the local dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about when parts would be available. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ODI 11681904

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The local dealer was contacted and refused to repair the vehicle. The contact was informed that, unless a failure occurred with the engine, the recall repair would not be performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ODI 11681632

My 2017 Ford Focus has problems with the automatic transmission. It shudders and jerks so badly. It has even shut off on me in the middle of a 4 way intersection with the message “Transmission Fault Service Now” it was not safe. I could have been hurt, or worse. I had the transmission control module replaced, but it did not help. It continues to shift and jerk horribly. It’s hard to accelerate in speed as well.

NHTSA ODI 11680830

Vehicles Canister Purge Valve was replaced and acting up again.

NHTSA ODI 11678170

I bought my car in early 2022 or 2023 and almost immediately the car started shuddering when accelerating. I took the vehicle in to the place I bought it from and one other Ford Dealer. Neither places could "duplicate the problem." Bith times I had to pay money just to have it looked at, and nothing was ever fixed. My horn keeps quitting and the shuddering has gotten so bad and now there are new issues like loss of power when accelerating. This car is starting to become a safety issue for me as I live in Washington State and the traffic here is very fast. I have almost been hit due to trying to pull out or merge and the car loses power or winds way out. I am a [XXX] who can't afford automotive bills. They will only give me $2700.00 as a trade in and I owe $12,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11677672

Ford oil pump tensioner belt failed

NHTSA ODI 11677025

I was driving and got a large nail in my tire. I pulled over and fixed my and went to start my car. The battery had died and we jumped it. We let it charge for a little bit and then started it back up. It started just fine and I went to put it in reverse to drive away and it wouldn’t engage but would engage to drive forward. We hooked the scanner to it and it was showing the TCM code. We took it to ford and they’re saying the A and B clutch are stuck and they need to replace both clutches as it’s a dual clutch transmission and the lever and actuator. The focus has 89,000 miles on it and ford is charging $4100 for a known transmission issue.

NHTSA ODI 11676654

Catastrophic engine failure, engine died and was unable to shift into gear My 16 year old daughter was driving on a busy highway when the engine died, causing her to stop completely on a 55 MPH road. She was unable to get the car into a gear to have it pushed to the side of the road and had to sit in the car with traffic flying by her until we could get a tow truck (approximately 30 minutes). She was unable to get out due to the traffic being so heavy. The vehicle had a limited warranty left on it, and it was towed to a facility where they diagnosed with blown head gasket and/or cracked cylinder head. It was towed to a dealership where it was discovered the car had an active recall that caused the engine failure. There was no warning signs previously.

NHTSA ODI 11676698

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH in traffic, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the brake pedal was firm. There was no warning light illuminated; however, an engine message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed and determined that the oil pump drive belt had fractured and there were debris inside the engine, causing engine failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 55,784.

NHTSA ODI 11676720

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered, and the transmission was slipping. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, a message indicating that the transmission had overheated, and that the vehicle was overridden and would shut down was displayed. The vehicle stalled. The service warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to Akron Transmission Inc, where it was diagnosed that the dual clutch assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. 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 6.

NHTSA ODI 11675864

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 73,001.

NHTSA ODI 11675938

Ford Focus 2017 Hatchback causing traffic jams and backup do to low speed, overheating, stalling, jerky shifting, Failure to move or hesitation in the middle of driving, causing the car to stop or slow down in the middle of traffic and blocking exits and cars from moving around the vehicle. Transmission overheating and car says to pull over when driving after a few minutes. Powertrain is affected car not driving at correct speed. Transmission clutch a disengaged and having a hard time engaging. Constant clutch issues. Causing issues to driver safety and others on the road. Ford knows about these models but are failing to fix at affordable price or provide warranty. Not upholding customer satisfactory.

NHTSA ODI 11675775

The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and unexpectedly downshifted. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The owner of the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

NHTSA ODI 11671606

We have a 2017 Ford Focus Hatchback with a 2.0L engine and a Powershift transmission. We are the original owners and the vehicle only has 56,000 miles. The vehicle, when accelerating and shifting from 1st gear to second gear, is slipping, yielding a loss of torque in an unpredicted fashion. My daughter has nearly been rearended several times. The slip and reengagement is only in this shifting pattern (i.e. not evident in higher gears nor at higher speeds). Ford service acknowledges that there is a problem but is not warrantying the service do to the age of the vehicle. My contention that unintended acceleration is a safety issue and I would like NHTSA to investigate this very serious issue, on such a low mileage vehicle. I worry about the safety of my daughter and other vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11671609