What 743 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Ford Focus RS

I brought my 2018 Ford focus in July 22 2021 . I took it in because it had taken over an hour to crank and when it did crank it get really bad had it brought to Green Ford in Greensboro North Carolina. They said they fixed it. I end up having to bring it back the next day. When I brought it back they said that the head gaskets had cracked so they were going to replace and the engine. The engine was on back order. The engine was on backorder. They finally had it fixed and ready for me September 16th, 2021. May 26th, 2022. I brought it down to town and country Ford in Charlotte, North Carolina because I had a light on and something smell like it was burning. They informed me that my engine once again had overheated and a head gasket was cracked . Again, the engine was on backorder so I received my car June 22nd 2022. At that time I was told that my warranty was 60,000 mi or 5 years. July 24th 2023 driving home from work. My car overheated and I pulled over and had called it to be towed into green ford in Greensboro, North Carolina again. They called July 25th, 2022 stating that the engine had blown again. But this time is because the fan had died in that my car was not under warranty. I had asked for the invoice at green ford from the back in July 22,2021. As my stepfather and I were looking over both invoices, we noticed that green Ford had a code on there for a remanufactured engine/ OEM long block. When called about this they stated that's how they bill for labor. I'll try to call customer service with Ford. They can't give me any information on how they bill for labor. My complaint is that I've had two engines put into my car in a year and a half and no one's wanting to figure out why my car is overheating. I believe that it have been the fan the whole time. Down for the third time. My engine is blown. I have no warranty and they're trying to charge me $9,500 for parts and labor.

NHTSA ODI 11535113

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle failed to shift gear properly. The contact stated that while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated and then unintendedly accelerated. The check engine warning light and the transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and scanned with an OBD2 scanner however, the vehicle produced unknown codes. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall and not covered under warranty. The contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11534904

UNKNOWN clutch actuators housing needs constant cleaning and causing car to not go into reverse

NHTSA ODI 11533336

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the purge valve and coolant reservoir needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the transmission control module (TCM) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 63,691.

NHTSA ODI 11533034

Car was hesitant to start, then shut off. Tried to start ignition and received warning on dash of engine failure. Was towed to dealership, engine needed to be replaced due to timing chain being dislodged and destroying lower part of engine. 54,000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11532446

July 9, 2023 Rough idle and hesitant to start. No check engine light no codes on reader. Had oil changed as part of routine scheduled maintenance and was told coolant was low and topped off. July 13 noticed coolant at low on coolant reservoir. July 14 car shut off getting off highway driving to work. Check engine light now illuminated. I was able to restart the car but started to overheat and got overheating warning. Turned off ignition and restarted did not get overheating warning until I started driving. 8 hours later coolant reservoir below low line, added coolant and attempted to drive home, car shut off. Having car towed to dealership that replaced the engine. Engine only has 10,000 miles but odometer reads 68,000 Ford says no warranty is on the replacement motor.

NHTSA ODI 11532449

My 2018 Ford focus has an issue with the clutch in the automatic transmission. I have been told by my local dealership this is caused because people drive the car to “nicely” and the clutch gets polished. I believe this is a hazard because my car had been having issues starting to move when going uphill since 12000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11532179

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The service engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle eventually restarted and was driven to an independent mechanic. The contact was notified of fuel tank failure caused by an excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 39,500.

NHTSA ODI 11531425

I was driving normal speed on a highway and all of a sudden my speed slowed to 0 and I had to hurry and pull over fast. I was so scared and it was so dangerous. I took it to a shop and they said I need a new transmission. The car never indicated there was an issue prior to this incident.

NHTSA ODI 11531479

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to shift out of first gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the TCM; however, the dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced due to extreme internal damage. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11530729

At ~84k miles the vehicle lost the ability to shift into reverse gear. Upon reading about the issues with dual clutch transmission, swapped the actuator motors and some gears were restored but quickly lost all gears. Took to local transmission shop where they explained this is common issue with vehicle model. My options were to rebuild the transmission or replace the transmission, in either case costs would be approximately 50% of the vehicle's fair market value. Given other year model issues with the powertrain, this needs to be addressed by Ford and extend the same options given to purchasers of earlier year models. I was told the 2018 models had this issue "fixed", which led me to purchase the vehicle. Otherwise, great car but this is a design issue that there is no fix for.

NHTSA ODI 11530397

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that she attempted to start the vehicle twice before the vehicle started as needed. After the vehicle started, the gear shifter was difficult to shift into the intended gear. The contact was able to shift to drive; however, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,800.

NHTSA ODI 11530177

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The oil, battery, and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact used an ODB scanner to diagnose the vehicle however, the contact was unable to retrieve a trouble code. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump had failed, and the turbo charger shattered, and pieces entered the engine block. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

NHTSA ODI 11529755

I was driving on the thruway when my car came on with a warning that I have never received before. Stating that my transmission was overheating and that I need to stop for five mins to let the transmission cool down. As soon as that light came on the car stopped moving and I could not get off the road. There was no indicator before that the transmission was even having issues of any kind. I could have died that day because of the car. I have only owned the car two years and this is the problems that this car has.

NHTSA ODI 11527290

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after stopped, or while the vehicle was idling, upon acceleration, the vehicle hesitated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact then stated that while shifted in gear, she heard a grinding sound. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was then taken to AAMCO where it was placed on a diagnostic machine and produced undisclosed codes indicating a faulty transmission. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be diagnosed until a failure had occurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

NHTSA ODI 11524817

Every time I start to accelerate from a stop. The transmission starts to stutter heavily and many times there were times the car would not accelerate causing the cars behind me to stop suddenly as to not hit me. Very dangerous as this is not normal which means something is wrong and one day it will just not accelerate at all and could cause a very bad accident. The next question asks date of the incident, it happened from the time I bought the vehicle three years ago to current. Ford says they are aware but no recall.

NHTSA ODI 11523701

6 times (to date) - the car has needed repair for transmission issues and has been undriveable. The car's messaging system has displayed appropriate warnings, but the transmission issue has taken the car out of service all 6 times, at one time when parts were not available, for about a month. The Detroit Free Press has extensively reported on Ford's fraudulent conduct --- they knew about the transmission problems, but continued to sell the car without any disclosures.

NHTSA ODI 11522164

Transmission went out when car overheated. First it would not go in reverse but then none of the gears work. Took to ford dealer advised the clutch was out then was told transmission needs to be replaced. Was getting error code p2837 and p287B.

NHTSA ODI 11520826

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to drive properly or as designed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11520459

I bought a 2018 ford focus se with 7,000 two years ago now my car only has 52,000 miles on it and the transmission doesn't work front or rear the ford dealer told me the car is out of warranty and i have to pay $4,000 for a new transmission It's not Only that they want to rob the citizens, please, the government, do justice against these corporations. Now my car is broken down in my house with the transmission that does not work.

NHTSA ODI 11519860

Transmission overheating going up hill , vehicle has the faulty dps6 transmission in it , FORD needs to recall the 2018 year model for repairs

NHTSA ODI 11518486

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while accelerating the vehicle started to shudder. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to shudder. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed by a transmission tech that the motor mounts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

NHTSA ODI 11517927

For a couple months I’ve noticed after I pump new gas, my car hesitates. It acts as if it’s going to turn off. I see this is a known issue but not for my year which is absolutely crazy. Not to mention how the car has jerked when you take off from a stop. This has been going on since I purchased the car new & I’ve continued to be told “it’s normal”. Nothing normal about a car hesitating and jerking.

NHTSA ODI 11517213

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on numerous occasions upon acceleration, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. Additionally, the contact stated that after the vehicle stalled, she was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred, and another vehicle provided a jumpstart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the caliper and fuel tank needed to be replaced. The contact was then informed that her vehicle was included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and she advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for the repair. The undisclosed dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ODI 11517067

There was an immediate loss of power while on the highway driving normally at about 70mph. There were no codes indicated previous to this incident, after vehicle was in a safe location I checked the codes. I believe it is the fuel tank purge valve as all symptoms point to that. It’s a known issue for this vehicle but for some reason my model/ year isn’t covered.

NHTSA ODI 11516945