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Issues with new 2012 Ford Focus

888K views 2K replies 468 participants last post by  PrDawg 
#1 ·
Well purchased my brand new 2012 Ford Focus on May 21, 2011. My vehicle had to be ordered and was delivered to me on May 24th. Upon driving it, I found that when I would come to a stop and push the gas to go, it would sputter and hesitate. I have been dealing with it for over 2 weeks and decided to contact my dealership.

I took the vehicle to the shop on June 3rd. The tech drove with me and felt exactly what I was talking about. He stated that he had to put it on the computer. Within 30 minutes, he came out with a piece of paper stating 2012 Focus automatic transmission shudder. Some 2012 focus vehicles equipped with the powershift/DPS6 transmission may experience a shudder/shake on start up or when slowing to a stop. This condition does not cause durability or reliably concerns and will deminish as the clutch breaks in. "IF CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN OF THIS ISSUE, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE AND SHARE THIS SERVICE MESSAGE WITH THE CUSTOMER.

My question was, how long does this go on and when will it stop? No on could answer. Has anyone else felt this issue? I could not find any post on this prior to me putting this up. I stated I do not feel safe in the vehicle. The car at times when I pull out on the road feels just like it will stall out. After sending an email to the VP of the dealership, I was contacted by the service manager. He stated that he is working on getting an answer from Ford.. At the time of service there were 781 miles on my car. Today there are 1291 and still nothing has changed. I am awaiting a reply and will move forward if I don't like the answer.[bigcry]

Also, yesterday while driving, my shoe lace got caught on brake peddle. Has anyone else ever gotten stuck on the brake peddle? Just curious. It freaked me out.
 
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#198 ·
not to impressed with the 2012

I bought the new focus in may and is junk. I own a 2010 and the car is super, ford screwed up yet again, first with the powerstroke diesels, and now with the trannys in the focus. When will they realize leave a good thing alone. Well here is my story, the tranny shutters, doesnt down shift right, you literally have to mash the gas to get it to downshift. My dealer put it on the computer and said there is nothing wrong, naturally, the technicican felt what i was talking about and said "well wait and see what happens" WHAT THE #$%^!!!! Brand new car, spent $22,000 !!! The dealership wouldnt even take it back and it only had a lil over 1,200 miles!! SOLOMON FORD of Brownsville PA, are terrible. I bought a 2010 focus off of them and had no problems, i carried that mind set over to the new 2012,boy was i wrong. Just changed the oil today, guess what? YUP oil leaking out of the bell housing!!! yup MAIN SEAL in the tranny or motor , Thanks FORD!!! I hope they dont screw up the Ford ranger, oops rumor has it they already did. With GM AND Dodge now O'bamo Motors Inc., and ford building junk, toyota the recall king, whats a blue collar american workers supposed to depend on in this country? Certainlly not any of the american car companies.[smackbum][nutkick]
 
#200 ·
I bought the new focus in may and is junk. I own a 2010 and the car is super, ford screwed up yet again, first with the powerstroke diesels, and now with the trannys in the focus. When will they realize leave a good thing alone. Well here is my story, the tranny shutters, doesnt down shift right, you literally have to mash the gas to get it to downshift. My dealer put it on the computer and said there is nothing wrong, naturally, the technicican felt what i was talking about and said "well wait and see what happens" WHAT THE #$%^!!!! Brand new car, spent $22,000 !!! The dealership wouldnt even take it back and it only had a lil over 1,200 miles!! SOLOMON FORD of Brownsville PA, are terrible. I bought a 2010 focus off of them and had no problems, i carried that mind set over to the new 2012,boy was i wrong. Just changed the oil today, guess what? YUP oil leaking out of the bell housing!!! yup MAIN SEAL in the tranny or motor , Thanks FORD!!! I hope they dont screw up the Ford ranger, oops rumor has it they already did. With GM AND Dodge now O'bamo Motors Inc., and ford building junk, toyota the recall king, whats a blue collar american workers supposed to depend on in this country? Certainlly not any of the american car companies.[smackbum][nutkick]
So.... is it the dealer you are mad at? The manufacturer? You seem so rational and calm, I can't believe anyone hasn't bent over backwards to make you feel better? Since you can diagnose your rear main seal without being able to see it - maybe give a shot figuring out your transmission woes. Let us know what you find. While you are at it, get your hands on this computer technican thing too. I know a few shop owners that would love to fire all these "technicans" and replace them with computers.
 
#199 ·
crappy car

I only have 325 miles on the car and after 4 days I took it back and contacted Detroit plant and I will get a letter in 10-15 days if I can get a replacement, meanwhile Im driving a rent a car at the expense of the dealer who I have written a few emails and faxes to while they supposedly try to do something, A Lawyer might be in my future. We should NOT have to get scammed Like this. Fords new slogan should be "SORRY WE [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] UP YOUR CAR" "Got YA"!
 
#204 ·
That means nothing to me, we don't care about experience here at focus fanatics. Generally, our goal is to over-react and then speculate our way through matters not fully known. Sounds like you got it handled, let us know how it shakes down.
 
#205 ·
whatever bud.i dont want to get into an arguement over this, it is my opinion my story, i can express it negatively like others. Are you a certifed ASE FORD transmission specialist? No hmmm? never would guessed that. By the way bigjay your probably right, seals and bearings only take so much for they give way, depending on what vendor ( ford has many) the clutches came from determines a lot. I probably got a bad one, im sure ford will own up eventually , because it ll become more and more a problem. Honestly who knows????
 
#206 ·
Any how on a better note. The 2010 focus is a great car, great fuel mileage, a very nice car for the price. Havent really heard of any problems with the car except for coil springs and suspension problems, but if you live in the northeast, all cars will have that problem especially PA. HAHA "youins" guys know what i mean.
 
#207 · (Edited)
2012 Focus Trans

I see I am not the only one. Dealer tells me this is normal to have pinging on take off shuddering and problems finding the right gear. Well I have 3000 miles and it is improving. I worked for Ford Motor Co. For 31 years and they are a great Company. I love this car and hope they get this straightened out and tell people when they buy one that they are going to have these issues..
 
#220 ·
I see I am not the only one. Dealer tells me this is normal to have pinging on take off shuddering and problems finding the right gear. Well I have 3000 miles and it is improving. I worked for Ford Motor Co. For 31 years and they are a great Company. I love this car and hope they get this straightened out and tell people when they buy one that they are going to have these issues..
My car is running fine now it does not shudder and takes off just fine. Took awhile to breakin. We love this car!! Still wish the salespeople would have explained this breakin period. On a straight road at around 55-60 mph I am getting 42.5 miles to the gallon!!! Glad I bought this car fun to drive also.
 
#211 ·
Cool your an ASE certified technician. So is my brother in law, for ford. Yet he drives a chevy( that irritates the hell out of me). I understand you dont like people like me, thats cool, dont care. I guess i should have drug the story out and maybe you wouldnt have been so critical. There was alot i left out, like visiting that dealership 3 times, before i let my brother in law take it to his dealership, at least his dealership told me they would buy it for $19,900. Im sorry i just dont want to go on about it, it irritates me. Your right shouldnt buy a new model car, cause of all the problems, remember that when you buy a new cereal, clothes, shoes,oil, furniture i mean we shouldnt buy anything new, until at least 2 years, right??? (see i can be sarcastic too) That new kelloggs corn flakes might be bad, but at least you can take it back for a refund. Im a ford fan all my life, its ok they screwed up...couple times. Ill get over it, hopefully they fix it, if not ill trade it in, stuff happens man. I was just mad and wanted to express it, like others on this forum. When you have faith in something for years, and they turn their back on you, it really honks you off, you know. I t would be different if it was a fluke, a total of 4 times back at a dealership in 3 months, and im not the only one with the same problem. Come on man easy on the nick nack patty whack(whatever that means)brother bacon
 
#212 ·
Elglide your right, pulling out on a get on ramp on the high way will pucker your butt right up. They said the " The all new FORD FOCUS is a fun to drive car" ha ha , i really didnt want that kind of excitement. It is a good lookin car, handles nice, i like the electric steering, interior, top notch.
 
#215 ·
Never Never buy the first production year of a new generation. Wait for them to fix the bugs. The 2014 should be ok.
 
#216 ·
Exept for the engine,transmission and the multimedia crap(MFT),most of the component of the 2012 Focus are from the latest version of the Mazda3.My problem is not associated with any of that.For some reasons ,some low quality parts,possibly bearings,are used and are causing problems in the front of certain cars.

Just hope my dealership or the engineers will fix this so I can get back to my normal life.
 
#223 ·
Well today . . . with the Focus Titanium a mere 3 weeks old . . was my day.

The screen went black for about 5 minutes the other day but a couple restarts and it seemed to work.

Today it locked. I tried shutting off, restarting and so forth but with no success.

I called the dealer and, of course (I suspected this after my earlier nightmare with them) their response was "pull the positive cable off am mess with it". I'm struggling to understand the term "factory trained tech".

The car has been sitting in the drive for an hour and the screen is still active.

Can anyone point me to the "master reset" procedure?

Thanks in advance.
 
#236 ·
Hi, CourtneyNYC!

I'd like to look into your concern. Please send me a PM with your VIN.

In the meantime, here are the steps for the Master Reset:

MENU > SETTINGS > SYSTEM > MASTER RESET

~Jaclyn
 
#224 · (Edited)
I was watching "The Car Show" on "SPEED" channel and there was a segment of the show where one of the host and a race car driver are at Ford's testing track and are beating the crap out of 3 vehicles.

Fun to see that Ford can afford to give away cars and trucks for entertainment.But when real clients have cars with issues from the moment they bought them,Ford can't afford to replace or fix the car in proper delays.

Sorry for all the rant about Ford,but after almost two and a half months of BS,I'm getting very tired of driving a car I can barely use and is totally worthless.Nobody has any clue on how long this will last, and no compensation

could make me buy another Ford again.This pi.. me off because I had 4 other Ford's because this POS and never had any serious problems,and I was proud of these cars.But after losing my summer vacation,a lot of time and

money,I will never trust Ford again.

I clearly understand that my vibration and noise problem is unusual and isolated ,but why didn't anyone called me to say :" Sorry Sir,you were delivered a substandard vehicle,we apologize and another one is on it's way"?

Nope ,that would have been too easy and cheap!Instead,lets tell the client to wait months until he can have a fully functionnal car!

I don't have problems with car makers making mistakes.Where I got a problem, is when they don't fix those mistakes or take a ridiculous long time to fix it,causing the client to lose a lot!!

Once the car will be fixed ,I will not keep it more than a year.And then I'll have to lie about the reason I'm selling it so soon.I really hate this stupid situation,I blame myself for giving Ford another chance.Mistake I

will not repeat!
 
#225 ·
Sorry for all the rant about Ford,but after almost two and a half months of BS,I'm getting very tired of driving a car I can barely use and is totally worthless.
Hi Beepster,

I know this has been frustrating. Please send me a PM with your VIN, contact information, mileage, & servicing dealer name/location. I may not achieve a different outcome, but I'll try!

~Natasha
 
#230 ·
Thanks, but Natasha can,t do nothing more than the dealership and the Customer Relationship lady already did.Her job is to ask questions to Ford and they will reply the same BS they've been telling me from the start.So far,all I get for my troubles is an extended warranty.Nice but I still can't use my car normally,and I still have to post-pone any trips over 150 miles.

So far,I was promised that my car would be fixed soon,still waiting.Was promised a rental car until the car was fixed,Ford changed their mind.I was promise a car replacement,Ford said NO!I would have been better off buying a used car.Or even better,keeping my 2009 Mazda6 and putting new brakes and tires on it.

I wish you'll get a normal car.The car didn't made me give up on Ford.Ford did it by their attitude toward a client who got a car that never should have left the assembly line.
 
#232 ·
150 miles is the distance between me and my family.At highway speed the car is very noisy between 50 and 80 miles perhour.To make the trip bearable,I put the cruise control at 75MPH with the radio very loud.If I get a speeding ticket ,blaming it on Ford won't get me out of it.Also the vibration and noise means that abnormal wear is created and this will eventually cause serious damage.So to minimize the damages,I set myself this limit.
 
#233 ·
I have about 6000 miles on the car and since i have had it i have had a few shutters but i think its gone now...other than that i have some stains on my roof from the headliner glue. These are some few miner issues with the car but overall i love the car i think its great. Depending on the price and fuel economy of the ST i might trade this in for it.
 
#234 ·
Beepster, I hope you get everything worked out. There are alot of people here defending Ford, which is their right, but doesn't mean your concerns aren't valid.

I have experienced much of what you have, agree with your concerns and comments. My car has had problems from day 1. I was confident that Ford could resolve the problems, having owned 19 Fords in the past and very minimal problems with Ford. I was one of Ford's biggest fans and supporters, bought 5 new vehicles from them during the last 8 years. Have given them 12-15 referrals of people that have bought Fords from my workplace or friends. All my immediate family drives Fords.

My problem isn't only the actual issues with the car.....it's the way Ford and the dealership has handeled the issues. Other then Natasha (which she only has so much leverage) they have been poor communicators and very slow to come up with real solutions to the problems. What they have tried to fix on the car, they have failed at it, or the car came back in worse condition then it went. They just replaced the headliner for the sunroof adheasive failure and had to gut the interior and take off a door to get it out. What do you know, I go to pick it up tonight, headliner has 2 creases in it, big nice scratch in the door sill, rear dome light will not turn off, and passenger side window (door they took off) doesn't work properly. They have had my car since Thursday and I left it there tonight after they told me the car was ready to pick up. It's been going on for 3 months with unresolved issues on my vehicle, and I have had enough of my time, resources, and stress excerted on this situation.

Anyway, they can say what they want, but they aren't in the same boat. When others have to deal with the poor Ford customer service, and be without their vehicle, maybe their opinions will change.
 
#235 ·
Funny enough ,I defended Ford for many years.My first car was a brand new 1989 Tempo with a manual transmission.People were laughing at me for buying it,but it was one of the most fuel efficient car I ever had.And other than minor issues,the car was very reliable.After that I had a 1994 Mercury Cougar V8,1996 Explorer and a 2000 Mustang GT with no problems.Then I tried Acura,Nissan and was not impressed.After I went with a Mazda3 and Mazda6 and was very satisfied with the cars and service.I decided to go back to Ford because the Focus was a few thousand dollars cheaper than the Mazda3.But with all the problems I got now ,I totally regret not sticking with Mazda.If Ford had balls like some other car company ,they would have a satisfaction warranty.But they don't ,so I'm prisonner of a car that I can't fully use and that I can't even get rid off.

Thank You Ford,I'll remember that one for a long time!
 
#242 ·
I think it's fabulous to see Ford taking such a proactive approach. I was with a major American manufacturer for years (we hired 5 of Ford's Vice Presidents and did a major strategic alliance with Ford) and those were the days of building walls around the company.

For a great read on some of the new thinking in the world of Customer Service (my personal specialty) read "You Will Be Satisfied" by Bob Tasca (one of Ford's most famed dealers)

http://www.amazon.com/You-Will-Satisfied-Bob-Tasca/dp/0887308597
 
#250 ·
I think it's fabulous to see Ford taking such a proactive approach.
Hi CourtneyNYC,

Thank you so much for the feedback, it is very appreciated! That is a great link, thank you for providing it! I shared it with the rest of my team. [:)]

Hi Natasha,

My 2012 focus titatium has 5000 miles already and i am experience the same problem of dvandy4898, it sputter and hesitate, now it feels really lazy. I really like the car, very comfortable and nice handleling.
i got 2500 miles on it and it is starting to bug me, also in standard mode, when taking off sometimes it shifts it self.... is it supposed to do that????
I just purchased a 2012 Ford Focus 5-door SEL. I had friends in the car yesterday and they felt the shudder, too. I have approximately 500 miles on the car. It is getting less prevalent, but it's still there.

I do have one question. When I start the car with the air conditioner on, it makes a squeaking noise.
I just bought a 2012 focus and have been having the same problems with it not wanting to go when you push the gas. I now have 2300 miles just picked it up from the shop and it's still doing the same thing. It also has been doing weird things like the radio stays when you get out and close the door. the hazard lights come on by their self and the alarm also comes on by it's self!

Good morning everyone!

Since you are concerned about the shuddering, the best step is to visit your local dealer for diagnosis. They will be able to ease your worries. Most situations have been resolved once the transmission adapts and the clutch breaks in. Coastiegirl79, that is beneficial that yours is already improving, and you have the right idea of making them aware of it. They will also be able to check out your A/C noise. If the dealer is unable to assist, please PM me with your VIN, contact information, mileage, & servicing dealer name/state so I can help. Have a good day!

~Natasha
 
#244 ·
the one major issue I have had when i go to standard shift is so far in 2 weeks, in 6 different times, it feels like it slips out of gear, almost in neutral, cant up shift or down shift and only comes out of the dead slip when i go from Standard mode to automatic mode.... i got 2500 miles on it and it is starting to bug me, also in standard mode, when taking off sometimes it shifts it self.... is it supposed to do that????
 
#247 ·
Shuddering/Squeaking

I just purchased a 2012 Ford Focus 5-door SEL. I had friends in the car yesterday and they felt the shudder, too. I have approximately 500 miles on the car. It is getting less prevalent, but it's still there. I have been reading the threads on this forum, and I am hoping that as I put miles on the car, it adjusts. I am still going to mention it to the Ford mechanic so he is aware of the problem.

I do have one question. When I start the car with the air conditioner on, it makes a squeaking noise. The car is brand new. I have only had it for three weeks. Any thoughts on what this could be? I'm taking it back to the dealership Monday, but I was hoping someone on here could give me an idea as to what could be causing the car to make that noise.

Thank you for your input!
 
#248 ·
Wow. Last time I checked this site there were only 11 or so pages. Now we are up to page 21. Ford knows there is a problem with the transmission. I have read 3 articles that they are going to change the Focus and Fiesta transmission next year if possible. They just won't admit the problem and they think that Natasha can keep the folks calm just by being nice. I checked the NHSTA web site, however, and there is not a single complaint about the transmission on that site. You folks with problems need to access that site and file a complaint with NHSTA. Even though it is a US government site, I think Canadians can also file a complaint there. It is real easy to do and will put some pressure on Ford to help all of you out. Meanwhile, I am not buying a Focus and am hoping that my 94 Mazda holds out until some one out there makes a small car I like or until Ford's new transmission is ready and works well.
 
#252 ·
I checked the NHSTA web site, however, and there is not a single complaint about the transmission on that site. You folks with problems need to access that site and file a complaint with NHSTA. Even though it is a US government site, I think Canadians can also file a complaint there.
Wait 72 hours and there will be one at least, If anyone that has this issue is tired of the line that Ford is feeding us about a normal situation but is a isolated incident then I would ask that you fill out a complaint form with the NHSTA as well. It only takes a few minutes and maybe as jake1 pointed out it may put some pressure on Ford to fix this issue, If a larger percentage of vehicles don't have this problem then it is fixable. It is just they don't want to spend the money to do it.

Here is the link to the NHSTA complaint form.

Montana
 
#249 ·
Problem

I just bought a 2012 focus and have been having the same problems with it not wanting to go when you push the gas. I took it back to the dealer who have been wonderful about the problem, but aren't real sure what was causing it. I love the car, but I'm not real excited about having a new car that is going to jump and hop every time I take off. The dealer told me the same thing about putting miles on it. I now have 2300 miles just picked it up from the shop and it's still doing the same thing. It also has been doing weird things like the radio stays when you get out and close the door. the hazard lights come on by their self and the alarm also comes on by it's self! I just want my new car to run right so I don't have to worry when I am driving my 5 year old daughter around.
 
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