2013 Ford Focus SE 2.0 liter gas from North America

Summary:

Extremely bad transmission and uncomfortable seats make this a lemon

Faults:

What is wrong with the car is the automatic transmission. When starting from a stop, the transmission will shake, grind, vibrate and lurch the car backward and forward. After the initial start, it seems the transmission has a hard time finding the right gear. This leads to more shaking, grinding, vibration and lurching. This will continue until the car moves beyond the third gear.

The car has been back to the dealer twice. First time the service manager said that the car is "learning" how we drive and to give it some time to adjust... no improvement. Second time was to reprogram the computer that runs the dual clutch of the transmission... the lurching is gone, but the other symptoms are still there. The car is scheduled to go back to the dealer a third time next week. I'm assuming another reprogram of the computer is going to happen, but in all honesty, I believe that the transmission is very poorly designed and Ford should replace it. Otherwise the car is just an embarrassing piece of junk.

General Comments:

Gas mileage is good, and the car's electronics work well. The design is nice and sporty.

The front seats, however, are extremely uncomfortable. Short trips of an hour or less are not too bad. But long trips are another story. After a couple of hours your legs go numb, and your back can really start hurting.

Overall, I would suggest you look at another car manufacturer.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 2nd October, 2015

4th Oct 2015, 03:12

These days, Ford seems to be ideologically committed to 2 high tech ideas, regardless of outcome.

The first of which was EcoBoost, a moniker for turbocharged, inter cooled, direct-fuel injected engines. The jury is still out as to whether or not it is more efficient. There are, however, issues with carbon buildup that can effect fuel economy, drivability, and performance.

The Dual Clutch Transmission is another example. The lack of a torque converter can make for somewhat rough starts from a stoplight.

Both are an outgrowth of "One Ford" - a global strategy to consolidate platforms and technologies (for potential cost savings) without regard to differing customer desires and tastes that can be different with each customer locale.

Will be curious to see how this works out. Please keep us in the loop :)

19th Nov 2015, 20:28

I have worked for Ford Lincoln dealer for 38 years. I bought a 2014 Focus with this trans. I will never buy another one, nor will any of our customers who have bought them. I have never had has many complaints with any Ford as I have had with this one.

7th Feb 2016, 04:28

Fantastic review!!!

Ford has to start realizing that good theoretical engineering may not pay dividends in the real world.

Direct fuel injection and dual clutch transmissions are good theory, but ultimately "The devil lies in the details". Their lack of development budget is obvious.

2013 Ford Focus SE 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Horrible decision

Faults:

The engine lacks power; will often attempt to stall out and runs very rough.

The transmission shifts very poorly, and sometimes will bang and jerk or not go into the proper gear.

Wheel bearings and strut mounts had to be replaced at 50000.

Door panel had to be replaced at 21000.

Rust is starting to develop under the the driver's door.

The infotainment system is oftentimes infuriating, especially the voice command portion.

General Comments:

The car is good on gas and it looks decent.

I regret the decision I made to purchase this car daily. I do not feel safe driving it, and it's embarrassing to have to explain to passengers that the shaking from a new car is deemed normal, as is the jerking from the transmission in the city.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th July, 2014

8th Jul 2014, 16:32

Please read your annual Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue, every year. It will give you the good and bad cars out there. In it you would see that Ford has had some issues with the newer Ford Focus hatchback and coupe, the Ford Focus ST, and also had issues with the Ford Focus sedans... especially the last two years. And their new car prediction of the Focus is not good... but they do recommend the earlier Ford Focus sedans... years 05/06, 08/09 and 10/11. So there are a lot of great used Ford Focuses out there.

Too many people are buying cars based on past experiences with the make and model. Those days are gone; you have to research, research, and research some more before you spend your hard earned money on any vehicle out there.