2017 Ford Focus
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 903 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 10th highest complaint count among 19 Focus model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 18 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 16 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Power train, manual transmissionJun 9, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Focus and 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 18V169 and 18V845. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components can increase the risk of a fire.
Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Additionally, dealers will inspect Focus vehicles and replace the clutch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 5, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Campaign 26V376000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storage, evaporative emissions, canisterJun 9, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Focus vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 18V735. The Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, causing the engine to stall unexpectedly while driving.
An engine that stalls while driving increases the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the powertrain control module (PCM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 29, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S40. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Campaign 26V369000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, electrical, engine block heaterJan 15, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Focus, 2019 Explorer, and 2024 Explorer vehicles. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed February 13, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in October 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA4. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026. This recall expands previous recall number 25V685.
Campaign 26V012000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, electrical, engine block heaterJan 15, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
Campaign 26V011000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, oil/lubrication, pumpDec 22, 2023
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus and 2018-2022 Ford EcoSport vehicles. The oil pump drive belt or drive belt tensioner may fail, resulting in a loss of engine oil pressure.
A loss of oil pressure can result in an engine stall and a loss of power braking assist, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the oil pump tensioner assembly and oil pump drive belt, free of charge. If engine failure occurs due to a damaged oil pump belt and/or oil pump belt tensioner, Ford has authorized dealers to replace the engine assembly as an interim repair before the availability of remedy parts for the final repair. This repair will be free of charge (parts and labor). Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S64.
Campaign 23V905000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storageJul 5, 2019
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 and 2017 Focus vehicles equipped with 2.0L GDI gasoline engines and 2013-2014 Focus ST vehicles equipped with 2.0L GTDI engines, previously recalled under 18V-735. The affected vehicles did not have the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) updated as intended. Therefore, the Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system.
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 will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Powertrain Control Module. Dealers will also check for fault codes and replace the CPV as needed. If the CPV is replaced, dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. The recall began July 29, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S22.
Campaign 19V515000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, manual transmissionNov 28, 2018
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.
A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components can increase the risk of a fire.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update vehicles with software that detects and prevents prolonged clutch slip, and will replace the clutch, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S07. Note: This recall is an expansion of Recall 18V-169.
Campaign 18V845000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storageOct 22, 2018
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with a 2.0L GDI or 2.0L GTDI engine. The Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in fuel vapor management system.
The excessive vaccuum 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 will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Powertrain Control Module. Dealers will also check for fault codes and replace the CPV as needed. If the CPV is replaced, dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. The recall began August 19, 2019. Owners may contact Ford Customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S32. Note: Until the vehicle is serviced for this concern, owners are advised to keep the fuel tank at least halfway full.
Campaign 18V735000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, rear/otherAug 28, 2017
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Focus vehicles. The rear left side seat back frame may have an insufficient weld between the outboard pivot bracket and the pivot nut joint, resulting in the seat back having reduced strength. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
The reduced seat back strength may increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the rear second left side rear seat back as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 10, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C13.
Campaign 17V528000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, hatchback/liftgate, lockSep 28, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2017 Ford Focus hatchback vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, to August 26, 2016 and equipped with a manual transmission. The hatchback of the affected vehicles may be unlatched with a single press of the interior latch release button. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."
With only a single press needed, the driver may accidently unlatch the hatchback, increasing the risk of injury to any unsecured passengers in the back.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Body Control Module with updated software, free of charge. The recall began February 10, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C13.
Campaign 16V698000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
454 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Oct 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was shifted into drive(D) and he depressed the accelerator pedal; however, the vehicle shifted into Limp Mode then inadvertently lunged forward. The contact stated that the vehicle then failed to exceed 60 MPH. The contact stated that the next day after the vehicle was started, the transmission fault service light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline to submit a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 108,372.
Power train, Oct 20, 2022
Transmission slipping, stalling, jerking.needs a clutch pack and some other stuff. One of the codes said transmission friction element "A" stuck on. This is a 2017 model the 2012-2016 ford focuses was recalled the Fords DSPS power shift transmission. The they installed the exact same transmission in the 2017-18 models even though they had lawsuits/recalls. But the 2017 are having the same issues and won't fix the issue!
Power train, Oct 17, 2022
The transmission is not functioning properly. The vehicle experiences jerking, slipping, bucking, sudden and/or delayed acceleration, and transmission failure. There is a check engine light and a transmission failure warning sign that comes on. This is a safety hazard as the car does not accelerate reliably and will temporarily stall in the middle of intersections, highways, onramps, etc. I talked to several mechanics who say that this is likely due to a PCM issue. I brought it to a Ford dealership to check into, but they could not run a diagnostics test because there was no recall associated with my VIN.
Power train, Oct 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "transmission too hot pull over" suddenly displayed, and moments later the vehicle shut off. After eventually restarting the engine, the vehicle was driven to the nearby fuel station and later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Power train, Oct 5, 2022
Transmission overheating, jerking, hesitant and lost gear while driving
Power train, Sep 21, 2022
I enjoy driving my 2017 Ford Focus, but the glaring negative against my vehicle is the transmission. Once per year I find myself at a dealership because my Focus starts to shudder after acceleration from a full stop. This phenomena shakes the vehicle, alerting everyone inside that something is wrong. No warning lights appear on the dash from discovery of the problem until servicing. Once the shuddering starts happening, it will happen more and more frequently until it cannot be ignored and the vehicle needs to be fixed. I don't haul trailers. There are not that many miles on the Focus (under 60,000). I've even adjusted my driving habits to change speeds as gradually as possible so as to not put any undue strain on the transmission. Nevertheless, the problem keeps reoccurring and I keep having to lean on the existing powertrain warranty to get rid of the problem... temporarily. Within a year, it always comes back. This year is no different. I am currently trying to get the Focus serviced once more before my "60,000 mile/5 year" powertrain warranty expires on October 3rd, 2022. This issue is forcing me to consider selling a car in wonderful condition because I can't afford to replace clutch arrays out of pocket every year. The alternative is to forgo the servicing and roll the dice with a spotty transmission. I dare say that can't last. I've talked numerous times with people at the dealership. Everyone I have spoken with acknowledges that this is a known issue with the 2017's. Prior vehicle years have been recalled for transmission troubles. How is the 2017 Focus any different? How hasn't a recall been started already? I'm attaching the service records from the dealerships. Ford Customer Care directed me to the NHTSA, but nothing more. I am hoping someone can help me to either extend this warranty with Ford (at no additional cost to me for a manufacturer defect) or get the need for a recall acknowledged by Ford. Thank you and God bless.
Power train, Sep 20, 2022
2017 Ford Focus, continuous transmission problems. I have had the clutch and transmission control replaced 2 times already under factory wannary. It is just outside of the powertrain warranty and now the dealer is telling me it needs to be replaced again. It has 41,000 miles.
Power train, Sep 3, 2022
Feels like gear is slipping when going from a stop to moving (1st to 2nd shifting)
Power train, Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked, lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact waited for the vehicle cool down, restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated normally. On another occasion, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the transmission failure message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that no failure was found. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Power train, Aug 29, 2022
I was driving and all of a sudden could not go over 30 miles an hour. I took it 3 dealerships 1 including a Ford Dealership. What I have been told is that there have been many issues with this type/manufacturer of transmission. The diagnostic codes that are coming out when being run are P072C P2832 P0219 P2578 Ford dealership states that the internal fork stop inside the transmission is broken. It needs a partial rebuild including forks, case, clutchesm], and related parts.
Power train, Aug 26, 2022
The transmission strutted or slips when accelerating from a stop
Power train, Aug 16, 2022
While driving 2017 Focus on 8/14/22, the car began to shutter. When owner stopped to buy gas, the car would not restart until about 10 minute later . Then it would not go into reverse. Made it home. Next day, 8/15/22, while driving, it began to shutter again, the Transmission overheating warning light appeared, and vehicle immediately stopped running. Pulled off to side of road. It would not restart. Was towed to a local repair shop (not a Ford dealership). The repair shop ran a diagnostic and reported 4 PCM and 7 TCM fault codes. (See attachment.)Vehicle has not been repaired. Vehicle has approx 130,000 miles.
Power train, Aug 15, 2022
My transmission started to slip , took it to a garage then I had to WALK through A VERY BAD area in Philadelphia. Ford Roadside towed it to Chapman’s on Roosevelt Blvd on 8/9 where we bought it. They still haven’t looked at it because they’re so busy and backed up and in the meantime I have no way to get to work & it’s costing me $40 a day for Lyft and my mental health. The car only has 60,000 miles, I shouldn’t have to be dealing with this
Power train, Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop and at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. Additionally, the contact stated would fail to respond when depressing the accelerator pedal and would not go pass a certain speed. The contact stated that the RPM would reeved when depressing the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would fail to respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the transmission clutch had been replaced every 4,000 to 7,000 miles on six occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
Power train, Aug 11, 2022
Transmission module failure. Car stalls and shutters when driving causing possible car accident. Took to Ford dealership service center and they found Transmission module failure needs replacement immediately can cause auto accident. Warning engine light comes on.
Power train, Engine, Aug 7, 2022
I financed a 2017 Ford Focus se 6 speed manual in March of 2020 (it’s now aug 2022), and about a month ago I was driving a main hwy when I needed to downshift due to traffic. I go to put it in 3rd and instead it slips into 1st. (It’s not suppose to allow you to do that, states in the owners manual bc it’s a safety feature). Meanwhile it is stuck in 1st, redlining, as I’m in the middle of a busy highway unable to do anything. I had to push the car off the road in order to not get hit by oncoming cars. Called Ford, called the dealership, found out there’s a recall on the engine and the transmission but neither of them would Honor the recall. Attorney’s won’t do a thing about it, and now I’m stuck paying $8k on a car I can no longer drive. I promise this is the last time I’ll EVER own a ford.
Power train, Jul 30, 2022
On Friday July 15th around 7PM, my wife and I were driving out of town to visit family. We stopped at a gas station along the highway to make sure we had gas an everything before getting too far out of town. We had no issues when we stopped but after leaving we tried getting on the highway and after merging the car reved up very high and seemed to have dropped into a low heat like 1st or 2nd. We attempted to get off the highway but with this low gear the car could not do more than about 20Mph. We finally made it off the highway and checked everything we could think of that could cause this issue but found nothing. We had to get the car towed home because besides being stuck in a very low forward gear when shifting to drive, we also lost reverse. After being towed home we parked the car to see if this just needed to cool off and come back to it later. We let it sit for a few days and now the car is disabled. It turns on and runs smooth but the transmission is non-operational. We no longer have any gear control and can only turn the engine on. I called Ford about this issue but was not helped in any way. Just asked to pay for a diagnostic.I don’t think I will be buying any more Ford vehicles since they could not fix this issue after so many years.
Power train, Jul 29, 2022
Failure of the encase power train transmission. Delay is shifting & transmission to shift gears gets stuck. COMPLETELY unsafe when pulling out into traffic. Driver is unsure if the transmission will engage or not. Unable to accelerate at times until transmission engages. Sounds like gears are being stripped on the automatic Transmission. Started in May 2021 & continues to happen daily.
Power train, Jul 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering while shifting gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was previously diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was repaired with a new clutch and linkage; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.
Power train, Engine, Jul 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local Pep Boys where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with the fuel system and fuel tank. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where an unknown repair and an unknown software update were completed; however, the vehicle failed to start a month later. The contact later drove the vehicle but the vehicle would not exceed 10 MPH. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module had failed; however, the parts were on national back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in a recall associated with the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.
Power train, Jul 19, 2022
In June of 2021 my car started shuddering when shifting into 1st and 2nd gears. I am a very cautious, defensive driver but had to really baby the car to try to avoid the shuddering and learned to shift around 9 mph for 1st gear and 19 mph for 2nd gear. However as the year progressed, the issue became worse and had to schedule a diagnostic test at Roush Ford in Hilliard Ohio in December which cost me $150, and place not only a financial burden upon me but also those who had to help me get to and from the dealership and appointments and church. Then in January 2022, my car was in the shop for 8 days while Roush Ford repaired the transmission by replacing the clutch that Ford continues to use in the vehicles even knowing it is a problem, which cost me $778.51. This has been going on since 2013 when there was a class action lawsuit for the Ford Focus between 2013 and 2016. Now there is another one for the same Ford Focus from 2017 to 2019. My car wasn't even 4 years old when the problem originated and had less than 59,000 miles on it. I only made last year $1,032 per month so this was a huge burden as well as a huge inconvenience for mevand my friends. Its amazing this problem did not cause any accident as I expected to be rearended every time I had to drive it. People were very annoyed with me and showed it with gesturing, honking, and zooming around me. When picking up the car after the repairs, the service coordinator informed me that they have a the clutches for this transmission in stock. That tells you something!!!!
Power train, Jul 15, 2022
Vehicle shudders in lower gears typically starting from a stop as it shifts up in gears. I consider this a safety issue considering it impacts the driveability of the vehicle and limits the ability to get out of the way of traffic if needed. The symptoms are exactly as described in earlier 2011-2016 Focus model power transmission recall.
Power train, Jun 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was associated with an unknown recall; however, the year, make, and model of the vehicle was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Power train, Jun 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was unable to reverse and would not accelerate above 15 MPH. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the clutch fork; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the independent mechanic and diagnosed with TCM failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the TCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.
Power train, Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle started shuddering. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while driving and accelerating between 30-70 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving and had worsened. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and attempting to drive, the gear shifter remained seized in park(P). The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed. The local dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that she needed to pay a fee for diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V845000 (Power Train) and that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.