NHTSA Complaint #10746211 — 2012 FORD FOCUS

I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN ON A BLINKING YELLOW ARROW. SEEING A COMING BREAK IN TRAFFIC, WHERE IT WOULD BE SAFE TO EXECUTE THE TURN, I BEGAN INCHING FORWARD. WHEN THE CAR PASSED, ALLOWING ME TO SAFELY TURN, I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND. FOR SEVERAL SECONDS, MY CAR SAT IN THE INTERSECTION WITH TRAFFIC ONCOMING, WITHOUT MOVING FORWARD. THE TYPE OF HESITATION HAS HAPPENED TO ME A TOTAL OF 3 TIMES BETWEEN APRIL OF 2014 AND AUGUST OF 2015. IN ADDITION, THE CAR HANDLES ROUGHLY IN LOW GEAR, MAKING GRINDING NOISES, STUTTERING IN CHANGING GEARS BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND, AND SOMETIMES SHAKING THE CAR. THE TRANSMISSION ON THE CAR HAS A SERVICE NOTICE. I DID TAKE THE CAR IN IN DECEMBER 2014 FOR THE RECALL, WHERE IT WAS TESTED AND A NEW SEAL WAS INSTALLED. I DROVE THE CAR FOR 8 MONTHS BEFORE EXPERIENCING THE 3RD HESITATION TO RESPOND. HOWEVER, THE GRINDING NOISES, STUTTERING, ETC. NEVER DID IMPROVE. I BELIEVE THESE CARS IS UNSAFE NOT ONLY FOR THE OWNER-OPERATORS, BUT ALSO OTHER MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD WHO HAVE NO WAY OF ANTICIPATING THAT A CAR PULLING INTO TRAFFIC MAY INTERMITTENTLY FAIL TO RESPOND TO THE DRIVER PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. UPDATED 9/28/15 *LN