NHTSA Complaint #10826077 — 2012 FORD FIESTA

MANY FORD FIESTA AND FORD FOCUS DRIVERS ARE EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH TRANSMISSIONS. FORD CLAIMS THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE 'TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE (TCM)' AND IS TELLING ITS VARIOUS DEALERS AND SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES TO TELL CUSTOMERS IT'S 'NORMAL' FOR LOSS OF TRANSMISSION ENGAGEMENT WHILE DRIVING. I RECEIVED A "SOFTWARE UPDATE PROGRAM 15B22" NOTICE FROM FORD IN AUGUST 2015 AND I FIRST TOOK MY FIESTA TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP ON SEPT. 22, 2015. I WAS TOLD MY VEHICLE DID NOT REGISTER AS 'SEVERE' AND THEY DID NOT REPLACE THE TCM. ON JAN. 19, 2016, MY CAR WOULD NOT START. FINALLY AFTER SEVERAL TRIES, THE CAR STARTED, AND A "TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION SERVICE NOW" NOTICE APPEARED. AS I BEGAN TO DRIVE IT, I NOTICED IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WOULDN'T CHANGE GEARS (NEARING EXPLOSION SOUND) AND I HAD A HARD TIME STOPPING AT A LIGHT. IT WAS TAKEN TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP WHERE I WAS TOLD THE TCM HAD FAILED AND THEY REPLACED IT. ON FEB. 14, 2016, MY CAR WOULDN'T START AGAIN AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE BATTERY THIS TIME. TOOK IT TO A CAR PARTS STORE AND IT WAS. BUT WHEN THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED, IT WOULDN'T START AGAIN. AFTER ANOTHER TRY IT STARTED ONLY TO FLASH THE "TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION SERVICE NOW" MESSAGE REAPPEARED. ONCE AGAIN WHEN I TRIED TO DRIVE IT, I NEARLY RAN OUT INTO THE PATH OF AN ONCOMING TRACTOR TRAILER. IN LESS THAN A MONTH, THE TCM ON MY 2012 FORD FIESTA (LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD) HAS SUPPOSEDLY FAILED, CAUSING MY VEHICLE TO LOSE TRANSMISSION ENGAGEMENT. TWICE NOW MY VEHICLE HAD A HARD TIME CATCHING THE BRAKE WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED AND MY FIESTA NEARLY RAN OUT INTO THE PATH OF AN ONCOMING TRACTOR TRAILER IN THE LATTER INSTANCE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED BY REPLACING ALL TRANSMISSIONS IN THE VEHICLES, NOT JUST THIS SUPPOSED TCM.