NHTSA Complaint #11447559 — 2014 FORD FOCUS

On 08/18/2021, the Transmission Control Module (TCM) on our 2014 Ford Focus failed completely in a parking lot with NO ADVANCE WARNING. This failure of the transmission could have happened while driving in a dangerous location such as an entrance ramp, a busy highway or other location where it would have been impossible to move out of the traffic lane. THIS LACK OF ENGAGEMENT OR LOSS OF POWER COULD HAVE POSSIBLY ENDANGERED OUR LIVES OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS. The car was towed to a nearby Ford dealer who diagnosed the problem as a failed TCM. Ford sent us a letter in August 2016 titled as “Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02” for our specific 2014 Focus, with our specific VIN # that Ford was extending the warranty of the TCM, to a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever occurs first. The Ford dealer ordered the TCM, but it is STILL ON BACKORDER with no estimated arrival time. The car has been unusable & sitting at the dealer’s lot WAITING FOR THE REPLACEMENT TCM FOR 4-1/2+ MONTHS! According to the Detroit Free Press article of 07/11/2019 (“Ford knew Focus, Fiesta had flawed transmission, sold them anyway”), Ford was aware of the problem. The serious transmission reliability issues with my 2014 Ford Focus go beyond just the TCM. The original TCM was reprogrammed after 30,000 miles. In the 126,728 miles the car has been driven, I have had the CLUTCH REPLACED FIVE TIMES due to SHUDDER DURING SHIFTING. In my opinion, it is a BREACH OF CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS WHEN FORD DOES NOT HONOR THEIR WARRANTY IN A TIMELY MANNER. That indicates to me that Ford hasn’t taken ownership of these transmission problems and has DELAYED/NEGLECTED ITS DUTY TO REPAIR & MAKE THE CAR SAFE & RELIABLE. NHTSA should launch an investigation and force Ford to fix this transmission design failure before we and/or others become seriously injured or die because of the inadequate performance of this car’s transmission.