Ford Focus – FAQs

The Ford Focus has been subject to a number of safety recalls, including the potential for clutch slip to overheat and crack transmission assemblies in manual versions (in vehicles built between June 2015 and June 2016), for dust to block the carbon canister leading to a cracked fuel tank (April 2011-September 2015), for brake boosters to lack power (2008-2009), for front-drive half shafts to fail (2015) and for the lack of a heat shield in diesel models built between March 2007 and August 2009.

The most notorious Ford Focus issue relates to the DPS6 dry dual-clutch PowerShift automatic transmission fitted to some 1.6- and 2.0-litre LW Focus vehicles built between 2010 and 2014.

The Federal Court fined Ford Australia $10 million in 2018 after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) accused it of being aware of three separate quality issues but not addressing transmission ‘shuddering’ issues affecting more than 2000 customers.

No, but as of December 2020 the Ford Focus range will be pared back to just two models – the ST-Line and Active hatchbacks – spelling the end of the wagon and three hatch variants.

Many automatic Ford Focus vehicles are fitted with a PowerShift transmission that, like many automated dual-clutch manual gearboxes, do not feel as smooth on take-off as a conventional (torque-converter) automatic transmission.

However, the DPS6 dry dual-clutch PowerShift automatic transmission fitted to more than 2000 1.6- and 2.0-litre LW Focus vehicles built between 2010 and 2014 was subject to three separate quality issues that Ford Australia was aware of and failed to address, leading to a $10 million fine from the Federal Court in 2018.