Joe Senter

Review of Middletown Ford

I brought my 2014 Ford Focus in to the repair shop...

I brought my 2014 Ford Focus in to the repair shop at Middletown Ford last month. one of the issues was a failing part having to do with fuel/air mixture that had become non-functional. It was a recalled part, so they fixed it without charging. That, btw, is the only reason why their service department received even ONE star.

The other issue was one concerning the transmission. Even though it's an automatic, they refer to these internal workings as a clutch assembly. But whatever you call it, it was ill-designed and prone to repeated failures in 2012 thru 2016 Focus cars. Although this ill-fated concept was billed as offering the benefits of an automatic AND manual transmission --- one of them being improved gas mileage --- the truth is that my Focus got no better mileage than any other small car.

But the more serious matter is that my car's transmission wasn't working right, especially in first gear, when I bought it. So why did I buy it then, you might ask? Because the car needs to warm up, which of course takes awhile, before the hesitating/lurching symptoms begin. And although I can't prove this, there is no question in my mind that the original owner had already had this fixed once, and had traded it in only when the first repair had failed.

So in late 2017, I also had it repaired. The good news is that they didn't charge me --- that time --- but the bad is that THIS repair didn't hold up either. A little over a year later (last month, actually), this clutch assembly had failed again, causing hesitating and lurching symptoms that could pose a safety hazard in case you have to put the pedal to the metal in a hurry. I took it back to the dealership for what I was pretty sure would be its third repair, but this time they wanted to charge $ 1500.00. They said that because the car was over 60000 miles.

Well, if it's out of warranty, it's out of warranty. But Ford had released a public statement some years back, saying they would warrant these kinds of transmissions in their Focus cars for 100000 miles...but only for 2013 and older model years. W-w-w-w-wWHAT?? Why would Ford stop at the 2013 model year when they knew dang good and well that the same problem had persisted until at least 2016?

Whatever the reason, it left me out in the cold with a poorly-running (and likely also unsafe) 2014 Ford Focus, the product of a company who is fully aware that every poor sap who bought one was going to have to spend $1500.00 on it every 12 to 18 months --- plus regular maintenance and other repairs --- just to keep it running.

Ford -- both the manufacturer AND the dealership --- you should be ashamed of yourselves.

On a side note, this car also beeped fast and loud when the driver exceeded 65 miles peer hour. No doubt something mommy and daddy had arranged to make sure junior didn't turn into Nascar's DALE Junior on the highway. Fair enough, but after the same Ford dealership told me the only way to remedy this was to spend something like $ 200 on a "special programming key", so as to undo the "beep" program, I took it to a mom & pop garage on 1st Street, who simply unplugged what they had called an aftermarket product, charging me only 40 bucks. Why couldn't Ford do that?

Turns out that Ford can't do a lot of things, which is why I will never buy one again if I live to be a thousand. And I strongly suggest you don't either.