Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Transmission hesitates when accelerating
Most reported: 2014 Ford Focus with 277 reports. Across the 178 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 3,204.
- 3,204owner reports
- 178model years affected
- 50,000median miles
- 20involved a crash
- 3involved a fire
This is the narrower sheet inside transmission shudder for a car that pauses before it goes. You press the gas, and for a beat nothing happens, or the engine revs and then the car catches up. What makes it distinct from the wider sheet is timing: the complaint isn't a rough shift at speed but a delay right when you need to move.
Part of Transmission Problems (Shudder and Hard Shifts), which counts 15,027 reports.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of hesitation when accelerating reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 12014 Ford Focus2 crashes27711% of its complaints40k mi
- 22016 Hyundai Tucson1 crashrecall1107% of its complaints14k mi
- 32018 Ford F-1501 crashrecall1024% of its complaints69k mi
- 42015 Jeep Cherokeerecall996% of its complaints22k mi
- 52016 Ford Focus1 crashrecall968% of its complaints67k mi
- 62017 Hyundai Tucson2 crashes918% of its complaints8k mi
- 72014 Jeep Cherokee1 crash1 firerecall813% of its complaints30k mi
- 82015 Ford Focus1 crashrecall778% of its complaints60k mi
- 9695% of its complaints68k mi
- 102017 Ford Focusrecall617% of its complaints44k mi
- 112019 Ford Edgerecall598% of its complaints71k mi
- 12455% of its complaints10k mi
- 132015 Chrysler 2001 crashrecall432% of its complaints16k mi
- 142022 Toyota Tundrarecall399% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 152018 Ford Focusrecall374% of its complaints46k mi
- 16375% of its complaints10k mi
- 172018 Honda Odyssey1 crashrecall364% of its complaints51k mi
- 183519% of its complaints51k mi
- 192015 Acura TLXrecall319% of its complaints4k mi
- 202023 Toyota Tundra1 crashrecall318% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 212019 Jeep Cherokeerecall302% of its complaints41k mi
- 222020 Ford F-150recall284% of its complaints88k mi
- 232024 Toyota Tundrarecall288% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 242017 Ford Escaperecall271% of its complaints76k mi
- 252020 Ford Expeditionrecall277% of its complaints71k mi
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe hesitation when accelerating. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 13519% of its complaints51k mi
- 22014 Ford Focus2 crashes27711% of its complaints40k mi
- 32015 Acura TLXrecall319% of its complaints4k mi
- 42022 Toyota Tundrarecall399% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 52017 Hyundai Tucson2 crashes918% of its complaints8k mi
- 62024 Toyota Tundrarecall288% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 72016 Ford Focus1 crashrecall968% of its complaints67k mi
- 82020 Ford Edgerecall258% of its complaints90k mi
- 92019 Ford Edgerecall598% of its complaints71k mi
- 102023 Toyota Tundra1 crashrecall318% of its complaintsfew mileages
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- Ford Focus548
- Ford F-150259
- Ford Escape132
- Ford Edge101
When it happens
2,123 of the 3,204 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 15,500 and 82,000 miles; the median is 50,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of hesitation when accelerating, grouped by the model year of the car. 20 involved a crash and 3 a fire. 15 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 3,204 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
About 3,200 complaints on this site describe it. Close to four in ten mention a stop, a red light or a stop sign, which is where a delay matters most, pulling out into traffic or across a lane. About one in four mentions the engine revving before the car moves, and one in ten mentions a software update. The median mileage given is about 45,000, and the 2014 Ford Focus leads, followed by the 2016 Hyundai Tucson and 2018 Ford F-150.
Recalls confirm that a transmission can cause this on its own. Mitsubishi's 16V-563 reprogrammed the CVT control unit on some 2015 and 2016 Outlander Sport, Outlander and Lancer models after certain conditions could make the car hesitate when accelerating, which the recall calls a crash risk. Firestone's list of transmission warning signs includes slipping or jumping during acceleration as the car changes gear.
A hesitation can also come from the engine side, so there's a separate sheet on this site for loss of power when accelerating. A scan for stored codes is a sensible first step toward telling them apart. Tell the mechanic whether the pause happens only from a stop or also when passing, whether the revs climb during it, and whether it started after a software update.
Until it's sorted, leave extra room when pulling into traffic. Check NHTSA's recall lookup and the posted service bulletins, and report it during the warranty; the FTC says a defect reported in that period must be fixed even if the warranty ends before the repair.
Sources
- NHTSA recall 16V-563, Mitsubishi CVT hesitation
- 8 signs of a bad transmission, Firestone Complete Auto Care
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Resources related to investigations and recalls (manufacturer communications), NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.