15K miles later and now I'm officially in the same boat as most Focus owners. service I had done was at 15k for a recall with the computer, the vehicle had a 'rolling backward on hills even though it's in drive' problem which was fixed. No other gear engages until I restart the vehicle's engine. First time I had to pull into an alley with no way out, that's when I figured out it doesn't reverse when this happens! It feels like I'm driving in first gear only when this happens as any faster than 20 gets my RPMs to almost redline.

Twice now within a 24hr period, this car has gotten stuck in a low gear when at cruising speed, leaving me only able to barely push 20mph. So this car is barely breaking 33k miles and the transmission just decided to crap out when it feels like it.