This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
While driving down a certain road I noticed the car while on drive, switched to reverse backed up on its own and then to park without me switching gears. It did so until I was able to somehow pull over on the side of the road and turned the car off. I immediately decided to call 9-11 the officer who arrived on the scene saw with his own eyes what the car was doing and stated not to drive the car and that it was a hazard on the road. When we visited Ford the dealer did not know what happened to the car and "flew over a technician" but the same problem persisted.
My 2011 Ford Fiesta transmission has been an issue for awhile now. I have had them reset the system and also replace the clutch. However, my car still has issues the transmission sticks and does not always accelerate when I press on the guess. You can hear and feel the engine stick and shutter. The car is more and more failing to accelerate which has caused to me to almost get into several accidents. The solution I was told by Ford was that there is no true fix and it is just something they can not fix. My car is brand new and still under warranty. That type of answer is not acceptable, especially when I have almost been in several accidents because of my car malfunctioning. I want this issue resolved for good, I am extremely concerned for my safety in my car and fear of getting in an accident or seriously injured due to this issue.
I purchased this vehicle in May 2013 as a used vehicle from the Ford store in san leandro, ca. I have had nothing but trouble with this car since I purchased it. The first thing that broke was my passenger side visor. Even though "visors and front seat SRS warning" is checked off on the 172 point inspection form I was given, the visor had a crack in the piece of the visor that held it to the roof of the car. I had no idea anything was wrong with it until a passenger tried to use it and it fell into their lap. After a few months of driving the vehicle I started noticing that there is a delay when you press the gas peddle (about a 3-4 seconds), it was like the car didn't want to respond to the peddle being pushed down. I also noticed that the car would roll backwards when on a hill, I always thought I had all of the worst parts of a manual transmission, but the car is an "automatic". besides rolling backwards, the delay in the peddle would make it tough to stop at the top of a steep hill and start again, I would give it gas and it would be very sluggish. The worst part of the car has to be that when I was "crawling" in traffic, the car would shut off. It seems that it is idling too low when the car is moving slow. This also happened to me when I was pulling into a parking spot. After having this car for a year I had to replace the cooling fan after its motor burned out, I think it was a result of too much acceleration, too fast... cause you just don't know when the thing will die on you.
From the beginning it has never shifted right or so I think. I even purchased the extended warranty and when I complained about it the shop said that they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. Well the other day it was making crunching noises shifting gears and it took several hundred rpms to get the car going. Went to parts store in it running like this 10 miles away and when I came back and pulled into driveway it died and hasn't started since.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled when the gear was placed into neutral. The check engine indicator illuminated prior to the failure. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,100.
- Purvis, MS, USA
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Car was stalling out / dying repeatedly in heavy stop and go traffic. The car would lurch forward when I pushed the gas from a dead stop and then would stall out completely. I would have to put the car in park, turn the key to start the car, and then put it in gear to get the car to drive again. If I were in traffic, and then decided to turn left to cross over the other side of the street, my car could have stalled and I could have been hit by oncoming traffic. Very scary to drive a car with this defect. I took it in to get repaired and was told that it was the throttle body. It's not covered under the warranty and right now there is no recall on the vehicle for this part.
I had a 2011 Ford Fiesta, I have been experiencing a jerking/lunging motion when the transmission downshifts from time to time. I have almost been in an accident twice because of this with my 8 year old daughter and girl scouts in the car. I took the vehicle in for service and have informed their service dept. /mechanic of the issue. They assured me that nothing was wrong and the vehicles computer is adjusting to how I drive the car and that is why it is doing this. They replaced the clutch and reprogrammed my car over four times" I have done a little research and found this websites after website with people with other complaints similar to mine. I called Ford Motor Company and filed a formal complaint. It took a week for someone to call be back and I was told the car was fine. I tried to call back, but you only get to the call center and no further. I was refused to be transferred to a manager and was told that was that"S the way the car was designed to drive. I was offered a discount the X plan to trade in my car for another but that would not help. When dealing with the dealership the service manager said I am sorry I can't help you anymore. We get at least 6 calls a day about the same problem but until Ford does something there is nothing we can do. I work with three other women that also have had the same problem with their cars. Two of us had to trade our cars because we felt so un-safe in the cars.
While coming to a stop light check engine light started flashing. Had no response from accelerator peddle. Would not go. Was able to roll into a parking lot. After shutting off vehicle and restarting it ran fine. Continued 1-2 miles and condition occurred again. Had to restart in the road to continue home. Ran fine to work and back the next day. Then, on highway while going 65-70 started to lose speed and had no response from accelerator peddle. Came to a rolling stop unable to go. Luckily was able to coast to shoulder without getting hit. Took it to a dealership to learn that a throttle body is needed at a cost of $1000. This is now sitting in the drive as we cant afford the $1000. Big safety issue as unable to accelerate and get off of road at unexpected times.
The traction control on my 2011 Fiesta is a death trap. There is no option on my specific car to disable the system. In mild snow or slush, the vehicle loses all power to the wheels as soon as tcs engages. I got stuck at the bottom of my driveway. Today, 2/14/14 I was nearly killed when the car got stuck in 4" of snow & was partially in the lane of a busy roadway (I was attempting to turn into the parking lot to my place of employment). My fiance' & our 8 yr old son (who is a factor 9 hemophiliac) were screaming and scared to death as the car was helpless to move away from oncoming traffic. This is an issue that later year 2011, 2012, & 2013 models have the option to turn off this function however there is no way to add this feature to my car. If I or my family are injured due to this issue I will sue Ford & NHTSA for allowing this vehicle to be sold with this kind of safety problem.
Traction control system in heavy snow slows car to a crawl while entering an intersection nearly causing an accident with oncoming traffic. In early 2011 Fiesta, there is no way to turn off the traction control system in order to maintain momentum to get through heavy snow which creates a dangerous situations.
Driving in traffic normal speed about 40-45 mph, vehicle stopped accelerating completely. Normal commute & almost got rear ended since the car started to decelerate quickly. Once we were able to pull off to the side of the road we tried switching the gears and restarting the car. After this, the car would not restart at all. Taken the car to Ford multiple times and they have ran all sorts of diagnostics and we find ourselves at the dealership at least every 2-3 months with issues. Ford corporate did nothing but provide extended warranty. What would they have done if we were actually rear ended & severely hurt because of the faulty car? unfortunately an extended warranty does not correct he problem & this vehicle is still jeopardizing my family's safety and we'll being.
Took vehicle in for oil change around 30K miles, tech called me back to show me oil leak. Further investigation found oil leaking from head gasket and crank shaft caps. Everything replaced under warranty. 10K-15K miles later same issue happens again. Everything fixed under warranty again. Few thousand miles later my wife backs out of driveway and there is a puddle of oil under the car again. I got rid of the car before failure again and warranty is expired. Car always handled well, great gas mileage. Terrible acceleration and quirky transmission.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that she depressed the accelerator pedal and the engine shuttered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the computer needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 300.
I have had numerous instances of my car just dying on the road. The first time this happened, I was making a turn into my subdivision in front of oncoming traffic. When I hit the gas my car slowly rolled into the middle of the street. Luckily the oncoming drivers were paying attention and slowed down enough to not hit me. I pulled off the road, put the car in park and restarted it. This happened on and off but the dealer could never find an issue. To start it was no more than once a day but this weekend it happened at almost every stop. It continues to have this issue. When I stop at a light or stop sign it rumbles and cuts off. It has gotten so bad that I'm afraid to drive down busy streets. I keep my radio off just so I can be sure to hear when this happens otherwise I'll be caught in the middle of oncoming traffic again. In addition to this most recent issue, the car had multiple issues in the past. The first month that I purchased this car it would just not turn on most mornings, or even after being off for a short amount of time.
The engine stalled the first time two days ago on 9/27/2013. The car shut off on the road and I had to restart the car. Also it shakes when you press the accelerator and this has always happened. Yesterday while I was going over a bridge the car stalled so bad that it would not accelerate at all to go over the bridge, the RPM gauge wiggled very bad back and forth and the car began to slide back down the bridge. This is a very dangerous situation. I have taken the car to Ford and they claim this is how the car is supposed to act. I live in jacksonville, fl and being able to accelerate when getting on and off ramps onto the interstate is crucial when merging with traffic but if the car stalls and does not actually move and you are trying to yield and merge with oncoming traffic, anyone can see that this is a potential hazard and very dangerous. My next step is to file a lemon law lawsuit and get Ford to take the car back because they will are not able to duplicate the problem while it is in their repair shop and therefore will not fix it. My best friend has the same car and complains about the same exact issue. Her car shuts off several times a week so she is going to also file a complaint. Before I purchased this car I had a old beat up 1995 Ford Ranger and I never had these issues. I have been to Ford over 3 times about this issue and they continue to say "sir this is how the car is supposed to act" even the receptionist stated when I called to set up yet another appointment to have Ford look at the car "wow... that does seem very dangerous we need to get you in here asap" this is not the only incident I have had with Ford.. I will not even stress on that issue. However this one is very important to me due to the fact I do not even feel safe driving my car to the local store.
Leaked all oil from engine, according to service department findings the head gasket blew. Was 2 weeks in the shop. Vehicle never over-heated nor was it ever driven in a manner that should result in a blown gasket.
Vehicle would not start, tried several times but only heard sound from starter but engine did not attempt to start until a fourth try and stepping on the gas pedal. After this the vehicle would from time to time turn off when coming to a stop. Service department stated that the throttle body was bad and replaced it.
All three occurrences requiring my car to be taken to a shop for repairs involved the vehicle moving at hi-way speeds. While travelling at 65mph, the cruise control cut out and engine died, so I had to coast to the side of the road. Eventually it restarted and I got home. The issue was electronic in nature according to the dealership where I bought the car, and took it for service. The part was not immediately available and when asked, the dealership said it was safe to drive until the part came in. The repair was made under warranty. The second problem was very similar to the first occurrence, and the dealership told me it was a different problem, but was nonetheless electronic in nature. The repair was made under warranty. The third and most recent issue involves the transmission. On my daily commute, cruise set at 65mph, the transmission disengaged. There was no power to the drivetrain. When I coasted to the shoulder, no gear could be achieved. When shut off, the car would not restart. After about ten minutes, after many clunking and clicking noises had occurred under the hood, the car started and I continued. It happened again...and again. This occurred five times in 30 miles, and finally the car would not restart. This was about five miles from home and my car had to be towed to the dealer for repair. The car is two years old with 85,000 miles. All miles are hi-way miles. All routine maintenance has been performed with receipts. This vehicle is a safety hazard, for intermittent, total loss of power and control on the hi-way, as well as leaving the occupants stranded at risk, on the shoulder of said hi-way. Ford does not seem to want to acknowledge publically that this is a safety problem (I.e. recall).
Over the past 1 1/2 months my vehicle has stalled on the freeway 6 times. Each time the "wrench" light came on, the display read "engine malfunction" and "service now". when this would happen, the engine tachometer would first drop to 1000 RPM and the accelerator would become non-responsive. Soon after that the engine would just rev as if it were in neutral; then "bam" the transmission would engage abruptly and make a loud bang noise and lag when shifting. This has become a major concern as I have had people almost run into the rear of me because of my decline in speed. The only way to get the vehicle back to normal operation is to completely pull to the side of the road and turn the car off for a few seconds and restart it, unfortunately by doing this it resets the fault codes and does not retain the information for the dealership to be able to diagnose. I had brought the car to the dealership and left it for a week. They installed a "flight recorder" and drove for over 114 miles to try to reproduce the problem; but could not. I had pick ed up my car dissapointed that they could not reproduce the problem and as a result could not fix it. When I drove my vehicle that same day to work, it happened again at only 26 miles after their testing. I have seen on other web sites that this seems to be a common problem with other 2011 Ford Fiesta's, I only hope Ford comes up with a fix for this issue soon as it seems to me to be a program issue with the vehicles computer.
I bought the car new and have taken it to two separate dealerships to correct this issue and it continues. Initially, the transmission light came on and the car began having trouble shifting. After the first repair, the car began shaking uncontrollably. The second repair corrected the shaking, but now (at 15,755 miles) the car will (1) make grinding metallic noises when shifting, (2) fail to shift on any incline (instead it revs to approximately 2500 rpms and "sticks" there), (3) jolt forward when the brake is applied as if the accelerator was pressed down, and (4) roll backwards on hills as if it is a manual transmission. I understand that (4) can be common among newer automatics that attempt higher fuel economy. However, numerous times the speed at which the car rolls back has incurred a safety risk. This seems to be another indication of an issue with the transmission.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bayonne, NJ, USA