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.
I have been dealing with transmission issues since I bought the vehicle. The first time it happened I was doing 50 mph and it shifted out of gear. This was quite disturbing. I took it in to Ford and they told me it just needed the program updated. Then during the winter it wouldn't go into gear at all, not forward, reverse or anything. Once again I took it in and they said it was the programming. They programed it again. So back in Feb it happened again, and I did then receive a letter stating there was some issues, so I was given a 100,000 mile warranty on fixing the issue. Well I told them to replace the tcm, but once again they love to reprogram. So my oldest son is in need of a vehicle and he was driving it up in madison Wisconsin on the most crazy freeway and it decided to lose the power doing more than 50 mph. My son was so stressed and was almost hit by a semi. I have had it with the reprogramming. I have emails and calls put into Ford and I am not asking for anything but a fix or to trade in and start over. They don't want to do anything for us at all. I guess they want someone to die first before they fix anything.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. While at a stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact attempted to shift into park, but the gear shifter failed to shift out of drive. The contact had to restart the vehicle in order to shift into park and resume normal function. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
My 2011 Ford Fiesta began giving me problems at about 28,000 miles. It is now 35,000 miles and I have been having problems accelerating out of a stop. It will jerk, rev and shudder getting up to 30 mph. I have taken care of a few recalls and I have noticed a 5 mile drop in the mpg. I take good care of my car, I have the oil changed regularly and I often take it to a mechanic to ensure it is in good working condition. This only happens when I am driving the Fiesta for a while in a city setting so I have to start and stop quite a bit. Additionally, there has been a consistent clunking noise when I turn the wheel at low speeds. Have brought it in a few times and no one has even attempted to fix it.
On several occasions the vehicle has experienced decreased acceleration as well as delayed acceleration. Since June of 2011 to January 2016 I have had the clutch replaced 8 or 9 times with the power train module being reprogrammed. The problem still persists. Now Jan. 18th 2016 the car is experiencing a transmission malfunction. It will not accelerate over 10 miles an hour. Rendering the vehicle undrivable. I can't seem to get help from Ford or sunstate Ford in which the vehicle was purchased. Everytime they service the vehicle they state shuddering and the acceleration issues are normal functions of the vehicle. However each time they have replace the clutch or reprogrammed computers associated with the transmission. At the intersection of 441 and david walker dr in eustis fl we experienced the transmission malfunction leaving us in the middle of traffic trying to manuever at 10 miles an hour.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the throttle body failed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired. No further details were available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
- Edina, MN, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle experienced a period of unintended acceleration and abnormal shaking. The failure occurred three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a clutch failure and that it needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.
Currently driving my car with a bad clutch assembly because the part is on back order because of a customer satisfaction bulletin from Ford Motor Company. Driving today and the vehicle in front of me came to an abrupt stop. I came within an inch of rear ending the vehicle because when I put my brakes on my cars the clutch would not do downshift to stop my car. Had to steer to the right onto curb to avoid hitting the car in front of me, came within an inch of hitting the car. The dealer service department told me putting in a new clutch will not fix the problem because they are putting in the same defective part. This is my second clutch assembly within 7,000 miles.
On several occasions over the last winter I turned left from my driveway. As I attempted to accelerate the vehicle briefly slipped out of gear. The vehicle is controlled by an automatic transmission, but slipped from gear, leaving me in the road, unable to move forward. This has happened on several occasions. My transmission has also failed several times at red lights. I will step on the gas, and there are several seconds of hesitation, where my vehicle will not move. Then it lurches forward. Ford has sent a letter explaining there have been defects with the transmission, but I have called 3 different dealerships, and they refuse to fix the problem unless it occurs during a test drive by their technicians. If the problem does not occur during their test drive they will charge me over $100 for the diagnosis. This defect is known to Ford, yet they refuse to fix it until the problem is consistent enough that I can bring it in, knowing the problem will occur on that particular test drive. I have almost been in an accident because I was unable to get my vehicle out of the road, due to the transmission issue. I believe the problem has also caused other issues with my vehicle. My O2 sensor and catalytic converter wore out prematurely.
I purchased my 2011 Ford Fiesta in August 2014 with 45,000 miles on it. Car ran fine for a week then I noticed when the ac is on the car jerks when I accelerate. It also does it daily when I drive speeds under 30 mph. The car stalled out as I pulled out leaving wal-mart and thank god it was during the day when everyone is at work and that there was not a lot of traffic!! this car makes me nervous driving it a distance longer than 30 minutes and no car should feel that unsafe. I took it to the Ford dealer this morning reporting of constant jerking and hesitation while I am driving and feeling the gears grinding when I brake. I was told I needed a new clutch and that it is a common problem with these cars and that since the part is on back order it would take minimum 2 weeks to get in!. how there is not a recall on this I do not understand. I have read complaint after complaint about the same problems.
I purchased a Ford Fiesta 2011 in October, 2010. Within the first year of ownership (around 8,000 miles), the car began to shutter upon initial acceleration at low speeds, especially when going up or down an incline; when moving the accelerator pedal back and forth quickly (in stop and go traffic, for example, or when accelerating to turn left from a stop) the rpms would jump and the car would not accelerate promptly, and then only after harsh jerking. Numerous trips to the dealership resulted in several explanations (and costly "repairs"), including being told I needed a complete engine flush, faulty brake calipers, recalibration of the computer software, and the classic "that is normal operation for the car." As of February, 2015 (my car now has 50,000), the issue continues to persist and, most concerning of all, my car will now periodically stall with complete engine and electrical failure. Please note the issue described above occurs from a stop and/or at slow speeds. My car has stalled several times while I was attempting to turn left or pull into the road from a driveway. These are particularly hazardous times for the car to fail and severely compromise not only my safety but those of other drivers on the road. Frustratingly, the dealerships consistently report "there is nothing wrong with the car" and "it functions normally." A car like mine -- relatively new, average mileage, with maintenance always completed at a Ford dealership and according to manufacturer recommendations -- should not stall. I am greatly concerned each and every time I drive the car and Ford's apparently inability to solve the issue.
Car cannot be driven in snow. If trying to start from a complete stop in 1" of snow, the traction control will cut power to the wheels, leaving you stuck in place. This is very dangerous as it can leave the driver stuck in the middle of an intersection as happened to me today. Ford has since added a way to disable the traction control, but this model year is extremely dangerous in the snow.
We questioned the dealer salesperson about the erratic behavior the night we purchased the car. We were told the vehicle had a manual transmission that shifted automatically. The vehicle has been to the dealership and or the dealership has been questioned many times regarding the issue. Most recently there was a notice for a reprogramming of the transmission, this did not resolve the issue. The dealers still insist that the behavior is normal. This behavior has now created many close call situations from lunging when going forward and reverse. The shifting is very erratic and makes a lot of noise from 0 to 20 mph or so. I'm also concerned about the resale value of this vehicle since I just recently starting doing research on the issue and have found it's a widespread problem. Please advise.
I was driving home from work in the early afternoon on August 21, 2014 when my car seemed to lose throttle. I had noticed it was sluggish to pick up speed around 5 miles before. Immediately before the car lost throttle, as if it were in neutral, the check engine light came on, an audible alert was made, and then most of the service lights came on. I managed to pull the car over in about 30 seconds, and once I was parked I could see flames coming out of the left side of the hood. I turned the car off at that point, got out, and called 911. Unfortunately the front of the vehicle was completely engaged by the time the fire crew arrived. The vehicle was a total loss.
My car has malfunctioned and been "repaired" three times. Each time the car malfunctioned, the gas pedal stopped working and the car began to slow. The gear indicator light switched from D to P and back again, over and over. The check engine light started blinking and later turned solidly on. Since it was just coasting, I had to pull over the car and in each case I was lucky enough to be in an area with a decent breakdown lane. At one point when the mechanics were pulling the vehicle into a bay, it started doing this and the reverse lights also started blinking. In addition, it jerked back into drive, jumping forward. Thankfully no one was close to it. So far the repairs have included an ignition coil pack, spark plugs and wires, replacing two bolts and reprogramming, and replacing the transmission control module for a grand total of over $2,000.
Cruise control stopped working, keyless remote stopped working, odometer stopped working, tripometer stopped working. Took it to the factory and they said it was not covered, because it was 2 weeks out of 3 year bumper to bumper warranty. All of these are supposedly the result of a bad speed sensor between the axle and the transmission.
From purchase to this date 06/24/2014 there has been a problem with this car. After slowing down or stopping completely, when the gas pedal is pressed, there is a hesitation...almost feels like air in the gas line...it cuts out and then jerks as it takes off. I have not had an accident up to now, but since I've noticed it at the beginning, I have made sure it was safe to pull out. I am not sure if this is what they call "eco-boost" but, it seems very dangerous to me. I purchased this car 05/13/2011 and only have 10,500 miles on it because I am afraid to drive it.
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.
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.
I had just started accelerating after stopping at a street light. My car began shifting back and forth as I pressed on the accelerator. I noticed my engine was running but my car wasn't moving. It seemed as though the power was there but it wasn't going to the wheels. My car was struggling to do what it was supposed to do. My car jumped and shifted back and forth trying to move. Finally it caught up with the problem and moved a little. I was able to let it roll downhill far enough for me to get out of the road into safety. Later when on the side of the road, I turned on my engine and it worked. I put my car into reverse and moved it back. When I put my car into drive the gear lever moved but the gear did not shift into drive. I pressed on the accelerator but my car didn't move at all. I did hear the engine revving up but the car didn't move. I put my car in neutral and was able to roll it forwards.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Elkhorn, WI, USA