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CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford changed a lot of things for its 3rd generation, just none of them were a good idea.

The transmission tends to hesitate and jerk when accelerating. The new electronically-driven power steering can fail suddenly and without warning. Even Ford's SYNC can be a headache. Actually, scratch that last one — it's always been a headache.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,136 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2013 Ford Focus electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 7 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #133

May 112017

Focus

  • 43,990 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This car experiences sudden loss of power leading to the inability to accelerate or even move the vehicle for varying lengths of time. This is left me stranded in dangerous situations three times. Twice I was in traffic (coming off the I-95 North and needing to merge my exit, then when stopped at a red light in a left turn lane). Most recently the vehicle would not start up after being in a parked. In the latter episode jump-starts did not help. While the dash lights eventually came on, and the windshield wipers were able to move one to two times and then died, the engine simply would not turn over. Initial evaluations by the dealer for an engine light gave an "overspeed code" which was not relevant to driving conditions.

- Laurel, MD, USA

problem #132

May 052017

Focus

  • 59,780 miles
As I was waiting for light to turn green at a busy intersection my car stalls. It was acting as if I had put my car in park and accelerate the gas. On my dash board I notice the symbol as if my traction was on. I turned my car off and tries to restart it. It will not turn over. Not even making a sound. Mind you I am at a very busy intersection. This is so dangerous especially if this would have happened on the freeway.

- Suisun, CA, USA

problem #131

May 012017

Focus

  • 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate and shuttered. On several occasions, the vehicle failed to start. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously repaired for the same failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 72,000.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

problem #130

Apr 232017

Focus

  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Wires in the rear right luggage compartment have become exposed and/or broken from regular opening and closing of the luggage compartment lid. The wires are restricted in motion such that they bend with every opening and closing of the luggage compartment. This lead to a breaking of wires which caused the trunk light and opening mechanism to fail. Exposed wires can lead to many more problems like shorting the battery or an electrical fire.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

problem #129

Mar 152017

Focus

  • 40,000 miles
I've researched and have discovered that the radio head is bad. While driving, there is a ridiculously loud static noise that pulses at any given time. Even when I turn the ignition off, it still statics loudly - you can hear it while walking away and the windows are

- Navarre, OH, USA

problem #128

Mar 012017

Focus

  • 53,000 miles
"takata recall": about one month ago the horn started working intermittently before ceasing to work at all. It will not work where the car is parked or in drive. I bought the car less than a year ago. In general it has had other issues with the electronics in the car, anything having to do with the media system (auxiliary, usb, sync audio, etc have all stopped working) since I bought it in June 2016. I cannot obviously honk the horn while driving and communicate effectively with other drivers on the road. The car has ~53000 miles.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #127

Mar 252017

Focus

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on a main thoroughfare at 50mph my 2013 Ford Focus engine shutdown. I coasted to the side of the road. Luckily this did not cause an accident because no other vehicles were on the road. When I took the vehicle to the car shop I was notified the electrical wires had frayed, killing the engine, and was a known issue. There is a bulletin on 2013 Ford Focus documenting this problem (tsb 15-0036). Service representative repaired the harness at throttle body.

- Papillion, NE, USA

problem #126

Feb 202017

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 92,300 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving low speeds, the steering wheel seized and the brake system warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted and operated correctly. The failure occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the electric steering motor burned out and needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,300.

- Palm City, FL, USA

problem #125

Feb 192017

Focus

  • 69,707 miles
About 1 am this morning I left work and started down the highway with the gas gauge reading 44 miles to empty. Since it was rather late I decided to go home and just get gas in the morning but about halfway home it it dropped all the way from 44 down to 17 and then about a mile later ran out of gas. This was an issue but not the one I'm overly concerned about right now. I placed on my hazards and tried to flag down some help to get to the gas station I had to leave the car parked in a curve and though I was off the road it wasn't by much so I left the hazards on. When I came back roughly an hour and a half later the battery was completely dead. I got gas into the car and got the battery jumped and then started the vehicle with one major issue the instrument panel had gone completely dark so there was no way of telling how fast I was going nor could I see how much fuel was in the tank or engine temperature. The other issue was the turn signals also stopped working. Today I checked all the fuses and when I pulled out the one for the instrument panel it was absolutely fine but when I put it back in everything came back to life like there wasn't a problem about an hour and a half later in heavy traffic it all went dark again so I was unable to use my turn signal or tell how fast I was going. Once again I just pulled out the same fuse and push it back in and everything was fine. This just seems like it could be a real dangerous issue and as I read online this car seems to have a plethora of them also the issue with not getting an accurate reading of how much gas is in your tank is also a problem. The gentleman from the store who helped me put gas in the car and jump it said he has the exact same model for his wife and that he was told when she ran out of gas it was because the plastic tank melted and change shapes allowing inaccurate reading of the amount of fuel left

- Chesterfield, VA, USA

problem #124

Feb 012017

Focus

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle for approximately twenty minutes. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #123

Jan 022016

Focus 4-cyl

  • 23,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Newly purchased 2013 Ford Focus SE.1. initial incident at 23000 miles showing error code on dashboard display with subsequent vehicle stalling (car shutting off). Issue similar to alternator or battery failure. 2. now-persistent dashboard alarm light with message: Steering assist fault, service required. Ford district management informed-no assistance available for repair or buyback or recall. Repair estimate couple thousand dollars. Vehicle not drivable without repair. Electronic power steering locks during drive after start after car is in driving gear preventing turns and driveability. Please respond, thank you (new vehicle purchase) less than 40000 miles.

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

problem #122

Jan 062017

Focus

  • 60,000 miles
Radio short -- the radio has stopped working and makes a very loud popping sound. It began as one loud pop. If you restarted the car the radio would work. Now, even with the radio off, the speakers will make an extremely loud popping sound. It happens randomly, and can happen out of the blue. When it happens it is very sudden, and very loud, loud enough to cause you to slam on the brakes, or immediately jerk the wheel due to fright. The radio makes static without the radio turned on, and even when you are not in the car. There is an active thread online www.focusfanatics.com/forum/car-audio-sync-myford-touch-electronics/358625-crackling-radio-problem-my-2012-sel.html that gave me the information I needed to help diagnose and remove the fuse. The loudness of the issue, the randomness, inability to maintain Focus on the road is a serious issue. In removing the fuse I now have lost the lock/unlock function of the doors and the ability to use my flashers. I will be going to Ford to have the radio head unit removed until I can resolve this with Ford. It is a serious safety issue.

- Battle Ground, WA, USA

problem #121

Jan 032017

Focus 4-cyl

  • 62,000 miles
While driving I came to a stop sign and as I started to let out the clutch and moving roughly 10 mph my car engine completely shut off and power steering was lost. Interior lights were still functional but when I went to start up the car again it would not turn over. This is a manual transmission but nothing was working to get it started again. This to me is unacceptable flaw in the system that put me at risk of causing an accident. Being stuck in the middle of an intersection and without power to the engine. I am fortunate enough that I was on side streets and not on a highway as this issue could have caused a serious accident. I took it to a garage to get it fixed and they told me that my model was not under recall. Doing some research found Ford recall 14S17-S1 for the Ford Focus St same year (2013) as mine with the exact problem my car had. The garage that I am receiving the repairs at told me they found 5 wires that were severed and was part of the problem. I have yet to get the full diagnostics from the garage but will be adding the document to the report once this has been resolved and all issues are made aware.

- Northborough, MA, USA

problem #120

Dec 262016

Focus

  • 62,000 miles
Car has stalled while driving now 5 times in 9 days. The first time driving from denver to casper, I wasn't too far from home the steering assist service needed warning came on, and about 5 miles later I received a transmission service required warning, immediately followed by an engine service now warning and I completely lost power. In trying to restart the vehicle, I had all my lights and everything (including warnings), but no crank. When a nice person asked to push me to the shoulder at least out of the turn lane while waiting for a tow truck. The car started right up. Towed the car still to a Ford dealership, where I was told nothing was found and they couldn't replicate the problem. 7 days later. And about 250 miles from home on the interstate. The same thing happened. The car started about an hour later after the tow truck driver arrived to help. Was able to drive the car home, and again the following day the fold dealership told me just communication codes on the computer and unsure what the issue is. Today, the car did the same thing 3 more times in the span of 2 hours. Once I was stopping in the right through lane at a stop light with my daughter in the car when it stalled out. Noticed this time even though I had the car in park the dash read it was in drive. Had the ECM on the transmission replaced already in September. Right now it is back a the dealership as I do not trust this car with me in it, let alone my 2 little girls.

- Thornton, CO, USA

problem #119

Dec 312016

Focus

  • 63,000 miles
At approximately 2:30 am this morning 12/31/16, our Ford Focus burst into flames while stationary in a parking lot. Thank god we and our 11 month old were not in the car at the time. We have had this car into the shop at least twice for transmission problems then our entire multi information screen including radio quit working, they refused to fix because we were out of warranty. We have barely had this car for one year and have had nothing but problems. Now we have no car because it is totaled from the fire. The police based on initial investigation said it was an electrical fire. I have seen another 2013 Ford Focus catch fire in australia and other places. I would like this to be investigated so this does not happen to other people.

- Chehalis, WA, USA

problem #118

Nov 152016

Focus

  • 55,540 miles
The fuse that controls the instrument panel in front of the steering wheel will not stay in. It does not "blow" and when this happens you have no speedometer, heat or gas gauge, turn signals, ect. I believe this to be a valid safety issue. When this fuse does not allow the current to get to the instrument cluster then the mpg readout returns to 30.7 in lieu of what was being shown at the time of the failure. Anytime your signal lights will not work that is a recallable situation. I believ fomoco knows about this. Also the sticker on the door jamb in regards to tire pressure reads 30 psi. Right now I have 30 psi in my tires and the "low tire" light is constantly on.when I contacted my dealer he said to put 35 psi in each tire to eliminate the problem. If the tire manufacturers wanted more than 30psi in their tires then why does the door sticker not say so and also the tire booklet.

- Bristol, VA, USA

problem #117

Apr 092015

Focus

  • 14,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced shuddering and then stalled while being operated at a low speed. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #116

Nov 092016

Focus

  • 37,100 miles
Vehicle does not start with warning parking aid fault. After several attempts, it starts but then stops. Vehicle shudders from start, gears make noises and down shifts unexpectedly.

- Burlingame, CA, USA

problem #115

Nov 082016

Focus 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
I have had my pre-owned vehicle for 1 1/2 years and have had continuous issues with my trunk popping open randomly. It opens anywhere and at random times. I've had it open while driving down the interstate, which is a huge safety hazard, potentially having things from trunk fly out and hit another motorist. It has been looked at twice by baxter Ford in omaha, ne. They can never seem to find the issue or have it "duplicate" on their time. This definitely sounds like a manufacturer defect.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #114

Oct 252016

Focus

  • 36,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that there was misfire coming from the coil pack. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. On several occasions while accelerating, there was an abnormal vibration coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was operating as intended. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000 (electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

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