CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 Ford Focus & its "Powershift" transmission has a defect trend where the car shudders when accelerating, especially when starting uphill.
Most owners have reported their Ford Focus remains driveable while the vehicle is still at low mileage, but the shuddering is annoying & unpleasant & may reduce the resale value of the vehicle.
However, owners of higher-mileage vehicles from earlier 3rd generation Focus model years report transmission failure & a host of other major & expensive transmission-related problems. Potential buyers beware.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,572 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.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that a large amount of white smoke was coming from the exhaust tip with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a cracked engine block and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while parked and running the vehicle stalled. The engine warning light was illuminated. The gauges were showing incorrect readings. The contact called the local dealer who informed him that the vehicle was not covered under warranty or recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System Gasoline). The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.
I have been having problems with ford focus for a long time. I have been told that this is normal. Recently, I had my car fixed by ford. Soon after, I was having problems with car slow start, hesitation and studdering. This is the same problems I was having before. I was told by Ford dealership that it was not the transmission. They told me that it was a crack engine head and purge valve problem. I paid for the fix even though I felt like it should have been covered in a recall. The car is not fix. I have completed 2 surveys with Ford. The department of transportation should investigate ford for its ford focuses.
1st Started having issues with advancing, at idle stops, when engaging fuel, it will hesitate and run poorly. after a week, engine light started turning on, and stating that transmission, was running hot, and need it to stop and cool down. after the 2nd time, the vehicle runs rought, and grinding can be heard by shifting gear. An off duty Ford worker, checked vehicle with a computer and stated that the transmission clutch had gone out. checked the internet and stated that Ford Focus from 2012 to 2016 had a recall. yet I enter my vin number and nothing is said. I am currently paying my vehicle and can not drive it, have 3 children, and no money to repair. can you please help.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stated shaking. The contact stopped in a parking lot and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the mechanic stated that coolant was leaking from the vehicle. The contact stated that an unknown valve was replaced; however, the failure continued. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 120,000.
- Garland, TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle exhibited a slight hesitation with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the purge valve failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was confirmed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The oil pump failed while driving causing the engine to seize up. This occurred moments after the oil light came on giving the driver little time to react. The only lights indicated on the dash panel were the oil pressure and check engine lights. The engine seized and the car died while driving through a busy metropolitan area. The vehicle had to be physically pushed out of a busy intersection to get it out of the way of traffic. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where they found no oil in the filter, but plenty of oil in the pan. There were remnants of metal and belt material in the pan as well.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and no error codes were retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Driving on the highway the engine stopped with no indications of an issue from the control panel warnings. The car would not restart, even after cooling down. The car was looked at by multiple mechanics before towing to a Ford dealership. Their diagnostics indicated that the cylinder block assembly and the starter motor would need to be replaced. There was no mention of what the cause was. The oil had been replaced a month prior.
I got my 2016 Ford Focus in the summer of 2019 and from the start i had issues. The first issue was my car overheating the coolant tank kept getting a hole burned in it and the coolant would leak leaving my car to overheat I've had the tank replaced twice. The second issue was my car just kept turning off still don't know what that was about. Third issue was the vehicle not telling me the correct amount of gas i had it would say i would have a good amount of gas, but it really had little to no gas. The last issue was the Transmisson the car was stalling and gave me kick back that's the only way i can describe it I took it to my mechanic because there was no recall when i looked up my VIN, I paid almost $4000 for the transmission to be fixed to just bring it back to the mechanic because the transmission started giving me problems again. My mechanic told me that Hes having problems figuring out the programming. Today 12/08/2022 I read an article talking about how thousands of Ford Focus owners are having the same issue. I was never contacted by Ford. I called my local ford dealership, and they told me the part that my vehicle needs are on back order and they can't even look at my car until February.
I am getting a check engine light. P01450 which is the Stuck canister purge valve issue. NHTSA Campaign number 18V735000. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with a 2.0L GDI or 2.0L GTDI engine. The Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in fuel vapor management system. Dealer said my Ford was not part of recall. Ford Recall number is 18S32. Can you assist with this? It's my son's car and needs it for college. Want to make sure it is safe. Thank you.
I was exiting Parking lot into busy intersection when vehicle suddenly hesitated and stalled completely. Was hard to restart and kept stalling after that. Very dangerous when traveling on busy streets when it stalls and steering wheel locks up. As I accelerate the car violently jerks and has hard time shifting and getting up to speed maybe a -??slipping-?? feeling and engine is constantly misfiring and stalling. Idles very rough when stopped RPM jumps all over the place. No warning lights on dash whatsoever. Had this problem and took to ford about 2 years ago they said they fixed it but the problem still persists. I can see there are various recalls for this vehicle for the exact things that are happening to me. Huge safety concern. Seems to me it-??s something to do with fuel tank and transmission.
The contact leased a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while driving, the vehicle intermittently lunged forward and hesitated. The contact then stated that while the brake pedal was depressed, the engine revved, the RPM-??s increased and the wheels started to spin without the accelerator pedal being depressed. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that prior to the failure, a software update was performed on the vehicle. The contact inquired from the dealer if there were any recalls on the vehicle and was informed that they would be in contact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the canister purge value on the fuel tank was stuck or was sticking. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not covered under a recall and informed her about scheduling an appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local dealer, Crossroads Ford of Apex (1501 N Salem St, Apex, NC 27502) but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a case number but no additional assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was similar to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was unknown.
Engine seized up. Going 70MPH on the highway and suddenly I'm losing speed. I get pulled over to the side of the road and shut the car off. So I start the car and notice my oil light is on. I shut it back off and check the oil. Levels are good. Turn the car back on and got back up to 35 MPH and it just wouldn't go anymore. Engine wouldn't turn back over. Mechanic confirmed engine was seized up and wasn't because of lack of oil. He told me others have had complaints on this issue as well. Only 60k miles on the car and had to get the engine replaced.
The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact's granddaughter attempted the start the vehicle when and heard an abnormal noise. The vehicle failed to start. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the spark plug was blown. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then towed to another auto body mechanic where it was also diagnosed that the spark plug was blown. The contact was informed that the spark plugs and ignition coils needed to be replaced. Additionally, a rethread kit was needed to repair damages to cylinder #4. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure however, the contact was informed there was no recall associated with the failure. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,105.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 90,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally was unable to restart right after refueling. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
My car is a 2016 Ford Focus that was manufactured in Wayne, Michigan at the Michigan Assembly Plant. My car has a 2.0 L GDI engine. These are the qualifications for the 18S32 Ford recall, but I-??ve been told my car does not qualify. The canister purge valve is broken. It has caused my car to stall while driving, and it has deformed my fuel tank. My car stalled on July 8th, 2022. The check engine light came on July 23rd, 2022. On July 23rd, I took the car to an auto shop and they said the canister purge valve needed to be replaced. When looking at my fuel tank, it has caved in about half an inch. I have also opened a case with the Ford Service Help. The case number is CAS-37755602
In the last 6 months my car has been to Rottet Ford in Tamaqua. My car Failed to start after driven had towed to dealer, replaced TCM, paid $200. 2nd time car system shut off everything and engine while driving. Started after hour, dealer replaced TCM paid $200 3rd time car failed to start after driven, even within 24hours from leaving dealership being fixed, waiting to see WHY. But assuming TCM again. Ford customer experience specialist [XXX] ext [XXX] [XXX] Recall on 2016 ford focus, but not her VIN. All 3repairs were the TCM (transmission control module) Ford customer service told me to report this and ask it be added to recall list. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Middletown, OH, USA