2011 Ford Fiesta problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (282) · Structure:body (84) · Vehicle Speed Control (55)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Fiesta model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
601 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2020-06-08 · campaign 20V331000 · 2,147,323 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15V-246, 16V-643 or 17V-210, however the repair may not have been completed properly. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to beli
Risk: A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to inspect their own vehicle's door latches and enter the date codes into a website to determine if the latches are correct. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S30.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2015-04-24 · campaign 15V246000 · 456,440 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the agency on April 23, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured July 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, and 2012-2014 Fiesta vehicles manufactured February 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013. On April 30, 2015, Ford expanded the recall to cover an additional 119,567 vehicles, including certain model year 2011 Ford Fiestas manufactured from November 11, 2009, to May 31, 2013 and certain model year 2013 Ford Fus
Risk: A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four door latches with an improved part, free of charge. Interim notifications were mailed to owners on June 5, 2015. The recall began on December 18, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S16.
Air Bags 2012-10-05 · campaign 12V488000 · 154,471 vehicles
Defect: Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles, manufactured from November 3, 2009 through September 21, 2012. The vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The passenger side curtain air bag will not deploy in the event of a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty. Although the side curtain air bag system was designed to suppress the side curtain air bag under this scenario, that informa
Risk: An occupant in the right rear seating position will not have coverage from the side curtain air bag in a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty, increasing the risk of injury to the right rear occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners and dealers will reprogram the vehicle's software free of charge so that it no longer suppresses the passenger side curtain air bag when the front passenger seat is empty, and consistent with the description in the owner's guide. The safety recall began on October 26, 2012. Owner's may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Service bulletins (84)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Equipment 2024-04-24 · SSM 52476 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
all accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. if the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
Power Train 2023-05-04 · 14M02 S7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain 2011 through 2015 model year fiesta and 2012 through 2016 model year focus vehicles equipped with a dps6 automatic transmission transmission control module extended warranty coverage reason for this supplement ãâ¢ãâã⢠due to ongoing limited part availability, program terms have been
Engine And Engine Cooling 2023-01-13 · 22N11 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain 2011-2013 model year fiesta vehicles operated in the usa corrosion states battery junction box clean and seal in some of the affected vehicles, the position of the battery junction box (bjb) in the engine compartment is subject to unanticipated direct road water splash while driving. when v
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module:software 2022-11-07 · 14M02 06 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain 2011 through 2015 model year fiesta and 2012 through 2016 model year focus vehicles equipped with a dps6 automatic transmission; transmission control module extended warranty coverage reason for this supplement non-ford part usage: ã¢â⢠vehicles that are still covered by the 8 years/
Showing the 6 most recent of 84 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-20 · Engine“ford has had a long known issue with 2011-2015-fiesta ( cuautitlan ) they issued a customer satisfaction program that ended june 2025. i purchased the car july 2026 used w/o none issues. checked vin for recall and maryland inspected. driving it one week and the check engine light comes on. apparently the tcm recognized a change in driving patt…”
2025-10-06 · Unknown Or Other“while driving my car with my two little nieces in the backseat, i heard a sound that made me think a wheel was coming off. as long as i was driving straight, the vehicle seemed to be okay. but when i made a turn onto the next road, something broke underneath the car and we began to spin around. it felt like the wheels were rubbing under the floor…”
2025-09-03 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) · 106,902 mi“the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle was pushed to the side of the road on several occasions. the vehicle was able to restart after 10 minutes; however, the failure recurred upon resuming driving. the vehicle was taken t…”
2025-08-03 · Electrical System“i am having issues with the fuse box under the hood. i keep shorting out on my headlights ans ac clutch relay. i've purchased new head lights (bulbs), replaced them and they still didn't work. i checked the fuses after investigation online and they have blown. i had my ac completely fixed and it ran fine for a while, then stopped working. i had …”
2025-08-01 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) · 130,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that while driving on a main road at 30 mph, the transmission shifted independently to neutral(n). the contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. the contact shifted to drive(d) and drove to the residence. the vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmiss…”
2025-07-30 · Power Train:automatic Transmission · 144,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate. the check engine warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure was not duplicated. additionally, the contact received notification of custome…”
2025-07-23 · Unknown Or Other“i am reporting a serious mechanical and safety issue involving my 2011 ford fiesta. after receiving a partially state-funded engine replacement in june 2025, my vehicle began experiencing serious transmission problems shortly after. within a month, it went into limp mode multiple times, and warning lights appeared: the wrench light, incline warnin…”
2025-07-21 · Power Train · 123,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked, and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. the vehicle stalled while driving. the contact waited for a short while and was able to restart the vehicle. the contact was able to move over to the sid…”
2025-07-08 · Power Train · 196,489 mi“the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated or jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the shift motor was defective. the contact was informed that the part was…”
2025-06-09 · Electrical System“door locks keep unlocking and locking as i'm driving. it is very loud. 4 or 5 times as i'm going 35 and 60 mph…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.