2013 Ford Fiesta problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (321) · Structure:body (50) · Vehicle Speed Control (43)
🧭 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
547 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 (88)
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
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/
Power Train 2021-07-30 · 14M02-S5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford is extending the warranty coverage on the dps6 automatic transmission tcm to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle, whichever occurs first. this extended warranty coverage will address intermittent symptoms of loss of transmission engagement while driv
Showing the 6 most recent of 88 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-06 · Engine“my transmission is going out i call ford they tell me there's no recalls on my transmission but i paid for a vin recall check and there is a recall on my transmission …”
2026-06-02 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 88,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 ford fiesta. the contact received the recall notification letter for nhtsa campaign number: 20v331000 (latches, locks, and linkages). the contact stated that the passenger-side door opened while driving at 30-35 mph. while her daughter was driving, the passenger side rear door came ajar. no warning lights were illuminated. t…”
2026-04-16 · Power Train“the vehicle experienced a sudden transmission failure while driving. before the failure, the car began shuddering and hesitating during acceleration. it then started making loud metal grinding noises from the transmission area and eventually lost the ability to move properly when placed in drive or reverse. this created a safety risk because the ve…”
2026-03-31 · Power Train“i was driving down [xxx] . i stopped at a stoplight. when the light turned green i pressed the gas to accelerate when suddenly mid intersection my transmission went out causing me to have no power. approximately 5 minutes prior to this i did get a message about a transmission malfunction. due to the transmission going out i was stuck in the interse…”
2026-02-16 · Exterior Lighting“my low beam heads both stopped working at the same time. upon investigation i identified the problem came from corrosion of the relay in the battery junction box. this problem exactly matches a ford recall for some 2013 ford fiesta manufactured in canada. my vehicle is not covered by this recall, but the problem and failure point is identical. th…”
2025-12-19 · Power Train · 131,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 ford fiesta. the contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle experienced a loss of power and decelerated. the vehicle was driven to a nearby service station. after restarting the vehicle and shifting to drive(d), the vehicle failed to respond as n…”
2025-12-11 · Power Train“my car has 74,000 actual miles and the transmission is acting up kicking out of gear and loosing coummcation with the tcm and a sensor comes on about bad clutch pack…”
2025-09-07 · Structure:body“top of the driver side door handle broke free from the door. the car has previously been cleared of any recall defects - but a loose door handle may absolutely have something to do with the inner workings of the door/latch and may be a safety issue.…”
2025-08-26 · Power Train“powershift dual-clutch transmission, slipping, bucking, and shuddering during acceleration. subject of a class-action lawsuit. …”
2025-08-12 · Unknown Or Other“transmission control module failure…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.