2013 Ford Focus Electric problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (31) · Steering (8) · Electrical System (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Focus Electric model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
64 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Equipment:electrical 2018-09-10 · campaign 18V592000 · 49,197 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 120V Convenience charge cords that were supplied with and sold for use with 2013-2015 Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi vehicles and 2012-2015 Ford Focus Electric vehicles. Cords with part numbers FM58-10B706-AA, FM58-10B706-AB, FM58-10B706-AC, FM58-10B706-AD, FM58-10B706-AE and FM58-10B706-AF were manufactured without thermistors, and during vehicle charging, increased resistance in the house's outlet or wiring can cause the cord to overheat and
Risk: An overheated cord can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current cord with a new 120V convenience cord with a thermistor, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S24.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) 2013-10-30 · campaign 13V523000 · 2,456 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Focus Electric vehicles manufactured September 15, 2011, through August 23, 2013. In the affected vehicles, a powertrain control module software problem may result in a stall-like condition.
Risk: An unexpected loss of power while driving increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the power control module, free of charge. The recall beganon November 22, 2013. Ford's recall campaign number is 13S09. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.
Equipment:electrical:anti-Theft Devices 2013-10-17 · campaign 13V475000 · 23,000 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Focus Electric vehicles and 2013 C-Max vehicles equipped with the Intelligent Access Push Button Start System. In the affected vehicles, there is no audible chime when the vehicle is operational and the driver's door is opened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Risk: Without an audible door chime, a vehicle owner may open the door and exit the vehicle without being reminded that the vehicle is still operational, leaving the vehicle susceptible to theft.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the door chime, free of charge. The recall began on October 30, 2013. Owners may contact the Ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall number is 13C07.
Service bulletins (25)
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.
Electrical System 2020-04-24 · TSB 20-2140 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2012-2016 focus electric vehicles built on 15-sep-2011 and through 9-dec-2015 may exhibit a stop safely now message displayed in the instrument panel cluster (ipc) message center. this may be due to either an internal coolant leak on the upper or lower high voltage battery or corrosion on the l
Structure 2019-12-12 · 19N09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
customer satisfaction program 19n09 certain 2011-2014 model year edge and mkx and 2013-2014 model year explorer, flex, and mkt vehicles left front door latch extended coverage
Electrical System 2019-10-04 · SSM 48243 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2012-2016 focus electric vehicles may abort the battery energy control module (becm) on demand self-test but pass the network test. this is the result of a module software limitation and does not indicate an issue is present in the becm. if the vehicle has the stop safely now message and no oth
Power Train 2018-10-04 · SSM 47563 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2011-2014 fiesta and 2012-2014 focus vehicles equipped with a dps6 transmission may experience a fluid leak between the engine and transmission. be aware that the engine oil and dps6 transmission fluid are similar in color and texture. a transmission fluid leak at the input shaft seal can cause
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2018-07-20 · SSM 47428 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2013-2018 fusion energi, 2012-2018 focus electric and 2013-2017 c-max energi vehicles equipped with a tcu built on or before 11-oct-2017 may exhibit a discharged battery, inoperative remote features via myford mobile app, incomplete user authorization and/or accessory protocol interface module
Equipment 2018-07-20 · tsb18-2216 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2012-2018 focus electric, 2013-2017 c-max energi, and 2013-2018 fusion energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (phev) may exhibit the high voltage (hv) battery failing to charge while connected to the second generation 120-volt electric vehicle service equipment (evse) charge cord. follow the s
Showing the 6 most recent of 25 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-02-26 · Electrical System · 50,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 ford focus electric. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start while the battery was fully charged. the message "stop safely now" was displayed. the dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under ford campaign number: 15n03 because the campaign had expired. …”
2021-08-05 · Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery · 45,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 ford focus electric. the contact stated while turning off the vehicle, the lights and radio remained operational which resulted in the battery being drained. the vehicle was diagnosed and repaired; however, the failure persisted. the manufacturer was not informed of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 45,000.…”
2019-07-11 · Power Train · 24,000 mi“car stopped on motion with an alarm stop safely now, wheels lost power, steering wheel was able to function so car had to be pushed to the side of the road.…”
2019-04-03 · Vehicle Speed Control · 91,500 mi“so i was driving home last night in the rain and the speedometer was jumping around a little and the traction control flashed a couple times and i thought 'oh it's just cause the rain' well today the same thing was happening while i was driving. then i got a warning light saying 'low brake fluid' and the brakes locked up while i was doing 30mph. it…”
2018-11-30 · Engine · 41,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus electric. while driving 55 mph, the stop engine now warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was taken to vancouver auto group (6804 ne 40th st, vancouver, wa 98661, 360-992-7285) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. repairs were made, but the failure recurred. th…”
2018-10-22 · Steering:column · 69,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus electric. while driving approximately 50 mph and attempting to turn left, the steering ability seized and the vehicle kept going straight. the contact drove over a sidewalk and the air bags deployed. there were no injuries. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the steering colum…”
2018-04-18 · Steering · 105,000 mi“while in the driveway and stationary, i turned on the car and the "power steering assist" warning light came on. the power steering was not operable and the steering went into manual making it almost impossible to turn the wheel. after the mechanic evaluated this, it was determined the sensor needs to be replaced. the part alone is $1100 and tha…”
2018-04-17 · Engine“takata recall. the transmission has been slipping so when i drive it jerks and feels as if it doesn't want to go. i was told by a mechanic that it was becaus there's a manual transmission and it's supposed to be unserviceable. i was going to a least get the fluid changed in the transmission but there's nondipstick and i was told it's not suppose…”
2017-12-08 · Power Train“this car, i have been trying to get help for a long time and it seem like not one has heard me , not even the dealer, and now hear it is my car is having trouble like the trunk wont open and we tide a stream on it and the lights stay on over a hour. and car jerk when takeing off in speed when change gears.…”
2017-11-28 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i bought this car at honda in arlington off of 20 hwy in 2013 i took it back when i bought it that was pre used , and then it seem like they did not want it back and never want to fix it . and the trans mission is not want to put due to a loud noise, and then the truck want open and the light wanted go off and the alarm want come on, taken to don d…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.