2013 Ford Transit Connect problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (6) · Engine (5) · Structure:body (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Transit Connect model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
22 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Power Train:shift Linkage/Cable/Rod 2022-06-10 · campaign 22V413000 · 2,925,968 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Risk: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Power Train:shift Linkage/Cable/Rod 2021-05-24 · campaign 21V376000 · 192,080 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2021 Transit Connect vehicles equipped with 2.5L engines. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Risk: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, causing the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the underhood shifter cable bushing, and add a protective cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on June 29, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S24.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine 2017-03-27 · campaign 17V209000 · 208,584 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Escape, 2014-2015 Fiesta ST, 2013-2014 Fusion and 2013-2015 Transit Connect vehicles equipped with 1.6L GTDI engines. If the vehicle is started and driven with an insufficient level of coolant within the engine cooling system, the engine cylinder head may overheat, crack and leak oil.
Risk: If the cylinder head cracks and leaks oil, the oil may contact a hot engine or exhaust component, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install a coolant level sensor and the supporting hardware and software, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed April 21, 2017. The recall began on January 5, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S09.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2014-11-05 · campaign 14V706000 · 34 vehicles
Defect: Cummings Mobility Conversion & Supply (Cummings) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 Ford E-150, E-250, E-350, Chevrolet Express, 2006-2008 Dodge Sprinter, and 2009-2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and 2013 Ford Transit Connect vehicles manufactured January 1, 2006, to October 8, 2014, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation after January 1, 2006. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may cr
Risk: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.
Fix: Cummings will notify owners to take buses to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began January 13, 2015. Owners may contact Cumming's customer service at 1-800-639-5438 or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Cumming's number for this recall is 14E-041.
Service bulletins (31)
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,
Structure 2023-04-04 · SSM 51536 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for 2000-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis purposes is likely to cause errors and is not recommended. it is also not recommended to order a replacement module using a vehicle identification number (vin) from a different vehicle. most modules on these affe
Power Train 2022-04-26 · TSB 22-2066 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2013-2016 fusion, 2013-2018 c-max, 2014-2019 escape, 2014-2021 transit connect, and 2015-2018 edge vehicles may indicate an incorrect shifter lever position. this may be due to the bushing at the transmission end of the shifter lever cable resulting in a mismatch of cluster and selected gear po
Seats 2022-03-24 · TSB 22-2114 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 20-2047 to update the model years affected. some 2013-2022 transit connect vehicles built on or after 1-jan-2013 may exhibit a condition where either section of the second row seat is stuck or difficult to fold or unfold. this may be due to a misrouted cable or a cable th
Showing the 6 most recent of 31 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-03-25 · Suspension“the front suspension subframe crossmember had rusted though and the front tires become out of alignment suddenly causing the vehicle to veer of course. the vehicle is then disabled and must be towed and the front suspension subframe crossmember has to be replaced. …”
2023-06-12 · Power Train“power transmission failure due to electrical issues. 63k miles only. …”
2022-07-14 · Power Train“transmission. i was driving down the road in my ford transit going 65 miles an hour i i started to have major transmission problems from traffic slow down so i slow down with it down to 30 miles an hour after doing so traffic sped back up and i could not get out of third gear when i realized how fast i was going in third gear and it would not shif…”
2022-07-12 · Power Train · 💥 crash“the transit was parked on a slope and was in "park", but it rolled back down the slope and hit a parked car.…”
2022-06-23 · Latches/Locks/Linkages“the contact owns a 2013 ford transit connect. the contact stated while driving 35 mph, the front driver’s side door was unlatched independently. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the contact stated the front driver’s side door also failed to latch. the contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. the vehicl…”
2022-04-21 · Structure:body“the muffler split open most likely from a clog. because of that, the exhaust was directed toward the floor of the truck instead of going out of the muffler. as a result, it burnt through the heat shield, the back of the truck, melted the wiring harness, and burned a hole straight through the fuel tank. a mechanic took out the fuel tank and when it …”
2020-09-11 · Unknown Or Other · 42,000 mi“i turned on my rear defrost this morning. left my driveway and got maybe a half mile and heard a loud pop noise. it blew a hole out of my back door on passenger side. i mean it blew a hole out of it. i have seen online that this has happened to several people with this vehicle.the rear defrost blew a hole in my window! i was driving down the road w…”
2020-09-10 · Seat Belts · 30,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford transit connect. the contact stated that the passenger's side seat belt locked in place with no room to move, making it feel like the passenger would be strangled. the contact called hassett ford located at 3530 sunrise hwy, wantagh, ny 11793, (516) 785-7800, and was informed that there was no recall on the vehicle.…”
2020-08-05 · Power Train · 43,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford transit connect. the contact stated that the gear shifter failed to shift out of park. the vehicle was taken to duval ford (1616 cassat ave, jacksonville, fl 32210) where the gear shifter was replaced. the contact stated that the gear shifter cap came detached allowing her to put her finger inside the shifter and sh…”
2020-05-29 · Structure:body · 95,000 mi“my transit is only 7 year old and the chasis look really bad there is a lot of rust in all chasis. *tr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.