Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Ford Fiesta submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 26 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 26, in the owner's own words
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 110,000. It was later discovered that the actual mileage was 190,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and it was determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the ignition coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the TCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The mechanic informed the contact that it was possibly the battery and the key fob battery that had caused the issues. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where the key fob battery was replaced. The contact replaced the battery independently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Customer satisfaction program 16B11 covers a faulty high speed cooling fan relay. This bulletin was issued on April 5, 2016. I purchased the vehicle on [XXX]. An incorrect relay was installed at the factory, and the program should have replaced the relay with the correct part. This was not performed on my vehicle before I purchased it from Sheehy Ford of Ashland. The faulty relay failed, melting the fuse box in the process and causing the vehicle to overheat and cause permanent severe engine damage. Remnants of the melted relay show the part number, which matches the obsolete part number. Visual comparison of the faulty relay matches the obsolete part as well, and differs from the correct superseded part number relay outlined in the 16B11 bulletin. Ford Motor Company insists my vehicle was not a part of this program and any repairs will not be covered. The build date, make/model/engine, assembly plant and most importantly, part number of the relay and mode of failure exactly match the 16B11 CSP bulletin. Ford denies that there is any issue with my vehicle. Local Ford dealers refer me to Ford Motor Company to escalate this problem, but Ford refuses to investigate. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Trunk latch releases randomly. Like so many other people with this generation of Ford Fiesta. They have taken them in for the same issue and told they don't by the shop that they don't know what the problem is. The problem is random so getting to to happen while at the shop is next to impossible. If the problem can't be reproduced by a garage mechanic, how would Insurance, or police have any luck? There needs to be a recall, because some people are having them pop open while driving at night, and all of a sudden the interior lights come on, safety hazard!!! Some will pop open and kill the battery because the dome light comes on when the trunk opens. Then you're standing in subzero temperatures trying to jump start the car. That in and of itself is a safety issue. No warning lights are associated with this.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, while the transmission was shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, the vehicle was shaking until the transmission had shifted to the higher gears. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle failed to start intermittently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact also stated that the battery had been replaced by a friend approximately 7 times, and once by an O' Riley’s within the past 2 years. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 80,100
My key battery apparently died and the whole car shut off in the middle of the forlane 75 mph. Had no breaks lights, or anything there Should be a warning sign or should let u keep driving to get off the road
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the ignition switched failed to respond after the key was placed in the ignition. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the key needed to be replaced and a new key was cut. The vehicle had been repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
2016 ford fiesta se has had a transmission/clutch problem. It is doing everything that the recall says it's suppose to cover and Ford is not willing to honor and fix it. It's jerking, shaking, and not accelerating properly.
On Sunday December 4th 2022 my car battery died. I called aaa and they sent out a tow company to jump the battery. I noticed for about a month the car made a "ticking" noise. The noise would sound like a "sighing" when parking the vehicle. The passenger side door latch is broken and will no longer lock my door. My minor daughter used to sit up there but now because the door flys open she can no longer sit there. This is a serious safety hazard and needs to be recalled on Ford Fiesta 2016 as well.
Alarm is constantly going off which means I don't know if it's a real intruder or just the door ajar switch, recall affected up until 2015 but the issue keeps going into 2016 ford fiestas, this is a safety issue as we cannot tell if someone is breaking into the car
I HAVE A 2016 FORD FIESTA THIS MODEL CAR DOES NOT COME WITH A GAS CAP. I'VE NOTICED AFTER I FILLED MY CAR UP WITH GAS MY CAR STUTTERS AND STALLS OUT AND SOMETIMES DOESN'T START RIGHT AWAY THIS GOES AWAY AFTER 3 OR 4 TIMES IS STARTING THE CAR BACK UP I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT MY PURGE VALVE FOR THE FORD FIESTA WAS DEFECTIVE I'VE ALREADY HAD THIS REPAIRED AND BELIEVE THIS REPAIR HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM I'VE READ OF OTHER PEOPLE OF THE SAME YEAR MAKE AND MODEL HAVING SIMILAR ISSUES APPARENTLY BECAUSE THE HAS A CAPLESS GAS TANK THIS CREATES AIR POCKETS IN THE FUEL TANK WHICH MESSES UP THE PURGE VALVE OVER TIME.
I BOUGHT MY 2016 FORD FIESTA WITH 31K MILES ON IT. AT THE TIME I DIDN'T RESEARCH TOO DEEPLY INTO THE TRANSMISSION ISSUES THESE MODELS HAVE. SINCE MY CAR HIT ABOUT 45K MILES I'VE EXPERIENCED SHUTTERING, JUMPING, CLICKING, AND ROUGH SHIFTING OR COMPLETE LACK OF SHIFTING IN THE TRANSMISSION WHILE DRIVING SAFELY AND NORMALLY. I'VE EXPERIENCED MY CAR DYING RANDOMLY BECAUSE THE TCM IS FAULTY AND USES ALL THE CAR'S POWER EVEN WHEN THE CAR ISN'T ON. DURING A PERIOD MY CAR WAS HAVING LOTS OF TROUBLE TURNING OVER THE ENGINE TO START. HAD A BUNCH OF VACUUMS AND WIRING REPLACED AND THIS HELPED A BIT WITH THE CAR STARTING. NOW IT'S AT 67K MILES AND I'M COMPLETELY SCARED TO DRIVE IT. IT NEVER FEELS RELIABLE GIVEN THE FAULTY TCM, I'VE HAD TO BUY AN EXTRA PORTABLE CAR JUMP STARTER JUST SO I CAN MAKE SURE I'LL BE ABLE TO DRIVE HOME, AND NOW I JUST WANT FORD TO BUY IT BACK. IT'S OVERALL A FAULTY CAR THAT IS FORESHADOWING A FUTURE OF REPLACING SOMETHING RELATED TO THE TRANSMISSION EVERY 5K MILES WHICH IS RIDICULOUS AND COMPLETELY UNAFFORDABLE. PLEASE REMEDY THIS CATASTROPHIC ISSUE FORD!
MY TRUNK POPS OPEN ON ITS OWN. AT LEAST 3 TIMES A DAY AT RANDOM. GIVING ACCESS INTO THE VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENS WHILE I'M DRIVING AND WHILE THE CAR IS STATIONARY. I HAVE WOKEN UP AT 4 AM AND MY TRUNK BE OPEN. I'VE BEEN DRIVING AT 60MPH AND THE TRUNK OPEN. BEEN IN A DRIVE THROUGH AND THE TRUNK OPEN. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS. MY SON SEEN THE TRUNK WAS OPEN AND SHUT IT REPEATEDLY JUST FOR IT TO OPEN EVERY FEW MINUTES. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THESE AND SIMILAR FORD VEHICLES.
MY BATTERY WENT DEAD ON 5/26/20, IT WAS UNABLE TO BE JUMPED OFF AT AUTO ZONE. I BOUGHT A NEW BATTERY FOR $108. AFTER INSTALLING MY DASH APPEARED TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION SERVICE NOW, PRIOR TO THIS I HAD NO ISSUES OTHER THAN MY PURGE CONTROL VALVE HAS WENT OUT TWICE. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND HE IMMEDIATELY STATED THE BATTERY DYING CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE TO BURN OUT AND THAT IT IS A COMMON ISSUE. HE SAID MY VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN A RECALL/EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT MY VINTAGE WAS NOT INCLUDED AND HE WASN'T SURE WHY. HE SAID IT WOULD BE A $600 FIX TO REACH OUT TO FORD MOTOR COMPANY ABOUT INCLUDING MY VEHICLE WHICH THEY REFUSED AFTER CALLING TWICE. I WAS AT AUTO ZONE WHEN THIS HAPPENED TO HAVE MY BATTERY TESTED BECAUSE 3 TIMES IN THE LAST MONTH I HAVE HAD TROUBLE STARTING MY CAR. I CALLED JENKINS AND WYNN IN CLARKSVILLE TN AS WELL AS FORD MOTOR COMPANY RECALL CUSTOMER RELATIONS TWICE. *BF*JB
PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW CONTROL DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. BLUETOOTH AUDIO SOMETIMES PAUSES FOR NO REASON. CONDITIONS HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING OR STATIONARY.
TUVE PROBLEMA CON LA COMPUTADORA Y TRANSMISIN AUTOMTICA, DESDE QUE SE ADQUIRI LA UNIDAD REPORTE PROBLEMA CON LOS ELEVADORES DEL AUTO YA QUE NO SE TRABAN A SUBIR Y BAJAR, NO HAN DADO SOLUCIN A ESTE PROBLEMA Y SOLO LO 'RESUELVEN CON LUBRICANTE' . LA INTENSIDAD DEL TABLERO CAMBIA CONSTANTEMENTE, AL TRATAR DE SUBIR O BAJAR EL VOLUMEN DEL ESTERO NO LO HACE DE MANERA CORRECTA
THE HORN DOES NOT WORK. I NEVER TESTED THE HORN WHEN I TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST DRIVE, AND ONLY DISCOVERED THIS FACT 2 WEEKS AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE.. THE DEALER CLAIMS THEY DID A THOROUGH SAFETY CHECK WHICH IS NOT THE CASE. I SIGNED THE 'SOLD AS IS' WAIVER SO I DON'T HAVE MUCH RECOURSE HERE, BUT THE DEALER SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR SELLING A VEHICLE THAT DOES NOT MEET THE BASIC SAFETY STANDARDS.
OVER THE SUMMER 2019, PASSENGER LEFT SIDE DOOR DID NOT LATCH. CHILD LOCK WAS ON. UPON DISCOVERY OF DEFECT, IT WAS TAKEN TO FORD TO REPAIR. ON NOVEMBER 12, 2019, DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR DID NOT WANT TO LATCH. WENT TO CHECK ON THE CAR NEXT DAY, AND THE DOOR LATCHES WITHOUT PROBLEMS MORE THAN ONCE. FILING A COMPLAINT BECAUSE IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN THE SAME YEAR WITH DIFFERENT CAR DOORS. WILL TAKE TO FORD AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 15TH TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. BOTH TIMES THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN THIS OCCURRED.
WHEN I REFUEL IT TAKES SEVERAL TRIES TO GET VEHICLE RESTARTED AND NEED TO PUMP ACCELERATOR TO KEEP IT FROM DYING. THE SMELL OF GAS IS BAD. COME TO A RED LIGHT STALLS AND HARD TO RESTART. AIR BAG LIGHT ON DASH AND NEVER GOES OUT. RPM SURGE AND CAR WILL LUNGE, VERY SCARY. JUST STARTED A LOUD CLICKING/THUMPING NOISE, FOUND OUT COULD BE ACTUATOR. AC WILL STOP BLOWING COOL AND BEGIN AGAIN. REPAIR SHOP CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY. FOR A NEW CAR HAS MANY ISSUES FOR BEING OUT FOR SUCH A SHORT TIME.
MY AIRBAG LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. ALSO TIRE LOW LIGHT IS COMING ON I ALSO HEAR A BANGING NOISE WHEN I USE THE HEAT OR AIR., THIS HAPPENS WHETHER DRIVING OR PARKED.
MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 50000 MILES AND ALREADY BEEN TO THE SHOP DUE TO NOT STARTING. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BATTERY HAD A BAD CELL. GOT THE BATTERY REPLACED AND ALL WORKED FINE. 2 MONTHS LATER THE SAME ISSUES ARE HAPPENING AGAIN. WILL GO TO THE SHOP THIS WEEK. HOPEFULLY THEY VAN FIND OUT WHAT'S WRONG.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 FORD FIESTA. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, FLAMES APPEARED UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WHEN HE EXITED THE VEHICLE AND OPENED THE HOOD, THE CONTACT NOTICED FLAMES BETWEEN THE BATTERY AND THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. IT WAS UNKNOWN IF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE AND IF THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 23,500.
CAR PARKED, BATTERY DEAD. JUMP STARTED CAR. CAR STARTED. ALL WARNING LIGHTS LIT ON DASH. ONLINE SEARCH RECOMMENDED DRIVING CAR TO RESET THE PROGRAMS. DROVE CAR AROUND BLOCK, CAR LOST ACCELERATION. FELT AS THOUGH TRANSMISSION WAS IN NEUTRAL. THE ENGINE REVVED WHILE GIVING GAS BUT WOULD NOT MOVE. TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. HAD CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD FIESTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WHILE IN AN INTERSECTION. THE FAILURE OCCURED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON TWO OTHER OCCATIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 46,000. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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