10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,271 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Ford Fiesta:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #43

Sep 162019

Fiesta 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. While driving approximately 25-30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to winner Ford (250 haddonfield-berlin rd, cherry hill, NJ 08034, (856) 428-4000) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred four times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

- Barrington, NJ, USA

problem #42

Jul 252019

Fiesta

  • 43,048 miles
I was driving down a city street in my friend's 2012 Ford Fiesta I noticed a weird smell, I kept going about a quarter of a mile til I reached my destination. My friend gets in the car he noticed the smell. I looked out the windshield and I see a lil smoke coming from the hood, all the sudden alot of smoke comes out. I pop the hood shut the car off and get out of there. My friend runs and grabs fire extinguishers him and another man try to open the hood it won't open you could see the flames coming underneath the car then there is a pop. They take a shovel beat on it enough to open it enough where they could put the fire out. Thank god they were there, no one got hurt. I am enclosing pictures of my car, my friend didn't have full coverage insurance so he's without a car right now. All this happened within 10 min.it was very scarey, I'm glad I stopped at my friend's place because I might not have made it out in time.we didn't make a police report nor did we call the fire department.a piece of the car was laying on the ground after the fire.the hood release burned. That's why we couldn't get the hood open. I am sending pictures after the fire. The car lights and the security system still works and it started right after, we turned it off right away

- Port Charlotte, FL, USA

problem #41

Jun 202019

Fiesta

  • miles
After tune up, air mass sensor, camshaft sensor, and crank shaft sensor, oil change, car engine blight remains on, and when air conditioning is turned on car loses power to the point it stall and breaks lock and will roll out of control

- Eastpoint, GA, USA

problem #40

May 242019

Fiesta

  • 86,000 miles
I have a 2012 Ford Fiesta which has had nothing but problems over the course of the time I've had the car. On the Thursday before the memorial day weekend I put the car into reverse and the car wouldn't stop. We were going very slow and thank goodness didn't hit anything. We hit a curb behind us that stopped the car. I shifted into drive and it moved forward. We took it into the dealership that next morning and they replaced the brake master cylinder and the clutch. I've done multiple warranty claims & I've had ongoing trans/clutch issues that finally resulted with as replacement last month. Now the car is no longer jerking and slipping but it's slower with decreased gas mileage. I've had a sync issue/ radio electrical issue and took it in multiple times, it's still not fixed. Recently the radio/sync completely fails but it's intermittent. Now I'm being told that because the sync/radio issue is intermittent, I have to wait until it's not working completely to take it in. In the last 6 weeks the car has been in twice for brake issues, (I took it back twice in the same day + trans replacement) then again two weeks later. I'm on the third time to the dealership over the sync system in the last year, that is still not fixed.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #39

Jan 012018

Fiesta

  • 150,000 miles
The fuse box is getting moisture causing headlights not to work properly and no fuses or relays can be changed because they are corroded in the box. Car loses power, radio caught fire, doors lock on there own or don't lock at all, major malfunction of all electrical components. 2011 and 2013 were recalled for this issue. Why wasn't 2012? car has issues while driving and it's going to cause an accident if not taken care of.

- Lancaster, OH, USA

problem #38

Jun 162019

Fiesta

  • 85,000 miles
On 6/16/19 I was driving on the I89 in Vermont and both of my headlights went out on the interstate. This scared me as I had no visibility on the interstate. My high beams were able to work, and eventually, I turned by low beams back on. They seemed to work. They then cut out again. This happened off and on for the rest of my drive home. Luckily I was able to make it back home. I took my car to the Ford dealership the next day. Today 6/19/19 they reported that there was corrosion in my fuse box, and they reported the cheapest option was $500 to clean the box, and replace the pins. I asked them what would stop the corrosion, they said there was no guarantee that the corrosion would stop. When I looked online it appears that several other people have had issues with this same problem. So it is only a matter of time before someone driving a Ford Fiesta gets into a car accident because there headlights suddenly stop working on them.

- Winooski, VT, USA

problem #37

Apr 092019

Fiesta

  • 92,000 miles
Recently my Fiesta has been shutting off while driving. It is a manual transmission and I am not stalling. It happens most often while driving at low speeds or switching gears. It is very dangerous and scary.

- Parrish, FL, USA

problem #36

Oct 092018

Fiesta

  • 20,000 miles
Door latches to not work when I was drivin my left door in the back open wide had one accident of

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #35

Sep 272018

Fiesta

  • 112,000 miles
Electrical short of powertrain control module

- Southbury, CT, USA

problem #34

Sep 272018

Fiesta

  • 114,000 miles
I have performed routine maintenance on my car for years. The other day the headlights stopped working suddenly and without warning. The issue ended up being in the fuse box under the hood, which is allowing salt and sand to enter the fuse box without any filtration system of any sort. The low beam relay had completely corroded because of particles getting into the fuse box. We are lucky it is just the lights so far, but unfortunately one of the prongs for the relay was so corroded that it broke off inside the plug. Now, because of Ford's poor design of this device, we have to replace the whole fuse box and everything to which it is attached. This is at least a $1300 job. This could have been a different relay that controls a more essential function of the car but thank goodness we found it when it was affecting the headlights only.

- Augusta, ME, USA

problem #33

Aug 202018

Fiesta

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. While the vehicle was idling at a red light with the brake pedal depressed, it spontaneously accelerated. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact had to turn the vehicle off in order to stop. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence and then towed the following day to automax Ford (3301 E central Texas expressway, killeen, tx 76543) where the total control module was reprogrammed. The contact also stated that the failure occurred two other times since July of 2018. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and filed case number: Cas-15591505. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

- Copperas Cove, TX, USA

problem #32

Jul 312018

Fiesta

  • 103,800 miles
When: On July 31st 2018 during drive home after dark on rural Wisconsin highway both low beam headlights simultaneously failed in 2012 Ford Fiesta leaving driver no option but to use high beams for remainder of drive. Fault: The loss of both low beam headlights simultaneously created a dangerous situation for a driver, and oncoming drivers on rural highways. Cause: Dealership identified the source of the problem; due to relay pins in fuse box corroded off due to corrosion ' had to replace engine fuse box under hood because the pin was corroded off in the fuse box and could not be removed. Additional fuse relays also showing corrosion. Ford has issued the following for the 2011 Ford Fiestas which is related to corrosion and loss of exterior lighting. Unfortunately, nothing is being done currently for model year 2012 Fiestas. Customer satisfaction program 17B16 ' battery junction box clean and seal ' 2011 Ford Fiesta https://Ford.oemdtc.com/3241/customer-satisfaction-program-17B16-battery-junction-box-clean-and-seal-2011-Ford-Fiesta and also, Ford has issued recall 17S14 for (2011 Ford Fiesta) the same issue of corrosion and loss of electrical connectivity for wiring circuits which may make a vehicle less visible to approaching drives which may increase the risk of a crash. In Canada, accumulation of dust deposits which contain deicing salts in the provinces included in this recall that can cause corrosion of fuse and wiring terminals in the battery junction box that may result in the loss of electrical connectivity in some wiring circuits. It is ridiculous for a 6 year old vehicle to lose both headlights due to electrical, and corrosion issues! the repair was close to 1,500.

- Jackson, WI, USA

problem #31

Jan 122016

Fiesta

  • miles
I purchased this car from a used dealer in Jan. 2016 not knowing that there was an issue with the transmission (they won't even take it back). This car cuts off in traffic it has been in the shop more than I have had it and now the dealer is refusing to work on it. I have on several occasions tried to trade it but because of the transmission issue no one will trade it. I have tried to get Ford to buy it back and they won't I do not feel safe driving this car they knew there was/is an issue and they are refusing to repair. I am left to pay for a car that I can drive for fear of it cutting off in traffic and causing a serious accident and hurting or killing me or someone else. Ford cooperation is sending me to Ford dealers that want to sell me new cars I can't afford I am disabled with a limited amount of income. Please anything you can do to help me will be greatly appreciated I have the service tickets for every time it has been in for repair. This is my second complaint to your organization and I have not received a response I complained when I first got the car.

- Roanoke, VA, USA

problem #30

Apr 172017

Fiesta

  • 87,754 miles
At first the radio would make a loud pop and then would stop working. If you shut car off the radio would come back on. It did this randomly for a month. The next month the radio would make ear piercing burst of sounds while radio was playing then radio shut offf. The ear piercing sound would literally scare the bejeebers out of you. The loud crazy blasts from the radio could definitely cause you to have a accident since it just happen randomly an very unexpectedly. Now my radio will not come on at all but the speakers still make noises with the radio off even with the car off with no keys in the car. It has came on so much it is running my battery down. Today I pulled the radio fuse to hopefully keep my battery from dieing. The radio noises happen at all times driving, stationary and while car was turned off.

- Willow Springs, MO, USA

problem #29

Mar 302017

Fiesta

  • 58,000 miles
I purchased the vehicle pre-owned, 55,000 miles. The car drove fine for 3 weeks and after that would shudder when speeding up. Now just three days ago, onjuly 1, 2017, my vehicle would not start at all. The alternator still has power and we have checked relays and fuses and jumped the battery but the car still will not start at all. I turn the key and it makes a clicking noise in my instrument panel and the needles on the panel start flickering. I was able to start it once but the vehicle showed that there was an engine malfunction to service now.

- Del Rio, TX, USA

problem #28

Mar 012017

Fiesta

  • 100,000 miles
Ford Fiesta, 2012 are not worth anyone's money. The moment I got it, the A/C would not blow anything out, my car would stop at stop signs and in the middle of the road when not in motion and trying to pass traffic, which is completely life threatening. It has a bunch of electrical issues and will start flashing (the warning signs) and then stop randomly. It is jerking at almost all times and shuts off a ton, I have gotten it checked multiple times and spent more than I can afford. This vehicle is ridiculous and I intend to tell everyone I know!!! I am always scared when driving my own car that I spent thousands on, Ford needs to figure this out

- Sunnyside, WA, USA

problem #27

Jun 162017

Fiesta

  • 79,255 miles
Lost power while driving, problem occurred 4 times in the span of driving 10 miles, struggled to get home. Occurred while on freeway, at red light, and high speed or slow speed did not matter. Car would ding the alert sound, several warning lights would flash, and I would be immediately be forced to coast to the side of road each time. Three instances posed serious risk to others as my car lost momentum before safely making it off the road, and other cars had to move around my car. Problem matches the manufacturer communication below from 2015, which means this has been a long term design flaw. This needs to be marked as a safety recall. NHTSA id number: 10058725 manufacturer communication number: Sb-15B22 summary on certain vehicles, transmission control module (tcm) had developed electrical circuit failures, resulting in an intermittent transmission engagement loss while driving or a lack of power or no start and software needs to be replaced

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #26

Aug 242016

Fiesta

  • 67,100 miles
Vehicle was stuck in park and could not be shifted into other gears. This occurred after driving the vehicle and shifting into park. Once in park it could not be shifted to any other gear. The car could be started and turned off while in park. All other aspects of the vehicle seemed to be okay. Could be an issue with the interlock mechanism, but needed a new shifter assembly.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #25

Mar 012016

Fiesta

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced loss of power and vibrated abnormally. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission control module and software needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired per service bulletin number: Tsb-15B22 (electrical system, power train); however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #24

Jun 112016

Fiesta

  • 57,000 miles
Takata recall...had radio and speakers replaced but speakers still make popping noise even when car is off, as I open doors or trunk I still hear speakers pop, car was in my driveway with windows down and still hear speakers popping as if it was popcorn in microwave

- Mableton, GA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »