10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 20,752 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
My oil light is flickering. I have taken it to 3 different mechanics, one of which is a Ford dealership. Oil is getting on the timing belt, causing it to fray. Oil is being prevented from getting to the engine efficiently. They all state that the problem is a design issue, and that having it repaired will fix it for awhile, but the problem will continue later.
- Cartersville , GA, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart after several minutes each time. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,000.
- Archdale, NC, USA
The 2nd engine for this car en 4 years 6 months that I have with it.. the dealer doesnt want to repair it, and I bring to them to check for that reason and they doesnt found nothing, months later do 2 times the oil change and less than 4 thousand miles (6 weeks) the car doesnt have oil and engine no working... Expensive to repair a lemon car
- Riverbank, CA, USA
Oil pump tensioner failed without warning causing engine failure. Upon research, it's become a know issue in ecoboost 1.0 engines with Ford. Red oil pressure light comes on followed shortly by engine fault display. Confirmed by dealership.
- Moose Lake, MN, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to jerk. The contact was able to park at a nearby gas station and the check engine warning light turned off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with needing the engine filter to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to a second independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine and engine assembly to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, and the contact was informed after the repair that the catalytic converter also needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic replaced the catalytic converter and the oxygen sensors. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000
- Cleveland, OH, USA
Several weeks ago, my "ENGINE LIGHT" came on. I went to the mechanics and they diagnosed it as a "CLUTCHED MOTOR" My A&B clutches are affected by this. Now my car does a little jerk when I drive it sometimes. I do the proper maintenance on it when it needs to be done, so I'm not sure why this all is happening. I would appreciate if I could get some type of understanding and/or feedback on this situation.
- Lawton, OK, USA
[XXX], oil light came on, and engine fault light, That day I made a appt at the dewey ford dealership, in ankeny iowa, for monday, august 8..., I had no car problems before this date ( the 5th) august 9th, dewey texts me to let me know, the oil pump failed, and there is metal contamination in the engine and the turbo, I need a new engine and turbo charger.. to the tune of $6249.71 dollars my car is a 2018 ford focus with 50.500 miles on it !! They are saying there is not any warranty on the car, .. I see that there are some class action lawsuits for ford, with the very problem I am describing.. of course no one from ford has mentioned that... please let me know what to do... Thankyou for your help [XXX] [XXX] [XXX].. text only please.. dont hear well ( or e mail ) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Des Moines, IA, USA
As I was driving my 2018 Ford Focus, the check engine flashed on. Almost as soon as I noticed it flashed on, it went away. Several more miles down the interstate, it came on again. Almost as soon as it came on, a warning displayed stating Engine Temp Hot, Stop Safely. As I started to pull over onto the shoulder, the power steering went out and then the brakes became extremely hard to push in. As my car slowed down I noticed smoke and as soon as we stopped flames came out from under the hood of the car. I called 911 and the Indiana State Police came and Incident # 2023-00344031 was filed after Pike Township Fire department extinguished the flames. State Farm Insurance was contacted and my car was deemed a total loss. I have photos but the website wouldn't upload the photos.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
I brought my 2018 Ford focus in July 22 2021. I took it in because it had taken over an hour to crank and when it did crank it get really bad had it brought to Green Ford in Greensboro North Carolina. They said they fixed it. I end up having to bring it back the next day. When I brought it back they said that the head gaskets had cracked so they were going to replace and the engine. The engine was on back order. The engine was on backorder. They finally had it fixed and ready for me September 16th, 2021. May 26th, 2022. I brought it down to town and country Ford in Charlotte, North Carolina because I had a light on and something smell like it was burning. They informed me that my engine once again had overheated and a head gasket was cracked. Again, the engine was on backorder so I received my car June 22nd 2022. At that time I was told that my warranty was 60,000 mi or 5 years. July 24th 2023 driving home from work. My car overheated and I pulled over and had called it to be towed into green ford in Greensboro, North Carolina again. They called July 25th, 2022 stating that the engine had blown again. But this time is because the fan had died in that my car was not under warranty. I had asked for the invoice at green ford from the back in July 22,2021. As my stepfather and I were looking over both invoices, we noticed that green Ford had a code on there for a remanufactured engine/ OEM long block. When called about this they stated that's how they bill for labor. I'll try to call customer service with Ford. They can't give me any information on how they bill for labor. My complaint is that I've had two engines put into my car in a year and a half and no one's wanting to figure out why my car is overheating. I believe that it have been the fan the whole time. Down for the third time. My engine is blown. I have no warranty and they're trying to charge me $9,500 for parts and labor.
- Greensboro, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the purge valve and coolant reservoir needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the transmission control module (TCM) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 63,691.
- Newport News, VA, USA
July 9, 2023 Rough idle and hesitant to start. No check engine light no codes on reader. Had oil changed as part of routine scheduled maintenance and was told coolant was low and topped off. July 13 noticed coolant at low on coolant reservoir. July 14 car shut off getting off highway driving to work. Check engine light now illuminated. I was able to restart the car but started to overheat and got overheating warning. Turned off ignition and restarted did not get overheating warning until I started driving. 8 hours later coolant reservoir below low line, added coolant and attempted to drive home, car shut off. Having car towed to dealership that replaced the engine. Engine only has 10,000 miles but odometer reads 68,000 Ford says no warranty is on the replacement motor.
- Martinsburg, WV, USA
Car was hesitant to start, then shut off. Tried to start ignition and received warning on dash of engine failure. Was towed to dealership, engine needed to be replaced due to timing chain being dislodged and destroying lower part of engine. 54,000 miles
- Martinsburg, WV, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The service engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle eventually restarted and was driven to an independent mechanic. The contact was notified of fuel tank failure caused by an excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 39,500.
- Campbell, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The oil, battery, and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact used an ODB scanner to diagnose the vehicle however, the contact was unable to retrieve a trouble code. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump had failed, and the turbo charger shattered, and pieces entered the engine block. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
- Saint Louis Park, MN, USA
Every time I start to accelerate from a stop. The transmission starts to stutter heavily and many times there were times the car would not accelerate causing the cars behind me to stop suddenly as to not hit me. Very dangerous as this is not normal which means something is wrong and one day it will just not accelerate at all and could cause a very bad accident. The next question asks date of the incident, it happened from the time I bought the vehicle three years ago to current. Ford says they are aware but no recall.
- Davenport, FL, USA
The engine component transmission failed. Yes it-??s available for inspection on request. I was driving my car on the highway and out of nowhere the car went into limp mode, no lights or anything appeared on the car prior to this, when the car went into limp mode it began going 7 mph on the highway causing myself to be in danger. Multiple repair shops have inspected the vehicle. No warning lamps or symptoms appeared prior to failure.
- Charlotte , NC, USA
My 2018 Ford Focus has a recall, it has been in the service center since November for non-repairable issues. Ford Motor company has lacked transparency and disclosures by lying about the recalls and defects as more than one the Ford certified dealership confirmed my emissions warranty and recall on parts but the manufacture continues to deny any sort of warranty and recall which is -??VIN-?? specific but my engine and transmission falls under the classification of the recall -??1.0L Fox GTDI engine and a 6-speed manual transmission.-?? Recall is for 2016-2018 and mine is a 2018. The condition and symptoms of just under 49k miles has these ongoing, Non-repairable issues as it-??s since had its Clutch motor replaced, Transmission Control Module that was on a National back order because thousands of other vehicles identical to mine have the same issues but some do and some have -??no recalls on their VINs-?? but after even this part was replaced, my vehicle still being in the service center, just like other past and pending lawsuits have stated - one part is replaced and the other malfunctions because now, after 5 months and four clear diagnostics - after the TCM was replaced, my vehicles Clutch Levers have malfunctioned all while still not operating the vehicle. The battery was also completely dead after being tested and fully replaced less than 3k miles ago. These Clutch Levers part is apparently not covered under any warranties and the manufacturer is not willing to pay for out of pocket expenses nor am I in the position to continue to invest in repairing, diagnosis, insurances, transportation, etc., but I don-??t want to sell a vehicle that-??s not safe to drive. I-??d like some sort of an arbitration or buy-back option with the manufacturer but they-??ve declined accountability because they-??ve stated my VIN has no recall, and they-??re administered from this department. I-??ve filed several ongoing claims and I really hope this could be investigated internally as time is of the essence!
- San Diego , CA, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked, lost motive power, and stalled. The vehicle was able to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting, and while shifting into reverse(R). The contact used an ODB reader and retrieved fault codes for the fuel pressure sensor and fuel pump. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel pressure sensor and fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
- Lakeland, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, the engine failed to turn over. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump tension assembly and the turbo charger failed to operate as designed. The contact was informed that the engine and the oil pump tension assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000
- Kenosha, WI, USA
- Erlanger, KY, USA