I just found out about the recall after the fire. Everyone in the car was okay it is currently parked as I am finding somewhere open to be able to look at my car the fire department looked at the car and said it looked to be electrical and there were no warning signs or anything it just caught fire when driving down the freeway
2013 Ford Focus complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2013 record →
Steering rack failed while driving. Leaving parking lot steering started to make a grinding noise and almost immdeiatly locked in place when on the road.
This vehicle was brought into jiffy lube and we inspected the vehicle. We noticed rust on the passenger rear of the car and we looked at the brakes on the passenger rear and there is little to almost no rotor left maybe a fingernail thin and it is not attached to the wheel anymore it has been cut from it and now is hanging on by what’s left of the brake pad. We gave him almost more than half off of what we can do to get it fixed and give the oil change what he came in for for free but declined and just wanted the oil change. I was scared for him to leave the shop because it is unsafe and endangering me and other people that are on the road around this area. But the customer did not seem to care how dangerous it could actually be on the road and didn’t seem like he was in any rush to get it fixed as well.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contacted that after driving her vehicle an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact asked a person nearby what the warning light meant and was informed that there was a failure with the transmission. The contact then became aware that it was difficult to shift the vehicle into gear. The contact shifted the gear shifter into park(P) however, the gear shift indicator did not show the vehicle being in park(P). The contact stated that the vehicle then started rolling backwards. The contact then took her vehicle to the dealer and was informed that her vehicle could not be repaired unless the warning light was illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 36,900.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered, vibrated, and lost motive power. During the failure, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The contact also indicated that the powertrain had been serviced several times under the same failure. No further information was available. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
I have had my car in at the ford dealership and I have been waiting on parts to come in. The recalls on the car which are the transmission control module and the gas tank deformation recall have not been completed on my vehicle but is showing up in the system as repaired. I have been waiting for over 10 months for these parts to come in for the repairs to be done. Now my car isn’t drivable and just sits in my driveway.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle operated as a stick shift despite being an automatic vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the dual clutch assembly; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the same part was replaced a total of 10 times; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.
The transmission/clutch shutters between gears and has gotten progressively worse. I had the transmission fluid flushed at 30,000. Car now has 34,000 miles. The shutter/slip is now dramatic enough that I feel the car is not safe to drive.
There's an extended warranty on the TCMS on the fiestas and focuses from Ford from like 2011 to 16. I took advantage of them to replace the TCM but due to the TCM I guess malfunctioning the clutch itself has went out and now that's like dollars so the transmission control module in the clutch I feel should be covered under the customer satisfaction.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that since owning the vehicle, the transmission would either slip out of gear, hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal, or stall without warning. The contact had previously taken her vehicle to the dealer and had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, she was recently informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and filed a complaint. The contact was later referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 6.
Latch on hatchback doesn't latch, or unlatches, in cold temperatures. Has happened multiple times, and results in rapid cycling of the door locks on the rest of the vehicle as a result of the auto-unlocking configuration.
There are multiple issues going wrong with my car and I have 5 children and this makes me angry and scared to drive it 1. Vehicle completely shuts down if you go under 1/4 tank and NOT on red at all! No gas light or anything 2. The hesitation from stop to go is getting worse" mechanics tell me this is normal" for a focus and now sometimes when accelerating on the highway it gets stuck in certain speeds and feels rougher 3. Now there is a chain like rattling noise upon idle that is annoying and embarrassing 4 the codes state oxygen sensor ,speed sensor,fuel valve issue, and power train and abs... It's 100.00 per issue to diagnose. How is anyone able to afford this? I'm not a mechanic but everytime I take my car in they give it back saying there's no issue or I have to pay more fees to find the issue before anything can be replaced? This is crazy! I don't feel safe driving this car with my babies in it but with student loans and my kids school costs I can't seem to save if I'm paying all these fees to try to figure out what the issues are . The front windshield is horrible because it's hard to see out of even when I clean it w auto glass cleaner, which I have never experienced before and is very dangerous.
Transmission keeps slipping
Car won't go in gear when you come to stop, or in middle of driving on beltway and you can't get over. I almost caused several accidents, cause got stuck in middle of rd for 20 minutes. lucky I had cones.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while accelerating from a stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle hesitated. The contact stated that the front-end of the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The shaking ceased after exceeding an unknown speed. The contact stated that the failure had become consistent. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.
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Radio makes loud popping noises on occasion. This is available for inspection upon request assuming a fix is not made. This loud noise could put the driver and others at risk because loud popping noises could scare dive. This problem has been inspected and confirmed by an audio shop. The radio works on occasion but often has popping sound and cuts out.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the transmission fault failure service now warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving to her residence and then the engine fault failure service now warning light also illuminated. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission control module to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with an unknown Manufacturer Communications however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,015. THE CHAMPAIGN IS 14M02. THIS IS THE CODE THAT WAS MISSING.
I’ve seen multiple recalls on the electric power steering with ford and recently I lost all power steering in my 2013 Ford Focus SE and know it’s been a problem for other fords like mine. My vehicle has 119,000 miles. I want to know why there are recalls for other ford cars for the exact same issue but not the 2013 focus
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving, the trunk would automatically open. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The dealer was contacted several times to have the failure repaired however he was advised that the parts to repair the trunk was not available. The contact stated the most recent time that the failure occurred his trunk had opened, causing him to run over an object underneath the vehicle, which caused damage to the brakes and the axel. The contact stated he currently drives with a lock on the trunk to prevent it from opening automatically. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The mileage failure was 131,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would shudder and would not accelerate as designed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the dual-clutch transmission to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer to be repaired under an unknown transmission recall, and he was informed that it would be two months before the vehicle could be repaired. However, the contact stated that 4 months later, the vehicle was still at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact stated that the fuel gauge was incorrectly showing that there was a specific amount of fuel to empty ratio on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at 20-30 MPH, the vehicle started jerking. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove to a stop sign and waited for traffic to subside before crossing to the other side of the road as the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact stated that as she began to drive, the vehicle continued to jerk and downshift as if it was going to stall. The contact stated that she continued to depress the accelerator pedal and the vehicle accelerated to 60 MPH, then downshifted again to 20 MPH. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission clutch had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,637.
This car has a bad clutch/Auto transmission problem. It shudders and has to be replaced. I had mine replaced at 67,206 miles. Now 15,000 miles later, it has to be replaced again. Ford knows of this problem. Just about everyone who owns this car has had at least 1 replaced if not 3. Ford knows of the problem. Ford should have to pay for my repair. I am sure lots of other focus owners would like to get them replaced or get reimbursed for repairs they were forced to pay for.
While driving the vehicle the power steering completely failed and it became impossible to steer (except with great effort). If this had happened on the highway at speed it could easily have caused a major accident. I have seen hundreds of complaints about this problem on the internet, but there has been no recall for this highly dangerous defect.
My Ford Focus Electric has been experiencing sudden loss of power and then getting "stop safely now" messages. After a while it will run again. I brought it to Phil Long Ford of Denver back in August and they hooked up a testing unit and said they found nothing. During September, the car experience the "SSN" failure, and then would not start. I brought it to Phil Long Ford and they said it was a battery failure and would cost $19,000 to replace the battery and control unit. I researched the issue and see the Focus Electric was recalled for sudden loss of power while driving. It is NHTSA Campaign ID 13V523000 and NTHSA Action Number PE13031 . I asked Phil Long Ford to perform the recall and make the car safe to drive. They refused.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that his vehicle would stall soon after filling up as the check engine light would illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle had been serviced prior to the failure under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000(FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). Both the dealer and the manufacturer have been notified of the failure and both informed him that they could not offer any additional service. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.
The system has not failed yet, but the exterior lights of this car are a safety concern to me and my family. There is no visibility at night, when it is raining, or any tough conditions on the road. With no proper illumination, the risk for an accident is higher. These exterior lights need to be replaced with better quality lights. I called the Ford dealership where I bought the car and I gave them my car pin number, and they told me there are no recalls for this vehicle regarding exterior lights.
On the freeway and I received an error message stating to put the transmission on park on the interstate and the car shut down and almost hit several vehicles. This is very unsafe and don’t want anyone else to experience this. It was telling me to put it in park and I couldn’t shift it to park because I didn’t want the car go in a dead stop on a 5 lane freeway. And it has this bad shudder and I’ve replaced several components and find this very unsafe to drive as well as I feel like I’m going to hit a car in front of me!
Power steering assist failed while driving on the highway. I pulled over and turned off the car to investigate and the steering wheel locked up.
I have a 2013 Ford Focus 4 Door Hatchback, It is at 70k miles and has been giving problems taking off from first gear. I took to Ford dealer to be evaluated and it’s the dul clutch system going bad which they have had many issues with. I feel is a safety issue I’m getting ready to have a baby and what if my car doesn’t go and hesitates and someone hits me or I get stuck in the middle of traffic! They had a warranty service for this issue on my exact car but you had to receive a paper in the mail to have the issue fixed which I am not the first owner and didn’t receive the letter. They also upped the warranty on the vehicle to 7 years 100k miles and unfortunately my vehicle was driven to little for the problem to become noticeable in the 7 years as it only has 70k on it. I called customer relations to see if they could cover this because it’s only fair they replace and fix since it’s been a on going issue with these vehicles and only has 70k on it.
Check engine light came on Saturday morning on my way to work, When checked it comes up as fault codes P0420, with secondary codes of P144A - EVAP Emission System Purge Vapor Line Restricted/blocked, P1450 - Unable to bleed up fuel tank vacuum, and P0131 - O2 Circuit Low Voltage (Bank 1, Sensor 1), And started stalling after putting new gas in only, and now hesitates at lower gears and has a rougher then normal idle with the rps not staying steady, Also when doing a VIN check on Fords website, or the NHTSA lookup it does not show up as a recall, however when I do a full VIN check it does show under the recalls page, I'm not sure if they marked it as completed for the VIN of this vehicle or not but its doing literally all the stuff stated in Ford Safety Recall 18S32 18V735000 or 19S22 19V515000, but when trying to chat Ford about it they deny there is one even though the NHTSA OVERVIEW states: All of the affected vehicles previously had Ford Safety Recall 18S32 performed; however, updated powertrain control module (PCM) software was not available at that time. Ford Motor Company wants to ensure the software is updated to the most current release available. In some of the affected vehicles, the PCM software may not adequately detect a stuck-open canister purge valve (CPV) within the fuel vapor system. If the CPV malfunctions and sticks open, it can lead to excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor system, allowing the plastic fuel tank to deform. This can cause the following symptoms:
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the windshield wipers were inadvertently activated. The windshield wipers failed to operate when the contact attempted to activate the wipers. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle when it rained due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic informed the contact that an unknown part needed to be replaced and the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer for repair. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not manufactured with the unknown part and the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while he was at a stop sign, the vehicle inadvertently started shuddering significantly. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle as he was close to arriving at his residence. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the automatic clutch transmission needed to be replaced and that the failure was related to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the warning light illuminated indicating that the transmission was hot. The contact was forced to stop and allow the transmission to cool down before proceeding whenever the warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to exceed 50 MPH. Additionally, whenever the vehicle was driven for an extended period, the transmission warning light would illuminate. The contact stated that she took the vehicle to the dealer and the TCM was replaced. The contact was also informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the clutch had been previously repaired under recall however, the vehicle started to experience the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and informed that she would be responsible for the repair. The failure mileage was 150,0Hotline QCF00.
Daughter's car has hesitation when driving, took to son who is mechanic. He said it has hesitation, cough idle, loss of power and the gas tank is malformed. He said he looked up the vin and it showed recall 18532-51. I looked on fords website and see that this is recall for their reference number 19S22. My son said this is dangerous because that issue with the fuel tank vacuum could cause the gas tank to crack. I called ford service center to schedule a recall repair but they told me her vin does not show that recall. This car has all the symtoms of the recall, the vin showed up for my son, and the recall is mentioned on fords werbsite. We need to have this repaired. It is a known issue for 2012-2013 ford focuses. Why wouldn't her car be covered??
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that she was unable to add more than 3 gallons of fuel to the vehicle. The contact also stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they stated that the vapor canister needed replacement. The contact stated that for the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The contact mentioned that the previous owner had experienced the failure starting in 2018. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering assist fault warning message was displayed. The vehicle lost power steering and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the failure was corrected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with steering control module failure. The steering control module and rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact also stated that the passenger’s side air bag was defective and would not recognize an occupant seated in the passenger’s seat. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they inspected the vehicle and made repairs; however, both failures returned soon after the repairs. The contact stated that she had sent a letter to the manufacturer for assistance but had not received a response. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 66,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where repairs to the transmission were performed; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
This car started to make loud engine noises which caused the car to shut off then it restarted on it's on I finally got it to parking lot when I cut it off it still was rattling and clacking like I was cranking it up on the left side of engine so I waited till about 30 minutes what ever it was it killed my battery then it started back up again but then through a check engine light on but when I got it checked it wouldn't read any codes so the display on board of the car read transmission shift in reverse but I wasn't in reverse so it was stuck in transmission mode and could not drive it I got it at a shop which they only would say a transmission, but they only wants to put a transmission in with out checking if it could be anything else like a electrical problem but he says no a transmission so now I'm only at 150k miles and this goes out without notice, I even asked about the transmission acuator but he says no the whole transmission, I just got the car like 3 months ago, and that is no good
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to drive to his residence at 40 MPH but felt that the vehicle was running out of fuel. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V495000 (Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 93,783.
Transmission. The check engine light came on. After I shut it off it wouldn't start again. If I put it in natural it would start. Brought it to a garage and they said i needed newTransmission. This happened in June. The garage looked it up and said there was a recall on on 2013 focus. Called holt motors in cokato, mn and they said there was no recalls on them.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle started to shudder. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer but was unaware of the diagnostic result. The contact was also unaware of what repair was performed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The contact took the vehicle to a second local dealer, Bill Pierre Ford Service & Parts Department (12531 30th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125: (206) 364-1095) on 1/1/2018 but was unaware of the diagnostic test results. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Approaching the George Washington bridge, I was in very very heavy traffic, stopping, starting, going super slowly. Warning light came on telling me to get off the road safely and let the transmission rest for 5 minutes. I followed directions then it happened again, stopped, waited, and it happened again. It is a dangerous area to pull off the road, very narrow breakdown lanes, big trucks, etc etc. Apparently, this is a chronic problem with the Ford Focus of certain years. There are some situations when one cannot get off the road safely, so this is potentially very dangerous. If one doesn't follow the directions one can have an even more serious transmission failure.
- Steering rack and pinion failed while driving and is currently being repaired at dealership - Safety was out at risk due to the malfunctioning occurring while car was being driven. Steering became extremely difficult and felt as if wheel was locking-up. - Car was taken to dealership twice regarding the malfunction. First resolution was updating the power steering control module software. Steering was fixed for one week before the issue re-appeared while driving. During second visit at the dealership, it was determined that the steering rack and pinion will need replacing. - There was no warning messages or symptoms prior to the malfunctioning occurring.
Transmission stalled on highway. Have had this car three days and already have stalling out and no power problems! This car is a dangerous vehicle! My 17 year old grandson was almost hit by a truck. The dealership said no problems with the transmission on this car, but after reading all the information about the transmission and many other safety issues, all of these cars should be removed and replaced. Ford made a really dangerous car in those years. It should get a zero safety rating. And the locks are a huge safety issue! Platte valley ford in Kearney said they would look at the lock recall when we brought the car back for transmission flush, but after purchasing this dangerous car three days ago, and already having this transmission stalling out problem, it is time to take legal action! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Powertrain loss and loss of engine power, power control module. Engine failure on a busy highway. Putting me at risk of an accident. The car has been serviced by an independent service center. Has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer. Check engine and other warning lamps appeared
On September 25, 2021 around 11:30pm, I was driving and the steering wheel happened to lock out of nowhere and I’m not able to turn correctly. It was a very dangerous situation and I couldn’t turn and the car was going straight. I was very close to get into a car accident. I bought car without any issues and I’ve been taking good care of it and out of nowhere the steering wheel locked on me and gave me a signal saying “steering loss stop safely” i went to advanced parts to have it tested on a Sunday and they said I needed to replace my catalyst system efficiency which I was aware of that needed to replaced but nothing else showed besides the code they gave me P0420. The vehicle hasn’t been Inspected or component by a insurance company or others.
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NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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