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 2016 record →
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD TRANSIT CONNECT. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.
WHILE DRIVING AT AN ESTIMATED AND CONSTANT 70 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR BEEPED AND "ENGINE MALFUNCTION" DISPLAYED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE THEN SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THE SMELL OF BURNING OIL WAS PRESENT IN THE CABIN. GIVEN THE SPEEDS, THIS WAS DANGEROUS. I HAD TO COAST ACROSS A LANE OF TRAFFIC AND COME TO A STOP IN A GRASSY AREA TO AVOID BLOCKING THE HIGHWAY. HAD THERE BEEN TRAFFIC, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE. THE CAR AT THE TIME WAS APPROXIMATELY THREE MONTHS OLD. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO A DEALER. THE DEALER IS REPAIRING THE CAR AND HAS INDICATED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED (UNDER WARRANTY). THE DEALER ASSERTS THE CAUSE OF THE BURNING OIL SMELL WAS THAT THE CAR WAS DUE FOR AN OIL CHANGE. *TR
FUEL EFFICIENCY FAR FROM STATED. THIS IA AN XLT MODEL WITH A 1.6L ECOBOOST ENGINE, AND A STATED MPG EFFICIENCY OF 25/29. THE ACTUAL MEASURED HWY EFFICIENCY IS 22.3 MPG WHILE ON CRUISE CONTROL, AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY POSTED SPEED LIMITS, ON WIND-LESS, SUNNY DAYS, AND ZERO-LOAD OTHER THAN DRIVER'S WEIGHT. THE EFFICIENCY ABOVE NOTED HAS BEEN REPETITIVELY MEASURED OVER THE FIRST 3,500 MILES OF VEHICLE USE.
TL* THE CONTACT RENTED A 2016 FORD TRANSIT CONNECT. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND A CHIME SOUND ALERTED THREE TIMES. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER THE VEHICLE TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. ONCE RESTARTED, THE VEHICLE CORRECTED THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED THE FAILURE ONCE MORE AFTER APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR MORE OF DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS A RENTAL VEHICLE AND WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WERE UNKNOWN. UPDATED 07/14/16*LJ UPDATED 08/03/16.*JB
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.
Full record for the 2016 Ford Transit Connect → · Every Transit Connect year → · How the figures are calculated →