2013 Ford Fiesta: engine and transmission complaints
VERY HIGH COMPLAINT SIGNAL
68%
440 of 646 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system
68% of relevant owner complaints filed with NHTSA on the 2013 Ford Fiesta are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. Well over half of everything owners reported is the drivetrain. That is a severe model-level pattern; every model year we track at this level has a documented failure behind it.
Worse than 90% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).
Excludes 21 airbag, lighting and seat-belt recall complaints that would otherwise mask the signal (unadjusted: 66%).
The percentage is each model year's drivetrain complaint share. No elevated signal describes the model year, not any one car; a well-kept example of a flagged model can still be the right buy, and any of these still needs an inspection.
What owners reported
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES08/21/2023CRASH1 INJURED
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while making a left turn at the traffic light, with her grandchild in a car seat in the rear passenger seat, the rear passenger's side door opened inadvertently. The contact stopped in the middle of the road. A bystander attempted to close the rear passenger's sid…
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (E08/15/2017FIRE1 INJURED
WHILE DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY MY CAR BEGAN SMOKING AND BEGAN TO OVERHEAT WHICH CAUSED A CRACKED CYLINDER HEAD THAT SPRAYED OIL ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF MY HOOD SPARKING A SMALL FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. THE COMPUTER BEGAN TO SHUT THE CAR DOWN AND DISPLAYED A WARNING MESSAGE THAT STATED SUDDEN LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE, PLEASE PR…
POWER TRAIN04/16/2026
The vehicle experienced a sudden transmission failure while driving. Before the failure, the car began shuddering and hesitating during acceleration. It then started making loud metal grinding noises from the transmission area and eventually lost the ability to move properly when placed in Drive or Reverse. This create…
Three of 440 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.
Recall campaigns on this model year (3)
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the agency on April 23, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured Ju…
AIR BAGS
Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles, manufactured from November 3, 2009 through September 21, 2012. The vehicles fail to comply with Federal Mo…
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2…
This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.
Before you buy a 2013 Ford Fiesta
Ask the seller whether the transmission has ever been repaired or replaced, and whether the car has shown shuddering, slipping, delayed or harsh shifts, or a whine at speed.
Drive it from a cold start and long enough to warm up. Many transmission faults hide once the car is warm.
Get an independent pre-purchase inspection from a mechanic you choose, and tell them to focus on the transmission.
3 recall campaigns on this model year. Whether a specific car still has one open depends on the VIN; the report checks that.
Ask for service records. A transmission already replaced under warranty is a different car from one that was not.
Have the VIN?Paste it and get the full report for that car. First report free, then a 30-day pass covers a whole car search.
Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history
report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition
of any individual vehicle.
