Free. Instant. No signup. Pulls recalls and complaints for your exact vehicle.

Couldn't find that VIN. Check the digits and try again.

ProblemsByVin Index / 2016-FORD-FIESTA / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2016 Ford Fiesta owner complaints

178 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 1 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

powertrain 10 complaints shown

99 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $2,500 · see powertrain cluster analysis →
12/27/2021 65,000 mi ODI #11445142.0

The contact owns a 2016 FORD Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle's transmission would suddenly slip while driving at various speeds. The contact would have to release some pressure on the acceleration pedal till the transmission realigns itself. The failure could occur several times in one day. The failure's occurrence had become more frequent. The vehicle's locking system for the hood had began to illuminate as open and or it had been tampered with, however, this had self- corrected since then. There had been several other electrical on and off failures, however, the transmission slipping had been the most present and frequently increasing of all they had experienced. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who confirmed the transmission had failed and needed to be r

12/27/2021 65,000 mi ODI #11445139.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the transmission would suddenly slip while driving at various speeds. The contact would let up off the accelerator pedal until the transmission realigned itself. The failure recurred several times per day. The failure had become more frequent. The hood ajar warning light would illuminate inadvertently. There were several other unknown electrical failures experienced. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who confirmed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact called the manufacturer and a case was opened. The contract was instructed to report the failure to NHTSA and to have the dealer diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not di

12/21/2023 ODI #11561347.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH the engine began to smoke. The engine light was illuminated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The engine was replaced. The contact then stated that 4 months after while driving the contact was depressing the accelerator and the vehicle would not pass 5 MPH. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The dealer was contacted and stated that next appointment was 2 months wait. The manufacture was not contacted. The failure milage was 86000. VIN tool confirmed no open recalls.

12/12/2023 69,000 mi ODI #11559739.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D), the vehicle rolled but failed to respond as needed with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle then stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. The “Service Transmission” warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module (TCM) and the contact was informed that the TCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 69,0

12/11/2023 110,000 mi ODI #11559470.0

The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to reverse. The service now warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was informed that the failure was due to the TCM. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

12/07/2023 ODI #11558958.0

The vehicle is experiencing a common know issue with the TCM. After power loss, after having the battery replaced, the vehicle was having transmission issues. The Codes pulled from the car were P06B8 and P0606. These codes are well know with the Ford Fiesta for failure of the TCM. There is an extended warranty coverage for 2011-2015 Fiestas that should clearly extend to this year as well. It has the same transmission. Ford claims they corrected the issue with new parts. The part number on the cars PCM matches those of the extended warranty. The warranty is to extend to 100,000 miles or 10 years. The vehicle meets both those requirements. The vehicle was manufactured in the same facility in Mexico that the other faulty modules were installed. It was manufactured only a few months after the

12/06/2024 71,600 mi ODI #11629185.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving 25-30 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering as if it would stall, and the vehicle made an abnormal whining sound. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while driving over a speed bump. The contact had noticed that the failure mostly occurred while driving at low speeds and while the RPMs were low. Additionally, the contact stated that the transmission was slipping while driving and making right turns. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer determined that the failure was related to an undisclosed recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the

12/02/2022 100,000 mi ODI #11495778.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the transmission control module failed after the battery was replaced. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the TCM needed to be replaced due to error code P0606. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

11/15/2022 140,000 mi ODI #11493704.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the transmission would rev upon depression of the brake pedal with the power train malfunction indicator light displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle had yet to serviced or diagnosed for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle and was given a case number. The contact was also referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

11/15/2021 76,000 mi ODI #11440442.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle would shudder with a grinding noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the clutch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The clutch was replaced but the failure reoccurred. The contact indicated that a second clutch replacement was performed however, recently the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.

electrical 3 complaints shown

19 total in this category · severe · avg repair $850 · see electrical cluster analysis →
12/07/2022 ODI #11496491.0

On Sunday December 4th 2022 my car battery died. I called aaa and they sent out a tow company to jump the battery. I noticed for about a month the car made a "ticking" noise. The noise would sound like a "sighing" when parking the vehicle. The passenger side door latch is broken and will no longer lock my door. My minor daughter used to sit up there but now because the door flys open she can no longer sit there. This is a serious safety hazard and needs to be recalled on Ford Fiesta 2016 as well.

11/18/2019 294,000 mi ODI #11280939.0

The horn does not work. I never tested the horn when I took the car for a test drive, and only discovered this fact 2 weeks after driving the vehicle.. The dealer claims they did a thorough safety check which is not the case. I signed the 'sold as is' waiver so I don't have much recourse here, but the dealer should be held accountable for selling a vehicle that does not meet the basic safety standards.

11/13/2019 49,500 mi ODI #11279923.0

Over the summer 2019, passenger left side door did not latch. Child lock was on. Upon discovery of defect, it was taken to Ford to repair. On november 12, 2019, driver's side door did not want to latch. Went to check on the car next day, and the door latches without problems more than once. Filing a complaint because it has happened twice in the same year with different car doors. Will take to Ford again on november 15th to have it looked at to make sure there are no additional problems with the car. Both times the vehicle was stationary when this occurred.

other 2 complaints shown

12/28/2022 63,000 mi ODI #11499218.0

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while opening the passenger’s side front door, she felt excessive play in the door handle. While attempting to close the door, the door failed to latch securely. The contact was able to secure the door using bungie cords. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the latching mechanism was defective. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V331000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages). The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

12/10/2019 50,495 mi ODI #11288286.0

We tried turning the car on. The lights started blinking rapidly the. It said the traction control was off. Even though we did not turn it off. We jump started the car and it went on but only for the dashboard to say 'transmission malfunction service now'. When driving on the street and freeway to the next exit. It felt and sound like the engine is revving the entire time no matter what speed. The RPM is running high going straight past 3

steering 2 complaints shown

7 total in this category · severe · avg repair $700 · see steering cluster analysis →
12/01/2017 1 injury ODI #11051646.0

I have reported this problem before.. The lever for the engage/disengage for the tilt telescopic wheel is very hard for me to engage I'm 76 & it takes a lot of hand strength to move it up & down. I complained to the service person at the dealer about this but she claimed they couldn't touch that it's a safety issue; well I knew about the safety & I'm not asking to remove the lever just make it easier for me to use... So here I am one year later & my hand & thumb are permanently damaged & the pain is horrendous.. Another default or defect from Ford & in addition this vehicle shouldn't even have been on the lot Ford had already notified dealers about the problems with the transmission in these models so now in addition to this issue I'm in a class action lawsuit with this new car..

11/28/2017 9,000 mi ODI #11048854.0

Now second occurrance of a problem with the power steering. Power assist fails on startup with car stationary and in motion. Both times the car had been parked in cold weather for a few hours. Unassisted steering is very high effort and renders the car almost unusable. The first time this occurred the dash warning light was on; dealer service follow-up had the car for four days but failed to trace the problem or document the failure code. During last occurrence the warning light did not appear. In both cases stopping and re-starting the vehicle caused the power steering to function properly again.

suspension 1 complaint shown

4 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $900 · see suspension cluster analysis →
12/13/2022 ODI #11497274.0

New vehicle was sold with 2 manufacturing defects: 1) Defective front left shock absorber with made steering unstable. 2) Leaking value cover gasket with created a fire risk. 3) Both defects where confirmed by a dealer. 4) Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representative or others. 5) No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of problem were presented prior to first dealer inspection. 6) The dealer who discovered the 2 manufacturing defects within the 3 year warranty period, held the vehicle over the weekend and claimed to have fixed both. However the next time I took it to a service center I was told the value cover gasket was leaking. 7) I eventually returned to the original dealer who sold me the vehicle and they confirmed that the value cover gasket

engine 1 complaint shown

14 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $3,100 · see engine cluster analysis →
11/13/2017 30,500 mi ODI #11045550.0

Engine cooling reservoir is cracked (leaking antifreeze fluid)

Showing 300 of 178 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2016/Ford/Fiesta#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-06-14. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
Get a free warranty quote →
Sponsored — we earn a commission if you complete a quote. Disclosure.