This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Both low beam headlights stopped working at the same time. High beams still work. I looked it up on the web and Fiestas in Canada have been recalled for this problem, but for some reason not in the us. Car was moving when this happened. I turned on the lights and the low beam headlights and they were out.
The headlights do not work on the low beam setting. Found the headlight relay to have heavy corrosion. The front most terminal has corroded off of the relay entirely and is now stuck in the electrical box under the hood of the car. I noticed this condition when I was driving home on the highway in the early evening just before sunset. I was able to arrive at home before the lack of light caused any unsafe driving conditions. The fuse is designated R11 on the electrical box. Improper sealing of the electrical box has led to moisture be aloud in causing damages. Faulty construction from manufacturer.
My 2012 Ford Fiesta has no filtration system to prevent salt and moisture from getting into the engine fuse box. Last year, a mechanic rewired the fuse box low beam relay to a different fuse, now the corrosion has started up again. This forces me to use my high beams until I have to replace the whole fuse box, which is expensive and causes me to be unsafe until I fix the problem. I've seen other instances of this online.
The exact time of the incident is unknown. I had not driven my car at night for at least two weeks before I tried to turn on my low beam head lights when I was parked in a friend's driveway at night. My car's low-beam headlights did not turn on. Upon further inspection it was discovered that the light bulbs were undamaged, but the relay had become corroded. When the relay was removed the corroded prong broke off (or otherwise remained) in the fuse box. Now there is no way to replace the relay, because of the prong in the fuse box. My low beams do not work. My turn signals and my high beams still function, but it is not safe to drive at night with only high beams. So, this is a safety issue. Below is a picture of the corroded relay prong in the fuse box. The prong is blue/green and is located in the upper left hand of the picture. Recently in Canada, there was a recall for the same problem for similar Ford Fiestas.
- Rochester Hills, MI, USA
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The low beams work intermittently. I checked and there is a recall in Canada. I called the local Ford dealer and they said the low beam headlight issue is not on recall in the United States. It is a known issue with the box corroding. The Canadian recall number is 19S28. Can this be looked into as a manufacturer defect?
Due to the poor design of the fuse box located in the engine compartment, the relay (R11) responsible for switching on & off the low-beam headlights has corroded to the point that one of the pins is stuck in the fuse box & is flush with the surface of the box. Initially, this started with intermittent headlight failure--sometimes at startup & other times while driving at night or during inclement weather. The corrosion was missed when I took the car to a Ford dealership. Now, the low beams do not work at all due to the complete corrosion of the pin. This has lead to several unsafe situations. I have not been able to see & other cars have not been able to see me when my headlights stop working. I've had to drive with hazards instead of headlights at night to ensure others could see me while I moved my car from the highway to a safe parking spot. I nearly hit a deer I was unable to see due to my headlights going out while driving. From what I understand, this make & model has been recalled in Canada because they recognize the significant safety issue present. I don't understand why it is not recognized in the United States.
The low beams have stopped working. I now cannot drive after dark and if I have an emergency with one of my three kids I will not be able to take them anywhere. High beam and parking lights work. Replaced headlight bulbs and still won't work. There was a recall in Canada but not the usa. It's been months and can not afford to have the fuse box replaced. Radio has also stopped working for the past 3 weeks
The low beam lights work intermittently. They shut off while driving. This causes an unsafe condition for the driver, passengers, pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. This happens both while the vehicle is stationary and in motion. It happens in all weather conditions and temperatures. It occurs both during city driving conditions and highway driving conditions. There seems to be a short between the headlight, the vehicle fuse box and the headlight on and off switch. The high beam system is not affected by this problem. Lights have been changed and fuses have been changed.
Stationary vehicle: Unsealed engine compartment fuse box led to corrosion of the headlamp relay terminals. Result was intermittent headlamp function eventually followed by complete headlamp failure.
Driving on a two way road, the low beam head lights went out. I could not see. I was lucky that the high beams worked. The problem was when another car was coming towards me and I have switch to the low beams. I reached my destination but the problem persist.
2012 Ford Fiesta - low beam headlamps fail intermittently. They work sometimes and sometimes they don't. when they are working they can suddenly shut off. A little research shows that the low beam relay for the headlamp has some corrosion built up on it and is causing the issue. Haven't yet been able to repair it. This is happens while driving down the road. It happens on a city street and on the highway. The lose of headlamps while driving at night seems seems to be rather dangerous. I could understand if it was a bulb that went out but corrosion on the terminals of the relay might not be repairable within a reasonable cost.
On 6/16/19 I was driving on the I89 in Vermont and both of my headlights went out on the interstate. This scared me as I had no visibility on the interstate. My high beams were able to work, and eventually, I turned by low beams back on. They seemed to work. They then cut out again. This happened off and on for the rest of my drive home. Luckily I was able to make it back home. I took my car to the Ford dealership the next day. Today 6/19/19 they reported that there was corrosion in my fuse box, and they reported the cheapest option was $500 to clean the box, and replace the pins. I asked them what would stop the corrosion, they said there was no guarantee that the corrosion would stop. When I looked online it appears that several other people have had issues with this same problem. So it is only a matter of time before someone driving a Ford Fiesta gets into a car accident because there headlights suddenly stop working on them.
This car has been a disaster from day one. The transmission issues that Ford is aware of have almost caused numerous accidents. The car bucks and carries on all the time. While stopped for a red light you push on gas and it doesn't move them all the sudden it darts into traffic. About 6 months ago low beams stopped working and nobody knows why. Then 2 weeks ago all the sudden car overheats and within 2 minutes dies causing $2000 worth of damage. Im told these are common and im lucky it didn't catch on fire. What's next. Fyi, the lights still don't work which causes a safety hazard. Why is this car not recalled??
I have performed routine maintenance on my car for years. The other day the headlights stopped working suddenly and without warning. The issue ended up being in the fuse box under the hood, which is allowing salt and sand to enter the fuse box without any filtration system of any sort. The low beam relay had completely corroded because of particles getting into the fuse box. We are lucky it is just the lights so far, but unfortunately one of the prongs for the relay was so corroded that it broke off inside the plug. Now, because of Ford's poor design of this device, we have to replace the whole fuse box and everything to which it is attached. This is at least a $1300 job. This could have been a different relay that controls a more essential function of the car but thank goodness we found it when it was affecting the headlights only.
When: On July 31st 2018 during drive home after dark on rural Wisconsin highway both low beam headlights simultaneously failed in 2012 Ford Fiesta leaving driver no option but to use high beams for remainder of drive. Fault: The loss of both low beam headlights simultaneously created a dangerous situation for a driver, and oncoming drivers on rural highways. Cause: Dealership identified the source of the problem; due to relay pins in fuse box corroded off due to corrosion ' had to replace engine fuse box under hood because the pin was corroded off in the fuse box and could not be removed. Additional fuse relays also showing corrosion. Ford has issued the following for the 2011 Ford Fiestas which is related to corrosion and loss of exterior lighting. Unfortunately, nothing is being done currently for model year 2012 Fiestas. Customer satisfaction program 17B16 ' battery junction box clean and seal ' 2011 Ford Fiesta https://Ford.oemdtc.com/3241/customer-satisfaction-program-17B16-battery-junction-box-clean-and-seal-2011-Ford-Fiesta and also, Ford has issued recall 17S14 for (2011 Ford Fiesta) the same issue of corrosion and loss of electrical connectivity for wiring circuits which may make a vehicle less visible to approaching drives which may increase the risk of a crash. In Canada, accumulation of dust deposits which contain deicing salts in the provinces included in this recall that can cause corrosion of fuse and wiring terminals in the battery junction box that may result in the loss of electrical connectivity in some wiring circuits. It is ridiculous for a 6 year old vehicle to lose both headlights due to electrical, and corrosion issues! the repair was close to 1,500.
Although the transmission was updated per the recall it putts or hesitates/stalls with the slightest incline and worse on a real hill. I can't pull out into traffic quicknow because it would cause an accident and it shouldn't be that way. I took it to Ford of escondido and was told that some putting is normal but I know this is not right. It is an ongoing issue. Has been since like 3 weeks after I bought it.
We were on the highway while it was snowing. All of the other vehicles were slowing down because there was an accident blocking off the highway. Eventually we all came to a stop. After we stopped there was a Yukon that was unable to stop because of conditions and its load and hit us from behind. He was probably going 35 mph. Both the passenger and driver's head flung back against seats. No airbags deployed. Passenger has suffered in the spine from this accident.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sharon, PA, USA