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CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford changed a lot of things for its 3rd generation, just none of them were a good idea.

The transmission tends to hesitate and jerk when accelerating. The new electronically-driven power steering can fail suddenly and without warning. Even Ford's SYNC can be a headache. Actually, scratch that last one — it's always been a headache.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,630 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2013 Ford Focus electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 8 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #110

Oct 122013

Focus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate, surged forward, and the transmission warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000 (electrical system); however, the failure recurred two additional times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Southbridge, MA, USA

problem #109

Jan 112016

Focus

  • 27,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. Upon refueling the vehicle, when making a stop or a turn, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The dealer was notified of the failure several times and were unable to find a signal or dtc to replicate and diagnose the failure. The contact was to check with the manufacturer to determine if they could provide a repair solution to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 27,000.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #108

Jul 282016

Focus

  • 35,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle needed a new battery cable. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 35,000.

- Winter Park, FL, USA

problem #107

Jul 182016

Focus

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after vehicle was repaired for NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000 (electrical system) and while driving at 35 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated before moving forward. In addition, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Middle River, MD, USA

problem #106

Jan 012013

Focus

  • miles
The car has jerked, shuttered, and shook from almost the day I bought it, I have battled these issues from the very beginning. It won't accelerate for a few seconds when I push on the gas I have almost been in an accident because of it. The flashers come on when I unlock my door, my horn doesn't work, my driver window doesn't work, I have had the clutch replaced, the cluster was fried twice, and the control module has been replaced. Then driving on the freeway my car engine revved way up and the rpms went to 7000 and I lost power to accelerate my car. I was in the middle lane when I lost the power to my vehicle I put my flashers on and coasted to the side of the freeway. Thankfully the freeway wasn't busy. The reverse also went out on my car. The car is now in the shop for the 6th or 7th time for the same issues but it is never fixed.

- Bardstown, KY, USA

problem #105

Jul 252016

Focus

  • 42,829 miles
I shut the drivers side door and took off driving on a city street when the door ajar came on and the drivers side door flew open, I caught the door, but it will no longer latch shut.

- Rialto, CA, USA

problem #104

Dec 312015

Focus

  • 30,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2012 hatchback Ford Focus automatic the vehicle stalls whenever accelerated. It feels as if the computer sends the signal to maintain the speed or speed up but the transmission can not keep up with it, therefore it stalls. It does it when I'm driving on the city street and on the highway, the speed does not relate to when it occurs. In order words, if I am driving at a constant speed for a lapse of time it will still stall and if I need to speed up, for example when making a turn onto a street it will stall or when making a lane change.

- Downey, CA, USA

problem #103

Jun 052016

Focus

  • 0 miles
Vehicle was parked. I went to turn on the car, and the steering wheel was locked and would not turn at all. Had the car towed to the dealership. The service manager says the electric steering rack and pinion has failed and has to be replaced at a cost of $1,497. In addition, the car has also had numerous repairs to the transmission system. The car has had problems with the transmission since the very first day of purchase. The car will vigorously shudder at random times. The shuddering occurs every time I drive the car and it causes the car to violently jerk forward. We have taken the car in for all of the service updates/recalls, and the transmission problems still persist. The computer screen also will turn off randomly while driving. One time while driving on a highway, the car died. It was very dangerous. I should not have purchased this car.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #102

May 032016

Focus

  • miles
Takata recall purchased car took to dealer a week after because the gear shift was making loud noise upon reverse in driveway two weeks later I head a loud pop and it broke according to the dealership they did not fix it now my lights won't turn off it says my trunk is open while it's closed and my driver door will not lock or stay closed and the car makes noises as if the key is in the ignition and it's not my door will not lock and my trunk will not open with the key.

- California City, CA, USA

problem #101

May 022016

Focus

  • miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. On several occasions, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, but the failure recurred on nine separate occasions. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 07/29/16

- Dallas, GA, USA

problem #100

Apr 292016

Focus

  • 136,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

New dealer maintained 2013 Focus titanium Focus 6 months old about 18000 miles had bad wheel bearing on the drivers side, at 46000 transmission was overhauled due to poor shifting, AT120000 catalytic converter failed, AT136000 car died due to bad wiring harness and fried several sensors, at 143000 transmission control module failed, at 144000 the transmission module failed again on a 3 year old car.

- Stockbridge, MI, USA

problem #99

Mar 032016

Focus

  • 50,000 miles
I went to start my 2013 Ford Fusion and all of the electrical controls in front of the steering wheel did not work, gauges, readout screen, tach, speedometer, turn signal indicator lights. As I have pancreatic cancer(stage 4) it is virtually impossible for me tocrawl around under the glove compartment to check the fuses. One of my brothers-in-law came over and found the fuse box and looked at several fuses but none were blown. He pulled several fuses and noticed they were corrode on the male ends, as was the female end of the fuse box. I had noticed for several days the computer screen in front of the steering wheel was slow to come on. My car was parked in my driveway in a stationary condition. This seems to be to be a very dangerous condition, especially if it happened while driving, you have no speedometer no tach, no turn signals, ect. Anything that is controlled by that fuse. I have had cars since 1963 and never encountered that problem(cored fuse ends). Nor have I ever had a car with an auto transmission that "shuddered" when going from a standing stop. You cannot check the fluid, there is no dipstick. I guess they are all in dearborn, mich at the Ford headquarters(just a little humor). If the truth was known Ford knew about the corroding fuse box, same as the torque converters and transaxles in the Ford 2000 - 2006 Taurus', yes I have had my bout with them also.

- Bristol, VA, USA

problem #98

Mar 252016

Focus

  • 34,350 miles
70 amp fuse blows while driving, seemingly at random times. This fuse feeds power to a fuse panel located in trunk. When this fuse blows the radio, power windows, power locks, power seats and heated seat function, parking aid system, and smart key system do not function. Due to the smart key not working it makes the car extremely difficult to restart if it had been shut off. If the issue happens while driving the car will continue to run normally other than the noted systems. I had the car at the dealer twice for a total of two weeks, they were unable to duplicate the issue after replacing the fuse and driving the car around town. I got the car home today after it's second trip to the dealer and took apart a panel in the trunk that covers the suspect fuse panel and wiring. I found that the wire bundle for this fuse box runs through a plastic guard until about a foot away from the fuse box, when the wires exit this guard they run tight around the edge of the trunk and come into contact with a sharp metal edge, this edge had cut through the insulation of the main power feed and shorted out. I have attached pictures of what I found. While the circuit was protected by a 70 amp fuse, it still must have created a good amount of heat during the time it was shorted, and there is a felt panel not a few inches away.

- Rocky Point, NC, USA

problem #97

Mar 012016

Focus

  • 51,000 miles
Engine will stop running intermittently while driving on city streets or while turning off of a highway. Also, occasionally will die at a stop light. Vehicle has a rough and erratic idle while stopped at a traffic light. Sometimes idling so low as to almost die. Other times idling at 1400 or 1500 rpms

- Belle Isle, FL, USA

problem #96

Jul 042013

Focus

  • 4,000 miles
During a road trip while on a highway onramp going mostly straight at gradual acceleration, experienced complete failure of the computer system, beginning with erratic changing of gears rocking me back and forth in my seat, to infotainment display shutdown, to engine stopping. Had to exit highway and 'reboot' the system to continue travelling. After initial repairs, still experienced harsh gear shifts up to and including present day. Gear shifts could easily affect the control of the vehicle. To my understanding, the fault is how the computer uses the dual-clutch system to shift gears. I have been told that at times, the car did not know what gear it was in. There have been multiple recalls regarding these issues with this and other Ford models with this clutch system. There are other work reports, but I was unable to fit them within your upload limitations.

- San Marcos, CA, USA

problem #95

Mar 142016

Focus

  • 57,600 miles
I have a 2013 Focus and on 3/14/16 on my way home on the freeway, my oil & battery light started flickering on and off at the same time and as it did the car was stalling out. I put my 4-way flashers on, slowed down and moved to the right lane as a safety measure. After another few miles both lights came on and stayed on and the car shut down. I pulled over to the berm, waited a few minutes, tried starting, it started and drove home with no issues. I drove to work the next day with no issues. On the way home things started happening again, the car shut down, but this time after waiting a few minutes the car never started. I had it towed to the dealer and they found that a wiring harness was up against the throttle body and wore through the protective insulating tape, then the wires causing the problem. Also, in speaking to the mechanic he said that the bracket the harness was using to keep in place was causing it to be up against the throttle body so he unclipped the bracket. I'm going to call the Ford customer service center to discuss. Another issue was that the "book" said it would take 3 hours, but only took 2. and yes they tried to charge me for the 3. interesting at $125/ hour, that would be $250/ hour they're making while the mechanic starts on the next car! unbelievable.

- Mentor, OH, USA

problem #94

Feb 012016

Focus

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle staled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the oil needed to be changed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V813000 (electrical system) and 14V495000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

- Groveport, OH, USA

problem #93

Mar 042016

Focus

  • 40,750 miles
While on a highway (August 2015), vehicle transmission began to slip followed by the car shutting off while driving at freeway speeds, vehicle would not turn back on and left me stranded in the middle of the highway. November 2015, while driving along freeway, car transmission began to slip, causing the car to again shut off completely while driving at 65mph. December 2015, driving on a city street, once agin transmission started slipping and vehicle shut off in mid motion while going 30 mph. In February 2016, vehicle started normally, once we pulled out onto a road, car began violently bucking transmission seemed to engage then disengage placing the vehicle in danger of being hit by cars from behind, and jostling passengers substantially. In March 2016, vehicle was driving 70 mph down freeway when transmission slipped, the transmission then seemed to engage normally again, but as vehicle exited freeway on feeder road, transmission disengaged, bucking car, driver had gas pedal floored and the vehicle would only move a few feet. After transmission re engaged, the car lurched forward without drivers foot on gas, putting vehicle at risk for hitting car in front of it. Each time vehicle has had an incident, we have taken it to a local Ford dealership, transmission computer module was replaced, clutches replaced, transmission re programmed 3 time, PCM replaced. Each time vehicle has been given back within a month their is an issue. Ford has told us that they really do to have a fix for the problems, and each time we are given an unsafe vehicle back that has imposed danger on our lives and others on multiple occasions. Ford even returned vehicle after it had stalled on them, because they could not find anything else wrong. We have been very lucky that each incident has not resulted in a crash.

- Friendswood, TX, USA

problem #92

Feb 122016

Focus

  • 61,500 miles
Ford Focus purchased in 2013. Transmission in for repairs total of five times. Two of those five times, vehicle had to be towed back to dealer. First tow: Vehicle started shuddering violently while going 70 mph on expressway, " transmission fault" light came on, (two children in the car under the age of 9 as well), turned hazards on and coasted off onto a nearby exit and waited for tow truck. Second tow: Vehicle stopped, shuddered while exiting expressway, warning system came on "transmission fault: Service now". both times vehicle lost power, could not engage into gear. High traffic area on expressways, luckily was not injured. Non-tow repairs: Transmission shudders violently, has difficulty switching out of first or second gears, able to drive vehicle to shop, where it is serviced, but begins to have issues within several months of repairs each times, repeat of the same issues. This is an extremely unreliable and dangerous vehicle that loses power and has issues with the transmission locking up/failing at any given moment, despite multiple repairs and clutch replacements by a certified Ford dealer. This vehicle needs to be seriously reevaluated for safety.

- Lombard, IL, USA

problem #91

Jan 032016

Focus

  • 52,000 miles
This vehicle exhibits the same problem as described in NHTSA campaign # 15V813000, recall# 14S17- S1. I contacted Ford who stated that this vehicle is not covered under the recall, even though it was manufacturer during the dates covered by the recall. This vehicle has hesitated and almost stalled while entering high speed traffic on several occasions and with increasing frequency, nearly causing an accident. I would like this vehicle added to the list of vehicles being recalled for repairs before bodily injury or death occurs because of this defect

- Cheshire, CT, USA

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