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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 Ford Focus & its "Powershift" transmission has a defect trend where the car shudders when accelerating, especially when starting uphill.

Most owners have reported their Ford Focus remains driveable while the vehicle is still at low mileage, but the shuddering is annoying & unpleasant & may reduce the resale value of the vehicle.

However, owners of higher-mileage vehicles from earlier 3rd generation Focus model years report transmission failure & a host of other major & expensive transmission-related problems. Potential buyers beware.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,122 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.

2016 Ford Focus seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2016 Ford Focus Owner Comments

problem #13

Jul 282022

Focus

  • 50,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer performed an unknown repair; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Edinburgh, IN, USA

problem #12

May 022022

Focus

  • 113,000 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, a vehicle stopped abruptly causing a 3-vehicle collision ahead. As a result, the brake pedal was depressed however she crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deployed. The driver of the vehicle that the contact crashed into was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the driver's injuries and whereabouts were unknown. The contact later went to the hospital and was treated for pain and soreness in her back and right shoulder. The contact mentioned that after the impact she suffered a panic attack. A police report was filed. The contact's vehicle was towed to a collision center where it was pending to be towed to a salvage yard by the insurance company. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.

- Paris, AR, USA

problem #11

Oct 222020

Focus

  • 52,288 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the front of the driver side of the vehicle impacted the right rear of another vehicle with the front left and stated that the whole front sheared off, caused the vehicle to go into a spin. The vehicle impacted a street sign. And six unit mailbox station which causes the street sing to come thru the rear window of the vehicle broken the glass. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained severe bruises from the seat belt, arm neck, back injuries and had to seek medical attention. The front passenger also sustained neck and back injuries and would seek medical attention. The other driver did not sustained injuries, the contact mention that the driver declined medical treatment at the time of the accident. A police report was filed. The contact mention that the vehicle was in the shop for transmission and power train failures several times due to the vehicle failed to accelerated and was repaired of unknown recalls for those failures. The vehicle was towed to geico insurance salvage yard. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 52,288.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #10

Dec 032019

Focus

  • 101,800 miles

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

The contact owned a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in a head on crash and only the air bag underneath the steering wheel deployed. The contact felt that the air bag partially deployed as to there was a powder substance and an unusual odor from the air bag. The sensor indicated that the air bags were on and active before the crash. The contact's vehicle was traveling only 5 mph, but the other vehicle was traveling 30 mph. All the air bags in the other vehicle deployed even those in the back seat. The contact sustained a neck strain and bruises from the seat belt restraint. Medical attention was not received. The entire engine dropped down after the crash and debris was thrown across the street. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a junk yard. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 101,800. The VIN was invalid.

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #9

Jun 232019

Focus

  • 66,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the contact lost control of the vehicle in the left lane and veered quickly to the right lane, crashed into another vehicle, crashed into a median, rolled over more than once and none of the air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The driver sustained head injury, muscle spasms and further medical treatment was required. The highway patrol towed the vehicle to a yard. The insurance company was notified of the crash. A dealer had not diagnosed the cause of the failure and why the air bags failed to deploy. The manufacturer was notified of the crash and the contact was waiting for a response to determine if they may investigate the cause of the crash and the non-air bag deployment. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.

- Columbia, MO, USA

problem #8

Apr 222019

Focus

  • 49,900 miles
I got into a car accident on April 22 2019 and my steering wheel air bag did not deploy. My whole front of the car was was destroyed and the airbag under the steering wheel deployed. I'm reporting this because it may not have killed me but it could kill someone.

- White Bluff, TN, USA

problem #7

Mar 132019

Focus 4-cyl

  • miles

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

I purchase a 2016 Ford Focus today and there's one open recall on my vehicle. The takata recall and I would like for this issue to be fixed because it sounds dangerous from the research I did on the recall. Plus I have my 1st car wreck a couple months ago and my car was totaled out. I want to be safe behind the wheel and I have a little boy; who will be a passenger in the vehicle I don't want my car to stop in the middle of the street and cause a accident and my son get hurt. Please contact me at: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Bossier City, LA, USA

problem #6

Mar 182018

Focus

  • 61,000 miles
I was in an auto accident on 3/18 at fault of another driver traveling East, passing a stop sign, while I was traveling North on a residential street. The hit impacted the front of my driver's left side. The force was hard enough to destabilize my vehicle and go into 'crash mode' calling the police via bluetooth technology. Ems was called to check my shoulder, lower back and head which is in a lot of pain this morning. Thing is no airbags ever deployed. I was in a major accident with defective airbags.

- Roselle Park, NJ, USA

problem #5

Feb 262018

Focus

  • miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. While driving at approximately 25 mph, the contact's vehicle was T-boned by another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained injuries to the head, which required medical attention. The vehicle was driven away from the scene. It was unknown if the vehicle was destroyed. It was unknown if the dealer or manufacturer were contacted. The VIN and failure mileage were unknown.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #4

Oct 312017

Focus

  • 33,000 miles
My girl friend, age 72 was driving the Ford Focus and turning into her apt. Complex, she was hit at about a 35 degree angle and although the lower air bag on the steering column deplayed the air bag on the top of the steering wheel did not. The car was totalled.the seat belt saved her from serious injury, but her clavicle was bruised and she has sore muscles on her neck and the left side of her body. The lower air bag that did deploy saved her from serious lower body injury except for some swelling and bruising. Her vehicle was in motion when she was hit by a truck coming from the other direction. My concern is should that upper air bag deployed the same as the lower air bag did. Is it possible the upper air bag was defective, and has anyone else reported this?

- Winterville, NC, USA

problem #3

May 182017

Focus

  • miles

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

The contact's daughter owned a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 30 mph, the driver struck the rear of another vehicle. All air bags except the driver knee air bag failed to deploy. The driver sustained bruises to her chest and hands and the front passenger suffered back injuries. Medical attention was not required. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene and the contact's auto insurance company confirmed that the vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to encinitas Ford 1424 encinitas blvd, encinitas, ca 92024. The dealer stated that the contact should speak to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- Temecula, CA, USA

problem #2

Jul 222016

Focus

  • 1,600 miles
When the car starts, it displays several dashboard warning messages and chimes, indicating malfunctioning air bags, seat belts, traction control, and hill start assist (manual transmission). Dealership diagnosed a faulty restraint control module (rcm) and said the car was unsafe to drive until the module is replaced. That was two months ago, and the dealership still hasn't found the replacement part.

- Davis, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 082016

Focus

  • 6,000 miles
My son wrecked our brand new Ford, over 6,000 dangero. Most of the damage was front end. None of the air bags deployed. Not a good safety feature if they don't work.

- Fort Covinghton, NY, USA

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