— Ford timing belt failures will get a closer look in an upgraded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation.
The original probe was opened in December 2025 after timing belt failure complaints in 2015-2017 Ford Fiesta and 2015-2018 Ford Focus vehicles.
The vehicles are equipped with 1-liter engines and manual transmissions.
NHTSA later added 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport and 2016-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with 1.0L engines because they use the same wet timing belts comprised of similar materials.
Investigators learned the timing belt problems could also affect the oil pumps which decreased engine lubrication, causing even more 1-liter engine problems.
Ford drivers complain of seeing low engine oil pressure warning lights immediately preceding the vehicles losing power. Some owners complain of complete 1.0L engine failures without warning.
NHTSA found the timing belt can fall apart and clog the mesh oil pump pickup screen and starve the 1-liter engine of lubrication. The timing belts failed at about 70,000 miles, long before the 150,000 mile timing belt replacement interval.
And more bad news:
"The oil pump pick-up screen is not serviceable, so debris accumulation cannot be inspected or manually removed without removing the engine from the vehicle." — NHTSA
The government also determined the timing belts failed even when Ford owners followed routine oil maintenance schedules.
Ford recently created a customer satisfaction problem for Ford vehicles with 1.0L Fox Classic Timing Belts. But NHTSA upgraded its timing belt investigation despite the new customer satisfaction program.
The upgraded investigation includes 2014-2017 Ford Fiesta and 2015-2018 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with 1.0L engines and manual transmissions, and 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport and 2016-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with 1.0L engines and automatic transmissions.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with the results of the federal Ford timing belt failure investigation.
