The engine stalled the first time two days ago on 9/27/2013. The car shut off on the road and I had to restart the car. Also it shakes when you press the accelerator and this has always happened. Yesterday while I was going over a bridge the car stalled so bad that it would not accelerate at all to go over the bridge, the RPM gauge wiggled very bad back and forth and the car began to slide back down the bridge. This is a very dangerous situation. I have taken the car to ford and they claim this is how the car is supposed to act. I live in jacksonville, fl and being able to accelerate when getting on and off ramps onto the interstate is crucial when merging with traffic but if the car stalls and does not actually move and you are trying to yield and merge with oncoming traffic, anyone can see that this is a potential hazard and very dangerous. My next step is to file a lemon law lawsuit and get ford to take the car back because they will are not able to duplicate the problem while it is in their repair shop and therefore will not fix it. My best friend has the same car and complains about the same exact issue. Her car shuts off several times a week so she is going to also file a complaint. Before I purchased this car I had a old beat up 1995 ford ranger and I never had these issues. I have been to ford over 3 times about this issue and they continue to say "sir this is how the car is supposed to act" even the receptionist stated when I called to set up yet another appointment to have ford look at the car "wow... That does seem very dangerous we need to get you in here asap" this is not the only incident I have had with ford.. I will not even stress on that issue. However this one is very important to me due to the fact I do not even feel safe driving my car to the local store.
2011 Ford Fiesta engine complaints
Page 5 of 5: complaints 101 to 118 of 118, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving the expressway at ~4:00am through downtown detroit my vehicle lost all power to accelerate. There were no instrument indicators, but the transmission would not respond to accelerator pedal compression. Fortunately, there was lighter than usual traffic at the time, but normally it would have been very difficult to safely move a disabled vehicle from the extreme left to the right side shoulder without engine/transmission control. The vehicle is currently at a fmc dealership awaiting inspection/repair. I submit this report because I feel, based on numerous other reports I've read, that the fiesta may be a safety concern.
Vehicle would not start, tried several times but only heard sound from starter but engine did not attempt to start until a fourth try and stepping on the gas pedal. After this the vehicle would from time to time turn off when coming to a stop. Service department stated that the throttle body was bad and replaced it.
Leaked all oil from engine, according to service department findings the head gasket blew. Was 2 weeks in the shop. Vehicle never over-heated nor was it ever driven in a manner that should result in a blown gasket.
All three occurrences requiring my car to be taken to a shop for repairs involved the vehicle moving at hi-way speeds. While travelling at 65mph, the cruise control cut out and engine died, so I had to coast to the side of the road. Eventually it restarted and I got home. The issue was electronic in nature according to the dealership where I bought the car, and took it for service. The part was not immediately available and when asked, the dealership said it was safe to drive until the part came in. The repair was made under warranty. The second problem was very similar to the first occurrence, and the dealership told me it was a different problem, but was nonetheless electronic in nature. The repair was made under warranty. The third and most recent issue involves the transmission. On my daily commute, cruise set at 65mph, the transmission disengaged. There was no power to the drivetrain. When I coasted to the shoulder, no gear could be achieved. When shut off, the car would not restart. After about ten minutes, after many clunking and clicking noises had occurred under the hood, the car started and I continued. It happened again...and again. This occurred five times in 30 miles, and finally the car would not restart. This was about five miles from home and my car had to be towed to the dealer for repair. The car is two years old with 85,000 miles. All miles are hi-way miles. All routine maintenance has been performed with receipts. This vehicle is a safety hazard, for intermittent, total loss of power and control on the hi-way, as well as leaving the occupants stranded at risk, on the shoulder of said hi-way. Ford does not seem to want to acknowledge publically that this is a safety problem (I.e. Recall).
Over the past 1 1/2 months my vehicle has stalled on the freeway 6 times. Each time the "wrench" light came on, the display read "engine malfunction" and "service now". When this would happen, the engine tachometer would first drop to 1000 RPM and the accelerator would become non-responsive. Soon after that the engine would just rev as if it were in neutral; then "bam" the transmission would engage abruptly and make a loud bang noise and lag when shifting. This has become a major concern as I have had people almost run into the rear of me because of my decline in speed. The only way to get the vehicle back to normal operation is to completely pull to the side of the road and turn the car off for a few seconds and restart it, unfortunately by doing this it resets the fault codes and does not retain the information for the dealership to be able to diagnose. I had brought the car to the dealership and left it for a week. They installed a "flight recorder" and drove for over 114 miles to try to reproduce the problem; but could not. I had pick ed up my car dissapointed that they could not reproduce the problem and as a result could not fix it. When I drove my vehicle that same day to work, it happened again at only 26 miles after their testing. I have seen on other web sites that this seems to be a common problem with other 2011 ford fiesta's, I only hope ford comes up with a fix for this issue soon as it seems to me to be a program issue with the vehicles computer.
After having no problems with this car for the first 16000 miles it now jerks and the trans feels as if your driving over rumble strips when accelerating from a stop; bumping and jerking. Seems like it cant shift gears and has no acceleration. The car performs worse the hotter the engine gets. This car rides anything but smooth. Always feels like its going to stall.
I bought the car new and have taken it to two separate dealerships to correct this issue and it continues. Initially, the transmission light came on and the car began having trouble shifting. After the first repair, the car began shaking uncontrollably. The second repair corrected the shaking, but now (at 15,755 miles) the car will (1) make grinding metallic noises when shifting, (2) fail to shift on any incline (instead it revs to approximately 2500 rpms and "sticks" there), (3) jolt forward when the brake is applied as if the accelerator was pressed down, and (4) roll backwards on hills as if it is a manual transmission. I understand that (4) can be common among newer automatics that attempt higher fuel economy. However, numerous times the speed at which the car rolls back has incurred a safety risk. This seems to be another indication of an issue with the transmission.
The positive battery cable completely sheared off preventing the car from starting. The circular lug used to connect the cable to the positive battery post is too thin for the size of the cable and extra safety fuses and circuitry. To make matters worse such a poorly designed part has a lead time from ford's oem in mexico of 4-6 weeks. The car has been at north central ford in richardson, texas, since 15 august. After missing the part delivery deadline three times the dealership finally provided a rental car. As of the writing of this issue the ford fiesta has been in the shop for 26 days, still waiting for the original part from the oem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. The contact was driving 55 MPH when he began to smell gasoline fumes. The odor was so overpowering that even after exiting the vehicle he could still taste and the smell gasoline in his hair and clothing. The failure recurred numerous times and would become stronger with every recurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis who referred the contact to a second dealer. The second dealer was able to locate an oil leak around the seal, which was repaired but the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was notified of the issue but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 17,700. Updated 9/11/12*lj updated 9/26/12 *cn the consumer stated the smell usually occurred after long 3-4 hour trips. Updated 10/04/2012 *js.....updated 01/30/13 *bf the consumer stated ford service found a bad oil seal covering the entire bell housing. The cooling fan was inoperable. Ford replaced the sensor and advised the cooling fan may operate the same way. If this did occur the service tech stated he would not know what to do next. The engine would have to freeze up first. The fan continued to be inoperable. The consumer could smell hot steel under the hood. While going up a mountain, the motor timing went off then went back up. Also, when it rains for at least 3 days the motor picks up the moisture, then there is a gas smell. Burning in the nose and burning taste follows for one night. Updated 2/5/2013 *js consumer requested to have all information, regarding his vehicle deleted from out website. Updated 11/13/13
Coming to stop you start to speed up why you are pressing on brakes,do to the fact that the brake pedal and gas pedal are to close to each other.
Took car in to dealership for oil change, tire rotation, etc. And was told it had an oil leak and that they wouldn't fix it (it's still under warranty) until the leak became worse!
22 days plus additional 6 days: told by ford dealership mechanic that oil pan is leaking oil, and water pump leaking. Dye pen fluorescent light inspection shows front crank seal leak, inspection of engine block damaged threads. Replaced engine per ford, removed transmission from engine, disassemble engine from engine mount, mount new short block and install, reseal components, re-time engine, install engine to transmission assembly, rechecked for leaks coolant and oil. Ford fiesta broke down next day after I picked up car from ford shop for 22 days, automatic transmission would not go into drive, reverse or neutral, called tow truck for help to get vehicle back to ford mechanic, who still working on car. I am very disappointed with the quality of the 2011 ford fiesta, doesn't get 40mpg, gets 35mpg, does not accelerate when you need to kind of lags, then makes gurgling noise in the water pump. 2011 ford fiesta is not made in the USA and it shows, it's a lemon.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. While driving approximately 70 MPH, a warning chime sounded, the warning lights on the instrument panel illuminated and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. The contact stated the wrench and oil light illuminated simultaneously. According to the owner's manual, that indicated that the engine oil had expired. Upon driving to the dealership, the transmission failed to shift over and the vehicle stalled. There was gas in the vehicle. The dealer reset the light. However, the engine light continued to illuminate. Updated 02/01/12*lj updated 02/08/12
Makes loud grinding sound and seems like the car is about to stall while driving. The car also seems to stall when driving from a full stop. Transmission fluid leaks.
Tl*the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. The contact stated that the entire muffler exhibited severe rust. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection and they informed him that the rust was a common issue. The manufacturer was notified and provide no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 25. The VIN was unavailable.
Ventilation duct falls onto driver's right foot during vehicle operation, inhibiting the driver's ability to control the accelerator.
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