2015 Ford Fiesta: jerking or lurching

Filed Oct 26, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

Vehicle turned off on highway, jerks while shifting, and transmission hot light turns on

Filed Aug 14, 2025 · Transmission · 199,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that after the battery was replaced, the message "Transmission Malfunction Service Now" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the RPMs fluctuated, and the engine revved abnormally. Whenever the contact attempted to depress the brake pedal, the engine jerked, and the transmission failed to shift as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to the Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission Control Module); however, the VIN was not included. The failure persisted, and the vehicle remained at the residence unrepaired. The contact had parked the vehicle out of safety concerns. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 199,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2025 · Transmission · 45,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the "Engine Malfunction Service Now" message was displayed on the instrument panel at start up. The vehicle was taken to dealer where the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle was included in Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission control module extended warranty coverage); however, the dealer refused to honor the warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided the same information as the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Filed Mar 12, 2025 · Engine · CO

On 3/10/2025, when driving my 2015 Ford Fiesta SE, I experienced a sudden failure consisting of a "lurch", lost all drive power to the vehicle, and had to use inertia to steer myself out of traffic to the shoulder of the road. After exiting the vehicle, I inspected all tires (no issues) and popped the hood (no visible issues like smoke). I requested emergency roadside assistance to tow my vehicle to the nearest mechanic shop. After troubleshooting the vehicle, the shop confirmed that all fluid levels were okay and the timing belt had failed, specifically noting that the manufacture-recommended PMI is at 150,000 miles and my vehicle only had 118,579 miles. What component failed = Timing belt. Is it available for inspection = It can be. How was safety at risk = Losing all mechanical power while going up a grade in heavy traffic. Has the problem been confirmed = Yes, by an independent service center. Has the vehicle been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance = No, but I did call Ford's service line to notify them; no action taken on their part. Any warnings = No sounds, no transient loss of power, no warning lights; just a sudden "bang" and "lurch".

Filed Jun 24, 2024 · Transmission · 103,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and was jerked. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the clutch assembly. The contact was informed that the clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

Filed Oct 31, 2023 · Transmission · 93,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk, and the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the powertrain control module. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 93,000.

Filed Jun 17, 2023 · Engine · FL

My car has been under recall now for the transmission or chip in the transmission. The car keeps jerking, stalls randomly and sometimes won't work. It's been confirmed by the Palatka FL Ford dealership. I originally took it to the Ford in Ocala FL, but they keep refusing to fix it. Now the Palatka one is saying they can't because they don't have a chip. They're refusing to buy it back or work with me on it. I am the original owner, bought it strait off the lot and it was made in 2015. It's only 8 years old, but I've stalled now multiple times on the highway, in traffic on the way to work, and at gas stations. I want this fixed ASAP, according to the laws they have to work with me on this. I just don't know how to get them to work with me.

Filed Jun 1, 2022 · Transmission · FL

Received extended warranty notice in September, 2019. Vehicle is still under 100,000 miles and was purchased in 2018. DPS6 module failed and caused break to lock up and all accessories in vehicle to stop performing. Had to get work done and ford required me to pay for replacement and labor of defective part. Clutch seems to not shift properly and causes a shuddering in the transmission. I have difficulty accelerating after coming to a complete stop (such as at a light). Reported these issues to dealership I had purchased vehicle from in 2018, shortly after purchase. Everyone continued to tell me there was no defect with the transmission or the clutch. I went to a few different ford dealers to inquire about the extended warranty notice on the powershift transmission: “Ford Motor Company's commitment is not only to manufacture high-quality, reliable products, but to also achieve full customer satisfaction. To demonstrate this commitment, we offer you the Customer Satisfaction Program at no cost for your vehicle with the VIN above. For your peace of mind, Ford Motor Company will extend the coverage of the clutch warranty. This program increases clutch warranty coverage to a total 7 years or 100,000 miles from the warranty start date, whichever be fulfilled first. NOTE: Your vehicle may have a vibration or intermittent jerk in the transmission clutch when accelerating smoothly after being stopped, during shift events.” (Ford Motor Company). According to a number of Ford employees, none of these defects are covered by Ford Motor Vehicle Company. Also, there were no DPS6 Modules available; the part was out of stock for 6 months. Service tech recommended I order part online; even provided name on shipment information; confirming he authorized and accepted the use of non-ford part. Didn’t know I was even allowed to use the aftermarket part. Requested OEM. Ended up paying for the shipping, total price of the part, and labor costs.

Filed Jun 1, 2022 · Brakes · 130,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while pressing the brake pedal the brakes would grab and jerk causing the vehicle to abruptly stop and making the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who replaced the brake pads, brake rotors, and brake lines but the vehicle continue to exhibit the failure. After reexamining the vehicle it was determined that the ABS module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were contacted but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 130,000.

Filed May 24, 2022 · Transmission · VA

When accelerating, there is a shuddering sensation as you can feel the clutches slipping. The shifting is also sluggish at times. When in "sport mode" an error state can occur where the transmission fails to shift gears altogether and a warning comes up on the dashboard to service the transmission immediately. While that error is up, the shuddering becomes much worse and the engine will try to lurch forward at random times when it chooses the wrong gear. This lurching will fight the brakes too, decreasing stopping distance if the driver isn't extra diligent. This error state is cleared by stopping and starting the car again. There are no other visible dashboard warnings associated with this issue in daily driving. I took it to a local service center to be diagnosed and they determined it was either a worn clutch or a faulty TCM in need of a replacement. I took it to the Ford dealership in the area, and they narrowed it down to the clutch and not the TCM. Ford issued an extended warranty for this issue on other 2015 Ford Fiestas, but mine fell just outside the required build date despite having identical symptoms as what the warranty was for on the other cars. The car is only 7 years old with 92k miles on it, so if it was part of the aforementioned extended warranty (7 years or 100k miles) it would qualify, but not for much longer. This seems to be a known issue that Ford never fixed despite the car being outside the extended warranty cutoff.

Filed May 5, 2021 · Airbags, Fuel system · 86,000 miles · AZ · crash · 2 injuries

On april 11, 2021, the 2015 ford fiesta I was driving unintentionally accelerated into a commercial building at a shopping mall. The car had two incidents of accelerating while applying the brake prior to the final incident where the car ran into a wall and was totaled. The car had never exhibited any braking or acceleration issues before this day. The first incident, I was slowing down to go over a speed bump. As I was applying the brake, the car jerked forward then stopped. It drove as normal through traffic for the next 8 miles. I was close to my destination, as I was applying the brake at a stop light, the car sped up and stopped when I pulled the emergency brake. Again, the car drove fine for the next mile. I was very aware while I was pulling into a parking space. Neither the brake or accelerator was applied as I was coasting into a space. As I applied the brake, the car sped up, jumped the curb and accelerated into the side of a building. According to a witness and supported by pattern of skid marks, at one point the car was airborne. With the distance of about 15 feet between the curb and wall, there was little time to react. In my attempt to pull the emergency brake, I injured my thumb. My passenger sustained various bruises from the seat belt and the front dashboard. Neither the driver nor passenger airbags deployed. According to the black box report, the car accelerated from 0-100% in the final 5 seconds and the brake was applied at 10%-55%, yet the car continued to accelerate. I did not remove my foot from the brake until after the car impact, which is supported by skid marks shown in photos. In august 2019, ford motor was aware of a transmission clutch shutter issue, but still proceeded with selling the car to an auction. One month later, I purchased from a dealership.

Filed Jan 31, 2020 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 107,978 miles · FL

I was driving my car one night and in the mist of driving , it was jerking really bad and the acceleration was going in and out . The car came to a complete stop and even though it was on and running it wouldn't move as if it was stuck , luckily before someone hit me behind it jumped back into to gear and started to move a little until it started to jerk again. I didn't go anywhere but 2 mins down the street and back home. Once I got home and was ready to leave again it wouldn't start anymore and now I no longer have a car and I haven't even had it long. I took the car to ford and it was stated that it's a recall on something to do due with my transmission and on the paper the same exact things that I was experiencing was on the recall possible symptoms.