I was driving to work this morning; the car made a horrible "clunk" when I accelerated to around 20 then lost power and nearly crashed. The car then displayed error lights (yellow CEL, yellow wrench icon, HEAD unit showed "transmission issue service immediately" This is a direct result of the DPs6 transmission put into all 7th gen Ford Focus/Fiesta models. This DCT transmission has been replaced 3 times for this particular car and failed the same manner each time - meaning 3 near accidents have occured because this transmission fails. Across the USA; more than 50 people have been injured as a result of this transmission failing.
Ford Fiesta harsh shifting problems
51 of the 3,179 owner complaints about the Ford Fiesta describe harsh or hard shifting, most of them for the 2011 model year.
- owner complaints
- 51
- worst model year
- 2011
- typical mileage
- 15,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Shudder 17Jerking 17Slipping 12Loss of power 10Grinding brakes 10Hesitation 8Stalling 6Check engine light 5
What owners say
Transmission unexpectedly malfunctions. Car lost the ability to shift into reverse and even numbered gears. rough shifting when it can shift. slipping when attempting to drive. Unable to accelerate from a stop sign. Based on simple web searches, the Ford fiesta and Focus with the DPS6 transmission are notorious for defective transmissions.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed over a pothole, the vehicle made a clunking sound, and the front passenger’s side wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the front brake system had melted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the brake pads had previously been replaced a year before the failure. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V629000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Vehicle presented to A&T Auto Repair with rotation-dependent clunking sound. This clunking started after loud metallic snapping noise occurred while coasting in gear on a flat surface. Mechanic noted that clunking noise came from the transaxle. Once the transmission fluid was drained, metallic grit and large chunks resembling gear teeth were found in fluid. A replacement transaxle was installed, along with a new "clutch kit" containing flywheel, pressure plate, and slave cylinder. Following installation and engine start up, slave cylinder leaked, prompting the order of new parts and replacement labor. According to Mechanic, four different slave cylinders from two separate manufacturers leaked in the same fashion upon engine startup, due to a "locking" malfunction of the slave cylinder. The recurrent nature of the parts failure seems to indicate a deficiency in part design that causes a fluid leak, possibly endangering driver and passengers in the event of a transmission failure.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and experienced hard shifts from first to second gear and from second to third gear. The contact stated that the RPM were significantly high prior to shifting gear, then decreased before the vehicle accelerated as intended. The contact stated that the transmission had failed to shift to reverse(R). The contact stated that DTC: 4P07A5; was retrieved, indicating transmission friction element B stuck On. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Symptoms: No-start condition (wouldn't crank w/o jump); delayed or harsh shifting; lost power (stalled going up tiny hill). Warning lights: transmission malfunction - service now; check engine light. Our symptoms and warning lights are consistent with Ford's Fiesta Transmission Control Module recall, however the VIN for our car is not part of the original recall. We meet all of Ford's recall eligibility criteria: reported before June 30, 2025; vehicle is less than 10 years old; vehicle has fewer than 150,000 miles. By virtue of the symptoms, warning lights and meeting Ford's other criteria strongly suggest our VIN should be included in the recall.
The contact called on behalf of a customer who owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated the owner had brought the vehicle in complaining about a metal sound coming from underneath the vehicle as if metal was dragging. The sound was most prominent when turning the vehicle to the left or right. The contact stated that after inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the sound was coming from the axle bearings. The transmission had failed due to the transmission gear due to the axle failure. The contact was aware of Technical Service Bulletin: 16-0129; the federal safety agency ID Number: 10109047 (Power Train) and Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 regarding the DTS transmission for rough shifting and the differential gears failing. The contact spoke with a dealer where it was confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the TSB or the Customer Satisfaction Program. The customer was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the TSB or Customer Satisfaction Program. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.
Transmission control module for a 2015 Ford Fiesta Is admitted by Ford as faulty, and a known issue. This part has had to be replaced several times, And there's no guarantee on durability Or that there won't be future issues. Ford has admitted safety issues include loss of transmission engagement while driving, lack of power and slow or delayed shifting, No start, shuddering, stalling, slipping, ECT.
I bought my 2016 ford fiesta with 31k miles on it. At the time I didn't research too deeply into the transmission issues these models have. Since my car hit about 45k miles I've experienced shuttering, jumping, clicking, and rough shifting or complete lack of shifting in the transmission while driving safely and normally. I've experienced my car dying randomly because the TCM is faulty and uses all the car's power even when the car isn't on. During a period my car was having lots of trouble turning over the engine to start. Had a bunch of vacuums and wiring replaced and this helped a bit with the car starting. Now it's at 67k miles and I'm completely scared to drive it. It never feels reliable given the faulty TCM, I've had to buy an extra portable car jump starter just so I can make sure I'll be able to drive home, and now I just want ford to buy it back. It's overall a faulty car that is foreshadowing a future of replacing something related to the transmission every 5k miles which is ridiculous and completely unaffordable. Please remedy this catastrophic issue ford!
While driving to a traffic light before coming to a complete stop my car seemed to rev up after the shifting down then engine gets high when releasing brake and going about 15 MPH before coming to the next traffic light then the check engine light appears and is steady as I'm driving to work there is a "hard shift" while going about 15-20 MPH in city driving.. I was told verbally by a mechanic that my model car has had these types of issues such as:"automatic clutch" not performing properly in the past and my vehicle is out of warranty and not on the recall list
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Ford Fiesta harsh shifting
Which Ford Fiesta years have harsh or hard shifting problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2011 (16 complaints), 2013 (15 complaints) and 2014 (8 complaints).
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