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Ford Fiesta jerking problems

424 of the 3,179 owner complaints about the Ford Fiesta describe jerking or lurching, most of them for the 2013 model year.

owner complaints
424
worst model year
2013
typical repair cost reported
$2,000
typical mileage
30,211
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.

By model year

What owners say

Filed Oct 26, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

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

Filed Mar 24, 2026 · Transmission · CT

Transmission was supposedly rebuilt back July 26, 3021. Now transmission has had a new dual clutch replaced but other concerns are still there jerkiness on accelerations. In 2021 the transmission was not fully rebuild as per recall. Only clutch assembly was done and not the back end. Which now could be the problem. Second, colonial Ford sated transmission rebuilt has lifetime warranty which a lie. Colonial Ford doesn’t offer lifetime. The service advisors lie about this all the time. Now the car jerks on acceleration after clutch replacement. Dealer and Ford still take no responsibility over the product! The car has 145,000 miles still under the 150,000 mile warranty isssue by you!

Filed Feb 28, 2026 · Transmission · OH

Around 50,000 miles I noticed the car would jerk when trying to shift gears , this issue persisted and would only go on to get worse. It started taking forever to accelerate regardless of pressing on the gas, now at 70,000 miles it won’t shift out of 2nd gear when driving over 40 mph, it’s a huge safety issue .

Filed Nov 24, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · TN

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, but the vehicle jerked and was difficult to start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions but was moderate whenever a lower amount of fuel was added to the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic, where the check engine warning light was turned off, but the failure persisted. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

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 Jul 24, 2025 · Engine, Transmission · 69,000 miles · MD

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked, and an abnormal sound was coming from the engine. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and unknown messages were displayed. The contact's wife continued driving at slower speeds. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission control module (TCM) and engine control module (ECM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

Filed Jul 21, 2025 · Transmission · 123,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked, and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle stalled while driving. The contact waited for a short while and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact was able to move over to the side of the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the vehicle failed to function while in reverse(R). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission PTU had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that recently while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for a while and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the driveway, the vehicle failed to respond while in reverse(R) and failed to move while in drive(D). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle warranty had expired in March 2025. 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 123,000.

Filed Jul 8, 2025 · Transmission · 196,489 miles · NM

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated or jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the shift motor was defective. The contact was informed that the part was covered under warranty and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that after the repair, the check engine warning light returned while leaving the dealer parking lot. The contact continued driving the vehicle and the vehicle entered LIMP Mode while driving to the residence. The vehicle was returned to the dealer the next day and the contact was informed that the transmission control module was defective and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair was not covered under warranty and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair; the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 196,489.

Filed Jun 26, 2025 · Transmission · 86,000 miles · MD

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.

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the Ford Fiesta jerking

Which Ford Fiesta years have jerking or lurching problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2013 (133 complaints), 2011 (86 complaints) and 2012 (83 complaints).

How much does it cost to fix jerking or lurching on the Ford Fiesta?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $2,000 (median of 13 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

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