FaultScore

Worst years for a Ford Fiesta

Owners have filed 4,342 complaints about the Ford Fiesta with NHTSA across model years 1988 to 2019. More of them are about the transmission & drivetrain than anything else.

Avoid

2011 Ford Fiesta

1,040 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly transmission & drivetrain.

Cleanest on record

2018 Ford Fiesta

46 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Ford Fiesta year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2019 C 120 16 1 51,000 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2018 B 46 5 0 38,437 Transmission & Drivetrain
2017 C 105 12 2 50,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2016 C 253 18 2 53,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2015 C 368 28 0 48,420 Transmission & Drivetrain
2014 D 653 37 13 40,050 Transmission & Drivetrain
2013 D 917 19 10 30,105 Transmission & Drivetrain
2012 D 833 19 8 45,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2011 D 1,040 52 7 57,645 Transmission & Drivetrain
2002 1 0 0 Transmission & Drivetrain
2001 1 0 0 Doors, Latches & Locks
1991 3 0 0 Engine & Cooling
1989 1 0 0 Seat Belts
1988 1 0 0 Electrical System

What breaks on a Ford Fiesta

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Worst in 2013

Engine & Cooling 550 12.7%

Worst in 2011

Body & Structure 411 9.5%

Worst in 2012

Worst in 2013

Worst in 2011

Worst in 2011

Worst in 2012

Worst in 2015

Airbags 104 2.4%

Worst in 2011

Brakes 84 1.9%

Worst in 2011

Steering 73 1.7%

Worst in 2011

Worst in 2011

Lights 53 1.2%

Worst in 2012

Suspension 41 0.9%

Worst in 2011

Exactly what failed on a Ford Fiesta

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Body 298 50.5%
Door 100 16.9%
Latch 87 14.7%
Automatic Transmission 37 6.3%
Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) 24 4.1%
Clutch Assembly 22 3.7%
Headlights 9 1.5%
Horn 5 0.8%
Fuses AND Circuit Breakers 4 0.7%
Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs 4 0.7%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Ford Fiesta, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Jan 1996 peak 191 Aug 2026

Ford Fiesta problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Ford Fiesta

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.