AutoUtility currently tracks 178 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Ford Fiesta. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 101 complaints (56.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 10 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 6 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 178 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Powertrain & Transmission (101 reports • 56.7% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (31), Electrical System (26)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 10 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 6 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Ford Fiesta
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Powertrain & Transmission
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Fuel & Propulsion System
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Ford Fiesta
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Ford Fiesta
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The transmission started slipping in 1st and 2nd gear."
"I have come to find that this vehicle suffers from premature slave cylinder failure, there are roughly 62,000 miles on the vehicle. Typical failure is reported to Ford between 70,000 and 80,000 miles. First symptoms appeared at roughly 58,000 miles. As I am a single father and a full time..."
"Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 110,000. It was later discovered that the actual mileage was 190,000."
"The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended and hesitated to respond. Additionally, the vehicle failed to reverse as intended. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a..."
"The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and it was determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The..."
Complaint History for Ford Fiesta
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2019)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Ford Fiesta | 258 | 16 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Ford Fiesta Current Page | 178 | 10 | 0 | Current |
| 2017 Ford Fiesta | 73 | 7 | 0 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Ford Fiesta | 35 | 4 | 0 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Ford Fiesta | 97 | 13 | 3 | View 2019 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Ford Fiesta
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 48 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 69 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Timing Belt Failure
On December 18, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE25020 to investigate instances of timing belt failure in model year (MY) 2015-2017 Ford Fiesta and MY 2015-2018 Ford Focus vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company (Ford), equipped with a 1.0L engine and manual transmission (subject vehicles). Additionally, MY 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport and MY 2016-2018 Focus vehicles with a 1.0L engine and automatic transmission were analyz...
Timing Belt Failure
On December 18, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE25020 to investigate instances of timing belt failure in model year (MY) 2015-2017 Ford Fiesta and MY 2015-2018 Ford Focus vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company (Ford), equipped with a 1.0L engine and manual transmission (subject vehicles). Additionally, MY 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport and MY 2016-2018 Focus vehicles with a 1.0L engine and automatic transmission were analyz...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.