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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2016 Ford Fiesta Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
101about this part
Share
56%of 179 total for the year
Median mileage
65,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 101 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2016 Ford Fiesta, 56% of the 179 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 65,000 miles. 5 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Car stalls, doesn't pick up speed, hesitates to start, engine light is on because the gas valve needs to be replaced. Gas warning comes on when half full. Gas smell throughout car. Has a load humming sound when driving or idled. Jumps when accelerate. I have taken my car to a dealership in saint louis (relocated recently) and they won't touch it.”

NHTSA complaint #11234317, filed 2019-07, 20 miles

“While driving on the highway my cars throttle body stopped functioning. Having to try and pull over I got stuck in the middle of traffic. I shut the car off and started it again and everything seemed fine. During the same trip home I got stuck on a small two lane bridge twice for the same reason. After getting off the bridge it happened a fourth time on the highway again doing 70mph.”

NHTSA complaint #11406957, filed 2021-04, 51,000 miles

“Clunk noise shifting from 1st to 2nd gear... I have experienced this from the day I picked up the car from the dealer on 9/29/16 (45 miles on car then).. I thought at first I imagined it or just needed to get used to this car since I had just turned in a 2014 lease car back to toyota so big difference in these 2 cars..”

NHTSA complaint #10916676, filed 2016-10, 45 miles

“Since week 1 the car (when at a stop and in gear) if you pressed the accelerator at any level the car would do nothing then after roughly 3-6 seconds it would randomly launch forward. It would also seemingly go into neutral on the highway which LED to a complete loss of engine power. This also happens when on a normal road at any speed and is completely random and one time at a red light we began to accelerate then power suddenly cut out and we got rear ended lightly. …”

NHTSA complaint #11234469, filed 2019-07, 25,000 miles

“I picked up this new Ford Fiesta 5dr (auto transmission) 9/29/16 & the vehicle now has 1979 miles on odometer. I noticed this transmission issue right after I picked up the car & reported this to the dealer. The car/transmission seems to have a mind of it's own. The dealer at the time could not duplicate the problem & told me when I could duplicate it to return & have it checked; well that's a little hard since the issue is not pre-determined. …”

NHTSA complaint #11005106, filed 2017-07, 1,979 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20192120%
20181029%
20172229%
201610156%
201510541%
201420841%
201339159%
201227444%
201136650%

Other parts of the 2016 Ford Fiesta

Engine
34 complaintsElectrical system
26 complaintsOther or unknown
22 complaintsFuel system
11 complaintsVehicle speed control
11 complaintsBody and structure
8 complaintsSteering
7 complaintsSeat belts
6 complaintsWheels
6 complaintsSuspension
5 complaintsAir bags
4 complaintsBrakes
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2016 Ford Fiesta

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology