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Electrical systemPart report

2013 Ford Focus Electrical system Problems

Complaints
276about this part
Share
13%of 2,112 total for the year
Median mileage
43,495miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 276 complaints about the electrical system of the 2013 Ford Focus, 13% of the 2,112 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 43,495 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved and 5 a fire, according to the filers. 3 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

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

“I was driving away from my boyfriends house heading to the interstate 95 . As I was driving I noticed white smoke coming out of the dashboard, I the car around and headed back to my boyfriends house, I put the car in park and jumped out, my boyfriend came outside and he was able to put the fire out.”

NHTSA complaint #11320363, filed 2020-04, 125,000 miles

“We had transmission clutches replaced through recall. This did not fix problem. While driving, car will start flashing transmission error, hill assist error, breaking error , etc.. Then the car will stall. We have taken it to dealer 3 times now. This has happened on busy city streets and highway.”

NHTSA complaint #11230491, filed 2019-07, 60,000 miles

“On thursday august 2, 2018 around 8:30. The wires in the dash board caught on fire. The card began to fill with smoke. I could smell the burning and I wasn't sure of what was happening. I could hear a spark sound and I could tell that the wires where burning. This was an extremely dangerous situation, the entire car might have caught on fire , if my boyfriend didn't come and contain the fire.”

NHTSA complaint #11115481, filed 2018-08, 80,000 miles

“My 2013 Ford Focus would not randomly start the other evening, after a couple tries it started. On the way home it would not shift properly and acting like it was going to stall. My engine light came on, which never had before. So the next morning I went to go take it to auto zone to have them do a diagnostic and my vehicle started right up, however it would not go into reverse. I have read there have been several issues with the Focus' transmission.”

NHTSA complaint #11404127, filed 2021-03, 141,700 miles

“My radio in my car does not work but before that it started popping and crackling really loud with the ignition on or off moving down the road or stopped. Whenever it wanted to it did it. It was so loud it would scared me to the point I would jump and almost go off the road. But now it just doesn't work. I've looked into it and a lot of people report this problem but nothings been done about it and I feel somebody safety is in jeopardy.”

NHTSA complaint #11326722, filed 2020-06, 180,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2018496%
2017364%
2016837%
2015646%
20142459%
201327613%
20123529%
20112522%
20104315%
20094520%
20085723%
20078522%
20064723%
200511326%
200418347%
200352253%
200227730%
200149628%
20001,34336%
1999218%

Other parts of the 2013 Ford Focus

Transmission and drivetrain
1,102 complaintsEngine
344 complaintsSteering
273 complaintsFuel system
263 complaintsOther or unknown
198 complaintsVehicle speed control
112 complaintsBody and structure
84 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
53 complaintsElectronic stability control
36 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
29 complaintsAir bags
26 complaintsBrakes
24 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Ford Focus

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 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