2011 Ford FIESTA - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2011 Ford Fiesta has an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, which indicates above-average safety features. It scored well in front and side crash ratings, with a combination of stability control contributing to its high scores. Unfortunately, this model does not have collision warning or lane departure warning systems. Despite its generally good safety ratings, there have been 714 complaints and 3 recalls reported for this vehicle. It's important for owners of the 2011 Ford Fiesta to stay informed about any potential safety issues and address them promptly.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

714

Recall Count

3

Investigation Count

3

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2011 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2011 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2011 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2011 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2011 Score 2019 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2011 Score 2019 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating 5 4
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 4
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front 4 4
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear 5 4
Overall Side Barrier Rating 5 4

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2011 Score 2019 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating 4 5

Complaints for the 2011 Ford FIESTA

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle was slow to start. the vehicle started after several attempts. there were no warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clutch needed to be replaced. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to reverse or shift into park after the tcm was replaced. while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop. the manufacturer was contacted, and informed the contact there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle and referred the contact to the nhtsa hotline. the failure mileage was approximately 155,567."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-01-06
Complaint:
"the car lurches, and hops during acceleration. i came to a stop one morning, and it would not move at first. i just bought this car a week ago. i had a test done and the solenoids in the transmission are stuck on."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-02-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly shuddered before inadvertently losing motive power. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. the failure mileage was 56,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-03-09
Complaint:
"see attached document from complainant"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-01-07
Complaint:
"i purchased the car at a buy here, pay here. i drove off the lot with a picture of an engine on my dashboard. i drove my vehicle for 6 months with it feeling like it was jerking. i had trouble excelling. it was stall at stop signs and red lights. i broke down at a red light. when i turned the car on, it would not move from park. it was stuck and so was i on the highway at a light. it took 15 hours for triple a to arrive. i tried to move the car off the road the best i could but it would not shift into neutral. i had the car sent back to the lot where i make my payments to. they sent my car to a transmission shop. they said the transmission was a double shifting transmission and the control module has 4. there are 77,000 on back order for this part. i assumed that the dealership would put me in a new vehicle but they are refusing to. with the part being on back order, this recall can not be fixed for a long time. don’t they need to put me in a vehicle until the one i pay for is fixed? they told me i need to put another down payment on a new car. i thought that recalls of any sort must be fixed and if they don’t get it fixed, they have to put me in a different vehicle."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-05-05
Complaint:
"i only had 77k miles on my fiesta and always well maintained. the transmission system had an internal transmission failure and i was told it would cost $8600 to fix so i had to get a new car. 77k is very low for transmission issues. i called ford and they said only one part within the transmission was recalled so they couldn’t do anything about it. it’s very disheartening that 2011 was a year that didn’t have an extended transmission warranty but other years were. since i couldn’t pay for the repair, i used it as an only $500 trade in for a new car instead of the kelly blue book value. there were no problems before. i was driving to work and i heard a knocking sound so drove it to ford to be looked at."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-05-04
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 ford fiesta. the contact stated while attempting to shift the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle failed to respond. the check engine and an unknown warning light illuminated. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission module needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. the failure mileage was 111,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-04-07
Complaint:
"no incident yet but can smell burnt clutch only 58,000 miles it's the dual clutch for dp6 transmission i think is the name of the transmission , if clutch fails while going up hill and hits the vehicle behind you because all of a sudden your car is not moving . not related to 2011 ford fiesta , but girlfriends 2014 ford focus with around 58,000 miles on it ,mileage is close to my miles , transmission has problems transmission and engine light came on , code said actuator a is bad , but from what i've read on the internet that when transmission and engine light both come on it says bad transmission control module . her car is 2014 ford focus , going to call dealer tomorrow, her extended warranty expired in august of last year . i have also read that ford has extended warranty on tcm to 10 years . we are not wanting to take it there an have them tell us transmission needs replaced . i've owned ford's all my life never seen so many transmission problems with a vehicle as ford has with this dual clutch transmission. i used to be a mechanic all my life , i rebuilt transmissions for 14 years never seen any ford problems like these transmissions are having . if we are told her transmission is bad that will be the last ford's i'll ever own , transmission replacement is 7000 to 8000 dollars to replace when ford knows this transmission has problems , not really fair an owner has to spend that kind of money on something that ford knows is bad from the year 2011 to 2018. thank you for your time"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-08-01
Complaint:
"my car would lose power while driving. also, my 2011 ford fiesta would jump out of gear to hit the car in front of me when stopped at a light. shuddering noises and when it lost power i would get locked out of the car. my safety and that of a passenger was at risk! i parked the car afraid to drive it and had it towed to a ford dealership. i was told a clutch module was recalled but, they didn't know if it was the problem.. as of today november 7, 2022 since last wednesday the 3rd of november i have not heard back. i have anxiety waiting and i am afraid of my own car. i feel this car was a danger to drive as there were no warning lights and i did manage to stop at auto zone and 10 different codes came up all referring to the clutch and my ck engine light did not come on. i am a senior and i wish to sue the ford company for this dangerous problem and safety issue. i could have been killed or have rear ended the car in front of me and the power loss was dangerous as well."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-03-11
Complaint:
"vehicle transmission was repaired 4 times and is failing again. shuttering and has cut off while driving on the highway. issues when going in reverse (slow response or stall). vehicle is unsafe but unfortunately ford will not assist, have been waiting on proper assistance since april 2022. additionally, the passenger driver side door will not open from the inside posing a huge safety issue, took vehicle to ford and they refuse to address the recall without charge. i have a 1 year old child who must occupy the backseat."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2022-07-11

Recalls for the 2011 Ford FIESTA

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 fiesta, 2013-2014 fusion, 2015 mustang, 2013-2015 escape and c-max, 2012-2015 focus, 2014-2016 transit connect, 2013-2014 lincoln mkz, and 2015 mkc vehicles. these vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15v-246, 16v-643 or 17v-210, however the repair may not have been completed properly. a component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not."
Consequence:
A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to inspect their own vehicle's door latches and enter the date codes into a website to determine if the latches are correct. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S30.

Component(s) Involved: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES > DOORS > LATCH
Date of incident: 2020-06-08
Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) notified the agency on april 23, 2015, that they are recalling certain model year 2013-2014 ford fusion and lincoln mkz vehicles manufactured july 1, 2012, to may 31, 2013, and 2012-2014 fiesta vehicles manufactured february 1, 2012, to may 31, 2013. on april 30, 2015, ford expanded the recall to cover an additional 119,567 vehicles, including certain model year 2011 ford fiestas manufactured from november 11, 2009, to may 31, 2013 and certain model year 2013 ford fusion and lincoln mkz vehicles manufactured from february 1, 2012, to june 30, 2012. a component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not."
Consequence:
A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace all four door latches with an improved part, free of charge. Interim notifications were mailed to owners on June 5, 2015. The recall began on December 18, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S16.

Component(s) Involved: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES > DOORS > LATCH
Date of incident: 2015-04-24

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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