Reliable Auto DB

2013 Ford Fiesta reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2013 Ford Fiesta has 667 complaints with NHTSA after 14 years, or 103 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 8 Fiesta years on this site. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Latch and Air bags.

2011 Ford Fiesta SES hatchback
Photo by IFCAR, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons Public domain
Complaints

667

Per year

103

Recalls

3

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (391 of 667), then Engine (109) and Structure (78). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 31,483 miles, and the middle half falls between 8,855 and 63,019 miles. Those filings include 12 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 7 that report an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Fiesta has 617 complaints, 57 per year, and the 2014 has 502 complaints, 63 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Ford Fiesta. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (3)

Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2020-06-08 · NHTSA campaign 20V331000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 2,147,323
Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2015-04-24 · NHTSA campaign 15V246000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 456,440
Recall Air bags 2012-10-05 · NHTSA campaign 12V488000
Summary Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles, manufactured from November 3, 2009 through September 21, 2012. The vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The passenger side curtain air bag will not deploy in the event of a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty. Although the side curtain air bag system was designed to suppress the side curtain air bag under this scenario, that information is not explained in the owner's guide for these vehicles as required by FMVSS No. 208.
Remedy Ford will notify owners and dealers will reprogram the vehicle's software free of charge so that it no longer suppresses the passenger side curtain air bag when the front passenger seat is empty, and consistent with the description in the owner's guide. The safety recall began on October 26, 2012. Owner's may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Vehicles affected 154,471

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (667 total)

Powertrain
391
Engine
109
Structure
78
Electrical system
62
Latches, locks, and linkages
47
Speed control
43
Fuel and propulsion system
14
Air bags
13
Electronic stability control (ESC)
13
Exterior lighting
10
Service brakes
10
Suspension
7
Engine and engine cooling
4
Seat belts
4
Steering
4
Seats
3
Traction control
2
Wheels
2
Equipment
1
Forward collision avoidance
1
Fuel system, gasoline
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Lane departure
1
Tires
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Show 17 more Show less
Crash-flagged

12

Fire-flagged

4

Injury reports

7

Death reports

0

Of the 547 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 31,483 miles. The middle half fall between 8,855 and 63,019 miles.

Complaints filed per year

32012592013109201413820158120164620173620188520194020201620219202219202312202410202542026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fiesta. The contact received the recall notification letter for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V331000 (latches, locks, and linkages). The contact stated that the passenger-side door opened while…"
    Latches, locks, and linkages · filed 2026-06-02
  • "The vehicle experienced a sudden transmission failure while driving. Before the failure, the car began shuddering and hesitating during acceleration. It then started making loud metal grinding noises from the…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-04-16
  • "I was driving down [XXX] . I stopped at a stoplight. When the light turned green I pressed the gas to accelerate when suddenly mid intersection my transmission went out causing me to have no power. Approximately 5…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-03-31
  • "My low beam heads both stopped working at the same time. Upon investigation I identified the problem came from corrosion of the relay in the battery junction box. This problem exactly matches a Ford recall for some 2013…"
    Exterior lighting · filed 2026-02-16
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle experienced a loss of power and decelerated. The…"
    Powertrain · filed 2025-12-19

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD 4 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2013 Ford Fiesta 5 HB FWD 4 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Fiesta front-wheel drive 1.6L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 29 37 32 MPG $2050
Fiesta front-wheel drive 1.6L, 4-cyl Manual 5-speed Front-wheel drive 29 37 32 MPG $2050
Fiesta SFE front-wheel drive 1.6L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 29 38 32 MPG $2050

Specs and fitment

6th generation, 2011–2019
Body styles Sedan, Hatchback
Oil 5W-20 (1.6L, all trims incl. ST) , 4.2 qt capacity
Tire size 185/60R15 to 195/50R16

Known issues for this generation

U.S. 2011-2016 Fiesta models built with the optional PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmission (DPS6) developed a well-documented pattern of rough shifting and repeat repairs to the clutch and clutch seals. NHTSA found no evidence that the transmission is a safety risk and did not order a recall. Ford settled a nationwide class action, Vargas v. Ford Motor Co., covering 2011-2016 Fiesta and 2012-2016 Focus PowerShift owners, with final court approval in March 2020; in August 2019 Ford separately extended the clutch warranty to seven years or 100,000 miles on roughly 560,000 of these cars. Only PowerShift-equipped cars are covered by the settlement.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Ford Fiesta Next year 2014 Ford Fiesta See every Ford Fiesta model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Ford Fiesta reliable?

The 2013 Ford Fiesta has 667 complaints with NHTSA after 14 years, or 103 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 8 Fiesta years on this site. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Latch and Air bags.

What are common problems with a 2013 Ford Fiesta?

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (391 of 667), then Engine (109) and Structure (78). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 31,483 miles, and the middle half falls between 8,855 and 63,019 miles. Those filings include 12 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 7 that report an injury.

Is the 2013 Ford Fiesta more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Fiesta has 617 complaints, 57 per year, and the 2014 has 502 complaints, 63 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Ford Fiesta been recalled?

The 2013 Ford Fiesta has 3 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Ford Fiesta?

Owners have filed 667 complaints about the 2013 Ford Fiesta with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Ford Fiesta get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Ford Fiesta is 32 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2016 Ford Fiesta?

6th generation (2011-2019), the only Fiesta generation sold in the US.

Does the Ford Fiesta have PowerShift transmission problems?

2011-2016 Fiestas with the optional DPS6 dual-clutch automatic were covered by a 2020 class-action settlement and a 2019 clutch warranty extension; NHTSA did not order a recall.