Reliable Auto DB

2016 Ford Focus reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 1,192 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Focus over 11 years — 51 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Focus years here — under the median of the other years, which is 131. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Evaporative emissions canister, Manual transmission, and Engine block heater.

2013 Ford Focus SE hatchback
Photo by Elise240SX, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

1,192

Per year

51

Recalls

10

Years on the road

11

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (677 of 1,192), then Engine (237) and Fuel and propulsion system (165). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 61,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 30,225 and 89,000 miles. Those filings include 27 that report a crash, 3 that report a fire, and 19 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Focus has 1,030 complaints, 45 per year, and the 2017 has 903 complaints, 59 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

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 2016 Ford Focus. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (10)

Recall Evaporative emissions canister 2026-06-09 · NHTSA campaign 26V369000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Focus vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 18V735. The Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, causing the engine to stall unexpectedly while driving.
Remedy Dealers will update the powertrain control module (PCM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 29, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S40. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Vehicles affected 257,868
Recall powertrain, manual transmission 2026-06-09 · NHTSA campaign 26V376000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Focus and 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 18V169 and 18V845. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
Remedy Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Additionally, dealers will inspect Focus vehicles and replace the clutch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 5, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Vehicles affected 5,252
Recall equipment, electrical, engine block heater 2026-01-15 · NHTSA campaign 26V011000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
Remedy Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
Vehicles affected 116,672
Recall equipment, electrical, engine block heater 2026-01-15 · NHTSA campaign 26V012000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Focus, 2019 Explorer, and 2024 Explorer vehicles. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
Remedy Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed February 13, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in October 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA4. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026. This recall expands previous recall number 25V685.
Vehicles affected 2,403
Recall engine and cooling, engine, oil and lubrication, pump 2023-12-22 · NHTSA campaign 23V905000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus and 2018-2022 Ford EcoSport vehicles. The oil pump drive belt or drive belt tensioner may fail, resulting in a loss of engine oil pressure.
Remedy Dealers will replace the oil pump tensioner assembly and oil pump drive belt, free of charge. If engine failure occurs due to a damaged oil pump belt and/or oil pump belt tensioner, Ford has authorized dealers to replace the engine assembly as an interim repair before the availability of remedy parts for the final repair. This repair will be free of charge (parts and labor). Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S64.
Vehicles affected 139,730
Recall powertrain, manual transmission 2018-11-28 · NHTSA campaign 18V845000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with a 1.0L Fox GTDI engine and a 6-speed manual transmission. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update vehicles with software that detects and prevents prolonged clutch slip, and will replace the clutch, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S07. Note: This recall is an expansion of Recall 18V-169.
Vehicles affected 2,828
Recall gasoline fuel system, storage 2018-10-22 · NHTSA campaign 18V735000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with a 2.0L GDI or 2.0L GTDI engine. The Canister Purge Valve (CPV) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in fuel vapor management system.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Powertrain Control Module. Dealers will also check for fault codes and replace the CPV as needed. If the CPV is replaced, dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. The recall began August 19, 2019. Owners may contact Ford Customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S32. Note: Until the vehicle is serviced for this concern, owners are advised to keep the fuel tank at least halfway full.
Vehicles affected 1,282,596
Recall powertrain, manual transmission 2018-03-12 · NHTSA campaign 18V169000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford Fusion vehicles equipped with a 1.6L GTDI engine and 6-speed manual transmission and 2015-2016 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with a 1.0L GTDI engine and 6-speed manual transmission. Also included are four 2017 Ford Focus vehicles that had clutch replacements with potentially affected parts. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the Focus vehicles with software that detects and prevents prolonged clutch slip, and will replace the clutch, as necessary, free of charge. Owners of Fusion vehicles will have their clutch assembly replaced free of charge. The recall began August 3, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S07.
Vehicles affected 5,361
Recall structure, body 2017-01-24 · NHTSA campaign 17V052000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Focus and C-Max vehicles. The floor pan may have improperly welded left-hand apron joints.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the apron joints, repairing the vehicle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S03.
Vehicles affected 17
Recall latches, locks, and linkages, liftgate, lock 2016-09-28 · NHTSA campaign 16V698000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2017 Ford Focus hatchback vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, to August 26, 2016 and equipped with a manual transmission. The hatchback of the affected vehicles may be unlatched with a single press of the interior latch release button. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Body Control Module with updated software, free of charge. The recall began February 10, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C13.
Vehicles affected 64,038

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

Complaints by component (1192 total)

Powertrain
677
Engine
237
Fuel and propulsion system
165
Electrical system
85
Fuel system, gasoline
61
Engine and engine cooling
50
Steering
45
Speed control
36
Air bags
15
Wheels
15
Structure
14
Electronic stability control (ESC)
12
Visibility and wipers
11
Exterior lighting
9
Service brakes
9
Suspension
6
Equipment
4
Hydraulic brakes
4
Seat belts
4
Seats
4
Back-over prevention
2
Fuel system, other
2
Latches, locks, and linkages
2
Tires
2
Diesel fuel system
1
Show 17 more Show less
Crash-flagged

27

Fire-flagged

3

Injury reports

19

Death reports

0

Of the 784 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 61,000 miles. The middle half fall between 30,225 and 89,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

15201659201780201819720191332020942021169202215720231692024892025302026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The DPS6 transmission started out shuddering in low gears even after clutch replacement early on. This made pulling out into traffic slower than it should be. Received “transmission overheating” message “pull over for 5…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-09-20
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while in active traffic. There was no warning light illuminated. Prior to visiting the dealer, the vehicle was taken to two independent…"
    Fuel system, gasoline · filed 2026-08-31
  • "I WAS DRIVING 75MPH DOWN I-10 AT 11:30PM AND MY FOCUS SUNDDENLY DIED, I HAD TO PUSH THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER. INFORMATION FLASHED NOT IN PARK AND STARTED GHOSTLY TRYING TO START ON ITS OWN, I BELIEVE THE TCM FAILED. I…"
    Unknown or other, Engine · filed 2026-08-25
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped accelerating. The contact safely pulled into a parking lot and turned off the vehicle.…"
    Engine and engine cooling · filed 2026-08-19
  • "My duel clutch transmission started acting up took it to a mechanic they said it needed the TCM and Actuators and possibly transmission replaced that they should be recalled tried taking it to Thirnhill Ford because I…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-08-16

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2016 Ford Focus 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Focus 5 HB FWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Focus Bev 5 HB FWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 5 stars
2016 Ford Focus RS 5 HB AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated

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
Focus Electric — Automatic (1-speed) Front-wheel drive 110 99 105 MPG / 76 mi range $700
Focus front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (AM-S6) Front-wheel drive 26 37 30 MPG $2150
Focus front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 27 39 31 MPG $2100
Focus front-wheel drive 1L, 3-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 28 39 32 MPG $2050
Focus front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Manual 5-speed Front-wheel drive 26 36 29 MPG $2250
Focus front-wheel drive 1L, 3-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 30 41 34 MPG $1900
Focus front-wheel drive flex-fuel 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (AM-S6) Front-wheel drive 26 37 30 MPG $2150
Focus front-wheel drive flex-fuel 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 27 39 31 MPG $2100
Focus front-wheel drive flex-fuel 2L, 4-cyl Manual 5-speed Front-wheel drive 26 36 29 MPG $2250
Focus RS all-wheel drive 2.3L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed All-wheel drive 19 25 22 MPG $3650
Focus ST front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 22 30 25 MPG $2600

Specs and fitment

3rd generation, 2012–2018
Body styles Sedan, Hatchback
Oil 5W-20 (2.0L, most trims); 5W-30 (ST) , 4.5 qt capacity
Tire size 195/65R15 (S) to 235/40R18 (ST); RS 235/35R19

Known issues for this generation

Focus models from 2012-2016 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, the same underlying defect covered in the nationwide Vargas v. Ford Motor Co. class action settlement (final approval March 2020) that also covers 2011-2016 Fiesta owners. NHTSA found no evidence that the transmission is a safety risk and did not order a recall; in August 2019 Ford extended the clutch warranty to seven years or 100,000 miles on roughly 560,000 affected Focus and Fiesta cars. Only PowerShift-equipped cars are covered by the settlement.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Ford Focus Next year 2017 Ford Focus See every Ford Focus model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Ford Focus reliable?

Owners have filed 1,192 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Focus over 11 years — 51 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Focus years here — under the median of the other years, which is 131. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Evaporative emissions canister, Manual transmission, and Engine block heater.

What are common problems with a 2016 Ford Focus?

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (677 of 1,192), then Engine (237) and Fuel and propulsion system (165). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 61,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 30,225 and 89,000 miles. Those filings include 27 that report a crash, 3 that report a fire, and 19 that report an injury.

Is the 2016 Ford Focus more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 Focus has 1,030 complaints, 45 per year, and the 2017 has 903 complaints, 59 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Ford Focus been recalled?

The 2016 Ford Focus has 10 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 2016 Ford Focus?

Owners have filed 1192 complaints about the 2016 Ford Focus with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Ford Focus get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Ford Focus is 36.2 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2015 Ford Focus?

3rd generation (2012-2018), the last Focus generation sold in the US.

Does the Ford Focus have PowerShift transmission problems?

2012-2016 automatic Focus models with the optional DPS6 dual-clutch transmission were covered by a 2020 class-action settlement and a 2019 clutch warranty extension; NHTSA did not order a recall.