Motor Almanac

Ford / Fiesta / 2012

2012 Ford Fiesta

Family: Fiesta · filed with NHTSA as FIESTA

Summary

  • In its first three years the 2012 Fiesta drew 171 complaints — 1.0× the median of its generation (2011–2019). It does not stand out from the other years of this generation.
  • These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
  • Of the 561 complaints that name a component, 49% concern Powertrain (274).
  • 3 recalls filed for this model year.
  • 3 federal defect investigations cover this model year.

In the news

At a glance

Owner complaints
617
Recalls
3
Investigations
3
NCAP overall
4 of 5 stars
Combined MPG
32
Annual fuel cost
$1,950
Median mileage at complaint
45,000 mi (n = 491)
Crashes / fires / injuries / deaths
12 / 5 / 17 / 0

What owners report

Powertrain

274 complaints · 49% of complaints that name a component · median 42,000 mi (n = 211)

Owner report While driving, my son's car started to have issues when it was shifting gears (it's an automatic). Then a warning came up on the dash saying something like "Transmission malfunction, service immediately". We were on our way to a mechanic to pick up another vehicle so we left it with them. They confirmed the issue and s…
Owner report The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to a gas station for servicing, the contact was informed that the brake calipers were sticking, and the calipers and rotors were extremely hot. The calipers and rotors were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was take…

Body & Structure

128 complaints · 23% of complaints that name a component · median 44,200 mi (n = 113)

Owner report FRONT PASSENGER DOOR LATCH DON'T STAY SHUT AND NOT ABLE TO LATCH SHUT, MOVING TURNING LEFT THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN.IN CITY STREET.. NOTICE IT WAS ON A RECALL... TURNED IT IN ON APRIL 6,2021
Owner report AFTER A RECALL OF DOOR LATCHES THAT WERE REPLACED I HAVE HAD 3 OTHER LATCHES MALFUNCTION. MOST RECENTLY MY DRIVER SIDE DOOR. I HAD TALKED TO MY DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR NOW. THEY DID REPAIR ONE LATCH AFTER THE RECALL WORK WAS DONE UNDER WARRANTY. I CURRENTLY CANNOT SAFELY DRIVE MY…

Engine

75 complaints · 13% of complaints that name a component · median 35,000 mi (n = 56)

Owner report The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine compartment, and the vehicle began to vibrate violently, after which the contact observed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact also stated that there…
Owner report Car TCM blew and Leif Johnson refusing to schedule repairs with loaner car for fix.

9% of complaints name no specific component and are left out of the shares above.

Across the generation (2011–2019)

To compare years fairly, each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints. Median of the comparable years: 171.

Model yearAll complaintsFirst three yearsNote
2011730127
2012617171
2013668309most complaints
2014504188
201525955fewest complaints
201617928not compared
20177521not compared
20183512not compared
201910514not compared

Recalls

Whether a recall has been fixed on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

20V331000 · LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

Filed 2020-06-08 · 2,147,323 vehicles

Defect: 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.

Risk: 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.

15V246000 · LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

Filed 2015-04-24 · 456,440 vehicles

Defect: 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.

Risk: 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.

12V488000 · AIR BAGS

Filed 2012-10-05 · 154,471 vehicles

Defect: 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.

Risk: An occupant in the right rear seating position will not have coverage from the side curtain air bag in a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty, increasing the risk of injury to the right rear occupant.

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.

Federal investigations

ActionComponentOpenedClosedRecall
RQ19005LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH2019-12-192022-02-0720V177000
EA15002LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH2015-02-272015-11-1315V246000
PE14028LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH2014-09-112015-03-1820E010000

RQ19005: Door Latch Failures

EA15002: Door Latch Failure

PE14028: Door Latch Failure

Engines and fuel economy

VersionEngineTransmissionDriveCityHwyCombinedFuel cost / yr
Fiesta FWD1.6L 4cylAutomatic (AM6)Front-Wheel Drive293732$1950
Fiesta FWD1.6L 4cylManual 5-spdFront-Wheel Drive293732$1950
Fiesta SFE FWD1.6L 4cylAutomatic (AM6)Front-Wheel Drive293832$1950

Fuel cost is EPA's estimate at the fuel prices of its last update, not today's.

Crash test ratings (NCAP)

VariantOverallFrontalSideRollover
2012 Ford Fiesta 5 HB FWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆
2012 Ford Fiesta 4 DR FWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆

Service bulletins

Ford issued 86 service bulletins listed against this model year, most often about power train.

A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so one listed here may not be specific to this year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.

DateComponentSummary
2026-02-24ELECTRICAL SYSTEMFord and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the access…
2024-10-10UNKNOWN OR OTHERWhile performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions. …
2024-04-24EQUIPMENTAll accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicles owner during ini…
2023-05-04POWER TRAINCertain 2011 through 2015 Model Year Fiesta and 2012 through 2016 Model Year Focus Vehicles Equipped with a DPS6 Automatic Transmission Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage REASON FOR THIS SUPPLEMENT âÀâ Due to on…
2023-04-04STRUCTUREFor 2000-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis purposes is likely to cause errors and is not recommended. It is also not recommended to order a replacement module using a vehicle identification numbe…
2023-01-13ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGCertain 2011-2013 Model Year Fiesta Vehicles Operated in the USA Corrosion States Battery Junction Box Clean and Seal In some of the affected vehicles, the position of the Battery Junction Box (BJB) in the engine compartment is subject to …
2022-11-07EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUALCertain 2011 through 2015 Model Year Fiesta and 2012 through 2016 Model Year Focus Vehicles Equipped with a DPS6 Automatic Transmission; Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage REASON FOR THIS SUPPLEMENT Non-Ford Part Usag…
2021-07-30POWER TRAINFord is extending the warranty coverage on the DPS6 automatic transmission TCM to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle, whichever occurs first. This extended warranty coverage will address intermi…
2020-09-02POWER TRAINThis customer satisfaction program updates the TCM software in affected vehicles to provide improved detection and over warning of electrical circuit failures in the TCM. As communicated in a previous Customer Satisfaction Program (14M02),…
2020-08-26EQUIPMENTSome 2011-2019 Fiesta vehicles may exhibit various concerns following IPC replacement. Symptoms may include: no crank, 'Contact Hotline message', odometer displaying incorrect English or Metric units and/or diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U21…

How to read this page

Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more often after news coverage or a recall. That is why this page compares a model year only with other years of the same generation, never with other models.

Each complaint is counted once, even when it names several components; a complaint that names several systems appears under each of them. Owner reports are quoted as filed and have not been verified by NHTSA or by us.

Every model year of this Fiesta, including the ones without a page of their own, is listed on the Ford Fiesta model page.

Sources

  • NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls and investigations (bulk files, data as of 2026-10-28).
  • NHTSA New Car Assessment Program: crash test ratings.
  • U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines, transmissions and fuel economy.

MotorAlmanac is independent and not affiliated with NHTSA, EPA or any manufacturer. This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection. Before buying a used car, check its VIN for open recalls and have it inspected.