Seats, brake and powertrain issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2019 Ford Fiesta was the final model for the lineup. The automaker claims that this particular car “gets personal, inside and out,” but many owners wish they hadn’t invested any money into this outgoing vehicle. It suffers from defective air bags, malfunctioning service brakes and a dangerously built structure
Air bags are an essential addition to all modern vehicles to ensure that occupants remain safe during an accident. When the air bags fail to deploy, they can’t possibly serve in the way they were intended.
That’s what is shown with this NHTSA complaint. “The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. The contact’s daughter was driving at 30 mph when she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into an electrical pole. The contact stated that the front passenger side of the vehicle was damaged as well as the vehicle flipped over landing in front of a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact’s daughter sustained head injuries due to making contact with the steering wheel. Medical attention was received. The vehicle was towed to the city’s local impound lot. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.”
There are no recalls right now and no communications from Ford addressing the problem. Sadly, there are other concerns showing that this car isn’t safe to drive in, with working or non-working airbags. More on that in a minute!
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Power Train | |
| Air Bags | |
| Engine | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Electrical System | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Electrical System: Integrated Trailer Brake Control | |
| Electrical System:horn |
Another essential piece of safety equipment is the braking system. When the brakes fail, drivers have little hope of walking away from an incident unharmed.
Here is another complaint that was filed with the NHTSA. “The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle failed to decelerate when the accelerator pedal was released. The contact stated that the engine RPMs were at 1,100. When the brake pedal was depressed, there was a delay, the vehicle continued to move forward, and the RPMs dropped to 750. The vehicle was taken to [dealership] where it was diagnosed that there was computer failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 5,100.”
Other issues seem to plague the Fiesta. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V629000 illustrates that the front brakes can drag, due to swollen seals. The reason this occurs is because of the wrong assembly fluid used with the brake calipers during manufacturing. When this happens, the swollen seals cause the brakes to start dragging, allowing them to also overheat and prevent the car from stopping in time. To repair the problem, dealers have to flush out the brake fluid and replace the calipers, as well as the brake hoses. Still, most customers don’t want to drive this death trap any longer and would do better to upgrade to a new vehicle before a major accident occurs.
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What’s most alarming is the state of the structure on the Fiesta. While it is designed to be a cheaper vehicle, it shouldn’t be as unsafe as it actually is.
One Edmunds user states, “I was hit near the back right hand side yesterday and it is nothing but body damage, the side airbags did deploy (not that it was necessary, this was a mere fender bender at best) but parts of the vehicle that probably would have been fine had they not deployed for no reason are now destroyed due to the airbags ripping the interior apart. Most of this car is made of cheap plastic. The seat belt on the driver’s side is now locked up completely and unusable. The radio stopped working and I don’t know why. The car called 911 automatically so that’s good I guess.”
Aside from the defective air bags and malfunctioning service brakes, the NHTSA has also issued a warning about the safety of this structure. The NHTSA states that the side barrier rear passenger side is defective due to the possibility of an intrusion of the door entering the cabin, which can strike the rear passenger occupant and cause a lower spine injury. With this data in mind, it’s clear to see why Ford didn’t want to continue producing this lemon any longer. No owner should attempt to “get personal” with this Fiesta, but instead drop it off for a party at the junkyard.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Ford pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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I have a 2019 Ford fiesta that I leased out of korfa in sterling Colorado..
Can y’all help us make Todd Judy Ford fix our 2019 Ford Fiesta? My wife took our car to get it inspected , when she went to leave their facility the hood ajar light was on and would not go off . The check engine light was on for a leak in the evap system ,and gradually over time the oxygen sensors malfunctioned and now the cam shaft positioning sensor completely malfunctioned causing the engine to make this loud rapping noise from the top end . I think they messed with the car to get us to buy a new one . We got letters from Todd Judy Ford asking us to sell our car to them but we did not respond to them because we have no intention of selling our car because we still owe over $13000 on it . Can you guys help us make them fix it?