Ford Focus: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Ford Focus: 8 model years scored from 12,618 NHTSA owner complaints and 68 recall campaigns. Worst year 2012, best year 2011.
Ford Focus: which years to avoid
Across 8 scored model years the Ford Focus ranges from 32/100 in 2012 to 94/100 in 2011 — a 62-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Focus at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Power Train (1,458 of them).
Avoid: 2012, 2013, 2014 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The 2012–2016 Focus is the best-known transmission failure of its decade. Ford's PowerShift dual-clutch automatic (the DPS6) shuddered, slipped and lost drive, and the 2012 model year alone has close to 3,800 complaints on file — more than most nameplates accumulate across their entire run. Ford extended the clutch and control-module warranties, settled a class action, and the problem never fully went away on cars that keep the original design. The 2011 car, the last of the previous generation with a conventional automatic, scores 94 on this site; the 2015–2017 cars are better than 2012–2014 but still carry the same transmission. If you are considering a used Focus with PowerShift, ask for the clutch-replacement history and budget for it; a manual-gearbox car avoids the issue entirely, and the ST and RS are manual-only. The electric Focus has its own, much smaller record.
Read the guide
Ford Focus and Fiesta 2011 to 2016: the PowerShift transmission, explained for buyers — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-01.
How the Focus changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2012–2014
Mean score 37/100, about 218 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (4,152 complaints). 18 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2015–2018
Mean score 65/100, about 104 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (2,007 complaints). The record improves by 28 points against the years before it. 18 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2011 (score 94). Worst: 2012 (score 32, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 68 | CAUTION | $5,674 | 827 | 7 |
| 2017 | 62 | CAUTION | $5,654 | 902 | 10 |
| 2016 | 62 | CAUTION | $6,101 | 1,190 | 10 |
| 2015 | 69 | CAUTION | $5,705 | 1,028 | 9 |
| 2014 | 34 | AVOID | $8,319 | 2,652 | 12 |
| 2013 | 45 | AVOID | $7,339 | 2,107 | 12 |
| 2012 | 32 | AVOID | $9,556 | 3,799 | 8 |
| 2011 | 94 | BUY | $4,832 | 113 | 0 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Focus, through the years →
Focus sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Focus on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Ford Focus
Across every Focus model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Power Train6,179 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Engine2,149 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Steering1,539 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement$1,020–$2,500
- Unknown Or Other1,228 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Electrical System1,091 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Fuel/Propulsion System1,066 complaints across all Focus years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Ford Focus years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2012, 2013, 2014 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2012 is the weakest at 32/100, with its complaints concentrated in Power Train.
What are the best Ford Focus years to buy?
2011 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2011 at 94/100, on 113 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Ford Focus problem?
6,179 of the complaints filed against the Focus across all its model years sit in the Power Train group — more than any other component.
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04