200 complaints reported

2018 Ford Focus Engine

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
200
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2025

The contact's niece owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact's niece received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that after his niece started the vehicle, the engine was misfiring significantly. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, and the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was related to the recall. The dealer had not provided any diagnostic information and informed the contact that the part had been ordered for the repair. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2025
Apr 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the recall repair was performed twice; however, the failure persisted for almost two months. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that parts might take a while to be available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2025
Apr 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the low oil pressure and the check engine warning lights illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2025
Apr 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated unintendedly. The check engine, oil, and engine failure warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired three times, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2021
Apr 2025

Oil pump belt and/or oil pump tensioner failure. Could cause engine and brakes to go out. Diagnosed by mechanic. Not available without extensive inspection. Engine light came on followed by oil light. Ford is only recalling affected vehicles with an automatic transmission. Mine is a manual transmission.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Mar 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Mar 2025

I was going 60mph down the highway when my timing belt snapped and I lost all power. I see ford has a recall for the same engine, the 1.0 3 cylinder ecoboost, same problem, but the recall is only for cars with automatic transmissions. Mine is a manual. It went out completely with no warning. I was left coasting in the dark down the highway. Then left sitting on the side of the highway until someone could pick me up.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Mar 2025

UNKNOWN Took my vehicle in to check recall and get oil change, and two-days later I had to bring it back. The check engine light came on and they stated that oil was leaking.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2025
Mar 2025

Manufacturer Recall Number 23S64 NHTSA Recall Number 23V905 I am sending this from in as my car is still not repaired & has been worked on for over 8 months with no fix for the recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Mar 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the oil warning lights illuminated. The check engine and the oil warning lights illuminated with an audible clicking sound. The contact's daughter merged to the side of the road. The contact then towed the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with engine oil pump failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Feb 2025

Coolant kept emptying out and causing the engine to overheat randomly. The only warning would be having to immediately pull over right then because the engine was dangerously hot. Heater core had to be replaced because it was extremely damaged even though no accidents or anything happened to cause it to be. The metal of the core just failed in an area cause a huge hole.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2025
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Feb 2025

In 2021 there was an issue with my vehicle before 50,000 miles that the engine completely seized and had to be replaced under warranty. It took 3-4 months to get my vehicle fixed and sent to 3 different dealerships because every location did not want to fix the car and we had to fight them to get it back to me. Once I finally got the car back, less than a year later it started to pull a code saying that the engine was over heating and the engine would turn off in the middle of the road and I would have to coast to get out of traffic. Because of the engine replacement I was granted till 80,000 miles for warranty to expire and so I repeatedly brought my car in over the past 3 years for this issue while the car was still under 80,000 and each time I was told there was nothing wrong with the car. Now, the head on the engine is no longer operational and I'm outside of the 80,000 miles warranty. Conveniently, now that that the car is once again at a Ford dealership, they have now found that the head of the engine is cracked and leaked coolant into the engine. The dealership that it is at now is one of the dealerships that looked at it before and told me there was nothing wwrong.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2022
Feb 2025

On August 26, 2025, my 2018 Ford Focus suffered an engine failure and had to be towed by AAA to [XXX] of Saugus. Prior to the tow, service advisor [XXX] confirmed the vehicle could be inspected for secondary engine damage connected to Ford recall 23S64 (oil pump drive belt). On August 29, [XXX] texted me that the engine required replacement due to engine failure but that Ford would not cover it since the oil pump belt itself had “not failed.” He claimed Ford only covers engine replacement if the belt breaks outright. This is inaccurate: recall obligations extend to secondary damage caused by the defect, which in my case left the car inoperable. When I requested inspection documentation, technician notes, and photos, Service Director [XXX] and [XXX] told me “there is no checklist” and insisted the car was “drivable,” which was false—I have the AAA tow receipt. Internal correspondence shows [XXX] asking if photos “must have been taken for SSSC contact,” yet the case was never escalated to Ford’s Special Service Support Center as required. On Sept. 30, [XXX] emailed me that he would no longer respond, accused me of manipulating details, threatened storage fees, and refused to perform recall repairs. On Oct. 1, in person, he told me [XXX] “does not need to follow Ford recall protocol” because it is a private dealer and that he blocked my vehicle in Ford’s system to prevent any [XXX] location from performing recall work. I believe [XXX] of Saugus and Ford Motor Company have failed to comply with federal recall obligations, misrepresented the condition of my vehicle, refused escalation, and retaliated against me. I respectfully request NHTSA investigate Ford and enforce compliance with recall 23S64 so my vehicle has both the recall and the secondary engine damage repaired, ensuring that my car is safe to drive INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2025
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Jan 2025

The contact owned a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. While the contact was about to pull over to the side of the road, the vehicle functioned normally. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact called the dealer; however, the contact was advised that there was a waiting list. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while starting the vehicle, the message "Engine Pressurized - Stop Immediately" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the radiator hose had detached. The vehicle was not repaired and was pending an inspection of the engine. The contact stated that the recall repair was still pending. The dealer failed to provide an appointment for the recall repair. The contact was informed that there were several warning lights illuminated; however, the contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The contact was the second owner of the vehicle and stated that the original owner experienced the same loss of power with the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2025
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

See attached document for complaint

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2024
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled for diagnostic testing. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked at the residence and upon attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was jumpstarted by a towing service. The contact stated while driving to the dealer at 25-30 MPH, the vehicle experienced engine hesitation. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with metal shavings in the engine oil. No further information was provided. The dealer related the failure to the recall and informed the contact that the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2024
Dec 2024

The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while the driver was driving 50-55 MPH in the rain, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving; however, the vehicle jerked and lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that while the driver was depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle shuddered and became undriveable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer related the failure to the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered to reimburse the contact for any rental vehicle expenses incurred. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2024
Dec 2024

I began having issues with my car engine in March of 2021. I talked to a mechanic friend of mine who did and check online and found out that there was a recall for 2018 Ford Focus vehicles. I contacted Darcars Ford of Lanham in Lanham, MD and told the Service Director (NAME UNKNOWN) this information and he stated that there was no recall for my particular VIN. My car engine seized up and was undrivable. I had to pay to get my vehicle towed to Darcars and also pay approximately $600 for them to check out my car. I had to get a whole new engine which cost close to $5,000. I didn't have the money to fix it and Darcars stated that I didn't have a warranty so I would have to come out of pocket for all of it. I was unable to drive my vehicle for approximate 6 MONTHS due to this issue. Luckily, I drove for LYFT part-time and I was able to rent a car thru them so I could continue going to work and taking my daughter to school. Eventually, I was able to save up enough to purchase a brand new engine and have it installed. I would like to know how I can be reimbursed for my purchase? This recall was a MAJOR inconvenience in my life and set me back substantially. Any assistance would be deeply appreciated.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2021
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump belt tensioner. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that soon after starting the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle then failed to accelerate above 35 MPH and was driven to an independent mechanic. A diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle and the contact was instructed to stop driving the vehicle due to a drive belt failure. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); which was linked to the failure; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 52,595. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 FORD FOCUS, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023

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Quick Summary

The 2018 Ford Focus has 200 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.