Selling a junk Ford Fiesta
Any Fiesta sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Ford Fiesta
NHTSA has 4,350 owner complaints on file for the Ford Fiesta, model years 2001 to 2019, the 103rd-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (1,509, 35%), engine (506, 12%), other (475, 11%). 206 complaints involved a crash, 43 a fire, and 195 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 49,500 miles. The 2011 model year has the most complaints (1,040). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Ford Fiesta by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 | Latches and locks | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 1 | Transmission and drivetrain | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 1,040 | Transmission and drivetrain | 52 | 7 | 3 | 60,000 |
| 2012 | 834 | Transmission and drivetrain | 19 | 8 | 3 | 48,000 |
| 2013 | 918 | Transmission and drivetrain | 19 | 10 | 3 | 37,500 |
| 2014 | 653 | Transmission and drivetrain | 37 | 13 | 7 | 43,000 |
| 2015 | 368 | Transmission and drivetrain | 28 | 0 | 4 | 55,000 |
| 2016 | 253 | Transmission and drivetrain | 18 | 2 | 0 | 59,000 |
| 2017 | 107 | Transmission and drivetrain | 12 | 2 | 0 | 51,500 |
| 2018 | 46 | Transmission and drivetrain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 38,437 |
| 2019 | 129 | Driver assistance | 16 | 1 | 3 | 51,500 |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Ford Fiesta recalls
NHTSA lists 12 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for latches and locks (5), fuel system (2), driver assistance (2). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2019 model year, driver assistance (campaign 25V695000, Oct 2025): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles.…
- 2019 model year, driver assistance (campaign 24V951000, Dec 2024): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Flex, Fiesta, and Lincoln MKT vehicles. The rearview camera may intermittently display a blank or distorted image.
- 2015 model year, latches and locks (campaign 23V775000, Nov 2023): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
- 2011 model year, latches and locks (campaign 20V331000, Jun 2020): 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…
- 2014 model year, latches and locks (campaign 20V177000, Mar 2020): Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fiesta, 2014-2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississi…
What a Ford Fiesta is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Fiesta on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a bad transmission 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Ford models
- Ford F-150 44,577
- Ford Explorer 38,749
- Ford Escape 36,252
- Ford Focus 29,852
- Ford Fusion 28,862
- Ford Windstar 19,399
- Ford Edge 18,133
- Ford Taurus 16,270
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Ford Fiesta worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Fiesta gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Ford Fiesta that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Ford Fiesta?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Ford Fiesta numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.