2014 Ford Focus ST — Should You Buy One?
Typical asking price: $8,000–$14,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.
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Kestrel Take
Read this record with one fact in hand: NHTSA files the ST under plain FOCUS, so all 2,653 complaints are the whole model line. Sixty percent of them are the DPS6 dual-clutch automatic, and the ST was never sold with it — it is a six-speed manual only. What is left still matters a great deal. Ford recalled this exact car for a canister purge valve that stalls the engine while driving with no restart, then recalled it again in 2019 because the fix was skipped, then again in 2026 because it was done wrong; and separately for engine harness splices that make a 2.0L ST hesitate or cut out. Ten fires and 69 crash reports sit in this file. A stock, unmodified ST is one of the best-driving cheap cars of its decade. Run the VIN for every open campaign before you go and look at one.
What we checked
Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25
NHTSA holds 2,653 owner complaints for the 2014 Ford Focus ST, and 12 recall campaigns.
A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 60% of them are about one thing — the transmission and drivetrain. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.
12 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.
Known Issues for the 2014 Ford Focus ST
Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.
Recall 18V735000 covers 2012–2018 Focus cars with the 2.0L GDI or GTDI engine: the canister purge valve can stick and pull excessive vacuum through the fuel vapour system, which stalls the engine while driving and leaves it unable to restart. Ford then issued 19V515000 because 2013–2014 Focus ST cars never got the powertrain module update they were supposed to, and 26V369000 in 2026 because cars repaired under the first campaign were repaired incorrectly. Three campaigns for one stall is the story here. The fix is free — a module reflash and a purge valve if the codes call for it. Get the VIN checked against all three before you hand over money, because the seller almost certainly does not know which ones his car had.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $250–$700 for a purge valve and charcoal canister outside the campaigns
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (362); 12 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recalls 14V495000 and 15V813000 both name the Focus ST with the 2.0L engine directly: the crimped splices in the engine wiring harness that feed the manifold absolute pressure sensor were not compressed enough, so the sensor sends wrong signals and the engine hesitates or stalls. Dealers replace the splices free. This engine cluster also carries eight fire reports, and a separate 2026 campaign, 26V011000, covers a block heater on 2.0L cars that can crack, leak coolant and short out when plugged in — Ford's advice is to stop using the block heater until it is replaced. If the car is wearing a block heater cord out of the bumper, that campaign applies to it.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$900 for a harness splice repair outside the campaigns
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (466); 12 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
This is the biggest number in the file and it needs explaining rather than repeating. The overwhelming majority of it is the DPS6 PowerShift dual-clutch automatic in the ordinary Focus — shudder from a standstill, slipping, "Transmission Overheated" on the dash, clutch packs replaced two and three times. The ST came with a six-speed manual and nothing else, so that fault is not on your car. What does apply to an ST is ordinary manual wear driven hard: a clutch and dual-mass flywheel that judder on take-up, and a soft rear transmission mount that lets the whole drivetrain rock under power. Pull away gently in first, then floor it in third from 2,000 rpm and feel for slip.
Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,400 for a clutch and dual-mass flywheel; $150–$400 for a transmission mount
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (1,596).
Recall 14V514000 covers 2014 Focus and C-Max cars built between 8 and 15 August 2014 with incorrectly assembled steering gears, which the consequence notice describes as impaired steering up to loss of steering control. Dealers replace the gear free. It is a one-week build window, so most 2014 cars are outside it entirely — but you cannot tell by looking, and the build date is on the door jamb sticker. Read the sticker, then run the VIN. The steering cluster around it carries 12 crash reports across the whole Focus line.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $800–$1,600 for a steering gear otherwise
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (227); 12 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 16V643000 covers 2012–2015 Focus cars whose door latch pawl spring can break, so a door will not stay shut and can swing open in motion. Recall 20V331000 then went back over cars already repaired to check the latch date codes, because some of the replacement latches were wrong too. Both repairs are free. You can feel this one yourself: with the car parked, shut each door normally and then pull hard outward on the handle, and listen for a door that thunks twice or will not catch on the first swing.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $200–$450 per latch otherwise
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under latches/locks/linkages (47); 12 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
A known trait of this generation of EcoBoost rather than something in the federal record: in cold or damp weather, condensation pools in the bottom of the front-mounted intercooler, gets swallowed in one gulp under hard acceleration, and the engine misfires and pulls power until you stop and restart. It is alarming and it is cheap — owners fit a small drain or a breather modification. Ask whether the car has already been done. If it drops to limp mode once on a damp test drive, that is what you are feeling, not a dying turbo.
Repair cost (estimate): $100–$400 for a drain or breather modification
Source: not yet checked against public records.
Walk-Away Red Flags
- ✗An aftermarket tune, intake or intercooler fitted by a previous owner
- ✗Judder or shudder through the pedal as the clutch takes up
- ✗The engine cutting out at idle or on a trailing throttle during the test drive
- ✗A check-engine light cleared within the last few days — ask when and why
- ✗A block heater cord hanging out of the front bumper
- ✗A door that thunks twice or will not catch on the first swing
Good Signs
- ✓Recalls 18V735000, 19V515000 and 26V369000 all shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
- ✓Factory airbox, factory intercooler and the original powertrain calibration in place
- ✓A clutch and dual-mass flywheel replaced with a dated invoice
- ✓A steady pull from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm in third gear with the boost holding
- ✓Full-synthetic oil changed every 5,000 miles with receipts
- ✓Build date on the door jamb outside the August 2014 steering gear window
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