Carrier/rack problems of the 2013 Ford Focus

Several weeks ago, random, sudden thuds began to occur on what sounded like the roof of the car; sometimes a single thud, sometimes two or three. This was while the car was in motion; and not with the radio on. It happened daily, until this past weekend, throughout the evening on Friday 10/11 and whenever driving on Saturday 10/12 and Sunday 10/13 (without the radio or cd player on) loud, sudden and prolonged sizzling and crackling/popping sounds would break out in what sounded like the dashboard(?) and doors? my granddaughter was witness to all of this, and we both were frightened by it each time it happened (a total of 20+ times?). I considered not driving the car at all, but have no other means of transportation and live in a somewhat rural area. It obviously is electrical in nature, and is a progession from the thuds that were initially happening several weeks ago. What on earth can be going on this car? again, it has nothing to do with the sound system, because it all happens when the radio hasn't even been turned on. I'm afraid that a wiring breakage has occurred somewhere and a fire could potentionally break out in the cab!.

For awhile my speakers would make a weird pop noise almost as if someone was disconnecting an aux cord and then the entire radio would stop working. The only way to make it work again would be to turn the car all the way off and then back on again. As time went on it got worse. It used to randomly make a really loud static like crackling noise no matter what the volume was at and id have to turn the radio off to fix it. Even turning the car off wouldn't work anymore. Now the screen is blank and the radio doesn't work at all. I can't turn the radio off or on and I can't recieve calls through sync anymore. This all happened regardless if my car was in motion or idling.

The radio/speakers will suddenly make a loud popping sound/crackling sound out of nowhere. The popping/crackling is often loud enough to where it startles the driver, which is a huge safety issue. This happens randomly so the driver cannot be prepared for the loud, startling noise. TSB issued for st model but not se. Please help. There are hundreds if not thousands having this problem! please consider a recall. It is costing owners thousands of dollars to "diagnose" and sometimes get a fix. Thank you.

Stereor issues - loud popping, crackling, white noise, high frequency that hurts you ears. The volume control does not help. This occurs randomly and it's so loud it is dangerous. The speakers can even make noise when the vehicle is off. There are numerous problems people have been reporting about this issue as well. Occurs when vehicle is in motion, stationary and even turned off. . Read more...

Initially, once vehicle is started and radio is turned on, crackling sounds are heard across entire dash of car. Radio stops working. Some days radio works, other days long stretches of crackling and then radio stops. Recently, radio does not work at all. When back door is opened, speaker in rear driver door crackles and sound is heard all the way to the front driver door and across dash to the radio. Radio has stopped working altogether. Cannot be turned off (appears to be on even though not working). Events occurred over 2 week period. No difficulty with transmission, operation or dashboard. Last event with crackling occurred as rear driver side door was opened to put items in back seat. Car not running.

The vehicle- whether stationary, in motion, or driving- emits random loud cracks and pops from the speakers. Even if my radio is turned off- the randomness of it is so scary that it is a driving hazard. I reached out to Ford and they will not fix it.

Loud crackling/popping/static sound comes from radio at random intervals, radio then stops producing sound, have to turn the car off, open & shut door, then turn car back on then radio starts working again. Safety concern is the loudness of the sound coming at random times is startling and can cause an involuntary jerk/jump. . Read more...

2013 Ford Focus audio system does not function properly. Cracks and pop at extreme volumes even when system volume is fully turned down and/or off. Issue occurs even prior to vehicle being started, doesn't matter if car is running, driving, at a stop, in park, etc. Happens all the time. Extremely dangerous situation for driver as the sound is a similar volume to someone setting off fireworks in the car. This will cause accidents for drivers if it is not corrected. Ford claims this is not a widespread issue but a simple google search of "Ford Focus audio issues" brings up many results proving otherwise. Needs to be a recall. Happens every time I drive the car, began about 3 months ago and has only continued to get worse and happen more often. Audio system is not old enough to where I should be required to replace. Under normal circumstances an audio system should last as long as the life of the car, not four years. Ridiculous and dangerous, please correct.

Over the past 1 + years my radio would randomly make a hissing and cracking sound followed by a loud pop and stop working. Both the radio and blue tooth capabilities were disabled. Restarting the car would solve the problem. I have tried several times to update the sync/radio, but have not been successful. As per the Ford sync web site, I used well above the minimums storage (2gb) and had a properly formatted usb device, but the vehicle would not recognize the device for an update. Yesterday the radio completely stopped working and would continue to hiss and crack, even with the car turned off and keys out of the ignition. I have tried to reset the radio, but it is still not functioning and have no blue tooth capability.

Radio short -- the radio has stopped working and makes a very loud popping sound. It began as one loud pop. If you restarted the car the radio would work. Now, even with the radio off, the speakers will make an extremely loud popping sound. It happens randomly, and can happen out of the blue. When it happens it is very sudden, and very loud, loud enough to cause you to slam on the brakes, or immediately jerk the wheel due to fright. The radio makes static without the radio turned on, and even when you are not in the car. . Read more...

The dash unit will cease to work and all speakers in the car will unexpectedly emit an earsplitting, high frequency squeal. This sound is intermittent with a loud crackling and popping which cannot be stopped. This occurs while driving the vehicle, when the vehicle door is opened and the engine is not running, while the vehicle sits without any operation or ignition, or at any other time. The piercing sound has only stopped by removal of fuses in the passenger side fuse box. The entire dash unit will not function and thus does not alleviate the noise. This sound has been produced by the vehicle when not in motion, engine is not running, and car has been immobile for a long period of time. The abrupt, deafening sound is a safety issue which can cause an accident due to the driver’s reaction.

My 2013 Focus started experiencing a loud pop, causing me to jump and swerve, thru the speakers and the radio would stop working. It would happen once in a while. I could reset the radio by restarting the car. It started happening more and more often. It progressed to include a very loud crackling/popping noise. Now (2/09/15) I had to pull the fuse (#79) in order to stop the noise, even when the radio and car were off. I'm without a radio now and looking a large bill. All of this started happening after the 3/36. Started at 46k miles or so. Seems like others are having similar problems.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that he attempted to place a yakima bike rack on the roof of his vehicle but the front and rear clips failed to connect properly. The retailer was contacted and informed the contact that the manufacturer ensured that the rack was adequate enough to function properly. The rack was not replaced.