2005 Ford Focus ST 2.3 from North America

Summary:

Nice balance - reliable, economical, peppy, and fun to drive

Faults:

Drivers door stopped unlocking with the remote entry for about a year, but then started working again. Hard to shift into reverse in cold weather.

Other than that, ZERO problems.

General Comments:

This little car can move with the 2.3 engine in a small body. Lots of torque, and pep. Great stereo & speakers requiring no upgrade from me.

I didn't care for the stock sport muffler noise, & the engine is pretty loud.

The car has been very reliable for me so far. I do mostly city driving, which is lots of wear & tear, and at 74,000 miles it still drives like it did when I got it at 27,000 miles.

Gas mileage is 27 city/34 highway, which is great for a car with this quickness.

This is my second Focus. I liked the 2000 model enough to buy the ST, because of the bigger engine and it being fully loaded.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th December, 2009

2005 Ford Focus SE 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Reliable car

Faults:

U joints at 30,000 miles.

Transmission at 75,000 miles (replaced under extended warranty).

Center console broke off at 50,000 miles.

Passenger side back door lock broke at 50,000 miles.

Driver side back door handle broke at 80,000 miles.

Driver side door lock broke at 80,000 miles.

Trunk doesn't open right.

Constantly going through tires.

General Comments:

For all the problems I have had with the car, I have to still say it's a good car for what we do with it. My wife delivers pizza for a living, and we put about 1500 miles a month on the car.

The car is very quick for a 4 cyl. I never have any problems passing on the highway.

The seats are comfortable, but they show everything so I have seat covers on them.

The factory radio is great on the car, and I love the radio controls next to the steering wheel.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th May, 2009

2005 Ford Focus ZX3 SES from North America

Summary:

Good car, if you have a good, timely dealer

Faults:

Air conditioner case cracked.

Condensation leakage from crack dripped on my feet while driving and made carpets moldy.

Front seat carpeting replaced.

Sunroof grinds.

New tires after 12k (Pirelli's no less, that came with the car and was told dealer has no other types.. $$$$)

Rear passenger shock broke.

New alternator (3 times)

New battery.

Seals around doors/windows bad, terrible road noise.

Gas mileage in town around 21 or 22, not anywhere near rated EPA.

Console cheap plastic locking mechanism broke, twice.

Radio buttons are easily scratched.

General Comments:

Take this with a grain of salt, my dealership sucked:

- Love driving it, good acceleration (compared to previously owned vehicle)

- Dealership has terrible service. Absolutely horrible. I could overlook some of the issues with this car and buy another Ford, but I will NOT buy another Ford car. Service was terrible. (Did I say that enough?)

- Gas mileage is an upgrade from previous vehicle, but a far cry from what EPA rated it. I did a highway trip, no air, windows up, not over 55 mph and did not even get 26 mpg. Yuck.

- Backseat is good for smaller adults or kids.

- Trunk space and foldown seats definite plus.

- Sunroof that works right 50% of the time, has been "fixed" by the dealer at least 3 times; one time resulting in grease stains on my ceiling which they agreed to "clean" and are still there...

- Car died after leaving it for alone for a weekend (36k miles, right after warranty), towed to local non-Ford shop; thought it was the battery, replaced battery; drove 3 miles, car died. Towed back to shop; found out alternator is bad, and car has particular kind not regularly stocked, wait for replacement; one or two weeks later, battery light flashes on, immediate return to shop, alternator (again) is bad; replace again... let's hope this one works for a long time.

- ( (Under 2k miles) ) Bought car @ Mile 25, drove to school (2 hours away) ; car sits during week and goes out for weekends, notice odd drips near back passenger side wheel; finally get to take back to dealership at home, find out rear passenger shock is "broken", but car is driveable; wait three weeks for part to come in, does not come in; wait two more weeks for part, no part comes in, dealership decides to take one off car on the lot. Good job (haha - five weeks after figuring out issue)

- ( (Under 5k miles) ) On a trip to work, cold water drips on my feet, hrm.. wonder what this is (summertime and ac running, 30 min trip), bring to dealership, AC case cracked; wait for part.. one week, two weeks... three weeks.. no part. why? On backorder from Ford (is this a big problem?), meanwhile water continues to drip and carpet is mushy all the time - begins to smell; finally, week 6, dealership realizes part isn't coming in and this customer is really pissed, take part from car on lot, replace carpeting in front driver's and passengers side.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th October, 2008

18th May 2009, 12:04

Sounds like you have a lot of bad luck there. Sorry for your problems. You need to switch dealers. On the tire issue, you should have dealt directly with Pirelli for a pro-rated set or gone elsewhere to get new tires. Why did you let the dealer change them if that was all they had and they are the same lousy tires? The AC "backordered" part could also be hard to get because they never really break and it is an uncommon problem. In that case it has to come directly from the factory which would explain the slow process. That seems to be a pretty severe issue to have happen on a regular basis without being resolved by Ford. I am sure they don't want to replace carpets in every car that goes out.

And what's with the mileage? I have never seen below 33 mpg on my Focus including running around at 80 on the highways and in mixed city driving that I do. You have something going on there with the FI system.

Good luck on the rest of your ownership experience.