2003 Ford Focus SE review from North America

The fuel economy is horrendous on this car. When I bought it in summer of 08, I was trying to replace my Cadillac Seville with something that had better fuel economy and took regular gas. Every review I read said that the Focus would give me between 30 and 35 mpg. I bought this car and the mileage has been well under expectation from the start: 15-21 mpg.

I brought this to the attention of the dealership. They told me that since it wasn't throwing a code, there was nothing wrong with it. I then called Ford Corporate Canada to get this resolved. They said they would call the dealership to see what could be done and call me back. I waited 2 days and called corporate back. At that time, I was told by a different rep that the dealership had never been called. The new rep made the call.

I was told to bring the car in at my convenience to have them take another look at it. When I took the car in, one of the used car guys changed the air filter and suggested I put in some fuel injector cleaner. Awesome service. None of that worked.

A few weeks later, I went back in a third time and spoke to the service manager stating that the Focus I purchased for the great gas mileage was getting the same gas mileage as my Cadillac and Chevy Blazer. If I'm getting the same mileage, might as well be comfortable and drive a Caddy. To be brief, he told me that if the computer showed no codes, there was no way to figure out what was going wrong. I contacted corporate who told me there was nothing they could do.

The car has not had any mechanical issues per se, however I will not be buying a Ford anything again. I can't see the logic in supporting a car company (American or not) that will not support me and at least try to investigate a problem with a newly purchased vehicle.

I plan on spreading the word about Ford's lack of customer care by selling this car as soon as the weather breaks to someone else who will no doubt complain to Ford as well. If Ford ends up being the only US automaker to survive this recession intact, I will be buying foreign for the rest of my life.