Comments: 1-15, 16-17
At almost 16,000 miles the shifting solenoid went out and had to be replaced, after being in the shop twice for that same reason. The car was making a grinding and clunking noise.
At almost 16,000 miles the ignition tumbler went out preventing me from being able to turn my key and start the ignition leaving me stranded.
At almost 20,000 miles I was informed by several repair shops that my brakes were so bad that not only did my brake pads need replaced, but I needed new rotors as well. Very Expensive, and even though there had been a recall my car was one day off so I had to pay for it out of pocket.
At almost 30,000 miles the ignition tumbler went out again, and I have a feeling that they are not really replacing it.
Other than these problems I do like the car very much. The performance is wonderful and I love it, it is just too bad that there are so many other problems with the car.
This car is garbage, I recommend never buying or test driving it. If you test drive it you will like the handling and high speed pickup, but other than that it seems like the car was thrown together in a hurry for Ford to make a quick buck in the new millennium.
Exact same problem with my car. Ignition tumbler seized at 55 000 km (canadian car) and now again at 85 000. This on top of new brakes AND rotor at 65 000, and a fuel pump at 68 000. This car is a complete lemon. Ford will be bankrupt in a decade if their quality remains at this level.
My Focus 01 Hatchback has finally given me a problem at 49000 miles: the key is not turning in the tumbler until I fiddle with it for five, ten, fifteen and more minutes.
I first blamed Ford because I took it in last week for an oil change; funny, but the problem started as soon as I got home. Well, truth is, I and many owners suffer from paranoia over repair shops and their ethics-rightly so on too many occasions...BUT...FAIR IS FAIR... sometimes we owners are indeed paranoid.
That is why sites like this are important: I found out that other owners do have problems with their ignition tumblers. So, after nearly 50000 mile of flawless performance and no problems, I finally have one.
My point is the Ford Focus in my opinion is a great car at the price. It performs well on all terrains (I do sales and put these miles on in less than three years). As for brakes, I often wonder when I see these maniacal tailgates who ALWAYS ACCELERATE and ALWAYS RIDE BUMPERS... HAVING TO USE THEIR BRAKES A hundred times more than average-how do we blame brakes for goofballs who won't buy a $50000 dollar sports car, but expect the same performance in a normal Focus?
I just traded a 2001 Focus SE in yesterday due to continued mechanical problems and unsolved recall issues. At 4k miles I took it in for 2 separate recalls. At 6k miles the fuel pump went out trying to get over the Sandia Mt.'s in N. Mex. while on road trip. At 10k miles the first recall part went bad, Ford refused to replace it even though it was a safety item in the suspension. The front end continued to clunk and rattle due to this. The brakes at 20K were bad enough to warranty replacement of pads and rotors, and again at 31K the rotors were shot. I live in Hawaii so there is not a lot of long trips here and I don't tailgate or drive erratically. As far as performance, it was pretty much a dog when attempting to pass or gain speed on hills or sometimes on even surfaces. No repeat, no Ford, period.
I bought a 2001 Focus SE and it has 37,000 miles
and I also had trouble with the key not turning.
It cost me 305.00 to have it fixed by dealership.
I now have noticed that when my a/c is on and it
clicks on my headlights and dashboard lights dim
a little. Can anyone tell me if they are having
the same problem. It also shakes a little when the
a/c clicks on. I had the battery replaced and they
had a very hard time getting the battery out and on
and now once in awhile my car won't turn on until
I do it the second time.
My 2000 Ford Focus zx3 currenty has 47,000 miles. I've taken it for 5 recalls probably in the first 2 years of owning it. My brakes and rotors needed replaced at 30,000 miles. The CD player works intermittently. Seems that if I listen to a CD for too long, when I insert the next CD, there is a grinding/clicking sound for about 30 seconds, and then my CD is spit back out. The area beneath the hatchback window is rusting. The molding along the top of the car is coming loose (actually has been since I bought the car new, but I never bothered with it.)
And now, the most serious issue is that my ignition is locking up, which seems to be a common problem. I spend 5 - 10 minutes sometimes getting my key to turn. I'm tempted to just leave my spare key in the ignition so that I don't have to fool with it. Maybe them, someone will steal it.
I have a 2000 SE, and I recently passed 100K miles. No real serious problems have cropped up until this disaster with the ignition. It was a minor annoyance until recently. Since, I have decided to leave the key in there. I have an alarm with an engine kill on it, so I am really not that worried. I park it in my driveway most of the time anyway, but I do leave they key in while it is parked on the street while I'm at work. I don't think its noticeable, nor do I think some one will try and steal my crappy little car. Anyone have a problem doing this? There is no way I am paying 400 bucks out of pocket to get this fixed.
I have a 2001 Ford Focus 4Dr ZTS. Now I just may be crazy, but I just tried to turn on my car and all the appropriate lights came on as usual. The car wouldn't start though. Instead when I turned the key it just made a clicking noise. I don't know what it could be? I am baffled. Can someone help me?
It almost sounds like your starter is shot. I had the same problem with my Buick after it was broken into in the middle of winter and the battery killed.
My brother has a Ford Focus ZTS 2001 model that he just payed off. It has over 100,000 miles and he puts in over 100 miles a day. This car has no problems at all. He did regular oil/filter changes and has change one set of tires and brakes.
He still likes the way the car accelerates and corners. There is no match for its driving dynamics in its price range.
<<My brother has a Ford Focus ZTS 2001 model that he just payed off. It has over 100,000 miles and he puts in over 100 miles a day. This car has no problems at all. He did regular oil/filter changes and has change one set of tires and brakes.
He still likes the way the car accelerates and corners. There is no match for its driving dynamics in its price range.>.
Your brother has a rare Focus indeed. If he had had my friend's (which had endless recalls and trips to the shop) he would have felt differently indeed.
I had a key get stuck in the ignition as well. I was not going to pay the $350 to get the car repaired from the dealer. I purchased the ignition tumbler set from for ($95) and paid my friend who is a mechanic $20 to fix the problem. It took him about 20 minutes to fix the it once he got the key cylinder out. I am happy now :)
This car has been a fantastic car for me. $100,000 miles and going strong. Just replced the plugs, wires and battery. I did have the fuel pump replaced by Ford (recall issue) but other than that, very low cost car to drive.
I have a 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 that I bought new just after 9-11. It has been an excellent car up until about a year or two ago. Then, all of a sudden it began not starting on very hot days after I had driven it to the market. When I got back into my car to go home, it wouldn't start. I'd let it sit for about 30 minutes, and usually it would start up again. No one including the Ford Dealer could tell me what this problem was. I had close to 2,000 dollars worth of work done to it to try and correct the problem. Still nothing. I had replaced the battery, the battery posts and cables, the alternator, and even the entire cooling system (which had become swollen twice its normal size from overheating. I also had to have the engine mounting bracket replaced because the car was making grinding noises when I would drive it slowly and while making a turn. After all of these things I had done to it, the problem still persists. After I drive it and the engine's hot on hot summer days, the car will not start after I stop and then try to go home. The only thing I haven't replaced yet is the starter, but I'm told by several mechanics that a starter problem wouldn't be intermittent. What should I do? Has anyone else had this problem? Oh yeah, also, the rear hatchback latch will not stay closed anymore and I've had to duct tape it closed because Ford wanted around 400 dollars to fix it after charging me 95 dollars to "diagnose" the problem which I already knew. The Ford Dealership also told me that my car had no recalls, which I find hard to believe since it's a 2001 Focus and I've had so many things go wrong with it so early in its life. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Other than a few manufacturer recalls, my 2001 Ford Focus had been running okay until recently. This past Saturday, my engine ceased while I was on a major highway near my home. I had it towed. Both the tow truck driver, the first repair shop, and the mechanic who has it now says that it's pretty much useless to try to repair it. Basically, I need a new engine. How is it that a car that is well-maintained and looking brand-new just dies? The mechanic says that two out of the four cylinders are not even compressing, and that it sounds like something broke loose inside the engine and bounced around damaging everything in its path. Have any of you had significant engine failure? I have about 117,000 miles on it, but I have gotten regular oil changes and taken care of it. What's the deal??? Help.
I got rid of mine at 80k miles. Got absolutely squat for it.
I maintained it as well and it looked good and shiny on the
outside. The car though felt like it was near meltdown with something big going wrong every 2 weeks. Ford used cheap
parts to save money. No matter how well you keep the oil
changed, the cheap parts will fail. Sorry.