2001 Ford Focus SE Sport Limited Edition from North America - Comments

The ignition Switch failed at 86000Km's.

Brakes are squeaking and have since we got the car.

The Fuel Gauge is erratic at times, just started.

Generally the car has been good, but that is probably down to the fact that we bought it when it was 4 years old and all the faults have been fixed.

This car is great to drive and corners like it's on rails. It's not as good as the European Ford Focus, but blows away anything here in terms of handling.

We have just had the Ignition Switch fail and we could not turn the key to start the car.

The Tow truck guy basically said "oh not again" and promptly towed our car to the nearest dealer. The dealer originally said that it would take 3 days to fix, but fixed it the same day when I went berserk. The dealer charged us $400.00 CDN to replace the key Cylinder. The dealer also said that this is a common problem, but they cannot do anything, but fix and charge for an item which should have been recalled 5 years ago. When we contacted Ford to complain they basically said that once the car goes past 60000Kms they don't want to know, even though our car has warranty until 100,000Kms albeit only Powertrain.

I am experiencing other issues such as:

- Loss of power then the A/C is running.

- The fuel gauge is erratic at times. -- The rear brakes are squeeking.

Suffice to say this will be the first and last North American Ford Product I will ever buy. This car should have been built to the same standard as the European Ford Focus. It is hugely reliable and well screwed together.

BTW:

I am considering suing Ford Motor Company regarding this issue. Please email me at: fordfocuscostmemoney@hotmail.com if you had the same or similar issue with the Ignition on your Ford Focus. You can also file a complaint with Transport Canada. Remember if this become a recall you will be able to get your money back just as long as you have your invoices.

Loss of some power when the air conditioning is running is perfectly normal because the compressor uses about 5bhp.

With the focus, it's common for them to lag in power when the a/c is on, also the key issue is usually caused by too much weight on the key rings (ie. too many keys or junk on your key ring) this causes the key to drag on the part inside the tumbler causing it to fail.

The ignition switch premature failure is a well known problem on the Focus (just do a web search to see) but Ford won't accept it for a recall.

You can buy a replacement switch for around US$100, its easy to fit yourself, just make sure you do it when it first starts to fail, otherwise you'll need to drill the lock if you leave it too long.