2000 Ford Focus from North America - Comments

Within the first 2 days of owning my 2001 Ford Focus SE, the engine failed. Apparently, there was a faulty gasket. Two weeks later, the Oxygen sensor had to be replace. Two weeks later, the intake manifold had to be replaced along with a tail light. After 25,000 miles, the rear shocks had to be replaced along with the front brake pads. Also, the rotors needed to be machined which thinned them out. The front rotors were replaced at 40,000 miles.

At 20,000 miles, I complained about a smell coming through the ventilation system so they had the vehicle for 2 days and removed the dash to spray a resistor. That was part of a silent recall. There are a total of 14 recalls on the vehicle however, Ford has only been public with 6.

The both front wheel bearings were replaced at 45,000 miles. There is also a clicking noise from the transmission while accelerating. Ford is aware of this problem.

The car handles great, but that's about it. I felt guilty about buying a foreign car because I live in the automotive capital and I work in the industry so I opted for the Focus, but next time it will probably be a Toyota.

I have a 2000 Ford Focus with a water leak on the front passenger side floor board. It is coming from around the air intake vent underneath the dashboard on the left side of the passenger compartment. It has always come from that spot and I have had the water leak verified multiple times by service advisers and service managers, but always get the car back with the comment that leak could not be replicated or leak is fixed. I have even had the dealership tell me they could not find the leak after dropping it off with it actively leaking. They have replaced the plenum cover and cowl panel multiple times, inspected various things for damage, checked all tubing, checked fire wall for burn holes, checked a/c for leaks by running it for several hours multiple times, resealed roof seam and windshield, resealed seam between cowl and windshield, and finally replaced the windshield... and it still leaks. After 9 service visits to the dealership (just for the h20 leak), countless waisted hours going round and round with the service manager and the worthless people in customer service, and over 50 days in the shop for water leak, recalls, and every other problem under the sun, Ford has finally agreed to send me a dispute settlement board application for outside arbitration. The worst part about this is that Ford knows this is a problem, as the service manager told me that the regional rep. knows this is a problem with the 2000 Focus, but they don't know how to fix it. Also, it is an intermittent problem and only seems to happen after driving in heavy rain, but will leak for hours afterwords, sometimes enough to saturate the floorboard immediately and sometimes its just a trickle. If anyone would like to talk more about this problem and their experiences with Ford about it, please e-mail me at aschaffle@radford.edu. I have also looked into the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act and Uniform Commercial Code, but have not gotten very far with either without a lawyer.

We've experienced the same problem with mysterious water collecting under the floor mat on the front, passenger side of our 2001 Ford Focus. Have you been able to fix your problem? If so, what was the solution?

I am experiencing the same problem with my 2001 Focus. I haven't taken mine to the dealer yet.

I have a 2000 Ford Focus SE. I recently experienced a problem with the ignition cylinder/lock and the electrical ignition switch. If anyone who owns a focus puts their key in the ignition and it will not turn, you may possibly have a faulty cylinder or switch. A locksmith can repair these parts if they are not covered under warranty.

Hello, I have had a focus for 12 months without any real trouble, however, during recent heavy rain storms the passenger foot well filled to about 2 inches it also spread to the rear passenger foot well. it seems worse when the car is parked and facing downhill???

I don't suppose any one has cracked the fault yet?

Regards to all fellow bathers.

Dave in the UK (right hand drive)

I have a 2000 Ford Focus. In the past 4 years, I've had the following problems.

1. Leaking on the Passenger side floor. (This was fixed at no cost)

2. Gasket problem that resulted in exhaust odor.

3. Brakes that went bad after 40K.

4. Blown engine at 69,000K miles. The piston collided with a spark plug and ruined the motor.

PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE A FORD FOCUS.

I purchased a 2000 Ford Focus SE in April 2001 with 12k miles.

1- Replaced front brakes at 40k

2- Replace all 4 tires at 45k

3- Replaced starter under warranty at 50k

4- Replaced front axle bearing at 60k

5- Replaced cooling thermostat at 60k

6- Replaced front right wheel bearing at 60k

7- Replaced iddle air control valve at 60k

8- Replaced complete lock cylinder at 62k

I have been running upward of $2,500 in repairs of which $1,900 since July 2004. I have done all required maintenance in the past. This car is a piece of junk and it is becoming worse and worse.

Has anybody experienced such a falling apart of the 2000 Focus at or arond 60k? Is there any legal actions that can be taken? I do not qualify under the lemon law because of too much mileage. Still, I do not think a car should fall apart at 60k. It is disappointing and unfair.

21.9.2004.

I've just read the water leak comments with amazement - I thought I was alone! My 2003 Ghia leaks like a colander, it's been back to the local dealer 3 times-but I think that as it was supplied to my company by another dealer they just can't be bothered. It has recently been leaking into the drivers footwell also - the supplying dealer are supposed to be picking it up on 23.9.04 to fix it (by the way I had to chase them, despite our fleet manager asking them to contact me) - wonder if they will manage to solve it??? I think it's all to do with the scuttle panel along the bottom of the windscreen, once that's been removed for pollen filters etc there is no way it's gonna keep out water - if it were my own car i'd have thrown the keys back by now.

Chris - Kent, England.

Following on from my previous entry - the dealer appears to have solved the problem.

There is apparently a new modified pollen filter housing to cure the water ingress problems and guess what?

It's rained all night and I have a dry car (well inside anyway!)

Time will tell, but looks good so far... go to your dealer and enquire about this new part, luckily mine was still under warranty.

Good luck.

Chris Rand, Kent UK.

Under warranty 34,000 miles I had to have a new transmission put in it. I also have problems with my ignition I have to hit on it a few times to get it to turn. I now have a problem when I get to about 70 miles an hour it sounds like a relay in my fuse box is opening and closing and I can't fiqure out what is causing it. If anyone has had this problem please let me know.

I was very interested to read these comments about leaks. We had a leak in the front passenger footwell of our 2001 2.0 litre Ghia while the car was under guarantee. The garage said it was caused by the air conditioning seal having warped. They fixed it a cost of £70, saying that this was not covered by the guarantee. Now we find that it is still leaking and I have noticed that the felting under the bonnet is wet and smells. I will ask them to look at the pollen filter housing now. The garage claimed not to know about this problem on other cars. I wonder if this can be right, having read the comments here.

Otherwise, the car is great and I was thinking of getting a new one. Does anyone know if they have fixed the problem on the current Focus?

Patrick Sprunt, London.

My Ford Focus also had 2 inches of water in the passenger foot-well. The main dealer offered an exploratory look for a minimum of 4 hours and that they had no idea what the cause was.

Fortunately, I have a very competent husband, who checked the web - found the cause - (thanks everyone for bothering to write) -purchased the new part from same main dealer service department - including 'extra bits' (a foam sealing strip) that he may need to cure the problem. He completed the repair and my Focus seems fine now. He also bought 2 new clips at the same time in case they broke during the repair.

Since then we have heard of yet another Focus in the next street with ingress of water problem. I shall be writing to the head of servicing at Fords.

I have had 2 Ford Focus and both have leaked water into the front nearside footwell - sometimes up to a third of an inch. On the 1st Focus the repair was carried out free of charge, but because of multiple other problems I traded it in for a newer Focus. This leaked in exactly the same way, but Ford would cover only 75% of the repair cost. The repair has failed and the car is leaking again. A relative owns a garage repair business and told me that Ford have issued another bulletin about this problem. I've had enough and am switching to another make.

Brian, Manchester UK.

I very seriously doubt that many of the comments included here have anything to do with owners of the excellent ford focus, i have owned two focuses for the past two years without a hint of a problem. i have owned fords all my life, and yet again I was not disappointed with car or reliability... i have a strong feeling that about 90% of the negative comments posted on this site are from fords biggest rival manufacturer? who realize they can't possibly compete with the focus, so take cheap shots at it through sites like this! I have heard that the leaking problem on the passenger side usually occurs the first time it rains after a service, and is due to incorrect seating of the pollen filter. oh I've just realized a fault I did have with my 1999 zetec 3dr!..a number plate light bulb needed replacing for its mot!lets not forget people that fords focus recently trounced manufacturers like bmw in a recent german reliability survey, and I'm inclined to agree.. or am I and everyone that I personally know incredibly lucky? great site!..but lets keep it impartial eh?