2001 Ford Focus ZX3 review from North America

Fuel pump went out.

Battery cables get hot and wire insulation shows signs of melt. And no, I am not running any thing off of the cables.

Front rotors warped.

Front end easily misaligned.

Radio went dead.

Popped spring tore a hole in the driver's seat and injured driver.

Slave cylinder hydraulic line cracked.

Shifting linkage out of adjustment.

Fuel Delivery System went out. There was a recall on it that no one bothered to tell me about. So I had to put in a new fuel pump before finding out that I could have gotten it done for free.

Hood latch quit working and was stuck down. I had to pull the cable gently (no, I did not break it) to open the hood. Then the thing would not sit down like it was supposed to. Frustrated and unable to afford parts - and needing the car every day for work, I decided on a quick fix. I cut the metal tongue with a reciprocating saw and simply installed hood pins, like the ones on race cars.

Brakes, as on all Fords, went bad and required new rotors. I think those things must be made of lead to warp so easily.

A leak has developed in my slave cylinder. This means my clutch pedal no longer does what it is supposed to. Why did it crack? It's plastic! Amazing that some thing that handles that much pressure is made of plastic. That surpasses cheapness; it is negligence!

While I was under my car I saw that, just as unbelievably, the thermostat cover is also plastic! I mean, we are talking about water running at high temperatures and pressures, with a plastic thermostat cover. This is nuts!

A spring in the driver's seat began boring into my butt. Finally after a week it popped through the cloth and tore a nice little gash in my seat - and my butt and made me bleed a little on my clothing and the chair.

The factory radio quit working in stages. First the light quit coming on. Then it just stopped playing. Fuses were good. Nothing electronic was wrong with the car. It's just junk.

The front suspension is an insanely stupid design. This is also probably why the brakes go bad. But the most noticeable result is the front wheel alignment being totally ruined by only moderate pot holes at only fair speeds.

Simply put - this car is a lemon. It's junk. It has a total of 5 recalls on it. Let's see, one for windshield wipers that quit and sometimes catch fire, another for battery cables that start fires, another on the fuel pump, and yet another for seats that suddenly break and recline while driving down the road.