Comments: 1-15, 16-17
You name it.
Endless, endless recalls.
Weather stripping loosened on passenger door and flooded the passenger foot well after a rainstorm. This was an undetectable fault until the dealer found out what went wrong.
Right rear door started "creaking" for no reason. Dealer said there was frame damage (!) even though the car had never been in an accident. Fixed under warranty. Still baffled by that one.
Dealer keeps breaking things. Scratched the A pillar and now the passenger seat belt doesn't retract properly after they fixed ANOTHER recall.
The right rear door/window sounds like it's open all the time. Very shoddily built.
After two years in Europe (prior to being sold in the US) I assumed they would have fixed all the bugs. Boy was I wrong. This thing is the most unreliable car I have owned in years. To add insult to injury the dealer network is awful, they continue to damage the car after fixing yet another problem, and EVERY repair seems to take at least two or three trips to the dealer to get sorted out.
This car has soured me on ever buying American, much less Ford, again. The cheapest parts are used. It's like Ford thinks their customers are idiots. I cannot believe this junk heap is the best selling car in the world.
Well, in Europe, they have -- it's a pretty good car, I just can't understand why perfectly good cars in Europe like the Focus, Mondeo (Contour/Mystique in the US), Golf, and Vento/Bora (Jetta in the US) aren't as dependable when assembled in America/Mexico. Granted their reliability is nowhere near the Japanese, almost all reviews for Focus, Golf and Jetta coming from America are all negative. Same with the Chrysler/Jeep products outside America -- not much bad news about them, but then again ours is built in Austria.
All I have to say is never buy the first year of any car, even an import.
I am the one who posted the original post.
Since my post, the car has had MORE recalls and even worst mechanical problems. The passenger foot well flooded again for ANOTHER reason and the same day it was going to the dealer for the leak the ignition lock tumblers broke, not allowing the key to start the car. The tow truck guy said this was the 5th Focus he had seen like this.
The same thing happened with my focus. The ignition broke and I was unable to start my car. It was a mess, but it's fixed now and seems to be working pretty well.
Fix or repair daily. Will they ever get past that?. My ignition key would not work, tow truck driver said tumbler broke. Already had the bearings fixed, from recall. This thing is falling apart and its only 2.8 years old.
I see many complaints about the ignition system such as the key sticks or will not turn in the lock. The cost of repair seems to fall between 400 and 500 dollars. Befor returning to the dealer who will replace befor repair try another option... a locksmith.It works and somewhat cheaper!
Thankfully I haven't experienced the locking up of the ignition, YET! Rather, I do agree with the leaks and the unknown wind noises. I have to wipe down my dash after early morning dew. I get a whistling noise from my front windshield (upper passenger side) at any speed above 40mph. The rear wiper seems to be a PART-TIME worker.
Sorry to hear about how badly the car is in other countries. That just makes the rest of us HARD WORKING AMERICANS ashamed of how our quality reflects back upon us.
I purchased my Ford Focus LX in May of 2000. Upon leaving work one day in May of 2002 I found my key would not turn in the ignition. The car was towed and repaired under warranty. It worked just fine until July of 2004. Once again I put my key in the ignition and it would not turn. The car has approx. 70,000 miles on it so this problem seems to present itself every 35,000 miles in my case. Anyway, I brought the car into the Ford dealership (the second time) and argued they should correct the problem under warranty (even though the warranty had expired) because they obviously didn't correct the problem the first time. I was told they could not do this, and that as of yet, there had been no recall issued, so they told me I would have to pay. They wanted almost $400.00 for the repair, and on top of all this the Service Manager told me he's seen this problem many times and that it's a widespread issue Ford is very aware of. This experience soured me completely on this vehicle and Ford Motor Company in general. I have owned only two cars in my entire life, both Ford vehicles, and after this, as well as other experiences, I will never purchase another Ford product again.
As I metioned above, this was only one of the many problems I've had with this car. A few years back the Fuel Injector failed in the middle of the Arizona desert while I was on a cross-country trip. That was a nightmare, as I'm sure you all can imagine. This was also after I noticed the issue in New York and asked a "Ford Five-Star Service Center" to look into it. They told me they couldn't recreate the problem and so, in their opinion, there was nothing wrong. It took me a lot of phone calls and yelling to finally get the issue fixed under warranty (when it broke down in the desert my warranty had just expired, but when I had them look into the issue in New York the vehicle was still covered, so I argued it was their mistake.) Six months later Ford issued a recall for this exact same problem. It was no surprise to me!
Now I am also noticing a transmission issue. I drive a five speed and now when I shift from gear to gear the motor revs, the up-shift light/indicator comes on (even in fifth gear), and it takes a moment for the car to actually accelerate. This is fun on hills, and I live in Los Angeles where there is no shortage of them. I have an appointment at the dealer next week and I am terrified at what I might find out. If it's another big deal I'm trading this thing in and getting a Toyota. I'm sick of this game. I guess the days of manufacturing a product and sticking by its performance are gone.
As for brake issues I've had none. I've replaced the front brakes twice, the rear brakes once, and the front rotors once. This does not seem excessive since the vehicle has 70,000 miles on it. I have also not experienced the flooding issues I've heard described. I am, however, wondering what's next? This car has been nothing, but problems.
If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues please feel free to contact me at moviescott2001@yahoo.com.
I have to say that I have actually had great luck with my Focus, despite all of the reviews claiming the 2000 Focus is a bad car. I bought mine used just this year and it has been such a good car for me. I have no recalls on it and it has not given me any problems at all. The funny thing is, is that I hear a lot of people claim VW's are not good cars and they have a lot of problems, but Fords are good cars. Just wanted to put in my input since I seem to have gotten a good Focus.
I have a 2003 ford focus with 40.000 miles and the ignition is stuck and will not turn just like the others. This problem should be addressed by the ford people, it is definitly a defect that needs to be corrected.
My daughter came home for the holidays in her 2000 Ford Focus only to be stranded in the driveway because the ignition key would not turn. Upon checking the Internet we saw that this was a reocurring problem the Ford Corporation will not address or recall. We were told her extended warranty would cover the cost minus the deductible $100.00, only to get a call back to say it wasn't covered under her extended warranty and now after XMAS it is $197.00. This is ridiculous, why are we paying for a warranty that doesn't benefit us ever? who should break down the differences in warranty packages for the consumer to understand this foolishness... i feel it is a rip off.
To all the people who are having problems with there ford Focus, you know what they say a squeaky wheel gets the oil. Send your complants to the ford motor company at ford.com. The more people who do this, the better the chance that they will do a recall. Come on People.
I personally believed the Euro Focus was manufactured with much better parts that will actually meet the engineer's spec, not like our North America Ford's sub contractor that aren't using as high quality material as they were in Europe, that is probably the main reason for this vehicle to fail in Ford's home land (I'd say right in their face).
As for my story, I had my recalls done right away whenever I received the letters. Worst thing happened to me is my ignition coil failed on me right when we had the big black out, dealership charged $500 dollars for repair. Fine! and done! Out comes the car...
Now, my intermediate axle shaft bearing (half shaft bearing) is making a loud noise, CALLED two dealerships in around my area and they all wanted to charge me for the whole axle shaft. I told them there is a TSB (technical Service Bulletin number 03-15-11-AA) issued on that matter and they still tried to tell me I have to replace the whole shaft. Wrote to Ford of Canada and complaint and their response is " their dealerships are not regulated by Ford and they're all independently owned, they cannot interfere with this matter". As far as my concern, the local dealerships are trying to rip owners off and I'm stuck!
Never again will I ever buy a Ford or Ford related product (i.e. Mazda, Jaguar, Lincoln, Volvo and Rover).
I am the original poster again. Just thought I would add that I sold the Focus (at a GREAT loss - this car screws you in every way possible) and leased a Scion xB.
Like the Focus, the Scion was a first year model (2004). UNLIKE the Focus, the Scion has only had a few minor problems in the 30K miles I've driven it, and certainly nothing as dramatic as 20 recalls and water coming inside!
It just proves to me that, yet again, buying an American car is always a crapshoot (read virtually any American car review and you will ALWAYS read good and bad stories, NOTHING consistent), yet buying a Toyota or Honda is a much better bet.
No car is perfect, but today I don't wake up every morning regretting my car choice as I did for two years with the Focus.
I bought my 2000 Ford Focus in January of 2006, (70,000kms) and up until July of this year I have had a great time driving, washing and listening to the CD player. This is the newest car I have ever owned and I felt so proud to drive it. Until.
I was driving for a few hours on a highway doing around a 100kms. I slowed down for a vehicle ahead of me and once I tried to accelerate my car chugged and sputtered. The hesitation felt like the car might stall. I managed to get home to my garage and park it. I let it sit for a while afraid to even know what might be wrong, as it still was not paid for completely. My brother helped me to change out the fuel filter and the air filter to start. We sliced open the old fuel filter to see if it was dirty and found it to be quite clean, as was the air filter. We took the car out for a test drive and the hesitation would not happen. Problem solved? Again I was brave and drove it on another two hour trip. No problems. Then on the way home from the two hour trip again a small hesitation, but only once and then it was fine.
I also have noticed considerable wear on the back drivers tire, and after reading some of the postings about back wheels falling off I am really starting to get scared. I wonder if recalls for free include second hand vehicles with no warranty?