My father owned the car before I did, but, it was constantly in the shop and most recently, it caught on fire due to something faulty on the hood insulation.
After the fire which resulted in no exterior damage and was completely resolved, according to the dealer, my father got a new car and I got the hand me down. Oh boy!
The car repeatedly wouldn't start on cold mornings and it would take numerous times and numerous pumping the gas to get the car to start during the winter.
I ran out of windshield wiper fluid one day and opened my hood to fill it up and my hood wouldn't shut!! Luckily the safety latch was intact and I could make it to the dealer safely. Ford fixed this at no cost.
Today, we came out of a store and I went to put it in reverse and my shift was jammed! My father came out to rescue me and found it was an electrical problem... now my car is in the shop again...
I have the same seatbelt problems other owners of 2000's complained about also.
Actually, pumping the gas pedal on a fuel injected engine does absolutely nothing to help starting. In fact, if you pin the pedal and try to start it, the computer shuts off the injectors (since a wide open throttle is a way to start a flooded engine. You flood the engine with too much gas so then you pin the gas pedal and this shuts off the gas so that you can start it) So pumping the gas pedal would worsen your starting abilities. Pumping the gas only works on carbureted engines.
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