2003 Ford Focus ZX-3 from North America - Comments

Right off of the lot I had a bad feeling about this car. Only two days later my first problem kicked in. You know how your supposed to at least what until you have 1000 miles kicked in before revvin' it up, well I did. After 100 miles of slow driving, my car begins to vibrate drastically. I mean from normal driving. The next problem were the windows squealing. First the driver side than the passenger side a week later. Now I've only had this car for a month and already dislike it a lot.

This car does not even have the same fuel economy as posted. I pick up very slowly to break in my car and to view the best possible gas mileage and still come up very short. City being 20mpg and the highway coming up way less than marked at 25mpg. Those differences come out to about a 10mpg difference. I highly do not recommend this car to anyone. I choose the Power Premium package with moon-roof. I would've gladly given up the extra 3 horsepower to get the same price and by far better reliability of the HONDA CIVIC. Heave my warning and stick with HONDA. I give this car an overall rating of 4/10. As soon as I finish paying off my debt, I'm selling this one to some sucker who hasn't read this and buy a Honda Civic EX!!!!!

P.S. For those that actually want to know where redline is, its at 6750 because its not shown. To have made sure thats right, I talked to my dealer. The older ones redline at 6250. And SVT at 7200.

I Thought that the focus was a good buy. I guess not. Since you had such a bad experience, I'm going to try rent-to-buy to first see how it goes. Thanks!!!

Seeing everyone else's review I knew there had to be something wrong.

From what I've seen its pretty much hit or miss with this car, I've had mine since april 2003 and haven't had a single problem yet. Great little car, handles well, peppy engine, generally fun to drive. If you're looking for fun cheap transportation you really can't go wrong with the Focus. Hondas do. however. have outstanding reliablity and much better resale value. If you're going to get a Focus don't get a base model sedan, go for a ZX3 or ZTS, either with the Ztec engine or the new PZEV. And a warranty upgrade prob wouldn't be a bad idea.

So far I've had my 2003 Focus ZX3 since July 2 of 2003 and now it is March 5, 2004. I've had to have the fuel gauge fixed because it would quit completely and then come back up to where it was. After that, I've had problems with after taking a short trip, say around 15 miles, and letting the car sit for about 15 minutes, I'd go back out to start it and it will sometimes stall out when I start it.

After awhile of putting up with it I had another glitch happen. One morning when I got in my car to go to work, mind you it was frosty cold outside. I started my car and the automatic choke stayed on for about 30 seconds which was odd, then it shut off along with the whole engine. All the dash lights came on, too. I started it again and it was fine.

NOW, I have a new problem that has developed. I took my car in for service and when the tires were rotated, the mechanic found a problem with a tire. It is badly feathered which means there is an alignment problem. I drive a lot, and not by choice, but I have to so I can get to work and back. I now have over 15,000 miles on my car. The suspension isn't covered under warranty after 12,000 miles. So, now I don't know what I'm going to do. I have a ruined tire, bad alignment in either the front or rear... and mind you the rear cannot be adjusted as they told me. And the tires are a bit pricey.

I just hate my Focus right now.

I can't even stand the way the automatic transmission shifts. It is just... not nearly as smooth as my parent's Focus. It just jumps into nearly every gear. I also baby my car the majority of the time I drive it, too. So hot roding isn't a problem.

I believe I've bitten into a lemon and I don't like it.

Everyone I know who has a focus has had problems with them. Everything from transmissions to fuel pumps to braked to starters and batteries. I WOULD NEVER SUGGEST A FORD FOCUS TO ANYONE! Not even my worst enemy... if I had an enemy...

I purchased my Ford Focus ZX3 in February of 2003. Had to have the brakes totally replaced at 16,500 miles. Now at 24,000 the transmission is starting to slip. I will NEVER purchase or recommend another.

It is really strange to hear that so many people had problems with Focus. I have my Focus for a year already and I didn't have any problem with it so far. I did change the brakes recently after driving 30,000. But this is normal. I do recommend the car to others, and mainly to students because it is very cheap for the quality.

Isn't it amazing how a negative review gets all those commentators to join the choir? To the reviewer: you are quite vague with your diagnosis: "vibrating all over" What's the source of the vibration? Tires, engine? engine mounts?

Why didn't you go to the dealer and insist on proper diagnosis and warranty repair? Why didn't you take it to an independent mechanic for diagnosis?

In all fairness, Ford service departments are the worst in the automobile industry. That, unfortunately, detracts from an otherwise VERY GOOD car. I will NEVER take my Fords to a Ford dealer for any kind of vibration or tire-related issues because I honestly don't think their technicians know HOW to correct these kinds of problems. I found a GREAT shop that has very good technicians, is honest, and very competent. My advice is, if all else fails, take your Fords to a LINCOLN service department for warranty repairs. They are marginally (BARELY) better than most Ford dealers, and since they are all Ford they have to honor your warranty. After my warranty is out, if my Ford required any repairs (and none have) I'd take it to our local GM dealer, because they have the best service facility and technicians in our area.