2000 Ford Focus SE from North America - Comments

There have been 10-15 recalls in 4+ years.

A month after I bought the car, a small crack started in my windshield began. Ford replaced the windshield under warranty.

Like other reviewers, I had water leakage from the A/C. When Ford fixed the problem (on the third try, but thankfully under my extended warranty), they broke and replaced the windshield (so I'm on windshield #3).

I, too, had problems with the ignition switch sticking when I removed the key. It got so bad that I tried to start my car and the key wouldn't go all the way in! I actually called the police because I was worried someone had tried to steal my car.

I bumped the ultra-wide side mirror on a concrete post at a drive-through window. That loosened it so that I had to have it replaced. Naturally, when they replaced it, they screwed up my window so that it would only go half-way down. They denied it was their fault, but my warranty covered the window problem.

EVERY spring, the air conditioning doesn't blow cold. Having been to FOUR different dealers, the most recent replaced the evaporator (the first one asked me if I knew how to use Max A/C...I can't describe how angry I was at that comment). Naturally, in so doing, they have managed to completely screw up my engine, because they had to seemingly take the car apart to fix it. When I got it back, the dial to change from vent to defrost or floor heat didn't work. They finally fixed that, and the repair is so amateur-hour-like, it's insulting. It still barely works correctly. The biggest problem is the knocking my engine does. I honestly can't believe this car sounds and feels SO BAD at 59,000 miles.

I've replaced the tires as well, and have had similar problems as others with brake dust and what not.

This car was so promising when I got it. Rode great, was very comfortable (I'm a big guy, so the head and leg room was great), had plenty of pep in the engine (I have the bigger/faster of the two options, as I recall). I loved it. Then the problems started. I have had more work done to this car than I expected, and cannot believe I'm seriously thinking about buying a new car and salvaging what I can out of this pile of crap. Very disappointed in the end run with the Focus.

I used to own as Contour (which is about the same size as the Focus, they share similar engines), and I can relate to the recalls (I had 18), and the ignition key sticking. This was very annoying. I had a strip down, manual version. I'm glad I bought that version when I found out what kind of problems people were having on the automatic versions. Engine wise, not that many problems. The biggest was the recall on the water pump. On the way to work one morning and it began to overheat. My plans were to take it to a dealership later that day to have the recall done. I got halfway to the dealership (I had a friend follow me in case something went wrong), and the water pump blew up in the middle of a busy intersection, blowing parts all over the road. Never again will I own another Ford. They're rolling coffins.

You guys in the US seem to get a poor deal when it comes to the Focus. Apart from being by far the most enjoyable car in its class to drive, the European Focus has broken new ground for Ford in terms of build and reliability. The car came out top in the German ADAC reliability survey - almost unheard of for a Ford, beating, well everything else. It's also soundly beaten the supposedly "high quality" Golf, as well as every other non-Japanese competitor in the JD Power survey over the past few years.

My own 2 year-old UK model has racked up 70,000 fault free miles, save for a small rattle from the tailgate area which was fixed FOC by the dealer. It will be returned to the lease company when it hits 100,000 miles (around the end of this year, I estimate), but I don't doubt it will still be going strong.

One aspect of your review that did ring a bell with me however are your unfavourable comments on Ford dealers. While I have no complaints about the standard of work provided by my local dealer, they're not exactly the last word in customer service. They also look at you like you've grown another head if you ask for a courtesy car, or make you wait something stupid like 6 weeks before they can take the car in. With the mileage I cover, that can run the car up to 5k over its service interval.

My wife has an MX-5 (Miata) and the difference in dealer attitude and service is huge. Nothing is too much trouble, courtesy cars are provided without even asking, and they just go that extra mile to make you feel a bit special. As far as the Focus goes though, the product itself has been excellent.

DP, nr London, UK.