10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 13
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 2
Average Mileage:
2,502 miles

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problem #170

Aug 082006

Focus 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 58,000 miles
Early on I had issues with stalling but just thought it to be weird for the car would turn back on..would power down while driving then I could start it over again. Wasn't until recently it became an issue that worried me when I was on a trip and it did it 3 times in a row and it wouldn't start on the second time but then did on the third try. I had been pulling out into heavy traffic when car just died.. everything went dead. Tonight my engine light came on and I started searching the net looking for reasons why when I came across the stalling issues with the Ford Focus 2000. I have also encountered multiple problems with the car over the years and until recently have stayed under 50,000 miles. I also had the locking of the ignition which was replaced by the dealing but last time I took the car in for the rear bearings they told me my car was not one of the 21 states it had issues with. I see they have now included that to go into all 50 states. At this point I am really scared to drive this car anymore and was just getting ready to do an out of state drive which I am putting on hold. I've had other issues that are nothing compared to the car stalling out in traffic.. it just stops.. steering freezes brakes lock.. its a mess and a danger to my child's life and mine. The latest problem of stalling plus the gas pressure seems to be an issue.. I press on the gas and it seems to sputter as if the car wasn't getting enough gas and almost dies.. I thought maybe my clutch was going out but that doesn't seem to be the case. It has not been a cause of an accident thank goodness but have come very close. This is a danger to other drivers and to myself.

- Imperial Beach, CA, USA

problem #169

Dec 312005

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100,000 miles
2000 Ford Focus SE, engine will stall with no warning causing a complete stop of the vehicle in the middle of the highway almost causing an accident. Since the problem didn't show any prior symptoms I consider this a major safety problem due to that when it happened to me in a 5 line highway at night with heavy traffic only luck helped me avoiding a major accident. I received a letter from Ford back on 2004 related to a fuel pump problem and a replacement program to vehicles having symptoms listed on the letter. At that time my vehicle was working fine so I follow the recommended action that was to take no action and safe the letter in case of something happening in the future. How good is the letter if this problem no give any warning signs it happen at any given time. Please follow up on this problem that had been reported by many owners.

- St Marys, GA, USA

problem #168

Dec 082004

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Fatality vehicle fire, Dec. 8 2004. My husband is the original owner of a 2000 Ford Focus, subject to numerous service visits to bill brown Ford, livonia mi for: Ignition, steering column, wheel bearing, brake, rear window control, seat belt &trunk latches, overhead light and engine light. The vacuum line & fuel pump & valve assembly were replaced 2/03, followed by stalling. In 6/03, A/C compressor & manifold line replaced. Fuel line & pump failure in 8/03, resulted in gasoline spill on residential street minutes after parking. Bogging followed repairs, PCM reprogrammed & leaking pvc tube replaced 1/04. Fuel pump again replaced. In 8/04, our 24 year old son took ownership of this problematic car. We are uncertain as to whether vehicle malfunction caused a 35 mph collision with a fire hydrant. An immediate engine explosion and fuel fed fire trapped my son and his passenger. Described by police as a relatively minor crash which would not be expected to claim lives, the subsequent unexplained engine fire claimed two young lives. A malfunctioning driver's airbag was also detected. This incident was originally reported to NHTSA by my husband (#10104088). I am supplying these additional facts for your clarification. Please correct your posting of "0" injuries as there were 2 fatalities. Please take effective action to save lives, as these trouble plagued vehicles seem to become more lethal as they age. Confirmation of receipt of this information is requested.

- Redford, MI, USA

problem #167

Apr 222004

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,000 miles
Car cut off at intersection in philadelphia, it wouldn't accelerate and acted as if it had run out of gas. When I restarted it, it would go about 4 blocks and shut off again. I did this 5X before I actually got home. Also, the interior dash area was very hot. I almost called the fire dept., but there wasn't a fire. Investigation date closed 1/16/04 per NHTSA and vehicle was sold to me 2/16/04. I was not told of any such problems with the vehicle prior to purchase. Dealer does not want to accept responsibility. My 2D payment is due May 1st to americredit.

- Cherry Hill, NJ, USA

problem #166

Oct 092003

Focus 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 39,800 miles
The car stalls in turns while downshifting; going up hills and at highway speeds. It begins hesitation while accelerating; and after several hesitations it will stall out much like it is running out of fuel. The problem began the first year I bought the vehicle and only when the car was running with under half a tank of fuel but now occurs even with a full tank. Twice I have mentioned it to Ford technicians, twice test results came back negative. The Ford technicians have been unable to locate the problem and the car is no longer a reliable source of transportation.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #165

Jun 012003

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 96,000 miles
My wife has a 2000 Focus for the past 3 months when she is driving it will die. It can be restarted quickly but it will die multiple times. It will tend to run rough as well when it has this problem and will have no power. The problem now has become and all the time thing. Last week after having it at the Ford dealer a couple of weeks back, they left all the connections loose and the car had gas running out every were. Also have had a code that said we had a bad gas cap. We have replaced everything that has anything to do with the fuel system and it did no good. Fuel pump 2 times, fuel regulator, fuel control module. Also checked all the connections as per Ford bulletin.

- Sheridan, AR, USA

problem #164

May 082001

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,872 miles
2000 Ford Focus stalls in traffic. I've had my car into the dealership's service center numerous times for this problem. They have never been able to reproduce the complaint. I've had a flight data recorder installed on it to capture what is going on with it. However, everytime the car stalled, it goes completely dead and I was not able to capture any data. The stalling seems to occur only during the hot summer months. Since I live in Arizona, being stranded in 110 degreees in itself is a safety factor, not to mention trying to safely get over to the side of the road.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #163

Mar 082002

Focus 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
I have had my car for one year and five months. I have replaced the fuel pump a month after purchase, twice within two months. My gas lines have fallen off the car, causing the neighborhood to be filled with fumes. Stalls while driving, not matter the speed, dealership said they fixed the issue, still ongoing. Car hesistates to go at times. Often the inside of the car smells like gas. Hard to put car in reverse and other gears, often pops out of gear. Recently replaced clutch cable, tech says the clutch is fine. Replaced the brakes and rotors after being told they were fine, two weeks later the rotors were gone. Brakes continue to squeak. Windshield is not sealed, you can hear air blowing in while driving. Had a burning smell from under hood was told there was no problem, only to get a recall, and my cables were melted. Brake lights always out, when I replace one the other goes out. I have contacted Ford Motor Company, and dealership, both tell me I have to keep getting repairs. I asked Ford Motor Company to buy the car back, and they refused. I feel this car is not safe, I hate driving it.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #162

Jan 152003

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles
I am the original and current owner of a 2000 Ford Focus SE. Whenever I exit the freeway and the exit is a curve, my engine fails. Sometimes, when I am on the freeway proceeding in a linear fashion, my engine feels like it is going to fail.

- Goleta, CA, USA

problem #161

Feb 132003

Focus 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 9,710 miles
My 2000 Ford Focus stalled on three seperate occassions. Two times occuring on 2/13/03. I had the car towed to dealership service dept. They told me it was fixed that day. Same exact problem occured next dayon way to work.(only drove car home from dealership day before) drove straight to dealership and told same problem occured.(7am in morning) they called at 5:30pm to tell me they could not duplicate problem and wanted to keep car over weekend. On Monday they told me they could not duplicate the problem, had test drove it 83 miles, and returned vehicle with no repair made.(other than upcoming recall I hadn't been notified of yet)

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #160

Apr 022002

Focus

  • miles
In April 2000, my car died. Ford had to give me a brand new engine. Now in December 2002, more car problems and they have to replace the transmission. This car is not even three years old and has too many major problems for a vehicle this new.

- Stickney, IL, USA

problem #159

Nov 252002

Focus

  • miles
Engine oil sprays out of dip stick.

- Monmouth, IL, USA

problem #158

Sep 142002

Focus

  • miles
First purchase Focus it had a loud engine we took it back and they had to replace top of the engine. Then other parts of the vehicle started to fall apart. In a 2 year span, mostly the occurances happened in the first yr, molding around the headlights came off along with the molding around the windshield back and front, trunk will not shut the molding around the key hole fell out and the lock inside was loose(taken in twice only the lock was fixed once the molding was just replace the last time, still won't shut) ignition got stuck key would go in but would not turn, engine is stalling all dashboard lights come on and then car stalls in park and just starting to move.

- Toledo, OH, USA

problem #157

Nov 082002

(reported on)

Focus

  • miles
Auto has stalled during operation of vehicle.

- Orrville, OH, USA

problem #156

Nov 072002

Focus

  • miles
This has happened many times, only going at higher rates of speed, 50-70 mph. I can pull over and it starts right back up. This usually happens when the gas tank is at 1/4 or less, it's not out of gas, I can go another 50 miles without filling up at speeds of under 50 mph. Once I fill the gas tank back up, it doesn't stall again until the gas tank goes below 1/4. is there a recall coming up on this issue?

- Canton, MI, USA

problem #155

Aug 302002

Focus

  • miles
These problems have all happened at different times and seem to be completely unrelated. The rotors had to be replaced with the brakes at approximately 13K miles. The engine just went into idle while I was driving. This happened three separate times, but when I took it in to the dealer. They didn't see anything wrong with it and couldn't duplicate the malfunction. My rear wheels started making a very low noise around 8/15/02. After an accident at the end of August. The noise was much worse and the rear bearings were replaced by the shop that fixed my car after the accident. South Florida is a "high-salt/corrosion" area because of our proximity to the sea. This was never introduced before. When the cigarette lighter is pushed in, it does not merely pop out when it is hot. It ejects and is thrown on the floor. Having it land on my leg twice and my carpet scorched by it twice, it could have cause a serious accident. Thank you for your assistance.

- Hialeah, FL, USA

problem #154

Oct 052002

Focus

  • miles
The engine on my Ford Focus has stalled while driving 4 seperate times since purchasing it 2 years ago, it happens when I let off the accelerator and push in the clutch while turning. I haven't had an accident yet only by pure luck on my part. The other problem is my ignition went bad when the keying mechanism in the ignition locked up not allowing my key to enter, after talking to the tow truck driver he said that he gets call all the time about Focus ignitions going bad. It cost me almost $500 for the tow and repair work.

- Beale Afb, CA, USA

problem #153

Dec 012000

Focus

  • miles
The vehicle hesitates at times upon acceleration, but the dealer could not find the problem.

- Augusta, GA, USA

problem #152

Oct 292002

Focus

  • miles
While driving at 20mph vehicle engine cut of and vehicle stalled out without any warning. Resulting in vehicle crashing into the back of other vehcile.

- Englewood, CO, USA

problem #151

May 082002

Focus

  • miles
The main concern is the engine overheating. The dashboard indicator does not show when the engine overheats. Currently we are taking it back into the shop because of the smoke that come through the hood. We feel the car could catch fire at any moment and that is is undependable. It has been towed twice. We do not feel we can sell it because of all the on going defects and yet we still owe $9,000 plus to the bank on it. We feel trapped in an unsafe, undependable vehicle. The problems continue. We don't know what to do.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

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