I was driving on a highway and turned on cruise control going up a hill. When the car cleared the hill, it continued to accelerate past the set point (probably 65 mph). At 70-75 mph I became alarmed and hit the off button to disengage cruise control, but the car continued to accelerate. I then hit the brakes lightly, thinking this would disengage cruise, but it did not and the car continued to accelerate to about 80 - 85 mph, at which point I turned off the engine and coasted to a stop on the shoulder. I then re-started the car 2-3 times, and each time, the engine immediately went to very high RPM, so I shut it down quickly. I had the car towed to a dealership where I live, and the next day the service manager had the same experience: Car revved very high and he shut it down quickly. The second time he tried it, the battery was dead. When I spoke to the service manager this morning, he told me that the cruise control actuator had become "turned around" and that this had kinked the cruise control cable, preventing it from returning throttle control to the gas pedal. There have been two recalls on 2000 Ford Focus vehicles related to the cruise control system (NHTSA campaign id numbers 99V346000 and 00V302000), but apparently neither applies to my particular VIN, which is [xxx]. this obviously could have turned out very differently had I been driving in heavy traffic or had I not thought to simply shut the engine off, and I view it as a very significant safety hazard for this vehicle. I hope that you will initiate an investigation, as this failure could easily have fatal consequences. Updated 07/17/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Boulder, CO, USA

Consumer stated the cruise control went into full throttle position and could not be deactivated by pressing the brake pedal. The only way to shut it off was to turn the key off. The consumer had to have the cruise control disabled. He has not contacted a service dealer.

- Worcester, MA, USA

Consumer's vehicle experienced the same problem as stated in NHTSA recall 00V302000 concerning cruise control. A speed control cable could have a core wire that is long enough to catch on the sleeve at the throttle body end of the cable during wide-open throttle acceleration. Dealership was notified. However, they indicated sorry VIN was not include in this recall.

- Englewood, CO, USA

In the last six months the transmission has started to leak fluid (paid to fix that), I get a letter about a recall for the fuel pump take it in and get that fixed on the way to work straight from the dealership one of the guys I work with comments on my brake lights staying on, my brake lights will now not go off and my cruise control will not go on (paid to fix that), then a few weeks later the front wheel fell off! I was pulling into my parents driveway and the wheel just fell off then spent the entire day getting it on a tow truck and getting it off at the dealership. Then the technician kept asking me what I hit. Repeatedly I told him what happened and he finally said that that couldn't have happened unless I hit something (paid to fix that), now I get in my car to get me something to eat and my key will not turn.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

Has been to shop for 26 days in the past 4 months. Repeated failure of clutch (manual transmission), failure of brake pads, resulting in minor crash. Have had to had ball joints replaced. Cruise control was disconnected from accerator/brake. Key would not go into ignition and resulted in key ignition switch having to be replaced. Numerous recalls and trips to shop since bought brand new in August 2003

- Redmond, WA, USA

Squeaking brake, extreme wear and tear of front tires, back tires with wear and tear issues, alignment issues on front tires and cruise control issues.

- Spring, TX, USA

After about 10 days of buying my 2000 Ford Focus the problem. Started and one year later the problems are still coming like clock work. First my breaks were squealing I called the dealer, he said not to worry about it until I had time to come in. 1 to 2 months later, after several calls asking if it was still okay to drive, I took my car in and the routers and breaks were bad, they sd I should have brought my car in sooner. Well per there request I took my time. I had to pay the get this taken care of. It didn't stop there, my tires kept getting flats so I has to once again replace at my own expenses. Now the real problems start, my cruise control was just out of control, my car would accelerate every time I would put in on cruise. The windshield wipers would not work and my radio kept turning off by itself. I had once again at my own expenses replace my windshield wipers calling the maintenance. Dept. At meridian Ford. They fixed the problem. With the cruise control and it was working fine for about 2 months it is now happening again! now I have problems with the key getting stuck and will not turn, the trunk will not shut, and my car will shut off when the car is in idle. It turns off if in park or drive after about one min. Idle. This is very frustrating. And has caused so many financial and stress problems. I don't feel safe in this car and I feel cheated! I was sold a lemon! a list of what was wrong with my new car..bad breaks, bad routers, bad windshield wipers, bad cruise control, bad trunk, bad tires, the key gets stuck and will not turn, and now it turns off while in idle. All these things are still wrong with it and its costing me money, stress, time and it is costing me to be late on my car payments and other bills because I have to pay for all this crap to be fixed! why is this happening! do I need to get a lawyer or do you need to replace or fix my car at your expensive. I have lost so much and feel helpless. I hope this does not fall on deaf ears.

- Homedale, ID, USA

Intermittently engine revvs up to 700 RPM when coming to a stop. This could cause a crash. Problem was reported to dealership. An adjustment was made on the idle. However, consumer was still experiencing a problem with vehicle.

- Columbis, OH, USA