My engine light came on for the third time and I brought it in to Ford (for the third time in 2mo with the same complaint). Two days later I got a call from them stating that my engine had died on the test drive and it would cost me $4000 to replace or I could junk it. Throughout this ordeal I never got the feeling from them that there was an engine issue what so ever. After this ordeal when faced with the prospect of having no car (and losing a car I had for 10 years and took very good care of) there was no help or sympathy. They couldn't even tell me what was really wrong with the engine, just that they would need to put in a new one. I took it to another place for a second opinion and they helped me understand what the issue was and that it should have been caught the 2nd time I came in to Ford by performing a simple compression test. Had the techs and service managers at Ford used a little thought during my situation ... and maybe listened to me ... this would have possibly been prevented. To make matters worse they deny that they didn't fix the problems that I came in for since they got the check engine light to go off "the problem must have been resolved" ! No integrity or talent in the workers here. Never buy a Ford!

Several weeks ago the engine began sputtering upon starting. I had recently started parking the vehicle outdoors overnight and the night have been getting colder so I attributed it to some water condensing in the gas tank. This past Monday (10/27/08) it became so bad that when I pushed the accelerator nothing happened. I took it in Tues. and mechanic said there was no spark in one of the cylinders so he replaced the ignition coil (approx. $200; in total he did $520 of work including oil change, tune up/change filters/plugs/spark plug wire set). When I went to pick it up - same problem - still sputtered upon starting. They keep the car and are continuing to try to find the problem.

Ok, i just bought a 2002 focus SE about 2 weeks ago, when i drove it off the lot it ran really good. But once I got it home and had to run on an errand I started to notice something funny. When I would stop at a light it would rumble and shake abit. There was a funny odor too. So i took it to autozone to diagnose. They said cylinder 3 and 4 were misfiring, and I should replace the spark plugs and wires. I did that and the car started to run alittle bit better and does rumble no more, but it does rumble alittle bit when you try to take it past 60 miles an hour on the highway. I thought it might be the old tires so I got new ones. Still the problem is there. It doesn't bother me too much now but i'm sure something big will soon, so i hope to get it fixed. Also there is a funky burning like, smell of ..I don't know..exhaust or something if I have my vents open or try to use the ac, its almost like smelling dirt or something, its kinda nasty. I don't know whats wrong with that. And lastly, I think there's something wrong with the water/antifreeze tank, I have filled it with antifreeze and on the highway one of the tubes exploded. I had it replaced for about $12, but whats weird is that I fill it up and it goes into the engine I guess and the tank stays empty. I have checked serve times and I'm not leaking at anytime. So where is it going?

We just bought an 02 focus wagon with 93000kms on it and the engine light came on. we had it checked out and they told us that the transmission was pretty much shot. we then had it rebuilt at mr. transmission for $3000 and proceeded to take it on vacation where we were left stranded over 300 kms from home because it broke down. we were on the highway in traffic and when everyone else accelerated i tried to but it just seemed to keep on slipping and jerking, eventually the temp guage started to go up so i pulled over. we brought it back to the same shop we had the work done at (mr. transmission and they claimed that this was pure coincidence and it was an engine problem so i brought it to another shop who diagnosed it as the thermostat wasn't functioning properly and replaced it for over $200. i took the car out today and was on the highway for no more than 30 min, when, yes you guessed it, the same thing happened and i turned around and limped the car home. i think that the problem in in the tranny but i'm not 100% sure about it. needless to say i'm less than satisfied with this car and a ford will not likely see my driveway again.

Beware Focus LX buyers or existing drivers experiencing this problem. Problem began as an intermittent issue immediately upon starting the engine. It would act "chuggy" like the idle was really low or like the engine wasn't getting enough fuel and was on the brink of stalling. Then after 30-60 seconds the problem would go away and the engine would run fine. Giving the engine gas while this was taking place would only make matters worse. Ultimately my engine completely died at a stop light a few weeks after the problem began. No cause for the engine failure could be ascertained by two different professional private mechanics. $700 later to take the engine apart, it was determined that a piston and cylinder were destroyed and the engine was unrepairable.

I am still debating what to do. I am a poor student. I cannot afford a new engine. Not likely Ford will help, but I will try to contact them. There is no excuse for an engine well cared for with 57,000 miles should have a failure of this type. All fluid levels were normal with no leaks at any point in time with regular oil changes.

My mother also has a 2002 Ford Focus ZTX and she began having maintenance issues as well around 60,000 miles.

We've never had problems with our fords in the past, but this 02 focus is really making us lose faith in our fords. while accelerating in first or second gear the car chokes, and even sometimes in 3rd 4th or 5th. i dont know what to think. everyone is thinking fuel injection, but i'm thinking more along the lines of trans, or clutch. all i know it that there is something wrong, VERY wrong. i dont know what to think really. all i know is that its becoming a Pain in my ass. I'll be getting a new car soon but itd be nice to feel safe in this car for now.