2003 Ford Focus. Consumer writes in regards to inadequate structural steel. The consumer stated the steel on the control arms were poorly manufactured. While driving the vehicle, it suddenly dead stopped, turned right, making a cracking noise. The control arm had snapped and dug into the tar, braking the tie rod and creasing the breakline.

- Pittsfield, MA, USA

I was leaving a parking lot doing no more than 5 mph when the car made a sudden jerking motion. Had the car towed to a garage. The damages were severe rust, sub frame rotted, right front axle broken, right front control arm broken, sway bar bent. The tow driver said the wheels could have fallen off my car and I could have been seriously injured or killed because of the thing that went wrong. I put myself and my family in danger with this death trap. Supposedly this car was inspected February 2018. With everything that went wrong with it and the damages, I dont see how it could have been. I believe there to be fraud involved and believe this matter should be investigated further for putting lives in danger. I paid $3,000 for this car in the middle of Feb. 2018. It is now August and it had incurred $3,000 in damages. I sold the car for salvage at $125

- Lancaster, PA, USA

Skids to side and spins on wet road even if the tires are good even at 30mph. Too much side ways shift on little bumpy roads.

- Topeka, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. While driving 65 mph, the contact drove over a bridge expansion joint and the vehicle fishtailed. The contact stated that the vehicle became almost uncontrollable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rear shocks needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Rear sub frame crossmember rusted away and broken causing rear of car to bang and twist while driving.

- Altoona, PA, USA

Break in front driver-side suspension coil while backing up.

- Brentwood, NH, USA

I took my car to have a oil change, and my mechanic saw that the left side rear suspension cross stabilizer bar is rusted and the bolts are rusted. He said to call Ford there should be a recall. There is not so I called Ford and they just filed a complaint.I can not take my car on the interstate or go over 40 mph if I did my mechanic said if the right side broke off the car would flip. My concern is does something have to happen first I Transport my grand kids but I can't go over 40. Can you help me with this.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

When driving on snow or wet roadways the handling becomes very unstable at speeds over 35 mph with the rear of the vehicle wanting to veer/pitch sideways causing the driver to have to quickly oversteer to avoid oncoming traffic. Vehicle has 85,000 miles, new Goodyear tires. This car is not safe to drive in these conditions and is getting more unstable even on dry surfaces making the vehicle feel like it's following every groove in the roadway. Numerous complaints seem to be everywhere on the internet. How many accidents/injuries/deaths is required before Ford is made to take this seriously and stop putting sub standard parts on their cars?

- Columbia, MO, USA

Right front coil spring broke. While checking consumer reviews on an auto parts website for a replacement, others have had the same spring failure.

- Rockford, MI, USA

I started the car in the drive, put it in reverse, began to back up and heard a loud clunk. After some investigation, my husband (a former auto mechanic) found that the front coil spring on the driver's side was broken, and the tire was at risk of damage/potentially damaged. I am very, very glad this did not happen while I was driving on the road.

- Turners Falls, MA, USA

Right side coil spring broke, cut into tire. Ford will not fix, they know the Focus spring breaks tsb expired Sept 2012 ( I called Ford!); don't drive these cars. Replace your springs first.

- Chelsea, MA, USA

I was driving my 2003 Ford Focus on the road when this incident happened. Suddenly I heard a crash sound in the right front side of my vehicle. I felt there was a force on the right front side tire. Then I noticed black smokes behind my car and then I stopped. I called aaa to have roadside assistant. The aaa guy came and checked my car and told me the coil spring was broken and the broken part damaged my tire too. I found there was a recall for the coil spring on 2000-2003 Focus then I called a local Ford dealer to get it fixed. However, the local Ford dealer told me my Focus was not eligible for the recall. Clearly this is the fault of Ford. The aaa guy told me if this happened on the freeway, I would probably be killed. I urged the NHTSA to contact Ford about this issue before this actually killed lots of people. I also urged Ford to place a recall to check all the coil spring on all cars they make to make sure this part has no problems.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. The vehicle was parked when the contact noticed that the rear driver's side tire was severely worn. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer as well as an independent repair shop where the suspension was realigned approximately 4 times. The contact also stated he had to purchase a set of tires every 20,000 miles. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 241,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Lake Lillian, MN, USA

Back tire sits in and keeps going through tires and had the bearing replaced and drum on both sides and shocks and it still does it and the rear end jumps to the side its bad.

- Hudson, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. While driving 30 mph, the contact heard several squeaking noises coming from the front of the vehicle. The dealer inspected the front suspension and found the spring rubbing on the strut cover. The failure affected the front shocks on both sides of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the strut needs to be replaced, but it is not under warranty. The contact had it replaced and paid $550.62. The current and failure mileages were 17,709.

- Cheyenne, WY, USA

: the contact stated there was premature wear on the rear tires. The tires have been replaced twice, and need replacing a third time. The brand of tire has been changed. The manufacturer determined the tires should be rotated every other oil change, but the tires had never been rotated. Updated 3/17/2006 - the first set of tires went bald at 22568 miles. The second set went bald at 31500. The dealer aligned the rear to specs and aligned the front end and straightened the steering wheel.

- Marlette, MI, USA

2003 Ford Focus. When the vehicle was first purchased front window came out. The dealership fixed it. Then, the trunk started popping open, the vehicle was fixed at the dealership where she purchased it. The vehicle was taken to another dealership, because she moved. They stated the vehicle needsednew brake pads. Te consumer told the dealership the vehicle made a noise on the passenger side by the front tire. The dealership did nothing about it. The vehicle was then taken to a tire company, they found the front rotors wore out, and this was a manufacturering problem. The vehicle was taken back to the dealership and they stated the vehicle needed new rotors and brake pads. Also a piece was coming off the vehicle between the two doors on the driver side between the windows. This vehicle just went over 15,000 miles when she was leaving the dealership. In addition, there iwas something wrong with the steering wheel, it was too hard to pull back, and it swerved in the other lane. The trunk was still coming open.

- West Bend, WI, USA

The vehicle hit a pot hole with the passenger side tire, causing the air bags to deploy on its own. The owner informed the manufacturer that the vehicle was involved in a side impact accident a year prior to this incident, and the air bags did not deploy. Another issue was that the left rear rotor had broken while the vehicle was in motion and the rear sensor assembly/ABS was replaced. The root of this problem stemmed from the left rear wheel bearing which had fallen apart and damaged the rotor and the wheel sensor. The left rear knuckle was replaced along with the left rear rotor.

- Melvindale, MI, USA

Tires wear confined to rear wheels. The consumer believed the vehicle has an alignment problem which originated from the factory.

- Dickinson, ND, USA

Vehicle has been taken to have repairs done three times and vibration problems has not been resolved. The consumer expects Ford to repurchase the vehicle under the provisions of the applicable lemon law in the state of Maryland, because of consistent problems with the vehicle. The consumer stated the vehicle had a defective tie rod bushing, bearing assembly, axle shaft and joint, front end alignments and numerous wheel and tire adjustments

- Potomac, MD, USA