The wiring harness flexes where it passes from the body to the tailgate causing the iinsulation and wiring to break and short to the body resulting in a blown fuse and no rear lights. This has occurred whilst driving and when stationary opening the hatchback.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

The truck latch on my 2006 Ford Focus zxw would not actuate electrically when the button on the fob or on the dash was pressed due to broken wire in a wiring harness running from the interior to the rear hatch door. It would also blow fuse #63 on the back of the interior fuse panel which made replacement difficult (the fuse is really on the back of the fuse box, the manual recommends that only the dealer service or replace this fuse making this issue difficult or impossible to partially resolve immediately). Until this fuse could be replaced, my interior door locks could not be actuated electrically (power locks or fob) which was a safety concern as any children in the back seat could not be easily reached in the event of an emergency. One would need to manually unlock any and all doors from the inside of the vehicle. The culprit was wiring harness that had wires with damage to the insulation and two broken wires. I would be happy to send any and all pictures of the defects. The damage occurs when the harness bends as the rear hatch is shut due to poor design that did not incorporate a stain relief to either end of the harness where maximum bending stresses would occur. The wires may have also shorted affecting the brake light operation, marker lamp operation, and numerous other functions as there are an estimated ten wires that run in parallel in this harness and all wire except two had multiple insulation defects that potentially resulting in shorts. This is a definite safety issue and all harnesses that have the potential for this type of failure should be replaced or repaired immediately.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

My 2006 Focus ZX5 started intermittantly unlocking the hatchback when I stepped on the brake pedal. I was driving on the freeway when I pulled over to take a phone call. I left the car in drive with my foot on the brake pedal. After about 5 minutes I completed my call and merged back into traffic. When I reached my destination I parked my car and got out. I returned to my car, started the engine and could not get the gear shift out of park. I had someone watch my brake lights while I stepped on the brake pedal. The lights did not work and I found the fuse for the brake lights was bad. I took a fuse from another circuit and got home. I had been driving for 20 miles with no brake lights. I took the car to a Ford dealer and they found a broken wire and 6 other wires with cracking insulation. They said they fixed the problem and the car worked ok. In January of 2013 I noticed after closing my hatchback and getting in the car my the "door open" indicator stayed on. I checked all doors and the hatchback and all were closed. After finding out on-line that there have been complaints about the Focus wiring since the 2000 models, I took off the carbody end of the rubber conduit to the hatchback. I found a broken wire (fixed my door open indicator problem when I repaired it) and 6 wires with black electical tape on them. I found that the electrical tape is wearing through just like the wire insulation did. I contacted the dealer and complained about the half ass repair they did. The service manager stated that was the repair authorized by the extended warranty. I asked what repair was authorized by the original warrenty and he said the same repair. Ford has known that this harness is a problem since 2000 and I was told they are still using the wiring in their 2013's. why haven't these cars been recalled!

- Fairfield, CA, USA

I have a 2006 Ford focuszx3 with 58,000 miles. I recently took the car to the dealership for a tune up/oil change and it was noted that the 3rd brakelight was out. I bought bulbs to replace them and upon opening the 3rd brake light cover realized the housing which holds the bulbs is plastic, 2 of the bulbs had melted to the plastic, the other 3 bulbs were loose inside the cover after the plastic melted and caused them to fall out. I returned to the dealership showing them the part to which they stated "there are no recalls on this and the part is $49". I have seen several hatchback models such as my own with 3rd brake lights burnt out. I think this matter should be addressed as the consumers should not be responsible for the cost of repairing a problem which is obviously a defect and a safety hazard.

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA