Seems alternator problems are common on the Focus. I've driven plenty of cars where the alternator lasts 100K miles or more. This one gave out at 66,000.

I am dismayed that never once did the alternator charging or low battery warning lights came on. I wasn't aware of the problem until the battery ran itself down to zero while driving, and the car stopped.

At least if the system had given a warning, I would have gotten it fixed before I would get stranded.

Also--it seems that the alternator is under the control of the car's computer. Why does a simple thing like an alternator need computer control? For decades, cars were built with alternators with internal regulators that worked fine. All the alternator has to do is monitor the battery voltage and supply charge as needed. Putting it under a complex and problematic computer control is simply over engineering.

I got this Focus in April 2013 with 40,000 miles on it, by September of that year I needed to replace the alternator, cost was about $600

Only a month or two later I needed to replace it again, took it back to same shop luckily had warranty

September 2014, needed to replace alternator again, had to only pay for labor, the part was still covered, but I still paid about $350 in labor

June 27, 2015, needed to replace alternator again and I was left stranded at my work parking lot, needed a jump then took to shop luckily warranty covered

June 22 2017, battery light came on May 10 briefly, I ignored it, June 19th it came on again, then June 21st came on a few times then switched off, this morning came on again a few times, now getting ready to take to a mechanic and have no warranty this time, the cost will hurt bad, and will take away from the $700 stuck and shock job I had planned this summer

4 different mechanic shops could not find the cause of my alternators being killed left and right, this is very costly to me and I cannot afford a new car due to debts, but why should I have to buy a new car? I have less than 100,000 miles on it!

I should be paid back by Ford for every repair I have made, these fools designed the alternator to sit right next to the engine block and cook to death! Afraid to use my AC and my radio!

The battery light was on while I was driving, and then all electrical components shut off. After my car stopped at the traffic light, it broke down and I had to call the tow company to tow my car to the nearest service station. It cost me around $600 to fix the alternator at the local Ford dealership, and the car resumed operation normally, only to learn from my friend that I just need one-fifth of the cost to do it on my own. Anyway, the price was in the ball-park with another shop (a difference of around fifty bucks) and I was satisfied with the maintenance, except for the fact that I had to pay a large chunk of my salary to get it running again!

Last Sunday (12/1) I was getting gas in Boomtown near Reno, Nevada when I noticed my battery indicator was lit- only lasted a split minute or so- figured since it was a new battery that it wouldn't be an issue to just get things checked when I made it into Sacramento, California that evening. After just over an hour of driving, at the Hwy 20 exit on Hwy 80, my radio shut off and flashed 'Low Battery' before resetting itself. I couldn't turn it back on- again thought it was just a battery issue,- so I left it off and also killed my heater, lights (it was daylight), and dimmed the dash lights as well. No problems.

Once I hit Auburn tho (about 2hrs driving) , my radio again flashed 'Low Battery', reset itself, then every indicator lit up for a split second before everything- including my speedometer and tachometer- died. I was able to cruise off the freeway- was even able to accelerate- but turn signals, hazards, etc didn't work. Didn't really know what was up, so I shut my car off for a few minutes. Tried to restart, no joy, shut off- waited 5min- tried to start, no joy. Ended up calling family to help me tow home. While sitting on the side of the road, I was able to turn my wheels no problem, but nothing electronic worked! Not even the hazards!

A week later I get my car back from the family-friend mechanic and I'm charged $233 for "parts" and $157 for labor! Apparently my Focus wasn't the first one he'd seen do this, but in broken English he tried to tell me that the alternator "reset itself" because he was able to start it with a battery booster. (Um. No.) Lesson learned about taking my car to him (dodgy work at best! So much needs to be corrected!), but after reading previous complaints, I know that 1) I never should have bought a Focus, 2) I'm never taking it to that mechanic again, 3) I got off easy on price, and 4) I may need to get a second job to cover the Next time this happens!

My first car was a '66 Mustang- I fell in love with Fords because of that car! Now a Ford is the last thing I want to own!! Never, Never buy a Ford Focus unless you're willing to pay for a lot of repairs!!!

Was dropping a friend home one midnight, 3 of us in car. on the way back me and my friend was playing music loudly like always then it stopped, was really scary we looked at each other wondering who turned it off. the radio said "low battery". still driving our headlights turned off, we then got pulled over by cop because of this then while we stopped for him the whole car went dead. was extremely scary wouldn't start anymore cops pushed us into nearby gas station and left us there.... in the end after shopping around we found a way to fix it that would only cost 280$

I'm a Diesel mechanic and this is the worst car I've ever OWNED! I will never buy another modern Ford product, period. There's the saying of you get what you pay for and its so true. I had never owned a Ford before because I always had Honda's and Toyota's and I bought this car used,it was cheap with 38,000 miles. Made in Mexico cheap! I've had numerous electrical problems with this car and it doesn't include the engine problems as well but that will be on several other complaints that I issue.

The original Motorcraft alternator went bad on 12-14-10 with 53,460 miles on it. This is a cheap and badly designed car from Fords engineering department. The alternator on this Focus is positioned at the back of the motor RIGHT BESIDE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD WITH THE BUILT IN CATALYTIC CONVERTER!!! WTH?!?! The exhaust manifold with the catalytic converter is the hottest part of the car when running and can reach temperatures in excess of 700 degrees plus. So basically the alternator is COOKED by the temperatures created by the exhaust manifold and catalytic converter. FORD knew of this problem when they designed the car but they won't do a recall on it. The alternator on the 2005-2007 has a three piece plastic heat shield on it with a air cooling duct that directs air flow into the back side of the alternator to cool it down. And the front plastic heat shield has vents on the side of it to cool the alternator as well. This is the first car I have ever seen to have heat shields on the alternator in 13 years of working on car, trucks etc. Ford knew that the alternator would get too hot from being positioned right to the exhaust manifold and catalytic converter and that's why they put plastic heat shields and a cooling air duct (scoop) on the outside of the alternator. This is a poorly designed car that should fall under the LEMON LAW. I would love someone to take a class action law suit against Ford because the design was bad on the engineers drawing board. Ford knew what they were doing, they just don't won't to admit to it.

So I bought a Life time warranty remanufacterd Ultima alternator from Orielly auto parts. It was $173.00 and I put it on with no cost of labor. I opted for the cheaper made remanufactured one because it had a lifetime replacement warranty as long as you have the receipt. A brand new Motorcraft alternator is offered through your friendly Ford dealer with a one year warranty. They also offer a remanfactured Motorcraft alternator for less also with a one year warranty. Because of this poorly designed car I had a feeling the alternator would go out again so i opted for the lifetime replacement alternator. PS putting a alternator in this car is not easy because of where its located. I can't imagine paying labor several times for bad alternators on this Focus like so many other people issuing complaints have been forced to do. Fast forward to 8-10-13 the remanufactured Ultima alternator failed at 112,302 miles. It lasted 9,000 miles longer than the brand new Motorcraft alternator that came with the car when it was built! So I replaced it with another from Orielly auto parts for FREE. Hence the lifetime warranty because I knew it would go out again and I would be ticked to pay for another alternator. I was lucky both times that the battery wasn't ruined.

This is a badly designed car, PERIOD! It won't matter that you take it to the Ford dealership and have genuine Ford parts being installed by a Ford certified technician. Or at a another local mechanic shop with the average Joe replacing it. These alternators are not faulty alternators, its just a faulty car made by Ford Motor Company. Because when it all boils down to it the alternator is just going to sit on the backside of the motor right next to the exhaust manifold/catalytic converter and cook like a piece of BACON! The only way to get out of this problem is to buy another car and not a Ford at that. But if you're like me and can't afford another car for some years to come you're going to have to deal with putting numerous alternators on the Focus. My next complaint with be on the 2.0 Duratech lifter ticking at 80,000 miles on the same 2007 Ford Focus.

Very similar to the other posters. 2007 Ford Focus hatchback. Driving down the highway at night, radio went off, then lights went off. Thought it must be a fuse, since the car is only five years old. Pulled to the side and shut off the car. When I tried to start it again the starter just clicked - battery dead. Mechanic says alternator, about $400 round trip for a new one. Bought it brand new and never had a problem before now, but I didn't expect to have to replace major components on a car that's only five years old. Lame!

I have had 3 alternators fail on my 2007 Focus. The first replacement alternator was installed in 2009. That alternator failed and was replaced on July 2, 2012. The alternator installed in 2012 failed on July 6, 2013 and took the battery with it. I am now looking at a FOURTH alternator in a 6 year old vehicle. There is either something seriously wrong with the vehicle, the installation work, or the Motorcraft alternators that have been installed. (All of this work was done by a Ford Dealer).

The dealer's response was that the vehicle and the 3rd alternator installed on July 2, 2012 are out of warranty and they cannot do anything about the issue even though the 3rd alternator failed 4 days outside the one year window, and it was alternator #3 in a 2007 vehicle. All of my vehicle maintenance for both of my Ford cars has been done at a Ford dealership and I was happy to purchase my cars from them. This? Unacceptable treatment of a loyal customer when there is clearly something wrong with the electrical system of this vehicle.

I contacted Ford Customer Service and was told they were sorry for the "inconvenience" but they were doing nothing about it because it was out of warranty

Every car I have purchased since 1997 has been a Ford. That ends today.

This is alternator number 3 for me. The aftermarket part price is around $150, with a $60 core charge, and if you have it put in, the labor is about 3 hours--so that's probably close to $300. So that's $400 every 6-9 months! Incredible....

The problem, as it was explained to me by my mechanic, is a design flaw on the part of the Ford Motor company who positioned the alternator for the 2007 Focus at the rear of the engine, where they are normally at the front of the engine compartment for every other car I've ever owned in my life. When the alternator in the front, it ensures the unit stays cool via the rush of air coming in through the grill. So despite the fact that the plastic cowling cover for the rear mounting alternator helps cool it some, when the weather gets hot, and you run a lot of electrical devices (radio, AC, head lights etc.), it cooks the alternator.

It seems Ford would have developed an after market fan assist for the unit, or some device that helps regulate the temperature as a response to this issue. But I'm not holding my breath... Because this is such a costly and temporary fix, and to have to replace the alternator time and again, it might merit a legal action since several owners here have complained of getting no response from Ford on this issue. I'll fix it one more time & then it's time for a new car...And not a Ford.

I have a 2007 Ford Focus less than 68,000 miles. My daughter drives this car. She texted me on Saturday and said the battery light came on. I looked on the internet and saw all the problems with 07 Ford Focus alternators. She went to the closest Ford dealer Monday and they charge $ 111 for a diagnosis. They said it was the alternator. $ 632 plus $111 total to fix = $ 743 . I was at work so , I did call the dealer and said it was crazy to charge the $ 111 when they are getting the job right then and there. They said they would only charge $ 56 for the diagnosis BUT the bill still came to $ 748 ??????? I emailed the Dealer about the service problem , a sales person contacted me ( ???? ). I emailed Ford Corp, no response yet. I agree with other complaints that Ford should look into this problem. I have owned over 10 other vechiles with high milage and only replaced 1 ( ONE ) alternator. BAD ALTERNATOR AT 68,000 Miles CRAZY

OKAY so, this is the THIRD alternator ive had to change for this car, ill complain about those times later. This particular time, I was on the other side of houston going to a specialty grocery store for my grandmother. I brought my little sister with me and her two kids. We left at 11:00 am to beat the afternoon traffic, and on the way home (about 1:00 pm) i got of 610 to go to 59 north (huge freeway in houston) and my radio turned off. i tried to turn it back on, and it said "LO BATTERY" then i started having flash backs of how this happend to me, and i knew it was my alternator immediately (this is my 6th alternator replacement in all) and my AC went out, gauges went flat, and my car started to gear down. it started puttering as if i ran out of gas. my Emergency lights didnt work, NOTHING!!! i pulled over and after being towed two times, and paying up the booty for the tow, i got home at around 6 PM!! anyways.... i always had my bf dad change my alternator (mechanic) but we broke up 1.5 years ago. so i took it to a shop and they wanted to charge me aroun 750!!! no thanks! i towed it back to my house and bought a new alternator and battery (alternator has lifetime warranty and battery has five) since my alternator usually goes out every 6-9 months, i wasnt going to pay for this crap anymore. i made sure i didnt get anymore refurbished pieces of crap anymore. in total, it cost about $400.00 but its better than $750.00!! I spent 6 hours trying to do this (ive never touched my car before) i couldnt release the tension on the serpentine belt. after that, it was a snap! now that i know how to change my alternator, im never going to take it to a mechanic. You know, i really hated this because i had absolutely NO WARNING SIGN AT ALL!!!! geeze! i mean, the other times, i knew it was going out because the car wouldnt start, battery would die etc. but my battery was completely dead, held no charge what so ever. the shop even charged it to 100% and when they tried to start it on its own, the battery died. with all the tows and parts i think i dropped about $750 haha! its funny, my total ended up being my total for the shop, but if i did go to the shop, id spend over $1000!!! i dont think so! augh, im still really pissed about it all. my whole entire weekend was spent sweating and waiting (for the tow - which they rescheduled on me 2 times and i had to wait for 2.5 hours before someone came to get me!) and then most of the next day worrying about financial obligations then sweating under a car from 3 pm till 12:00 AM and go to work at 6. I actually didnt even finish fixing it. I put everything back the way it was then.... i didnt connect this one set of wires to the alternator (its the one that connects the battery charge to the alternator). ITS THE MAIN EFFING PART MAN! geeeeeezeeeee. now ive got to pretty much start all over. i know how to do it all, so ill hopefully finish within 2 hours.