The airbag light on the instrument cluster of my 2007 Ford Focus came on for the first time August 31, 2011. The car has 37,023 miles and has had all the dealer maintenance performed since the car was purchased. I was told by the longmont Ford dealer that the on board diagnostic computer indicated a loss of communication and that the airbag safety system was not engaged when the light was on. I returned to the dealer the next day to have a complete diagnostic to determine what had caused the light to activate. I was told that the instrument cluster had failed and that the entire cluster must be replaced. This electronic failure represents a serious safety issue if not replaced at a cost of ~$800. I am deeply concerned that other drivers of this car may not understand that the safety system is completely inactive when the instrument cluster fails in this way. Ford does not offer to replace this as part of the safety warranty program. I think this is wrong and represents a safety hazard for drivers who may not understand the failure or who cannot afford to make such a repair and choose to drive the care without the safety feature operable.

- Boulder, CO, USA

Alternator failure.

- Galion, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. While driving 50 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current and failure mileage was 41,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Venice, FL, USA

2007 Ford Focus....alternator and battery replacement...if you check into this, you will notice how many people have had to replace these items in under 50K miles on car.

- Andover, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus station wagon. The contact was driving 45 mph when he noticed that the tail lights and marker lights were no longer illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who informed him that the wiring harness was chafe and had a short circuit. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer advised that there were no recalls for the failure however, there was a technical service bulletin under NHTSA item number: 10023297 (electrical system: Wiring). The contact did not order the service bulletin for additional information. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- Lancaster, VA, USA

All of the lights in the instrument cluster lit up and all of the gauges stopped working and then the car shut off in the middle of traffic. It happened yesterday and I had the battery changed but the problem resurfaced the next day and again the car shut off in the middle of traffic and I had to have it towed. I had the car towed to a mechanic to see what is causing the problem but the mechanic has not been able to find the problem yet. This is a dangerous situation due to the car stalling in the middle of traffic.

- Tampa, FL, USA

Car shutdown completely in the middle of the road, it started with ABS light coming on. Found out alternator had died and killed my battery.

- Houston, TX, USA

Just purchased a 2007 Ford Focus hatchback two weeks ago. It had 29,000 miles on it. Hardly driven. I drove an hour away from my home, yesterday, two weeks after purchasing it. The radio went black, all lights and gauges followed. I was able to drive it approx. 2 miles to a truck stop, before the car died, and I called for roadside assistance. After realizing that it's probably the alternator, I did a search online and realized that many people have dealt with this exact same issue in the exact same type of car, around the same mileage. Nothing has been done by Ford to correct this issue and I think they should. I was on a busy highway with my girlfriend and her 9 year old daughter, who was terrified of the whole situation of being stranded in the dark at night. I have also learned that people have needed to replace the alternator in these cars more than one time, after the initial episode. I had to have my car towed and it cost me $100. I haven't even made my first monthly payment on this car yet !!! now im looking at spending anywhere from $400-$700 to fix a car that I purchased, less than 3 weeks ago. Had there been a recall from Ford on this, I would either have never had to deal with it, or I could have taken the car in when I purchased it and had it serviced, free of charge. I know that there are plenty of complaints about it on the internet to constitute a recall. I hope this helps in getting that done. Where do I stand, if a recall is announced after I have spent the money to rectify the situation myself??

- Lafayette , IN, USA

While traveling through Oregon on I-205 in extreamly heavy rain my 2007 Focus with 64,000 miles lost most all electrical systems including head lights, tail lights and turn signals. Air bag indicator also iluminated on instrament panel. This all occurred while traveling at 55 mph. I was able to continue to next exit and found sears service center who diagnossed problem as bad batttery and alternator. No prior warning from battery light in instrument panel. This problem ocurring at highway speeds in low visability is a definate safety hazard. I know altenators fail from time to time but the lack of warning in the vehicle instrumentation of low voltage is not acceptable. I have noted many other accounts from Focus owners on various internet sites with almost identical senarios. I think Ford must know by now that this is a problem with the 2007 Focus.

- Woodland , WA, USA

Ford Focus 2007, 42,000 miles. Lights went off and car stopped ( no power at all), dead) in the middle of urban intersection with heavy traffic. It was sat. Evening and caused shock and inconveniences to driver who missed important appointment. It is a safety issue although this time an accident/crash was avoided. Car was towed to dealer for service. Dealer replaced alternator and battery, disregarding warranty. Dealer wants to charge $683. A recall has to be filed because of the many complaints against Ford Focus 2007 for the same problem. I

- Knoxville, TN, USA

I own a 2007 Ford Focus with 45K miles on it. Around 42K miles I begin to experience problems with my car when I need to accelerate quickly such as merging onto an interstate highway. The car would begin to accelerate but once it reached 3rd gear the car would jerk and start revving very loud but be stuck and would not accelerate. Initially it was occasional and would not be very bad to overcome, simply release the gas pedal for a while then it'd fix itself. But it has gotten progressively worse to the point where I cannot get the car over 30 mph due to this issue no matter how slowly or fast I accelerate. The car will rev very loud usually at 3K+ RPM, but will not accelerate. I have to pull off the road whenever I can; turn the car off and try again. It turns out it is an issue with the alternator of this car particularly the 2007 model. I researched it and many other people who own the same make/model/year car are encountering this problem as well. And have been given a hard time by the dealers when it came to getting answers and help. Its become obvious that this must be a defect with this car. And it need to be addressed formally.

- Marietta, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start therefore he replaced the battery. On a separate occasion while driving at an unknown speed, the radio, air conditioning and all of the instrument panel gauges failed. The contact attempted to take the vehicle into the dealer for diagnosis but while driving, the failure recurred as the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the dealer diagnose the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were approximately 29,000.

- Little Rock, AZ, USA

Step-daughters took a loan for the low mileage economy car to commute to college and part-time job. Starting having problems with the battery. Replaced it. Wife tried to take it to the market at dusk while her daughter was away just to keep the car from sitting. Four miles down the two lane the electrics started failing. Car died and would not crank. She was able to coast part way onto a side road. As it got dark she sat and waited exposed to traffic on a 50 mph road with no shoulders on a curve. Luckily she was out of the cell phone dead spot. I blocked the side road with my truck so I could hook up cables. Started car. Checked with meter. Only battery voltage. Sat for 15 minutes with cables connected to charge up the battery. Sent wife home in the dark running flashers and hoped for no deer crossing. Pulled alternator which is just about as hard to get out is it could be able to be ( I work on equipment for a living). Took alternator to test machine. It failed. Rebuilt alternator is over $200 and I would rather not put a rebuilt in a low mileage late model, especially since its so hard to get in and out. Then again maybe they are finding the fault during the rebuild and upgrading the failed component. Ford and the others build cars with components that they purchase. Sometimes there is a problem with a batch of components. In order to maintain their reputation and be able to represent that they are doing everything they can to protect the customer they issue a letter and fix the problem. If there are 20 people who took the time to complain here there are hundreds more and enough of these have happened under warranty that Ford is fully aware of the problem. The best of the big three is not living up to its standing in this case and that this is happening in a low end car brings up recollections of the exploding pintos. Probably not a lot of folks with access to expensive legal assistance driving the Focus.

- Bridgewater, NH, USA

The alternator and battery on my 2007 Ford Focus SE that has 27,783 miles are dead. I take the car to the dealer for regularly scheduled maintained on time. Brought the car in today for oil change and 30,000 mile required inspection and maintained. I drove the car about 40 miles round-trip and stopped at the library. I tried starting the car and it would not turn on. All that happened was the oil light went on but the car made no sounds and engine was not even trying to turn over. Had car towed back to dealer and after an hour was told that the alternator and battery were both dead. There was no warning that this could occur form the dealer and the car acted perfectly fine. The only reason I knew anything was wrong was because the car wouldn't start. The night manager at the Ford dealer said that due to the alternator failing the car ran on 12volts of power from the battery and now the battery is dead and cannot be recharged. He also said that yes, the alternator does go out without any warning and that it is common to not know it had died until the car completely stops working. The car warranty expired 3 months ago in April and the dealer expects $645 to repair the issue. I feel this is a manufacturing issue that should be fixed by Ford. I have done research tonight, and learned that it is common for Ford Focus car to have the alternator and battery die at about 3 years of age. I was driving during rush hour on several expressways today, had the alternator died 10 minutes sooner, I could have been dead or seriously injured in a car crash. 1. no warning before alternator and battery died. Car was parked and would not turn on. Car was at dealer today for 30,000 oil change/ maintenance car has less than 28,000 miles. 2. this is the first time the alternator or battery has died. 3. dealer said the car needs new alternator and battery. Would not offer any discount for repair.

- Niles, IL, USA

About 4 days before the incident, I noticed my battery light flickering, I wasn't too worried about it because it would not stay on, I thought it was probably the battery and I would replace it the following week, well it did not last a week! the reason I would classify this as a safety problem is: Because of the alternator failing and not charging the battery, my 2007 Ford Focus just stalled on a freeway going through cleveland Ohio. Not only did I lose engine power, every thing electrical shut down turn signals, brake lights, horn, etc. Trying to navigate across 3 or 4 lanes of traffic is a dangerous situation, and depending on location of this type of failure or if it happened at night or early morning hours a different kind of dangerous situation could occur! I had to be towed to Ford dealership on a Saturday, but their service dept was closed until today Monday, they called to inform me of cost of repair (over $400) when I pick up car I will make sure I get the old alternator.

- Garfield Heights, OH, USA

Battery light goes off and on. Then radio goes out, with low battery reading across the radio. Then lights start to dim. All meters stop working on the dash and then the car jerks while driving and dies as it was pulled to the side of the road. Replaced battery assuming since this was the dash warning. As soon as I pull off with the new battery, the battery light goes on and off again. Had to get car towed and after diagnostic testing it shows the alternator is bad. Read many reviews of the same thing happening. The car is only 3 years old, but over the warranty as far as mileage is concerned. Had previous cars with many more miles than the Focus has with 56000 and had no problems with the alternator.

- Grain Valley, MO, USA

There appears to be a problem with the alternator on the 2007 Ford Focus. Searching online, I have found numerous complaints regarding the alternator failing on this vehicle, causing a failure of the electrical system (lights, turn signals, brake lights, speedometer, etc.), often while driving. This happened to me last night while I was driving. First, my battery light came on, then my ABS warning light, then my brake warning light, and then the electrical system died.

- Houston, TX, USA

At approximately 3:30 P.M. on March 13, 2010 I drove my 2007 Ford Focus into my driveway, parked, turned the engine off, and attempted to take the keys from the ignition. They would not come out so I tried several different methods (I.e., restarting the car, placing the car's gear shift in various positions, re-parking the car) to remove them but none of these worked. I called Ford customer service at 1 (800) 392-3673 but they could not help me.

- Hope Mills, NC, USA

While driving around down town los angeles the 2007 Ford Focus the right front tire went flat then the engine stalled. When I attempted to restart smoke was coming from under the hood. When we got out of the car flames were coming from the windshield wipers area. 911 was called and the fire department came and put out the fire. The insurance company is going to appraise the damage on Wednesday 3-3-2010. But I am pretty sure that is a total loss.

- Indio Hills, CA, USA

2007 Ford Focus wagon with all the wires (about 10 of them) in the body to liftgate wiring harness cracked or broken. Found due to brake lamp fuse blowing repeatedly, causing loss of all brake lights and A/T shift lever interlock operation. It might have gone unnoticed if it wasn't for the interlock not working. Car is off warranty so Ford will not fix unless I pay for it. This is a definite safety item in my opinion. I will replace the wires myself as I am an aircraft electrician. I will use a better quality wire too. The stuff Ford uses is not meant to move and flex repeatedly. Wiring should last the life of a car.

- Arlington, TX, USA