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Ford Focus

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The Focus is a nice-looking little car. And it replaced the truly execrable Escort. There, we said something good about it. Unfortunately, for way too many owners, that about exhausts the list of compliments. The Focus has so far set a record for safety recalls (would you believe 10?) and it may just be getting started.

Ford Focus • Fires • Brakes • Ignition • Stalling, Sputtering • Transmission • Water Leaks • Everything! News • Another Recall: Back Door May Come Open • Ford To Replace Focus Fuel Modules • Feds Probe Focus Fires • Focus Setting Recall Record • Focus Recall (Oct. 2000)

It's unfortunate for everyone when an economy car has this many problems. It's especially rough on the poor customers, who presumably are on tight budgets and unable to pour time and money into keeping their supposed economy car running.

Here are a few of the more recent complaints:

Dominique of Des Moines, IA April 8, 2009

Dominique of Des Moines IA (04/08/09)
I AM REALLY REALLY REALLY MAD!!! MY 2000 FORD FOCUS IS MY VERY FIRST CAR THAT I HAVE BROUGHT AND I THOUGHT I WAS GETTING A GREAT DEAL! I HAVE ONLY HAD MY CAR FOR A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AND THAT STUPID CAR WON'T START. I CAN'T GET THE KEY TO TURN PERIOD POINT BLANK! we have tried everything and nothing is working i can't afford not to go to work i will lose my job and that idiot car decides not to work when i try to start it up to take my kids to the daycare and go to work. i have tried wigglin the steering wheel i have double double checked that the car was fully in park. NOTHING!

when i finally make it to work i decide to go online and find out what i could do. to my surprise FORD FOCUS have issues like this CONSTANTLY! i called ford to find out what i needed and calmly he says oh your ignition needs to be toggled or something like that and it is going to cost me 350 dollars. this is really really irresponsible for ford to do this to many many ppl. i need my car i have no other transportation for my 19month old and my 3month old. i am usually a very understandable person but this is crazy. and i am so not happy AT ALL

i am tryin my best to hold back tears. what am i to do? i am twenty and work really really hard and can't afford to fix a problem that ford has known about all these years

Kenzie of Rrivteron, UT April 7, 2009

Kenzie of Rrivteron UT (04/07/09)
I had a 1994 mercury sable (which is ford) and it recently started to leak antifreeze through the vents!! i had to keep my windows rolled down in the winter time so my windows wouldn't fog up. So I bought a ford focus 2004 from a previous owner and fell in love with it. i haven't had it two weeks and the car is all locked i can't turn the key the steering wheel is locked and there was a spring on the ground. the manual says to fix the problem put the key in accessory mode.

How can i do that when the key won't even budge? so now i have to spend money i don't have on my car to get it fixed. I'm just lucky i didn't get stranded like others did on here I was late for school though and am back to driving the sable

Jennifer of Tulsa, OK April 4, 2009

Jennifer of Tulsa OK (04/04/09)
We had a 2201 Ford Focus SE... it was a great car, the only issue we had was the igntion locking up as reported by others, we called a locksmith and he replace the ignition, i think it cost around 160 dollars... the locksmith stated that he was constantly replacing this part on focuses because of a design flaw in the locking mechanisn and that those he replaced never had an issue again. this was our experience never another problem.

so when we needed a second car after totalling that focus in an accident we had no problems with buying another focus... a 2007 ZX4 SE. turns out this time we arent so lucky. we have had it about a month and ten days and it has already been in the shop 4 times for the same flipping issue. it does not want to start all the time, it has a crank time in excess of 5 minutes some mornings. the first time they sent it back saying nothing was wrong with it, that the focus having a manual transmission requires you to hold the key in the crank position until it starts and if you stop cranking to retry it floods the engine. so i accepted it and when it had done it a couple of more times i took it back.

this time it would not start for the service advisor when he was trying to pull it inside to be examined because it is an intermittant problem they had to try for several days for it to repeat while being hooked to the computer. finally getting it to misbehave they replaced a valve/sensor responsible for the oxygen fuel mixing. i took it home again. again it would not start after 5 minutes of cranking. i took it back to the same dealership. this time they couldnt get it to fail. so as i was getting in it to come home wouldnt you know it failed, but it was 2 minutes before i realized hey idiot its doing it NOW go get a technician. by the time the tech came to check it started without issue and they sent me on my way.

they told me they were not going to spend time diagnosing the problem since they dont get paid by ford on a warranty repair unless they actually fix something. i took it back, with the understanding that they would recheck it again if it continued. again almost immediately it failed to start, so for the 4th time i took it back to the dealership. again because it wouldnt fail they sent it home after 3 days. UGH! im so frustrated.

Julie of Lemoore, CA April 1, 2009

Julie of Lemoore CA (04/01/09)
One day, I went out to my car put the key into the ignition and tried turing the key. It was locked up. I tried everything! I then had to call a tow truck and have them come pick up my car and take it to the nearest Ford dealership. They told me they greased it up, tried everything and it's not budging. They then proceeded to tell me that they need to drill it out because the ignition cylinder is jammed. It is going to cost me 380 to fix. I can't beleive there are this many complaints about the ignition is Ford Focus' and there are no recalls.

I am having to pay out of pocket, money that I do not have.

Julie of Lemoore, CA April 1, 2009

One day, I went out to my car put the key into the ignition and tried turing the key. It was locked up. I tried everything! I then had to call a freakin tow truck and have them come pick up my car and take it to the nearest Ford dealership. They told me they greased it up, tried everything and it's not budging. They then proceeded to tell me that they need to drill it out because the ignition cylinder is jammed. It is going to cost me 380 to fix. I can't beleive there are this many complaints about the ignition is Ford Focus' and there are no recalls....

Richard of Anchorage, AK March 30, 2009

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