The accident occurred on a hill at 10:30 p.m. I suddenly lost all power and control of the car near the crest of this hill. The car drifted back almost in a straight line. The brakes and engine weren't working as the car picked up speed in reverse under its own power I.e., from the slope of the hill. It continued backward until coming to a sudden stop with severe impact. The car was stopped by a storm sewer culvert (ditch) to the side of the road. The left rear of the car and undercarriage were severely damaged I.e., catalytic converter, muffler, rear axle, etc. The car was in excellent condition, was well maintained and had recently been inspected. The car was deemed a complete loss by the insurance company. I can provide more detailed information including a police report if requested.
2000 Ford Focus body complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 137, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, she noticed a loud banging noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic, who stated that the frame was fracturing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were approximately 61,000.
2000 ford focus, rear doors will not close, currently using duct tape. Although there was a recall, I'm told not my VIN number. Looked online, many other complaints like mine, also not their VIN number. It appears to be much more wide spread than ford wants to admit.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. While driving 65 MPH, the contact crashed into a guardrail with the front driver's side of the vehicle. He sustained injuries to the left side of his head due to the grab handle. A police report was filed and the vehicle was repaired. The contact feels that the grab rail in the vehicle is unsafe because it protrudes from the head liner in a folded position. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 139,000 and current mileage was 140,000. Updated 06/29/09 *bf updated 07/02/09.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that the front and rear driver's side doors would not close and the locks failed. The failure has been occurring since january of 2009. In may of 2009, the doors opened while driving approximately 5 MPH. The manufacturer and dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages: doors:latch) and it would cost $100 to diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer would not assist. The failure mileage was 125,000 and current mileage was 130,000.
The driver side door no longer closes unless it is locked. It cannot be unlocked with a key.
Trunk latch fails to catch 95% of the time. Trunk key fails to turn lock most of the time. This problem has existed since the car was purchased in 2000. There was no event leading to this failure. I believe the trunk lock materials are corroding just like the rear passenger doors which were recalled. The trunk lock should be recalled. This problem is clearly the result of faulty manufacturing materials. I requested dealerships perform repairs and they told me that ford headquarters has failed to issue a recall . Why? The federal safety agency should make this happen. The consequence of a failed trunk lock/latch is that the trunk door will pop open -- allowing things to fly out of the trunk and fly into on coming traffic endangering others as well as block rear window vision. This could cause fatalities to both the vehicle driver and near by vehicles. . The hubcaps have cracked and broken off in pieces during cold weather while parked (ie., the hubcaps were not struck by exogenous rocks or anything else). This is clearly the fault of substandard manufacturing materials. Ford motor company employees at headquarters have stated this to me. Ford motor company should replace the hubcaps at no charge to the customer. Exogenous materials can hit the unprotected tires, cause a blow out. It is not right to make the customer pay for substandard materials. I could take a wild guess that the wheel wells -- on my car -- replaced directly by the vice president of engineering from the warren plant -- did not look at the stress and hair line cracks he faulty wheel wells placed on the original hub cabs. It's time to finish the job! Ford motor company's employees have stated to me that the 2000 year model (the first year this vehicle was transitioned from european manufacturers) manufactured in the warren plant did not perform the necessary quality control to ensure that these materials functioned in cold weather climates.
After rain, water puddled on passenger side floor. Contacted ford dealer who said they are unaware of any such problem. However, they referred us to a repair man who said he fixed several hundred cars with this same problem. There was 4 inches of water in car and there is a foul moldy smell in car. Apparently this has been an ongoing problem as I have noticed the smell in car prior to this incident.
Following a minor accident, no damage, the airbag deployed broke the windshield and dashboard. For 12 months afterward the passenger floor would fill with water during rain showers. I took it to be repaired 4 times with no success finally on the 5th trip the body shop figured out that the glue or filler that was placed between the welded structural components during assembly at the factory had cracked leaving a tiny hole that was siphoning water into the passenger compartment. They applied sealant to the seam between the passenger door panel and roof and so far no more leaks.
Ignition lock cylinder won't turn,front tires locked, car had to be towed in. Dealership had to put the car on a jack to get it into the shop, removed steering column trim, had to drill out broken ignition lock cylinder assembly, had to set up new lock cylinder so the same keys would work. So not only am I stuck without a vehicle till after christmas, I had to pay a towing charge, plus the cost to have the car fixed. Back car door latch on passenger side continually stuck and does not allow anyone to exit the vehicle from that side. Rattling noise under the carriage is unexplainable - what is next?
2000 ford focus se. Motor mounts stripped out causing engine to drop and fall forward tearing out the "tripod" joint and sawing through the coolant lines. If this had happened on the highway it would have resulted in a crash.
Brakes will not work when car first driven in morning. Have to stand on the brakes to avoid hitting someone. Ford will not fix this. This car is extremely dangerous along with the water leak, bad ignition key tumbler and poor gas mileage. It has been rotten from the get go. Needs to be recalled!
Dt: contact stated the passenger's side door will not unlock .also, the back passenger's door will not unlock. Vehicle was taken to the dealership to be checked. She was told that the vehicle will need to be taken to a body shop to fix the doors.
Water leaking on to the floorboard of the passenger side of the car. Repair person said it might be the heater core but there is no leaking of anti-freeze.
Dt: caller indicated hatchback wife's vehicle keptopening. There was a recall, but the manufacturer claimed this vehicle was not included because it was not purchased in a northern state. Dealer had not been contacted yet.
Dt: transmission would not kick into gear. The key ignition is always getting stuck. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer numerous times and was told it was only her imagination. Finally, the transmission died and the warranty had ran out. The doors both front and back come open while driving. There is a recall on the rear doors but is also having problem with the front doors as well. Vehicle was taken to dealer 3 times for the ignition key alone. Car is currently in shop.
Bought vehicle with a bad fuel pump. Dealer replaced it in july 2003. Steering column would not work, and dealer replaced it on march 19 2205. Middle of april 2005 steering column failed again. Will not replace it because it was not under warranty. Also , the hatchback door latches are not working properly
I owe a 2000 ford focus se(wagon ) and have incurred a problem with the trunk latch and drivers side door latch. Have been instructed that my vehicle was not covered under the recall due to VIN even though the problem was the same as mentioned in the recall. Also, vehicle was not covered under my extended warranty because it was not an electrical problem. I am suppose to be responsible for the $456.00 repair for the driver's door latch, and $148.00 for trunk latch repairs. I have owned the car for 1 year , this was the 4th ford, and the last I will ever purchase. My complaint stated that if there was a recall on a part it should be replaced at dealer's expense . I should not be required to pay for a problem I did not cause. I take very good care of my vehicles and should not have to suffer .
While driving the door ajar light illuminated then suddenly the rear passenger's side door opened on the consumer 2000 ford focus. *nm the door would not catch without having to lock and slam the door several times. *sc
Water entering passenger floor. Carpet pad soaked mold smell in car.had it in dealer shop at 4500 miles 16000 miles they replaced carpet and obviously temporarily fixed the leak. Now the warranty is up and the dealer wants me to pay to have the leak fixed. I attempted to repair it myself but cant stop the leak. Ford has service bulletins about this water leak but apparently they don't know how to fix the leak either.now I am stuck with a molded smelling car and a wet carpet.
Both rear driver side and passenger side doors are rusted. My warranty states " corrosion coverage up to 5 years, regardless of miles driven". The dealership and ford customer service have failed to correct this problem free of charge.
While driving driver's door opened and closed on its own. Vehicle was taken to the dealership on june 30 , 2004, dealer repaired and replaced hinges and electrical motor at consumer's expense of $700.00, but problem recurred.
Other than the recalls and the brakes squeaking constantly, everything was fine with my 2000 focus up until 1 month after the warranty expired. Almost one month to the day, the instrument cluster stopped working. Ford would replace it at a cost of at least $500, so I replaced it myself by ordering a part on line for a total of $45. A couple of months later, the ignition cylinder would not allow the key to fit all the way in and as a result the car was not able to start, resulting in a cost of around $300 to replace. I am beginning to see the stalling problem from the faulty fuel pump. Now my automatic door locks and trunk release just stopped working and the car is making a very odd grinding noise when you turn. It would be one thing if I was the only one with these problems, but the facts are out there and many, many, many people are all having the exact same problems! I have written to ford main offices and my local ford dealership serveral times on these matters and I have never heard anything back. I honestly am never buying a ford vehicle again.
The consumer experienced two defects with her vehicle. *ph the back passenger seat belt was placed in backwards per manufacturer, the volume on the radio increased and decreased without control, the gear stick slid off the post, the vehicle stalled when going to a complete stop, the power knob to the radio would become sticky whenever the sun was present, the trunk would not open, the ignition switch jammed twice, the rear view mirror was stuck in the open position, and the steering wheel adjuster did not exist. The consumer requested compensation. *sc
Let's see, where shall I begin. Within month or two of purchase of 2000 focus sedan it was back in the shop for the front a panel trim. It took 3 times to finally get that right. Also less than 5 months after purchase, windshield had to be replaced due to a stress fracture (was a 1-1.5 hairline crack which appeared in windshield). The windshield has since been replaced again. While adjusting the rear-view mirror the windshield cracked around the base, apparently from slight pressure of mirror. And just recently, august 2003, I've noticed water drops flying up from above the dashboard. Not sure if windshield is leaking around the bottom base or maybe a.c. Haven't had it checked yet, but it will be in the shop this week for other problems I haven't mentioned yet. It was in shop in late 2001 or early 2002 for throttle problems. While the car was sitting still the engine would race between 2.5 and 3000 rpms. Fortunately I never used the cruise control during that time. Late 2002 the trunk lock mechanism apparently broke preventing the trunk from shutting properly. It wouldn't latch at all. I have yet to have the wiper motor cover recall fixed. And on different occasions the fuel gauge has read empty, no matter how much fuel you have in the tank. And just when you think nothing else can go wrong, it happens. Me and my wife were shopping this morning on labor day saturday. We got in the car and I went to start it. My key somehow would not go into the ignition completely, no matter how hard I tried. We eventually call our triple aaa insurance and arrange for a locksmith to come and take a look. He looks at it a second and declares what we fear the worst. Our focus is the 7th focus this month he has seen with the same problem. He said that the ignition would have to be replaced by ford. I believe that this should be a recall. I will never buy another ford.
My focus (manufactured october 1999) has had several problems with rusting paint. The first, reported in july was covered under the 36k bumper-2-bumper warranty. The latest (reported january '03), will not be. My zts sedan is rusting on the rear two doors on the inside about 1 1/2 inches up from the bottom of the door (where the metal is crimped). With less than 3-4lbs of force, I can take off portions of metal. This is not good business or engineering! In two years, I will have a hole in my door and I will be sending ford the repair bill and it will be paid for by ford.
My 2000 ford focus has had problems starting 2 months after I purchased it. It's been in 6 times for excessive brake noise and or squealing. The door hinges were squeeking and had to be replaced due to misalignment..it took 5 times to determine this. Weather strip molding has been replaced due to falling apart around the headlights. The cd player/stereo was replaced with a new factory model when cd player would not work properly. The "new" model was replaced yet again due to coding seen and no numbers in the window digital area. The fuel pump was replaced after stalling more than 50 miles from home...still does not run up to performance. Fuel area reworked again. Would not start due to battery cable. Ford needs to discontinue this model until they can fix the problems it has with it. They also need to get all focus models off the road, they are safety hazzards.
I bought the car in june of 2000 since this time the car has had a number of recalls on the car. I feel that the people that bought the 2000 model of this car should not be liable to pay the amount the contact was signed. Due to the fact that at the time the car was bought, the people that bought the car didn't know that most of the car's life would be in the shop being fixed. Also ford knew that the focus was prone to this happening.
These items have not been repaired. (body) the metal dressing at the base of the window on the driver side is warped. (paint) the roof has several 2 - 3 inch cracks and the hood has approx. 100 1/2 cracks all in various places.
Leaking water into passenger foot-compartment. Isolated problem to plastic cover that sits beneath windshield, and is mostly accessible with hood open. The problem is that the plastic comes away from windshield due to some buckling in the plastic. Fixed problem by applying pressure to plastic to bend it back to shape so it snagged-up closer to windshield. Not seen problem since. Mastic to adhere plastic to windshield might be an option to other people. The fuel gauge sometimes refuses to work. Found this to be case when key is put into ignition and key-turned to start engine was done too quickly. If entering key into ignition and then turning key each click, giving each click a half-second, then gauge appears to be more reliable. When engine goes into slow-idling state, engine idles very erratically and is not smooth. Sounds like only some of cylinders are firing. This has only started to occur today and since reading comments on this website, I'm concerned. Have tried adding fuel-injector-cleaner to fuel tank, awaiting results of that. The trunk would not close. The problem here was fixed by removing the locking assembly from the trunk-lid and simply dowsing the mechanisms with wd40 and then bending some spring-loaded components.. There are 2 moving components in the lock. First is shape of a loop that you can easily move with finger/screwdriver. This component locks onto stub that you can see when opening trunk. The other component is hidden within casing and moves in front of other component to hold it in a locked position. Problem was with this component. Problem was component had "somehow" gotten bent and not free to leave casing and block other component. Bending this to a position freeing it of casing fixed problem. Engine lacked power when under load when accelerating, vehicle would shudder and decelerate instead of accelerate. Problem resolved when ford dealer replaced spark-plugs plus leads and a full engine tune-up. $230 plus but fixed problem.
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