2000 Ford Focus: headlights failing or too dim

Filed May 12, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · GA

I was driving and my headlights and interior lights started to flicker and the check engine light came on and then the car just quit running after 10 minutes I was able to start the car and get home I have had this car (2000 ford focus) for a little over a year the place I purchased it from did not tell me about any problems but I have had problems for the whole time and they have only gotten worse I have put an alternator on it and changed a couple of wires that were melted but it did not help! I am afraid to drive the car now especially with my 2 year old in it with me this car is not safe to drive!!!

Filed Apr 29, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 142,000 miles · PA

I have owned this car since december of 2003 and it has been a very large money pit. This time the car just stopped running. I had taken it to autozone and they told me it need an egr sensor or hosing for it. When I was turning at a light the car just stopped running when I had just turned onto a main highway. There has been major electrical problems with it since day one. This car has had 5 clutches in it and I have complained about that all in itself because a car should never need that many clutches within 100,000 miles. That is ridiculous and very expensive and I have gotten no where with that even though there are other 2000 ford focus's with the same issue. My one head light is not right it never has been there is corrosion on the inside of the headlamp. The rear door latch does not work on the passenger side of the vehicle. The passenger side front door also does not latch correctly and no longer locks at all. The trunk latch is not right either. It will not always unlatch and then close again. It often requires several more times of pushing the trunk release and it will finally unlock after several attempts. I have put thousands of dollars into this lemon. I have all the repair paperwork, it has a brand new breaking system, brand new transmission, brand new engine, brand new clutch, battery. We have replaced everything in this car and here we go again....this car has sat more than it has been driven!!! I honestly feel that we should be reimbursed for the money we spent on buying the car because it was and is still a lemon since day one......

Filed Feb 25, 2012 · Electrical, Lights · 110,123 miles · WA · fire

Plastic insulation of electrical connector that connects right headlight bulb with wiring overheated, melted and caused smoldering fire that LED to damaging smoke deposits in headlight assembly. Fire stayed contained to headlight housing.

Filed Jul 19, 2011 · Lights · 45,000 miles · OH

We own a 2000 ford focus zx3 and the right passenger headlight is defected. It looks to have oxidation but after trying to clean the headlight we can not do so..after observing alot of ford focus' we have noticed that all of them have the same problem. Is there a recall for this? Please let us know.

Filed Jul 6, 2011 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · RI · fire

Engine compartment fire extending into passenger area, fire had started in the area of the driver side headlight.

Filed Sep 21, 2010 · Lights · 92,000 miles · CA

Fuse to vehicle running lights keeps blowing. Headlights still work but all other exterior lights go out. Result is driving at night with only headlights and brake lights. After months of replacing fuses intermittently, I discovered the wire harness to the rear hatch have wires that twisted and failed causing a intermittent short.

Filed Aug 18, 2009 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · VA

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. While driving approximately 25 MPH on normal road conditions, the instrument panel failed to illuminate and the parking lamp and tail lamps were nonfunctional. The contact replaced the fuse on five separate occasions and the failure recurred. The vehicle's power lock system also failed to operate. She discovered the failure was contributed to the deck lid harness. The vehicle has not been inspected by a certified technician. The federal safety agency campaign id number 00v411000 - electrical system;wiring is related to the failure; however, the VIN number was excluded from the recall. The contact is aware of the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 50,300. Updated 11/06/09. *lj the consumer stated while driving, she noticed the dashboard was not lit and she was unable to read the speedometer. The headlights were working. The consumer replaced the fuse and the dashboard lit up properly. However, a short while later the fuse blew again. The consumer also discovered the tail lights and parking lights were not working as well. Also, the power door locks failed. The consumer discovered 4 wires had been completely severed, and all the others had bare patches where the insulation had rubbed off. The consumer stated a recall had been issued for the exact problem, but her VIN was not included. Updated 11/10/09.

Filed May 20, 2009 · Electrical · 98,000 miles · PA

I have a 2000 ford focus zx3 and while I am driving down the highway my transmission will rev all the gauges in the car will go up and down and my headlights flash. I have taken it to a ford dealership they say they fix the problem and as I pull away the same thing happens. So why is it that ford the people that make my car can't even tell me what's wrong with it. So having taken my car to four different places and the problem keeps happening, nobody seems to know how to fix it, I guess I will have to get another car (it will not be a ford). This is really great timing with the economy and all. I mean I put a new alternator on, a new battery, I had the ground wires cleaned, a new ignition switch put on. Oh yeah it always smells like something is burning under my hood (like when you blow a candle out). It's pretty bad when you're driving on the highway and basically your car dies,somebody could smash into you causing a pile-up. I am afraid to drive my car who knows what will happen next. I just think if you make a product you should know how to correct the problems so you have a safe vehicle.

Filed Nov 10, 2007 · Lights · 86,000 miles · NC

Ford focus headlamps extremely dim and on low beam and one side on low beam while opposite side on high. If you switch to high beam it does the same thing only opposite. Wiring internal to headlamp seems too small for current fed through wiring. You can see the wiring is fatigued. Replaced high beam switch and on/off switch to no avail. Checked power and grounds to no avail. Seems ford has electrical issues with these cars.

Filed Jun 28, 2006 · Electrical · IN

We have a 2000 ford focus se and about two weeks ago the headlights stopped working (late at night). It was then discovered that every time a new fuse was put in, it would just blow right away. We took it to a private automobile repair shop and they discovered that the deck lid wire harness had broken wires at the bend area causing the loss of power and lights which resulted in damage to other wires. There were multiple wires which were damaged and needed to be repaired. This was all because of the defect in the deck lid wire harness. We have a copy of a the federal safety agency recall bulletin which states that this defect was under a recall in december 2000. We have called ford and also spoke to our local ford dealer and they are telling us that our car does not have a recall for this defect. It is very obvious to anyone who would see the rear deck lid that there is a very clear defect. The wires are frayed and melted together. The gentleman who repaired our car said this is definitely the cause of the problem. The wires on the deck lid are still need of repair and something needs to be done to the bend area to prevent this from happening again. Ford is telling us that they are not responsible and it is not their problem. The reference number for the federal safety agency recall is 00v411000. Mfg. Campaign no: 00s50. We would appreciate any help in getting this matter settled to prevent further damage. We would also like to be reimbursed for the garage bill which was caused from the deck lid wire harness defect. Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Filed Oct 27, 2005 · Brakes, Electrical · TN

My 2000 ford focus would not start on 6/29/05 so I had it towed to town & country ford on 6/30/05. Prior to the tow truck leaving, I checked the lights, horn, etc to make sure all worked before ford worked on the car. They did. When they service man johnny gardner called me that afternoon to tell me what was wrong with the vehicle he stated " the ground scrap wire , and ignition switch need to be repaired" I told him that was impossible about the ignition switch when I had it repaired 1 month earlier. Johnny then changed the story stating " just the ground scrap wire needs to be repaired". I had them fix that part and went to pick up the car. While driving down the street a car swerved into my lane and when I went to blow my horn it did not work. I slowed down and my brakes made a hard grinding noise. I immediately called town & country ford asking them why was my car horn not working, and the brakes were making a grinding noise. They replied " I could bring the car back and pay to have it fixed". I took the car to an independent auto repair shop who stated the horn could not be fixed because someone unhooked the componets under the hood, and to fix it ford can only get the parts. They also told me that the axle on my right brake wheel was split. Prior to taking this car to town & country ford I had no brake problems. I was told by town & country ford to check my replace the relay switch to the horn. I did and the headlights, interior lights, and windshield wipers do not work. The car will not go in reverse. My car was fine prior to town & country ford's work.

Filed Jul 22, 2005 · Lights · 65,000 miles · MO

Dt: 2000 ford focus. Consumer smelled something burning while driving and continued to drive for about a mile. Stopped vehicle, got out, and there was a strong smell, but was unable to detect from where the smell was coming. A couple days later went to park vehicle in garage and noticed that both headlights were out of place. Upon inspection noted a melting of the mounts and housing, and the bulb holder was loose, spring was not efficient enough to withstand jarring. Consumer felt this happened because consumer had to drive over several railroad tracks, and felt this could have loosened these parts. No repairs done. Took vehicle to dealer for a pricing of the repairs, which was $60 each headlight, and dealer did not specify why this occurred.