Vehicle stalled twice, then engine caught fire in battery area. Please note that I live in canada, and site does not permit canadian address. Actual zip is m4k 1m6 in toronto ontario, canada. Vehicle is total writeoff. Ford dealership denied knowledge of fire or stalling problems with focus.
2000 Ford Focus steering complaints
Page 6 of 7: complaints 131 to 160 of 168, newest first, as owners wrote them.
3 recall notices had been received regarding defects on different parts. Consumer will further detail notices. Dealer has been notified.
Ignition tumbler breaks and steering wheel locks up. Can not start car. Happened around 29,000 miles first time and 60,000 miles the next time. I also have a problem with the car stalling. Going around corners and up hills it is like the car has run out of gas. You then slow down and it will return to normal. Also happens on the on and off ramps of highways. Very dangerous.
I beg of you recall this car. It will eventually kill somebody and their children. No safety defect listed.
I have a 2000 ford focus zx3 that has been plagued with steering problems. On 4 separate occasions the steering wheel has locked up while I was in the process of making a left turn. Only after bringing the car to a complete stop, was I able to turn the wheel. After having the car into the shop 3 times, the best the service technicians can tell me is that they are unable to find the problem since it is intermittent in nature. The last time was easily the most frustrating. While making a left turn, the steering wheel became immovable. Unable to stop in time, I ran the right front tire of my vehicle into a curb. This is a repair bill that I had to pay because, according to the service technicians, the problem cannot be traced. While no injuries have resulted from this problem yet, it does have the possibility to become very dangerous and I feel others should be warned.
I work for a goodyear co. And everytime there is a problem I have one of our techs. Check it out for me. First it was the brakes I was taking my children to the movies,as I was turning into the parking space I heard a grinding noise.the next day at work I have auto tech. Inspect my brakes I had less than 10% left all around and the front rotors were cracked! My children and I could have died! I took the car to the dealer to marina ford they replaced front rotors,pads and rear shoes. Three weeks later pads were down to 10% I did not bother going back to the dealer. Our tech. At my place of employment replaced my brakes with good quality pads and shoes. I had th iside panel replaced,the windshield wiper motor replaced and the right front wheel bearing replaced! Now my left front tie-rod is bent,my car shuts off when the gas is at the 3/4 mark and when making right turns,the emission lights up and the car stops! This is a problem car the ford focus. I found a web site and ther is over a thousand consumers who are not pleased with their focus too!
When slippery out, the brakes will not grasp properly. Therefore, the vehicle will slide. Dealer can not duplicate problem.*ak consumer also experienced these difficulties as followed, power steering system (exploded, w/3-4 week repairs), trunk lock was broken, keyless entry system works improperly, the trunk lock has been replaced twice, the radio has been replaced 3 times & still occurs, the winshield arm recently broke, and concludes that the vehicle also slides in dry weather. Consumer adds that she had filed a complaint w/ board of ford, the case was lost after recieving a loaner car (due to taking vehicle in for repairs) and says that she cannot afford to buy out the lease (will have to wait until oct 2002)
When the fuel tank is less than half full and I am turning right, the engine will stall, if it does not stall, it will jerk into different gears like it is going to stall. One time it stalled while I was on a sharp curve and I lost my power steering in the middle of the curve and almost hit someone.
Airbags deployed upon entering driveway, causing loss of control of vehicle resulting in accident. Nlm
While parking on the street without prior warning the steering wheel column turn to the right out of controland the vehicle hit the curb, the dealer is aware of the problem. Nlm
In jan 2002 ford wanted to buy car back but said the car is 2 years old so it was only worth half of its value due to the car would have to go to an auction car was in shop 77 days then released and 4 days later parts went up again and car lost steering and brakes and had accident this is a serious matter and someone is going to be killed by this problem ford knows about this problem but seems they dont care.
Front disc brakes - excessive squeal upon braking...took car to dealer. Determined front brake pads & rotors needed replacement. Only 16000 miles on car! Also, rear drum brakes make squealing noise as well. Dealer replaced them and turned drums. Still squeals. Also, emergency brake lever has excessive travel and poor brake holding capacity. Took back to dearler twice, still poor emergency brake function. Power steering assist suddenly failed when started car cold. Steering was difficult and slow until car warmed up. Happened for several day until took to dearler. Said p.s. Pump was bad and replaced it.
Power steering fluid leaked into rack and pinion, making it difficult to steer. Took vehicle to dealer, and and replaced rack and pinion steering.
While driving 20-25 MPH and making a turn, there was no response, consumer is able to turn wheel 360 degrees. Vehicle was towed to dealer, loose nut in steering column was replaced. On 11 feb 2002 at 20 MPH steering was unresponsive again. Vehicle still at dealership at this time. 2 piece steering column had disconnected. Dealer cannot explain why, does not know how to remedy it. *ak the manufacturer stated that the press fit connection between the shaft and the joint failed due to steering cloumn assembly failure. Also, steering column found retain nut loose causing the air bag light to ill and the horn inoperative.
While driving 30-35 MPH and making a turn the steering wheel locked up, causing loss of vehicle control, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Steering wheel was not maneuverable due to a technical malfunction in steering column. Vehicle failed to start because of steering malfunctioned. Please provide more information.
Tried to put key into the ignition, key wouldn't go it. Had car towed to dealer and it took a week to get fixed. Had to argue to get a loaner car in the meantime and no one at ford was helpful at all and insisted that this was not a big problem. Shortly before this happened, the steering and rack and pinion had to be replaced because of a fluid leak. Last week, when attempting to start the car (it had not been started all weekend), the engine wouldn't turn over and the dealer had to replace the fuel pump. Today while driving to work, the steering wheel became very loose and pulled away from the steering column. Took the car immediately to the dealer and they put it back on. Have had nothing but problems with this car. Lots of recall work and all these other issues too. Car is at dealer for service on average every four months. This was my first new car, but now I will never buy another ford and am getting rid of this one asap.
While driving and making a turn to either left side or right side steering will make a loud noise. This could make consumer lose control. Dealer was contacted. Please provide more information.
While driving vehicle would shut down without prior warning. Power would completely go out, no steeering or hazard lights. Consumer would turn engine off, and start back up. This has occurred on numerous occasions. Dealer was unable to duplicate, so was not able to provide remedy.
While driving under normal operating conditions heard an abnormal noise coming from vehicle while braking. Dealer examined vehicle and discovered that left front brake pad was loose. Since that time, consumer has experienced problems with brake pads needed to be replaced or examined because left side pad support knuckle: spindle arm was bent, and causing brake pad to wear. Dealership was unwilling to assist in repairs of because vehicle was no longer under warranty. Please provide any additional information/attachments.
The steering wheel and ignition switch locked up, on another occasion the steering wheel locked up in the right position while the drivr was backing into a driveway, the rear wheel bearings had to be replaced due to road noise, the ignition switch came out of the steering column when the drivers attempted to remove the key from the ignition. Nlm
Engine just stalls every 3 months while driving. Have had the same problem happen 4 times! The last time I wasnt under warranty and it cost me 500+...they replaced many things but it still continues. Also after only 23000 miles my left caliper slipped causing extreme wear and tear on the brakes and rotors. Cost 300 to fix that.
While pulling into the dealer lots, a fire had developed in engine compartment. Insurance adjuster inspected vehicle, and informed consumer that cause of fire was a power steering pump leakage. Dealer was also notified, and no response was given at this time. Feel free to provide any further information on this matter.
On saturday, june 30, 2001, the steering wheel on my 2000 ford focus station wagon began to come loose. Specifically, the steering wheel was unresponsive when turned slightly, and was only effective when turned sharply. Then I noticed that the steering wheel was wobbling at the base -- I.e., the point where the steering column entered the dashboard. I drove to ted britt ford (where we bought the car) and left the car for servicing. On tuesday, july 3, 2001, the service technician at ted britt (jim kiefer of the brown team) called me to inform me that the steering column had been assembled improperly by the manufacturer. I understood him to explain that the bolts to the steering column had not been sufficiently tightened, and had simply come loose over time. He stated that he had never seen this same problem before. I note that the car has between 19,000 and 20,000 miles on it, and it took approximately one year since we bought the car for this problem to manifest itself. It seems likely that most people who bought 2000 ford focus station wagons have not yet put 19,000 + miles on them, so this problem (if general to all or many focuses) may still be latent in many cases. Thank you for your attention to this incident.
Was making a turn after slowing down and steering wheel locked up. Vehicle continued in same direction. Then, approximately 1 minute later steering would unfreeze. Have been having same problem since vehicle bought new. It was an intermittent problem. Have taken to dealership 3 times. Was informed by mechanic cause of steering lock up could not be found.
Windshield had cracked and was replaced, approximately one month later the windshield cracked again in the exact same spot, nothing had hit the windshield on either times that it had cracked. Air conditioner drains inside the car to the drivers side floor. Brakes squeak, dealer replaced rear brake shoes, however noise is still there. Steering wheel was peeling, dealer replaced it. Vehicle will not start at times, dealer reprogrammed the PCM and replaced the fuel pump. Transmission slips into neutral while driving, it will not shift into reverse until after about 10 seconds, dealer has replaced the mlp sensor and transmission range sensor to attempt to correct problem yet it still continues, transmission lines leaking and dealer replaced lines. Noise coming from under the hood. Hood rattled, dealer adjusted and lubed the hood stops. Engine races at times, vehicle hesitates and feels like it is going to stall.
Steering mechanism has locked up, leaving consumer's daughter stranded in georgia. A dealership was repairing defect, and stated that problem was in coding of key that locked steering up. A specialist has to come in, and decide about locking mechanism. Please provide any additional information/attachments.
While driving on i275 nth I heard what sounded like the noise a flat tire would make.got off motorway to investigate, could find nothing wrong. Got back on only to find the car starting to pull toward the passenger side. Luckily I was near a rest area, pulled off. Only to find smoke pouring from the rear wheel. It had siezed solid. It was taken to a dealer, who fixed the following, drum&bearing cup, spindle, retainer asy wheel, rotor brake sk, cap rear wheel and the ABS sensor. Refused to check other side as that had already(much early been fixed under a recall) while their they did find the cause for the fuel smell inside the vehicle, in circuit 15rl3(gn.rd) @ c-87 terminal was not seated in connector, fuel consumption has improved from 28mpg to 31mpg. Local dealer and ford customer service both told me my concerns with the other rear wheel and the engine due to it's consumption of unburned fuel(not to mention mine)were area's they will not check, even if I feel they are potentially dangerous to myself and any passengers I may have.
Ignition and steering locked up, key would not turn, vehicle was parked. *ak there was noise in the right side of the vehicle due to rear outside mirror failure. The transmission slips on accel. There was vibration in steering at 45 MPH and up. The high sqealing on rainy days when turning left or right was caused by drive belt malfunctioning. The ignition locked due to cylinder assembly problem.
Brake pads and rotors failed, worn out at less than 13000 miles. Reported burning smell from brakes at 3700 miles. (dealer refused to place repair under warranty)..replaced both front pads and rotors. At 3700 miles bumping..grinding noise noted had to lower sub frame..upper rack assembly tightened ed bolt to rack and streering shaft.
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