2001 Ford Focus: engine overheating

Filed Sep 28, 2012 · Engine · 92,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle overheated without any warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer multiple times who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 92,000 and the current mileage was 93,000.

Filed Oct 29, 2011 · Engine, Steering · 130,000 miles · PA

I've had numerous problems with my ford focus and despite regular maintenance I've been stranded on the side of a highway countless times.thus far I've replaced the engine twice. Twice I've had to replace the alternator. My throttle does not return to idle and has unexpected moments of acceleration and I've had to replace the engine throttle sensor. Both of my front coil springs have broken and were very close to puncturing my tires. After taking my vehicle to numerous mechanics none of them have been able to diagnose why my car shakes so badly. I have very poor visibility at night with the exterior lighting which is significantly less compared to other vehicles. My fan has had to be replaced since it was malfunctioning and my car was having problems overheating as well. During the course of all of these car malfunctions, I've been in dangerous situations on the side of the highway and in risky neighborhoods at night. This car has proven to be very unreliable and unsafe.

Filed Mar 14, 2011 · Engine · 62,000 miles · PA

After purchasing car with 62k miles on it, I discovered a coolant leak the next day. This leak has gotten worse over the last week. A search of different internet sites found at least 15 reports of the thermostat housing coming loose/breaking loose from its position against the engine block. This is where the leak is coming from on my car, and the description in at least one other case appears to be identical to my own leak. The descriptions found online range from nearly immediately after purchase to approximately 1 year after purchase. This leak is severe enough to generate a 2ft wide by 4ft long puddle of coolant in approximately 12hours. Continuous leak even after car has sat for greater than 12 hours rules out a failure only while under pressure.

Filed Nov 4, 2008 · Electrical, Fuel system · 116,200 miles · CA

My daughter was driving on the freeway when her car just died, while driving. It started up again immediately, but it has happened several times in the last month. I went online to view recalls, and it stated that 2001 ford focus had a recall on this issue. I also found 2 other items that are happening to this vehicle that were also recalls. I made an appointment with the dealer to have these recalls fixed, but when they pulled up the VIN number, they said that there were no recalls for this particular car. The other recall I found was the electrical system, and battery failure. I have already burned up one battery because of this issue. The recall states that the cabes overheat and may melt. This vehicle did this as well. The other recall is where the latch on the back door begins to not latch properly, causing the door to come open while driving. The back door will not latch properly on this vehicle either and at times we have to open and close it several times in order to get it to latch. These 3 recalls are all things that have happened on 2001 ford focus vehicles, which our vehicle is, but because our VIN # doesn't match the recalls, they refuse to fix them. These are true safety issues. My daughter could be killed because of these issues. How can I have my vehicle added to these recalls? I am extremely upset and concerned that these items will not be addresses when ford knows that they are a problem on other 2001 focus vehicles. I will sue should something happen to my daughter due to this issue and fords unwillingness to correct the problems.

Filed Oct 9, 2008 · Engine · 44,959 miles · CA

Noticed coolant leaking onto pavement for several days. For fear of overheating took it into a pep boys as was closest repair facility. They found the thermostat housing (plastic I might add) was faulty and with parts and labor it came to $455 for the job. The nearest ford dealer said they would need 2 days to even look at the problem.

Filed Nov 23, 2007 · Engine · 105,574 miles · NY

Thermostat housing is leaking. Found internal seal wall cracked/washed out allowing leakage past seal ring. Steady drip of coolant from thermostat housing even after replacing seal ring. Found many other complaints of same problem in discussion threads on internet. Coolant puddled under car where pets can drink it and loss of coolant causing overheating.

Filed Jul 11, 2006 · Electrical · SC

This complaint is in response to help another person in electrical complaints. The flicker you have with your 2001 focus is supposedly a ground issue to the chassis. It appears to have fixed my problem with the instruments and headlights and anything electrical flickering sporadically. The fix is pretty cheap under 20 bucks and you could do it yourself if you are somewhat mechanical. As for my complaint. For a car to be in the top 10 for a few years and a great economy car this is not the car with an answer. I have such replaced 2 alternators under warranty, 3 batteries before I fixed my ground problem. Replaced pvc valve 2 times, radiator, trunk release actuator, numerous headlights and fog lights, radiator and hoses that were busted from overheating, couple of belts, driver door lock, something with the gas tank I think to be a fuel pump. All of this with 30k on the car. Since then I have only replaced tires and rims on the car at 130k I decided to replace any part after warranty with aftermarket gear. So now the car has a cold air intake, svt engine, aem on board computer to adjust with laptop, nitrous, aftermarket hella lights, new paint job, new dash indiglo lights, new stereo speakers, interior. So after all this I guess I should have just bought a lexus and called it a day. The car now runs great and has not had a single part failure since.

Filed May 15, 2006 · Fuel system · 78,000 miles · AZ

I have a 2001 ford focus zx3. My wife and I were on a cross-country move from michigan to arizona. We were in new mexico (in the middle of the desert) when the vehicle began to jerk/pulse at 70 MPH, and then the vehicle proceeded to stall. All vital systems were fine. Oil was okay. We had a little more than half a tank of gas. The engine was not overheating. We proceeded to drive at 35 MPH to the closest ford dealership which was jack key, in deeming, new mexico. They did a diagnostic, and came to the conclusion that it was the fuel pump and filter. They were able to repair the vehicle, but we had to stay in town overnight. After the incident, I thought that it was a little bit bazaar that a car less than ten years of age would loose it's fuel pump and it had just over 78,000 miles on the car. I began to do some of my own research and found that my vehicle was manufactured in august of 2001. In june of 2001, they started to change the fuel pumps. So any car made before june was recalled, but however, mine was not since the car came off the line in august. So, nicely enough, I'm left with a hefty bill...and if it was made only 2 months earlier, ford would have replaced the part for free. Maybe ford didn't weed out all of their issues with the 2001 fuel pump??

Filed Jan 29, 2006 · Engine · 64,871 miles · CA

2001 ford focus z3 cooling low speed fan system resistor failure, hot lead wire in plastic shielding melted , insulation melted from socket to source socket. Contacts overheated/melted, circuit's fuse did not blow. High speed fan continues to operate when air conditioner is turned on. Car overheats in traffic because low fan motors do not come on, never noticed problem as air conditioner usually on all the time. Has been ongoing for past 6 months. Just now checked resistor and found burned wiring. No fire, no injuries but given different circumstances could be a fire problem. The fuse should have protected the circuit but hasn't.

Filed Aug 13, 2003 · Acceleration, Body · CA

2001 ford focus displaying problems with transmission due to several leaks, cruise control, and trunk of vehicle. *mr water leaked onto the floorboard of the trunk which was only adjusted(problem repeated), the cruise control worked intermittently(new switch was ordered, the drivers side window squeaked and was fixed, the transmission leaked and was replaced but the service dealer was unable to determine the cause, water leaked in the front passenger side (problem repeated) then the r & l cowl grid was replaced to remedy the problem but didn't, coolant leaked from the upper radiator and the hose clamp was replaced, the trunk did not shut properly and the latch was replaced but did not fix the problem, the vehicle was taken in due to the parts being recalled, the real wheel bearings were replaced, the second recalled part was the pinch bolt torque and battery cable routing which was replaced, and the mechanics found that the brakes had worn out in the front and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken in for warranty repairs on 10 separate occasions and six attempt for the leaks, the problem in the front of the vehicle persisted. In addition, the entire transmission had to be replaced because of several leaks, several circuit and switches have broken down on the cruise control. The consumer was also concerned with the gas mileage which had consistently fallen and did not act as the promoted dealers sticker. The consumer requested a full refund for the purchase price. *scc

Filed Jul 22, 2002 · Acceleration, Electrical · NE · fire · 1 injury

Was driving home from work last thursday (10 minutes on the interstate, 97 degrees, full AC), when the car started to lose power followed by transmission lurching and engine trying to die. Pulled the remaining block into my apts and opened hood expecting to find overheated engine, and ended up see a bunch of flame and signing my thumb. Got fire extinguisher and put it out, and called fire dept. No work was done to engine other than a new air filter 4000 miles ago. So far the ford dealer wants to write it off as complete loss and leave it to my insurance. Took out my air intake, melted battery, melted battery wires, ruined hood, scroched headlight, smoked interior, and who knows what got sucked into engine through the intake. Dealer wouldn't tow because "warranty tows have to be called in through ford customer service". Photos are up at http://www.geocities.com/archangel_jjn. Contact me for more information.