2001 Ford Focus: jerking or lurching

Filed Dec 13, 2016 · Transmission · OH

The car jerks when I put it into reverse. The cars stalls when I put it into drive. I have to take off in 2nd gear. Then I can put it into drive and it takes off just fine.

Filed Sep 5, 2015 · 126,000 miles · AL

My car will lose speed going up hills and start to act like it's running out of gas. I have had it go dead while going down the road and the steering become hard to move. It surges going at very low speeds of about 10-15 MPH and jerks. Sometimes the even going on straight roads where there are no hills the car starts to act like it's running out of gas and die. The only thing that showed when I had it checked was the throttle body position sensor which I replaced and now says out of range and no one knows why.

Filed May 14, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 130,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford focus. While driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to jerk and the contact smelled smoke. The battery warning indicator illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was stopped on the side of the road and the ignition was turned to the off position as the contact exited the vehicle. The contact observed flames under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle restarted without being prompted and started rolling forward. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 02v288000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Filed Jun 30, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 10,900 miles · DE · fire

Was driving my car at 55 MPH at 11:20 pm on way home from work car made jerk lost all power no brakes no steering black smoke coming through vents to inside of car and flames coming from under hood car fully engulfed in flames blew up.

Filed Dec 19, 2012 · Engine · CA

2001 ford focus. Consumer request reimbursement for repairs and investigation for possible recall. *smd the consumer is requesting an investigation into the common problem of valve seat breakage in fords older engines. The breakage was due to intake valve seats that were made of a powered metal that shattered easily. The consumer wrote to ford requesting reimbursement for the damage caused to her engine. On september 17, 2012, roughly two miles after exiting the highway, the consumer came to a complete stop at a red light. When the light turned green, she engaged the gas pedal, and the vehicle began to make an unusual noise and jerked loudly and violently. She was able to drive the vehicle abut two more feet, before the steering seized. The vehicle would not go into neutral and it died completely and had to be pushed to a parking lot on the side of the road. The vehicle was then towed to a mechanic and a diagnosis revealed, one of the pistons, cylinder #1 was extremely damaged, due to the valve seat failure which shattered the piston and broke off pieces of the piston skirt and bent the connecting rod. There was no damage to the cylinder wall, as pieces of the piston skirt were found in the oil pan and pieces of the piston crown were found in the bottom of the intake manifold.

Filed Dec 17, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 106,000 miles · CA

I was stopped at a red light, when the light turned green and I engaged the gas pedal the car began to clank and jerk loudly and violently. I drove' the car about two feet before the steering seized up, the car could not be put into neutral, died completely, and had to be pushed to the side of the road. One of the pistons, cylinder # 1, was extensively damaged, due to the valve seat failure which shattered the piston, broke off pieces of the piston skirt, and bent the connecting rod. No damage was done to the cylinder wall, but pieces of the piston skirt were found in the oil pan, and pieces of the piston crown were found in the bottom of intake manifold. Valve seat breakage in the older model focus, is so common that aera engine rebuilders association issued two bulletins (tb 1725 & tb 1939) to alert the industry to this issue. These bulletins state that the 'intake valve seats are made of a powdered metal that shatters easily'. On october 29, 2012, after the vehicle had been repaired, I phoned ford to request a refund for the cost of the parts and was informed, that since there was no recall no refund could be issued. The valve seats have subsequently been modified from the faulty powdered metal type, this shows that ford is and was aware of this issue. Internet entries that outline this problem on the 2001 model can be found at numerous websites, including: http://www.carcomplaints.com/ford/focus/2001/.

Filed Dec 6, 2011 · Fuel system · 126,000 miles · CA

Going uphill on freeway, the car started lurching. The lurching was intermittent as it would run smooth again and started lurching. I experienced a loss of power going uphill until I went down to 3rd and second gear. I had the fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel pump relay replaced. The symptoms are very similar to recall number #03v482000(2001 ford focus fuel system recall). I called ford about this recall, they looked up my VIN number and said told me there is no recall for my vehicle.

Filed Oct 30, 2011 · Engine, Fuel system · 104,000 miles · IN

My main complaints are the power windows, air conditioning, fuel system issue 3 of the 4 power window mechanism in my car have broken and two are wedged up, which wasn't a huge safety concern to me because I rarely have people in the rear seats. Now, I have to decide if I should fix my driver window or wedge it. It is a safety concern for me because if I get into an accident and cannot open my window then I might make it out alive. My A/C is broken as well so in the summer months, I need to choose to either fix my A/C or fix my power window so that I can have ventilation. Also, I have been trying to get an issue fixed with the fuel system as it sometimes lurches in the middle of driving. It hasn't stalled on me yet in the middle of an intersection like it has for some people, but I am worried it will happen soon. I am hopeful ford will fix my window issues as this is a direct cause of cheap parts.

Filed Sep 2, 2010 · Transmission · 137,000 miles · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford focus. While traveling 65 MPH the contact noticed that the steering wheel had suddenly jerked to the right without warning, seconds later the contact noticed that the traction control light had appeared on the dashboard. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 137000.

Filed Apr 29, 2009 · Airbags, Steering · 113,000 miles · NY · crash · 1 injury

My daughter was driving 2001 ford focus se wagon approximately 45mph when she described steering locked up in turn then she heard tires squealing and vehicle jerked hard left causing her to go off the road, hit a rock wall and flipped the car end over end. The air bags did not deploy. She landed upside down but was able to exit vehicle through broken window. She received cuts and bruises and was taken to emergency room for x-rays where they said she had no serious injuries and was released. On scene investigation by police and tow truck operated suggested ball joint failure or other steering/suspension failure. Car was totaled.

Filed Mar 12, 2008 · Transmission · 30,050 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford focus. While driving 40 MPH, the contact heard a loud noise and the vehicle began vibrating and jerking. She pulled over and stopped the vehicle. She noticed that the front passenger side tire was sideways. No one has inspected the vehicle yet, but the contact was informed that the axle split in half. The purchase date and powertrain were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 30,050.

Filed Aug 22, 2007 · Brakes, Engine · KY

Bought new in '01 ford focus. Noticed right off brakes would make a grinding noise and squeak. Tires were worn real bad on inside on one front size since we bought it. Repeated alignments with no improvement. Still experience this problem. Started experiencing problems with it missing during acceleration. Check engine light came on in february 2005 and took it to the dealership. They replaced sensors that had recall,was recall code p0401. Engine light stayed on. They said that we were using gas that was dirty and waiting too late to put gas into the car and that was why it was stalling. We paid $272.98 for them to replace this whole section that had to do with the fuel being filtered. Car loses power and stutters going around curves with even over a half a tank of gas. Stalling to the point we must pull over into the emergency lane afraid of accident! I own car I bought brand new and it jerks and sputters like some piece of crap from jd byrider! Everytime we start the car you smell oil burning for15 minutes afterwards. Had it checked no leaks or anything could be found. April of 2005 noticed when the car idled at a traffic light the thermostat would show shoot up showing it was running hot! Took it in to the dealership and they found anti-freeze leaking. Was told the thermostat housing and thermostat had to be replaced. Retested it and was told problem solved. Our bill was $375.00. This was first brand new car and was taken well care of, it only has around 78,000 miles on the odometer. I was told there was a silent recall on these for the engine problems and they were being fixed for no cost to the owner. We were not notified of a recall and paid for all of this out of pocket .car is paid off now and cannot enjoy having a paid off car with low mileage because we are scared to drive it and bought a new car that was safe to drive around with our kids! Time goes on and it is getting worse. Sometimes not wanting to start at all! Engine still stalls despite all these repairs.