2003 Ford Focus: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Mar 15, 2013 · Engine · 130,000 miles · WA

Bought the 2003 ford focus new from mallon ford (currently lakewood ford), in tacoma, wa. Car advertised at 27 to 36 mpg. Actual mileage on hwy was 42 mpg. Yesterday (march 14, 2013) car owner, [xxx], said car had stopped and was making lot of noise. I told her not to try and start it anymore but that I would be there in 30 minutes. So I arrived and restarted the car. I shut off the engine and raised the hood. I found a connection to the air flow sensor disconnected. Re-connected it and the engine ran but lots of noise in valve train. Like spark knock on steroids. Checked with stethoscope where the noise was coming from. It was emanating from the top of #1 and 2 cylinders. Engine oil is clean and full. So, as a long time mechanic, I am reasonably certain that the valve seats dropped and where broken by the valves in either number one or number two cylinder. That means the engine might be toast or it could be that the cylinder head is toast- - engine has not been dismantled but I am almost certain that the valve seats have dropped on one or more cylinders on the 2003 ford focus sohc 2.0 liter engine. Ford motor company should man or woman up and fix these factory defects.local ford service managers told me it was a common problem with that engine. In my opinion, that is a dangerous factory defect designed to cause catastrophic failure. It would have been simple to either pin the valve seats or use another rmethod (such as screw in and pinned) to make sure the seats stay in place. This car used no oil, got great mileage and was otherwise defect free. It is about time that ford does something about the problem before someone files a class action lawsuit. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Nov 22, 2008 · Electrical · 82,000 miles · CA

Approximately 2 months ago I began to notice a difficulty in turning the key when placed in the ignition. The problem began small, a little jiggle of the key and the ignition cylinder would turn and the car would start. The problem grew to the point in which I would have to forcibly knock the key in with the palm of my hand otherwise the key would not turn at all. I tried all kinds of ways to get the car to start, but hitting the key into the ignition cylinder seemed to be the only way to make it work. Finally approximately 3 days ago I was leaving work, placed the key in the car, which not to my amazement did not turn in the cylinder. So as I had grown accustom to I gave the key a smack, but it would not turn. I sat in my car for close to an hour trying to giggle, shack, smack, jimmy, and play with the key any way I could think of but I could not get my car to start. Now when you work midnights and you get off work when everyone else is going to work, finding a ride is not the easiest of things. After some extensive research I found that this is a highly common problem in ford focus'.

Filed Jul 6, 2007 · Electrical · 24,282 miles · CA

(1)from the time I bought the car 1-1/2 years ago, the ignition switch would sometimes freeze, disabling the car from being started. At first, I just had to turn the wheel in the car and then the ignition switch would work. (2)about a month ago, the ignition switch completely froze. I had to have the car towed to my home. I was told by one of the tow truck men who came to tow my car that this ignition switch was a factory defect in almost every american-made car. (3)I wrote to ford in detroit and filed a complaint. They did not even grace my complaint with a response. I then got an estimate of the cost to repair from the service director at capistrano ford. He told me it would be $260 to $280. I had to wait until this month as I am on social security disability income and had already allocated my money going out for june. On july 3 I was finally able to have my car towed to the dealer. When I spoke to the service manager, he informed me that I was quoted wrong on the cost of repair and that it would be $403 to repair. I complained, reached the director of the service department again and told him of my complaint regarding the higher pricer. The service director told me he could knock off $70 of the bill by taking the cost out of his technician's hide. I disputed that as being unfair, and told him that ford (in detroit) should be paying for this, not his technician. He told me he would try to knock off even more of the cost. Later in the afternoon, the service manager called to tell me my car was ready. When asked how much the charges were, he told me "$50 bucks!" he told me they had decided to charge the service to ford in detroit and did the work as a courtesy service with a $50 deductible. Again, this ignition switch is known by tow truck people to be a factory defective part in just about every american-made car. My car is only 4 years old and has less than 25,000 miles on it. Please recall this ignition switch on every american-made car.

Filed Jun 1, 2006 · Airbags, Body · 56,000 miles · MO · crash

Dt*: the contact stated while stopped at a red light both frontal airbags deployed without warning causing the vehicle to rear end the vehicle in front. A police report was filed at the scene and seat belts were in use; no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. The dealership was alerted. On a separate occasion, the hatch back failed to close, vehicle failed to start, the interior lighting failed and the motor made a knocking sound. This occurred intermittently. The manufacturer was alerted.

Filed Feb 26, 2005 · Electrical · 38,430 miles · WA

We bought a new ford focus in december of 2002. In march 2004, with about 20,000 miles on it, the ignition switch started to act up. When inserted into the ignition the key got stuck and would not turn on several occasions. After spending about 20 to 40 minutes of wiggling the key and knocking on the steering column it would finally turn. We brought it to the dealership in april after being stuck at night for almost 2 hours on a deserted parking lot. The ignition cylinder was replaced under warranty because the mechanic himself was not able to turn the key. Yesterday, on 25 feb 2005, the same problem started up again. The dealership checked it out but we are off warranty, so we will have to pay for it ourselves. It is a very frustrating thought that after spending all that money, it may happen again in several month. After reading all the complaints of other focus owners regarding the same issue, we are very disappointed that ford does not make any allowances to get the problem fixed permanently. We have owned our cars usually up to 10 years or so and never had to replace an ignition cylinder before on any of them.

Filed May 7, 2004 · Suspension · 3,000 miles · CA

Squealing brakes, grabbing brakes, grinding noises from brakes, premature wear in front rotors, knocking noise from rear suspension, loud sqeaking noises from all suspension. Brought car into 3 different service departments a total of 10 times for all and no solution. Service didn't care enough and very rude.