1)we had trouble with right rear door lock stuttering nothing found to be wrong has only occured once since 2)transmission makes a whirring noise intermitenly when car is in reverse dealer found nothing wrong on both occasions 3)rear brakes on two occasions have made squeaking noises first time at 34950 km new shoe pads. Second time at 41346 km shoes and drums sanded 4mm left on shoes has squeaked on only one occasion since 4)front brakes done at 24450 km new pads and repaired two rotors. Second time at 41346 km pads shown to be at 6mm left

- Vancouver, UN, USA

When driving car after so long the engine gets hot and speed reduces. When pushing on accelerator to try to pick up speed, it continues to lose more speed and starts jerking. After it continues to keep jerking and speed keeps going down engine shuts off, leaving me sit in the middle of town with two children under the age of two. When car stalls and you try to restart, it turns over but will not start. Once it does start it shuts back down until it sits for a couple hours. Had this problem for a long period of time. Ford refuses to fix even when under warranty. It supposed to be such a reliable car but is very unsafe to drive when it acts up. Could cause serious accident. I don't feel safe driving a car that I'm paying so much money for to keep breaking down. I find this to be a seriuos problem. I don't believe anyone that has children would want this happening to them and Ford not doing anything about it, telling me there's nothing wrong with it.

- Emmitsburg, MD, USA

First one: Ignition locked. One night after classes, I went to start my car and the key would not go into or turn the ignition lock. I called my Ford warranty and they sent a tow truck. The tow truck driver informed me that he is familiar with the problem on the Ford Focus, as he had had many calls to pick up cars with the same problem. Second one: After returning home from driving to the store one Saturday, I parked as usual and tried to pull up my hand brake which would not go up or lock into place. I then noticed that the little button you push in the release the handbrake was located all the way into the assembly not allow it to lock. I plan on taking my car in November to be repaired. My Ford warranty will cover it since its a few thousand miles under warranty.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The Ford Focus we purchased has been in the shop now four times for the same part to be replaced. The ignition/key problem has become an issue as the last head mechanic stated to my husband Ford would no longer replace the part because it is not under the initial warranty. We disagree because it is a Ford defective part that they put in new and has failed now four times. I just got off the phone with the repair "advisor" of the dealership where we had the work done for the past three repairs. The following repairs have occurred: August 02 installed new lock cylinder and rekeyed April 03 installed new tumbler September 03 replace key switch the above details I have taken from the invoice copies that I have. He explained the total cost including towing amounts to approximately $300. Now looking at these repairs, although the same problem with the key/ignition occurs, it seems they are replacing different parts. He is confident that this problem has been fixed and should not reoccur....I hope he is right! they have paid the total costs of these repairs and have also paid for towing of the vehicle. I am concerned that if this occurs again, he stated they will be unable to pay for the repair as they have done all they could do.

- Pinehurst, ID, USA

At 148 miles told Ford there was a problem with trans, did not believe road tested fro 2 miles and had car for day and a half. Said they designed trans to slip. I continued to drive it in that condition and repeatedly called customer service back and questioned dealers about slip and they said it was designed that way. To say the least trans replaced. Trim and other items falling off car and frod would not replace. More brake jobs than you can shake a stick at. Just got done putting $600 into it when engine threw rod and now has to be replaced for a cost of $3,700. Ford made a bad car nd they know it, but will leave us Focus owners out to hang.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Purchased Ford Focus SE in may of 2002 with 13,260 miles. We did not buy the extended warranty because we could not afford. Soon after bringing the car home, we noticed the tire was very wobbly, and the brakes were squeaking--took it to the Ford dealer and they told us these cars are notorious for brake noise, as for the tire nothing is wrong-the service dept. Test drove and didn't notice a thing. Have taken it in several other times after that for wobbly tire-still same answer nothing is wrong. Have taken the car in for several recalls. Key was stuck in ignition and had to be towed to dealership-but the next time my teenaged daughter drove the car the steering wheel was stuck when she was turning at an intersection-had it towed again, there was a piece of material (from them fixing the ignition problem) that was stuck in the steering column. Our latest episode with this car is our trip from wa-Virginia. The car was fine on the way there, except for the wobble in the tire in which we had the tires rotated yet again. But on our way back we started experiencing sputtering and surging of the car, we would pull off the side of the road every 20 miles (thinking it was from the hot weather), we would get another 20 miles in and same thing until finally we drove through Chicago, il and it was worse, so we pulled off the highway and on to an on ramp--walked across the highway to use a business's telephone to call for a tow truck. They found us a tow truck but unfortunately it wasn't a king cab, so our insurance co., called us a cab. The tow truck took us to the nearest Ford dealer--the car however seemed to running fine, so we decided to drive some more. We got about 15 miles down the road and sputtering again, so we called for another tow--and in the meantime we called Firestone, we drove it there, the serviceman drove the car and felt what it was doing and said he didn't need to hook it up to engine diagnostic that it was the transmission.

- Bremerton, WA, USA

Started experiencing problems with the vehicle after purchase. Suddenly in August, all power systems/computer type items began to fail -- power locks, trunk release. Then, car began (and still does) to sputter and shake when stopped/idle until it would shutdown. Also, the radio/cd player would shut off. Checked for tsbs for the vehicle model & year and found at least 15. When I took the car to the dealer (world Ford sandy springs) we were told that they are technical service bulletins and that we would have to pay to have the car repaired. Only official Ford recall notices, not even ntsa recall notices, would be honored. On top of this, we would be expected to pay $90 per complaint batch (the tsb list was batched in to 3 main areas)for diagnostic purposes and if any of the complaints were related to a recall, the $90 would be refunded as applicable. I expressed that if Ford issued a tsb and the ntsa issued a recall notice, then I should not have to pay to have the car worked on.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Let's see, where shall I begin. Within month or two of purchase of 2000 Focus sedan it was back in the shop for the front a panel trim. It took 3 times to finally get that right. Also less than 5 months after purchase, windshield had to be replaced due to a stress fracture (was a 1-1.5 hairline crack which appeared in windshield). The windshield has since been replaced again. While adjusting the rear-view mirror the windshield cracked around the base, apparently from slight pressure of mirror. And just recently, August 2003, I've noticed water drops flying up from above the dashboard. Not sure if windshield is leaking around the bottom base or maybe a.C. haven't had it checked yet, but it will be in the shop this week for other problems I haven't mentioned yet. It was in shop in late 2001 or early 2002 for throttle problems. While the car was sitting still the engine would race between 2.5 and 3000 rpms. Fortunately I never used the cruise control during that time. Late 2002 the trunk lock mechanism apparently broke preventing the trunk from shutting properly. It wouldn't latch at all. I have yet to have the wiper motor cover recall fixed. And on different occasions the fuel gauge has read empty, no matter how much fuel you have in the tank. And just when you think nothing else can go wrong, it happens. Me and my wife were shopping this morning on labor day Saturday. We got in the car and I went to start it. My key somehow would not go into the ignition completely, no matter how hard I tried. We eventually call our triple aaa insurance and arrange for a locksmith to come and take a look. He looks at it a second and declares what we fear the worst. Our Focus is the 7th Focus this month he has seen with the same problem. He said that the ignition would have to be replaced by Ford. I believe that this should be a recall. I will never buy another Ford.

- Candler, NC, USA

I now have a problem with the transmission. The mechanic thinks it is a filter or switch that keeps the oil level in the transmission when turning right. My car shuts off when I make right turns. I have spent way too much money and still owe on this car..frankly I would like to turn it in! has lot of repair needs too much money. I had all of the recall work done also

- Miami, FL, USA

Extreme amount of problems and recalls, vehicle has low mileage. In addition to listed problems, severe rear tire cupping at 7000 miles, may be attributed to loose rear wheel bearing. Power steering pressure hose leaking, A/C still not fixed correctly cold lasted for about a month drivers door lock wont lock interm. Rear trunk latch wont release from inside car. Fuel gauge erratic, caused driver to run out of gas on a bridge. Maf sensor failure, caused driver to be limited to 15 mph on freeway till next exit. Vheicles radio stuck on with key removed causing battery drain---happened twice and was fixed. Vehicle is a lease due back for return in August. Cant wait to be rid of this headache but feel sorry for whoever buys it... I would still like Ford Motor Co to reimburse me for the lease payments made for the amount of downtime and time vehicle spent at the dealership to fix some of these problems......thankyou

- San Diego, CA, USA

The key switch keeps locking up and you can not turn the key. It has to be taken to the dealer or shop for repair. This has happened 5 times and the dealer covered the first 2, and I paid for the next 3.

- Natalbany, LA, USA

The tumblers in my ignition failed and there were 4 other Ford focuses that has been towed in to a Ford place for the same reason. The key won't go all the way into the ignition to start the car and they had to replace the whole lock and key system in my car. I feel like it should be a recall on these cars ingnition switches for the tumblers failed.. my battery cable still get corroded and I thought they recalled those as well but they don't look changed at all. I recently bought a new battery and the car shakes a lot now than before. In my opinion, this car is nothing more than a piece of crap. I've only had it 3 years and it drives like I've had it 10 years. My mom has a brand new SUV bought it the same year I bought mine. Hers has more miles than mine does and hers is doing fine.

- Maysville, GA, USA

I purchased a 2000 Focus SE on June 5, 2001 with 23,000 miles. I was told that I would be covered under the original factory warranty 3yr./36,000.I also purchased an extended warranty from the api company at the cost of $1,069 to cover 6yr./60,000.I thought I'd be protected. Wrong ! the vehicle always had horrendous brake dust but the worst was yet to come. In December 2002, my husband and I were in the process of moving and began to notice a rough idle. Well, it's cold in buffalo, NY so we thought it just needed more time to warm up. By early March we experienced stalling problems and the check engine light was on. After stalling at 45mph we had enough. The car was taken to basil Ford. With only 32,000 miles on it we were informed that the cylinder head was cracked and the original warranty ran out on 1/29/03. Ford wanted about $1,700 to replace it. Well, we thought if Ford wouldn't cover the repair that the api extended warranty would. Another error in judgment ! api said there was carbon in the cylinder and they wouldn't cover. Finally, after threats to leave the car at the dealer or seek legal advice to remedy, basil replaced the cylinder head for $400. Who ever heard of a cracked head at 32,000 miles ? we had only put about 10,000 miles on it ! also the keyless entry on the driver door would only work on occasion and the key never did work on the trunk (told the lock needed replacement) which we would have to pay for if we wanted fixed. Since the inspection was coming up in June 2003 and the brakes and rotors would probably need replacement just like all Focus's do, we traded in the car to avoid the money trap. That car was the worst hunk of junk I've ever heard of! I paid $10,500 for the car in June 2001 with 23,000 miles on it and had a hard time getting $5,000 as a trade with 33,000 miles in May 2003 ! it was the biggest rip off of my life also I lost out when I cashed in the worthless api warranty.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

This is a copy of the letter I sent to Ford prestige Ford garland tx attn: [xxx] dear [xxx] re: Ford Focus 2000 vehicle id# [xxx] I became a customer of prestige Ford 5 years ago when I first bought my 98 escort. I was pleased with the car, never had any problems within the 2 years I had it only the scheduled maintenance. Feb 28th 2000 I made the stupidest decision in my life to trade it for a brand new Focus 2000 -I was impressed of the reviews of being the european car of the year in 1999. Well during this 3 years I had nothing but trouble and I just received another safety recall. I don't even remember how many times I've taken my car back to Ford for safety recalls during the last 3 years. In 3 years I had to replace brakes 3 times (that's actually once a year) replace rotors twice something got messed up last August with the electrical system and the starter I had to have that fixed. There's always noise with the brakes, I asked several times and all your staff or the one on 75 can tell me is a "known problem" first it was "metal brakes" no problem that's normal after a couple of years you changed it to a "known problem""?? I just wanted to let you know my disappointment about this stupid car, I sure did made a big mistake when I decided to buy it. Also I bought extended warranty and that really seems not to be a big benefit since it hasn't helped a bit, I still had to pay for all this repairs. As far as I know this are the known problems with the car, so tell me am I supposed to be a happy camper?" I'm a single mother, I make my payments on time, I don't have the time and the money to keep spending in a car that will be paid off in a couple of years and then I will be left with a big peace of junk. Please let me know when I can take my car to get fixed again. Very unhappy customer [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Dallas, TX, USA

The brakes have been looked at three time because of noise and it's been serviced several times. It's in service right now and has been there for two weeks. I don't know if they are working on it or if they are repairing other things or what. I haven't had heat throughout the coldest part of the winter. The seat belts don't work and the paint is peeling. The car has locked up not letting me start the engine twice, then just out of the blue it decided to start. I tried to turn in and the car dealer at Ford said he wouldn't touch it, didn't want it. We bought it Aug. 9 2000-Ford credit, simple interest 6.5 --first payment September $456.99 a month they say we owe too much to trade in "?"this made no since. Now I know what's been going on. My husband has been out to sea usnavy for almost a year and I'm scared to drive it I'm a nervous wreck about this car and I don't know what to do. There has been is so many recalls on this car I don't know if they have fixed them or not

- Oak Harbor, WA, USA

I purchased a Ford Focus in April 2000. At that time I opted for the 3 year/36000 coverage. Later in that year I was involved in the rear wheel bearing recall and brought the car in for repairs. Last week my left rear wheel bearing went-and as the mechanic said "I'm suprised your wheel didn't come off". I contacted Ford customer service and was informed that since I was no longer under warranty protection (vehicle has 40,000 miles) I was no longer covered, and the customer service representative proceeded in trying to offer me extended coverage for my car. I feel that since they "tried" to fix the problem and didn't -that they should still be resposnsible for the repair. There is no reason a wheel bearing should fail after only 40,000-especially when I had between 12-15,000 miles on the car at the time of initial recall/repair.

- Westbrook, CT, USA

Daughter's Ford Focus started spewing smoke via the heating vents. Then smoke came out from under the hood. Hood was opened and smoke and fire was coming out from the driver's side behind battery. I can say that Ford nor the local dealership here in clarksville, tn have done a [xxx] thing to help. State farm insurance sent a subrogation claim to Ford several months ago. I have heard nothing. I begged jenkins and wynn (dealership) to allow us to trade the car back in for a decent car....they refused. They know what a piece of crap the car is. I actually left the car on their doorstep with the key and told them I did not want the car...for about 2-3 weeks. No help. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Clarksville, TN, USA

Bad brakes, leaking transmission X 2 repairs, numerous electrical probs, one "accident", damage repaired at Ford expense, bad tire, noise from front rt side, "'surge" prob, car seemed to "'stick" in a gear. I don't have my file with me but I know there is more.

- Auburndale, FL, USA

My Focus (manufactured October 1999) has had several problems with rusting paint. The first, reported in July was covered under the 36K bumper-2-bumper warranty. The latest (reported January '03), will not be. My zts sedan is rusting on the rear two doors on the inside about 1 1/2 inches up from the bottom of the door (where the metal is crimped). With less than 3-4lbs of force, I can take off portions of metal. This is not good business or engineering! in two years, I will have a hole in my door and I will be sending Ford the repair bill and it will be paid for by Ford.

- St. Charles, MO, USA

The main concern I have is that I have had this car in 4 times now for rear wheel bearings. My other issue is that when the actuator in the rear drivers door went out that all the locks and windows freeze up in the locked position it that is where they were at when it dies. Not the key, manually or remote will wor. This to me is a saftey issue, you could potentially be locked into your vehicle with no way out.

- Elizabeth City, NC, USA