CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 Ford Focus 2.0L SOHC engine has a defect where the intake valve seat fails. The valve then falls into the cylinder, destroying the engine & most owner relationships with Ford in the process.
While the car was 24 years old, it was a 'granny car'. I started driving it at ~54k and did all sorts of upkeep maintenance since it sat for a couple of years. The problem began as very intermittent starting problems and some dinging. It sounded like a valve tap, but was extremely intermittent as well. Every time I had a mechanic look at it, they couldn't reproduce the problem. Then, as I was about to enter my driveway...bang. Dead, rod thrown. Car going to salvage as it's way too expensive to fix and they discontinued the parts anyway. 76k and throws a rod? C'mon. I did read somewhere that this seemed to be a problem with this make/model/year. Fantastic.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
While the car was 24 years old, it was a 'granny car'. I started driving it at ~54k and did all sorts of upkeep maintenance since it sat for a couple of years. The problem began as very intermittent starting problems and some dinging. It sounded like a valve tap, but was extremely intermittent as well. Every time I had a mechanic look at it, they couldn't reproduce the problem. Then, as I was about to enter my driveway...bang. Dead, rod thrown. Car going to salvage as it's way too expensive to fix and they discontinued the parts anyway. 76k and throws a rod? C'mon. I did read somewhere that this seemed to be a problem with this make/model/year. Fantastic.
- Bill S., Spring Hill, FL, US