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2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,808 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2010 Ford Focus fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2010 Ford Focus Owner Comments

problem #17

Jul 102018

Focus

  • 58,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine stalls while driving and will not restart. I suspect that it is related to similar issues drivers are having with the evap canister purge valve in other model years: "the canister purge valve may malfunction and create excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system, which can result in the engine stalling without restarting. Dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module and replace the canister purge valve as needed. If the valve needs to be replaced, dealers will also inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as determined to be needed. All repairs will be performed free of charge to resolve the concern."

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #16

Jun 052019

Focus

  • 67,000 miles
My yellow wench check engine light came on, I was stopped at a 4 way city intersection and when I stepped on the gas pedal the car would not pick up any speed. I was stuck with traffic behind me. I had to go through the intersection at idle speed pull off the road, turn the car off and wait a few seconds then restart it. I was then able to drive it and the yellow check engine light was no longer on.the yellow light check engine light has come on before and I had Goodyear and auto zone check it on their computer and it came up with code P2135 throttle sensor. The guy at auto zone told me to enter that code on utube and see what other people did to fix the issue. There are many stories on youtube etc regarding this issue. It seems to be a widely know issue and on another Ford car they had a recall for it. I took my car to the Ford dealer and they kept it for a few days, they told me since they could not get the yellow light to come on they can not tell what the issue is and therefore not fix it? it is dangerous to drive it in this condition.

- Rochester Hills, MI, USA

problem #15

Jan 152019

Focus

  • miles
Mil comes on intermittently with a P0451 (3-4 driving cycles after a cold start ) dtc, no obvious repair conditions present. Rough idle, power loss, hesitation, decrease in mileage. Issues go away on their own after PCM reset, come back shortly after mil sets again. Mil goes off randomly, and problems go away shortly after. Have run multiple diagnostics and no repair issues found. Was told the PCM itself might need to be replaced or reprogrammed.

- Foley, AL, USA

problem #14

Apr 012019

Focus

  • 168,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I've replaced my motor mounts three times within 4 months. My car still is shaking, my heat and air only works on the right side, under my hood sounds like a ticking noise. This is all while parked. Please tell me what I can

- Portland, TN, USA

problem #13

Sep 132018

Focus

  • 150,000 miles
Whenever I start my car, the RPM's are between 2-3 and it takes a couple minutes to reach the normal idling RPM rate. The engine also makes clicking noises and is louder than usual and just does not sound right. And previously, my car has randomly stalled and just turned off while the battery stayed running while making a right turn or just idling at a stop light. Mostly, my cars engine just turns off while running it in the driveway in the morning while the battery stays on. It has not stalled in awhile but there is still something wrong with the engine and the rpms. Also sometimes, a wrench light appears on the dashboard when I am experiencing the problem.

- North Lawrence, OH, USA

problem #12

May 012018

Focus

  • 145,303 miles
I turned on the engine in the morning and the car seem to start fine, but when I put the gear selector in reverse and pressed the gas pedal suddenly the check engine came on and the car started shaking violently, I instantly turned off the car after a few seconds I tried turning the car back on, the check engine light went away, and it seem to work fine after that, but this now happens on a daily bases at random times of the day, I checked the car with an obd2 scan tool and it had codes P2111 and P2135 this keeps happening even after replacing the gas pedal and the throttle body

- Salem, OR, USA

problem #11

Mar 172016

Focus

  • 92,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At highway speed or any speed the little wrench light comes on the dash and then the gas pedal has no effect. You have to coast to a stop along the road, turn it off and restart it. Then its fine. If you don't turn it off and restart it will stay in limp mode driving maximum 5 mph. This car has 92K miles. Wrench light does not stay on.

- White Bear Township, MN, USA

problem #10

Jun 072015

Focus

  • 29,801 miles
We own a 2010 Ford Focus. While my daughter was driving home from her college town at 75mph, the care suddenly lost power. Luckily they were able to coast to the side of the road. At that point multiple dashboard lights came on. They started the car again and it immediatly died. We had it towed to a repair shop. By the time the repair shop had a chance to look at the car, it started up without incident and they could not replicate the problem. After inconclusive diagnostics by the repair shop and my research on this website, we had to assume it was similar to too many other identical complaints. My daughter drives this car to and from college, each one way trip being about 180 miles. This is not something we could "hope" would not happen again. It sounded like there have been too many similar complaints to not have it repaired. We had no choice but to replace the entire throttle body at our own expense to the tune of about $800. We will never spend another dime on a Ford product. We bought this car brand new so our daughter would have a safe car. I am extremely disappointed in the Ford Motor Company. I fail to understand how a problem like this, which sounds much to common, can be ignored. Ford should be forced to issue a recall, as well as reimburse all the car owners that have paid out of their own pockets to have this fixed. We are grateful that our daughter was able to safely get to the side of the highway, but it is only a matter of time until this factory defect causes a one or more fatalities. We have lost all confidence in the Ford moto company for not stepping up much, much earlier to correct this.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

problem #9

Jun 172014

Focus 4-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
When the car comes to a stop and is idling the engine starts to shake, the wrench light comes on and when I try to accelerate, the car has no power. If I turn off the car and turn it back on, the problem is solved until I come to another stop. The dealership cannot figure out what is happening and they say the diagnostic tool reports no codes.

- Escondido, CA, USA

problem #8

Sep 012014

Focus 4-cyl

  • 41,500 miles
While driving at 50 mph engine shut off and after stopping and attempting to restart the engine would only sputter. After a few minutes it did restart and as we were 120 miles from home this event reoccurred a dozen or more times with the check engine light illuminating after 7 instances of stalling. The repair shop we took it to found that the throttle body was defective and made the repair. As some deal was apparently made between the manufacturer of the vehicle and the government Agency responsible for assuring my safety in order to maximize company profits at my expense I am none the less making a report.

- Coos Bay, OR, USA

problem #7

May 082014

Focus

  • 38,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving on the freeway when my Focus suddenly lost power and speed despite my foot remaining on the gas pedal. I had to get over to the shoulder suddenly and narrowly missed being hit by a semi. The car would not start back up immediately and a check engine / wrench light appeared. I lost power several more times on my drive to work. It was a nightmare. The car would not accelerate beyond 55 anymore until fixed. It turned out that the throttle body assembly went on the car. It cost $700 to fix the issue despite the car having only 38,000 miles. This problem should not occur on a car with such low mileage. This was a very dangerous problem!

- Troy, MI, USA

problem #6

Dec 092013

Focus

  • 28,000 miles
Wrench light comes on. And vehicle loses all power. Have to pull to side of road and shut engine off and restart it.

- Union Grove , WI, USA

problem #5

Jan 072013

Focus 4-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
I have a 2010 Ford Focus that has a "raw gas smell in the passenger compartment and in the trunk" area. This smell is not constant, at times we smell it for several hours and then at other times no smell. But mostly we smell raw gas. I've taken it to the dealer's service department twice. They could smell the fumes, when I brought it in, but could not find where it was coming from. The vehicle was left there for a couple days to be completely checked.. they were not able to find nor fix the problem. The "gas fumes give me headaches when driving" the vehicle also I worry that this "raw gas could cause a fire."

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #4

Oct 262012

Focus 4-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
After continued operation in rush hour traffic, the vehicle failed to return to idle speed after coming to a complete stop (manual transmission/not in gear). This occurred twice during a commute home on a signaled highway 10/26/12. I pulled off the roadway and immediately contacted Ford customer care. [xxx], the representative with whom I spoke, stated he would log the concern. Ford has already attempted repair for the problem but the vehicle continues to have idle speed/throttle issues. I question whether the vehicle is safe to operate in close traffic. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Hutchinson, MN, USA

problem #3

Oct 132012

Focus 4-cyl

  • 25,600 miles
Bought Focus new with 49 miles on it on Dec 1, 2010. I have had premature tire wear, and issues with stalling/ jumping. I was driving home from an event this past weekend and had been on the road 45 minutes when the car started acting like it was going to stall, then started making a high pitched squeal noise. I managed to make it home, and after arriving home the car kept wanting to jump while parked. The idle would jump to 3000rpm then back down to 1000rpm, then rise slowly holding steady at 2000rpm for about 5 seconds and then relax. After all of this the car had a strong coolant smell, as well as high condensation dripping out of the tailpipe. Had car towed to dealer, and after 3 days they could not find a problem. After reading the 105 complaints about 2010 Focus I know I am not alone, and now have just decided to ditch the Focus.

- Brown City, MI, USA

problem #2

Aug 012012

Focus

  • 38,533 miles
Was driving in town and my information display notified me that the car had 50 miles left to empty. Suddenly info display started dropping 1 or 2 miles every 10-30 seconds and went from 50 miles to 8 miles to E in less than 10 miles. I was lucky to be driving in town. If I had been on the interstate I could have run out of gas without enough warning and could have caused an accident. Not sure if the display was inaccurate and I had more gas? for perspective: If info display shows that car is getting an average 35.4 mpg and holds 13.5 gallons, should get 477 miles per tank. I added 11.4 gallons, and info showed 441 miles to empty. 441/ 35.4mpg = $12.45 gallons should be in tank. $12.45 gallons - 11.4 added = 1.05 gallons left in tank at fill up, which should have shown = $37.17 miles to empty, not 8. I will keep and eye on this and see if it happens again. I will also keep track of mileage and calculate my mpg.

- Greenbrier, TN, USA

problem #1

Jun 202011

Focus 4-cyl

  • 58,000 miles
When I was driving, the car would lose power. Sometimes, it would just slow randomly, and many times it would just lose all throttle and stop. It happened on the highway going over 65 mph, on a busy street traveling 40 mph, and in the middle of a turn at a busy intersection. Apparently, this is happening to many Ford focuses (www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?T=271461), and something must be done about this. It is dangerous. Not only is it not covered under the powertrain warranty, it is $600 to fix! this is awful, and it should be re-called. Someone will end up getting killed, and Ford should be sued for their death. If this is happening to so many cars they should not pay to fix it, it should be recalled!

- Willow Springs, IL, USA

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