Problems with 2000 Ford Focus WHEELS

1 week after purchase took in for brakes and rotors, 3 months later same thing, two months following ignition locked along with a/c not working need another lining, right now ignition is trying to lock again needs calipers brakes rotors car is stalling mechanic just made me aware that the two tires on the right has four lug wheels two tires on the left has five lug wheels. the car sounds horrible no money to repair all these problems fell like i have to pay for something that's not even drivable ford will not do anything or dealer still covered under factory warranty i believe deep in my heart they sold me a lemon i know there's no way a car should have four, five lugs it means that they salvage the car threw it back together and had it sitting waiting for the first sucker! me but i'm going to try to fight this all the way no matter what it takes. dt *tr

Nhtsa#11813-00-v-303-000 rear wheel hub nuts:: rear wheel retaining nuts can loosen and allow the left rear wheel and brake drum assembly to separate from the vehicle... consumer satates has the same problem. dealer has been notified. please provide further information.. mr

The bearings in the left rear wheel assembly have failed. the wheel is now loose and there is a grinding noise and a noticeable wobble when driving the vehicle. the right rear hub also was replaced last winter for the same issue at approximately 20,000 miles. this situation concerns me because my car was never recalled for wheel bearing failure(??), yet both rear wheels have now failed. this strikes me as a serious safety concern. nlm

These problems have all happened at different times and seem to be completely unrelated. the rotors had to be replaced with the brakes at approximately 13k miles. the engine just went into idle while i was driving. this happened three separate times, but when i took it in to the dealer. they didn't see anything wrong with it and couldn't duplicate the malfunction. my rear wheels started making a very low noise around 8/15/02. after an accident at the end of august. the noise was much worse and the rear bearings were replaced by the shop that fixed my car after the accident. south florida is a "high-salt/corrosion" area because of our proximity to the sea. this was never introduced before. when the cigarette lighter is pushed in, it does not merely pop out when it is hot. it ejects and is thrown on the floor. having it land on my leg twice and my carpet scorched by it twice, it could have cause a serious accident. thank you for your assistance. dt

While driving at 5-10 mph front passenger's side wheel broke and fell off the vehicle, bolts sheared off. contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak

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.

The bearings are being replaced in areas where salt is used on roads. what about salt conditions on the coast line where salt is a problem year round. ford refused to replace the wheel bearings , meaning more than one, under the recall for certain states. please look into this matter as the salt by the ocean is a worst problem than street salt. please keep me posted on this matter. nlm

Rear drivers side wheel started to wobble. took vehicle to dealer, and they replaced bearing and retaining nut. two weeks later, rear passenger side wheel experienced same problem. consumer feels wheels are defective. *ak consumer stated that the driver side wheel came loose and began to wobble and the right passenger side wheel start making a roaring noise. *yh

The dealer told me that my right rear wheel assembly was completely shot even though the car only has 46000 miles was told by mechanic that there was no way that a car with that few miles could have had this problem without it being a defect. i was told by the dealer that because i didn't have extended warranty it would cost me $780 to repair. i called the ford customer care dept. and they told me that because i had not had my oil changes done at the dealership i had no loyalty to the dealership so they would not help me out. nlm

While driving the 2000 ford focus down a 35 mph road i proceeded to brake to a stop when front driver's side wheel assembly collapsed, causing car to skid out of control. it came to a stop after hitting a parked car.*ak

Right rear wheel fell off while driving vehicle at 65mph. dealer has been notified. please provide further information. ts

Left/rear wheel is causing vibrations in the vehicle during operation at any speed. recall campaign 00v303000 repairs were previously performed on november 2, 2000. dealership has not reexamined vehicle to determine the cause of the problem. please provide any additional information / documentation.*ak

My brakes has consistantly had a loud grinding noise. after several complaints to the dealerships and customer service reps, i was told this is normal. the problem now is that 22,000 miles and 1 year later, i need new brakes. also, the car was recalled for wheel bolts and nuts. i have seen many complaints about the exact problem. there is no way to tell if you have a problem with the brakes because of the loud noise. my belief is that the car is defective or poorly designed.*ak

I am tired of replacing wheel bearings. now ford is saying that my spindle is messed up and that is causing the problem. my spindle is only messed up because of the wheel bearings. it is a vicious circle. i am tired of constantly repairing this car. if ford would fix it right i would not have these problems. all i really want is to get rid of this thing that vaguely passes for a car and to get something reliable, but ford only wants to offer me half of what i owe on this lemon. i guess they don't want it back. dt

I sent this letter to ford in may of 2000 i purchased a ford focus, thinking it would be a safe, low maintenance car, considering it had been in europe since 1997. i would think this would be plenty of time to work out any bugs you may have. or, should i call them recalls. i think a car that has 16 recalls, most of them which i would consider safety issues, should be recalled entirely. i have had other issues with this car as well. my key would not turn, seat belts locking for no reason, door handles not opening the door (this is all happening again). and one that has not been addressed, brakes. i am now on my third set of front rotors since i have purchased the car. the same thing has happened every time. the driver side rotor and pad will wear completely down yet the passenger side will be just fine. i have talked to other focus owners and the same thing is happening. i still have my last set of rotors just to prove it. i got smart this time and bought replacements that were not made by you. stop tech cross drilled rotors and ebc greenstuff kevlar pads. i also replaced the driver side caliper with a non-ford replacement. i want out of this car because i feel it is unsafe. i also would like to warn other focus owners that this car is unsafe. you also had better not send me to the dealership again. what does the dealership have to do with the production of an unsafe car? nothing, except that they sell it. i am not putting up with ford pushing me around or giving me the run around either. this car is extremely unsafe and should not be on the road. i did not do this before but this time you leave me no choice. this letter will be sent to as many bad product websites as i can find. it will also be sent to nhtsa, consumer reports and the better business bureau. you did not do anything with my previous complaint and now there are more issues with this product that ...

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. while driving over 35 mph, the vehicle began to make a loud noise coming from the rear wheels. the dealer stated that there were no failures. the vehicle was taken to the dealer four more times for the noise. on december 7, 2007, while driving 55 mph, the driver side rear wheel bearing failed. the vehicle was pulled over and towed to a mechanic. the mechanic informed the contact of nhtsa campaign id number 00v303000 (wheels:lugs/nuts/ bolts). the dealer stated that the recall repair had previously been performed on the vehicle before it was purchased. the purchase date was unknown. the current mileage was 88,000 and failure mileage was 14,000.

While driving one of the wheels disconnected. *ak

Consumer was traveling home and noticed a clunking or rattling noise. when her husband pulled passenger's rear tire there was a cap, and a screw fell out. dealership was aware of problem. *ak consumer stated that vehicle was in for a recall on left back tire, the part that was suppose to have been replaced had fallen out.*jb

Front driver's side tire blewout at end of tread and sidewall with size about 3 inches. also, on may 8, 2001, rear driver's side tire blewout. dealer advised that tires blewout due to aluminum rims.*ak *jb

Consumer experienced excessive play in the steering wheel while driving, vehicle was towed to dealer who found the loctite wheel nut loose. *yh

1st lug bolt failure occured following a flat tire on right rear. changed tire following owner's manual and the lug bolt sheared off in the wheel. dealer replaced part & labor at no charge to me. 2nd failure to lug bolt occurred to left rear while driving. dealer refused to replace sheared off bolt at no charge to me. dealer stated that when the tires were replaced at 12,000 miles, that the non-ford tire servicer must have used an incorrect torque specification to remove/replace tires. dealer could not provide me with the torque specification. dealer did not fix this defect & let us leave the dealership with only 3 lug bolts on the left rear wheer. the lug bolt on the ford focus are defect and based on the number of other consumers on your web-site experiencing lug bolt failure, the vehicles should be recalled for replacement of the wheel lug bolts.*ak

Bolts popped on each side of wheel. one of the bolts got stuck in wheel. dealership was aware of the problem.*ak

00 v 418 000/seat hinge: 00 v 411 000/wire harness: 00 v 303 000/rear wheel hub nuts: 00 v 218 000/fmvss 201: while vehicle was in the dealer shop for is routine check up consumer was informed of four recalls, and ,was unwilling to give a appointment for repairs, consumer called on two other occasions, and still dealer, hertige ford, burington, vt; phone# 802/865-8150 refused to help in these recall repairs. seeking help from nhtsa in these matter.*ak

Brake system has had shoes/bearings/ drums replaced due to overheating of wheel. rear drive's side tire is becoming too hot to touch after normal operation of vehicle. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

Received recall notice (00v-303) october 2000, part(s) not available to correct campaign, received recall notices (00v-218) & (00v-411) december 2000, appointment made for january 2nd to correct all 3 campaigns, waited four hours at dealership, claimed vehicle, invoice showing "parts necessary to correct" recall campaigns (00v-218) & (00v-411) not there. cj

Nuts and studs have stripped, and drum cannot come off when taken to dealer the first time. vehicle has had that problem since then. currently, consumer needs to replace drum. *ak

Trunk latch fails to catch 95% of the time. trunk key fails to turn lock most of the time. this problem has existed since the car was purchased in 2000. there was no event leading to this failure. i believe the trunk lock materials are corroding just like the rear passenger doors which were recalled. the trunk lock should be recalled. this problem is clearly the result of faulty manufacturing materials. i requested dealerships perform repairs and they told me that ford headquarters has failed to issue a recall . why? nhtsa should make this happen. the consequence of a failed trunk lock/latch is that the trunk door will pop open -- allowing things to fly out of the trunk and fly into on coming traffic endangering others as well as block rear window vision. this could cause fatalities to both the vehicle driver and near by vehicles. . the hubcaps have cracked and broken off in pieces during cold weather while parked (ie., the hubcaps were not struck by exogenous rocks or anything else). this is clearly the fault of substandard manufacturing materials. ford motor company employees at headquarters have stated this to me. ford motor company should replace the hubcaps at no charge to the customer. exogenous materials can hit the unprotected tires, cause a blow out. it is not right to make the customer pay for substandard materials. i could take a wild guess that the wheel wells -- on my car -- replaced directly by the vice president of engineering from the warren plant -- did not look at the stress and hair line cracks he faulty wheel wells placed on the original hub cabs. it's time to finish the job! ford motor company's employees have stated to me that the 2000 year model (the first year this vehicle was transitioned from european manufacturers) manufactured in the warren plant did not perform the necessary quality control to ensure that these materials functioned in cold weather climates. *tr

While driving @ 25mph the left rear wheel came off, it was pinched under the car and then jetted into a mailbox and stopping in the side of another car. ford said that it was driver error, we are not getting any help from customer relations or dealer. they said it was something we did, i hope they fix it because its the right thing to do.

The consumer eceived recall notice 00v303, a retainer clip was installed on the left rear wheel and the consumer was told that the wheel bearing was alright and didnot need to be replaced, a few months later the vehicle was taken to have the tires rotated when it was discovered that the left rear wheel bearing was destroyed, the spindle was ruined and the wheel was ready to come off, the consumer contacted the dealer who refused to fix the vehicle under recall, the consumer had the vehicle fixed and is requesting reimbursement. *jb *nlm

Rear wheels wobble when consumer is driving, this problem can happen at any speed. contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to anything. *ak dealer performed recall 00s55b repairs. consumer adds that vehicle pulls to left and steering wheel is off center. *tt

The consumer learned of recall through the media and never received a recall notification concerning the (00v-303)recall, consumer is not satisfied with the amount of recalls issued to the vehicle and does not feel safe. *mjs

Consumer contacted dealer for recall 00v303000, and parts were not available for a month. consumer felt unsafe driving vehicle. *ak

The dealer has no parts availeble to repair recall 00v-303 of the rear wheel hub retaining nut, it has been over 90 days and the dealer has not contacted consumer about the availability of the parts. nlm

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

Consumer received a recall letter. contacted dealer , and they said parts would not be available until next week. 3 weeks went by and no parts.*ak

Strut was replaced, tires were replaced 6 times because of the strut failure which caused excessive wear, the vehicle had less than 10,000 miles after all the tire replacements. (attorney for client) *slc

Nhtsa recall 00v303000/ manufacturer's recall 00s31. dealer cannot get reacall parts until feb 2001, rear wheel hub nuts. *ak

The vehicle would not go into gear intermittently. on 01/16/01 the boot around the shifter was torn and the dealer had ordered a new replacement boot cover. *yh

Consumer had an accident in which the vehicle started trembling the consumer lost control and two tires came off, after the accident consumer recieved recall 00v-303 for loose nuts which he believes was the cause of the accident. nlm

The front left wheel snapped off prior to recall notice 00v-303 causing the vehicle to rollover 3-5 times finally landing upside down facing oncomming traffic, the driver suffered no injuries, although the front of the vehicle was impacted the air bag failed to deploy. nlm

Consumer concerned about safety of vehicle. already 3 major recalls concening wheel: bolts:lugs and nuts with just 7000 on vehicle. felt ford should take vehicle back. dealer said that consumer should be happy that they were taken care of the recalls. *ak

The consumer lost control of the vehicle while driving, after the accident the consumer received three recalls one of which (oos31) was for insufficient wheel bearing clamp load, the consumer believes this defect caused the accident, the consumer sustained some bruising from the accident.