Problems with 2000 Ford Focus SUSPENSION

The rear shocks are making noises and are cupping the rear tires. i have replaced the rear tires once and they are getting destroyed again. i plan to replace the rear shocks when i can afford it.*ak

Car stalls, hesitates, getting worse very dangerous!! fuel system seems bad

Hi, i own a 2000 ford focus and it has been nothing but trouble. i purchased the car brand new in 2000 and have had it in the shop so many times. i have had my rear passenger side window mechanism replaced by ford, then personally replaced the driver front window mechanism and the driver back mechanism due to cable breaks. i have had it in with the radio 3 times and it still does not work correctly. i have had to have the brakes replaced, the ignition block replaced, the struts and shocks. the trunk release has never worked. now it keeps breaking down on me if i drive for more than 1 hour non stop. this weekend i went to san antonio from corpus, it died on the highway 3 times going to sa and coming home 4 times & how safe is that! ford said they cannot do anything for me unless it is messing up when i bring it in while it is acting up, however it always happens when i am away from town. they told me that if they hook it up to the machine it will not tell them anything. also, on several occasions my accelerator has stuck and i cannot brake, i have to put the car in neutral and press on the brake hard while the rpm's are still revving and pull the emergency brake, the first time this happened i was pulling into a parking spot and went over the yellow divider. is there anything i can do? *la

2000 ford focus - recalled in 2001 for rear wheel bearing problem - supposedly the dealership - village ford dearborn, mi - inspected and proceeded with the proper service - now with bad rear wheel bearing problem - my tire was ready to fall off per the mechanic - when the mechanic contacted ford customer service for part - he was told that was a recall item and i should bring to a ford dealership for repair. on 11-11-03 i brought my vehicle to avis ford southfield mi for this repair - i was told by the dealership that no recall exist on the rear wheel bearing and furthermore if one did exist the warranty on the replacement would be void. the mechanic that evaluated my car on 11-8-03 stated this needed to be addressed asap - he tightened the wheel- which is why i scheduled a repair on 11-11-03. i will need to return my vehicle to the former mechanic for service but will be unable to do so until 11-15-03. please advise the process for filing complaint against ford motor company - so i can recover my expenses. the mechanic will give me the defective part. i do not think that village ford ever changed the part or did the repairs under the earlier recall. vin [xxx]. *ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Rear wheel bearings needed replacement after only 67,000 miles. *ak

Currently own a 2000 ford focus wagon with approximately 57,000 miles on it. in the last 3 months we have had 2 breakdowns that could of very easily ended tragically. 1st: 3 months ago the front driver side suspension spring sheared in half. the sharp shear of the spring went into the tire and ended ripped it apart. thank god my wife and kids were only going 25 mph. 2nd: 1 week ago the fuel line clip attaching the fuel line to the gas tank burst into pieces in a parking lot of a local store as my wife was driving around. again, thank god nobody was smoking nearby. *la

Ford focus fuel pump fails to deliver fuel and car stalls. dangerous! i was only less than half of a tank of gas full and my car stalled out on the very busy davis blvd in nrh tx. it repeatedly died when trying to restart the car to get it to a service station. i filled the car up and the car worked fine. now we never let the car get below a haff a tank. please resolve this issue we could have been killed! this was the most recent time this has happened. this problem and similar hesitation upon acceleration in turns and going uphill have happened numberous times and have left me feeling like i was going to be stranded or worse- in a wreck. i have also had the common ignition cilinder lock problem, a broken door actuator, a broken lumbar support, drasticaly leaking a/c onto the floor, a very noisy front stut noise when going over speed bumps, front car creaking from right front fender noise at highway speeds, and poor service reps that insult person and destroy car (broke things on car that were not broken when brought in for service). all of these things need addressing, but most of all the fuel/hesitation/stalling problem before someone is killed!

While driving, the vehicle stalled due to electrical failure. there were no brakes or steering. the vehicle crashed into a tree. driver dislocated her shoulder and sustained a head injury. *ak the rear wheel bearings was replaced, the fuel filter was replaced *jb

We had to place the 6th set of tires on our car. we haven't had a single set of tires last longer than 20,000 miles. we have our tires rotated and balanced and front-end aligned regularly. we have replaced the front brake pads 5 times. we have had all 5 recalls repaired on the car. when i had the rear bearing replaced under warranty the technician told me that they had to order emergency bearings overnight because it was not safe to drive. when i inquired about a rental car, he offered to reassemble my car and let me drive it home (even though it was unsafe)! this has always been a loud car, but a week ago there was a loud roaring, grinding noise up front that gets especially loud when i turn to the right. after having a technician look at it, he says the front bearings are gone and the front rotors and brake pads also need to be replaced again. i am in the same situation as everyone else: because this car has had so many problems and complaints it is only valuing at $3000 after 3 years. ford should be forced to do something to satisfy all of these dissatisfied customers. *la

I have a 2000 focus. i experiance hesitation when the fuel tank is about 1/4th full, it died once while turning around an offramp cloverleaf. also when coming to stops it idles rough. when starting and waiting while in or out of gear, idling is rough. turning corners i occasionaly get creeks from the front and rear. sometimes i hear thumps from the rear when riding over bumps on occasion. i hear and feel a growl while the engine is running regardless of being in or out of gear or in or out of motion. it feels more prominent when the temp. is below 60 degrees. i can feel it vibrating in the steering wheel while turning and it seems to stop while turning left but continues when the steering reaches center. while going up or down inclines or small depressions in the road it becomes even more noticeable and you can feel it in the floor. the drivers side rear door lock sometimes clicks in and out of the lock postion erratically when the electronic door lock/unlock button is depressed. this handle is also extremely tough to open. sometimes power is lost to the radio, i remove the detachable aniti-theft piece and replace it, sometimes it works, sometimes i need to do it numerous times before the radio will turn back on. i had experianced warped rotors on the front when i first bought the vehicle numerous times, but i switched them with slotted rotors so i no longer have this problem. my rear brake drums are stock (but the pasds are not) and they squeal quite frequently, possibly due to excessive dust. i had noticed that sometimes the power window control would not work for windows other than the drivers. this has not happened in about a year or 2. i have just recently experienced water in the passenger well. last, occasionally the transmission will hesitate while driving. it almost feels like the transmission is shifting into neutral, but more like it was a human with a cluthc out a bit who cannot make up their mind about what gear to use.

I purchased my 2000 ford focus se from merlin motors in saskatoon. production date - may 2/2000, stock no. pp24941, r.o. no. 155631. i believe this car was previously owned by someone in british columbia. here is a chronological breakdown of repairs. april 17/01 - took car in because driver mirror vibrated badly when driving - so badly that i could not look into it, it was shaking that much. also, the trunk would not open from the release inside the car. parts were ordered at this time. vehicle kilometers- 32854. june 19/01 - they checked for driver mirror vibrating when driving and replaced driver side exterior mirror. the also checked for trunk not opening from the release inside the car, they replaced the trunk stop and adjusted. vehicle kilometers- 35222 june 20/01 - they checked for power steering leak and replaced steering rack and set toe. vehicle kilometers- 37782?? (this is obviously an error - i know i did not drive 2, 560 km in one day!) i also did not complain about the power steering and don't recall why my car was in there at the time. sept 21/01 - they repaired rattle in right front going over bumps, tightened all assemble bolts in front end, removed right caliper and rotor, lubed all bushing, adjusted front splash shields, found tie rod bolt loose and tightened. they also fixed molding on window belt, which was loose and checked inside rear view mirror and found it flawed - part on order. vehicle kilometers- 43170. nov 3/01 - we were driving in saskatoon when engine started to boil. we knew this because of steam coming from the hood, all gauges in the car read normal! we took car to merlin - they could find nothing wrong with the car after their checks, and told us to bring it back if it happened again! work order for this date states: customer saw steam coming from under hood, antifreeze pooled on engine, gauge read normal, steam coming from overflow tank - fill with a/freeze, pressure test for leaks, no leaks found.

Front coil springs broke car 3 years old! need to replace springs and struts and private plate.*ak

2000 ford focus. driving 65 mph on freeway. loud bang. checked under vehicle, saw nothing. several days later i was pulling into a driveway and there was a slight dip entering drive when horrible noise and grinding occurred. sounded like wheel was going to fall off. afraid to drive. towed to dealership. right front spring had broken. dealer recommended replacing both front springs/struts. they must know something general public doesn't. when i asked about recalls, they said ford had history of springs breaking and recalls on windstars but not focus. i don't believe it. has to be manufacturers' defect. should not have broken under normal driving conditions. car only 3 years old. site indicates many incidents in 2003. probably many more not reported.*ak

The rear passenger wheel bearing failed causing smoke and almost a fire. i had the recall done at tri county ford in mauldraugh ky, and this is the second time it had happened. i went to les pinkham lincoln mercury and bought new wheel bearings and had my personal mechanic replace the bearing. he stated that the brake drum and wheel are possible warped and might need replaceing. i also want a refund on the bearings and labor cost for the mechanic to replacement of bearings.*ak

Has been to shop for 26 days in the past 4 months. repeated failure of clutch (manual transmission), failure of brake pads, resulting in minor crash. have had to had ball joints replaced. cruise control was disconnected from accerator/brake. key would not go into ignition and resulted in key ignition switch having to be replaced. numerous recalls and trips to shop since bought brand new in august 2003*ak

Front coil spring is fractured. ford motor company's customer satisfaction program 03m02 only covers cars built through december 1999. my vehicle was built in may 2000. ford's coverage does not extend to all affected vehciles or ford has another problem with front coil springs on focus. very high efforts to shift in and out of 1st, 3rd and 5th gears - difficlult to shift gears resulting in increased time and attention to shift gears.

Consumer received recall 03v482000 concerning fuel pump failure. while driving at any speed, the consumer felt a hesitation in the engine, and then vehicle stalled. even though there was a recall for this vehicle, the manufacturer would not honor it because it was a salvaged vehicle.*ak the consumer stated the coil springs failed. updated 05/11/09. *jb

Consumer states that front suspension collapsed.dealer notified.*ak

Dt*: the contact stated there was a whizzing noise heard when the vehicle was driven 5 mph and faster and when the vehicle was turned to either direction. the noise increased over time. the service dealer inspected the vehicle, and determined the problem was the wheel bearings in both front wheels. the manufacturer was notified after the contact received tsb # 630347 (01b85) about the suspension: front: wheel bearing.

Hello-i have contacted ford multiple times in the last six months due to issues with my barely out of warranty focus. one of them had a tracking id of [xxx], case id of[xxx]. the other case id i have since lost but was under my name and this same vin #, [xxx]. the morning of monday, 6/30/03, with approximately 29,300 miles on the car, i went out the garage to back up. a horrible grinding noise was coming from the front of the car. the right front spring coil was sitting on top of my tire. this is of course related to a recent recall (the tenth one i've received). i'm outraged that ford isn't requiring focus owners to have their coils checked. there was no shift in suspension or noise with my vehicle. suddenly, it just became very, very undriveable. the day before this happened, i put on 200+ highway miles at 65mph. if this coil would have broken on the highway, it would have been an extremely dangerous situation! i have had my car in the shop 14 times for non routine maintenance since i have bought it, but this last incident was incredible scary. respectfully, [xxx]. *ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a recall. manufacturer recall# 03m02 subject front coil spring. the nhtsa campaign number could not be found in the artemis system. the dealer stated the parts were not available.*ak

At 40,000 miles on my 2000 focus wagon, dealer tells me that the clunking noise i hear from front and rear will be fixed with a new front tie rod and rear shocks. visited dealer 3 times to fix a windshield washer leak into tailgate, filling light fixtures and seeping into rear of car. i have had my fan motor replaced and my rear door latches are not working correctly. all of many recalls have been addressed, we even received 4 new tires due to tread wearing. it took many trials to get a correct alignment. my stereo often will cut out for no reason. i am no longer under warranty and fear that this most recent suspension repair will be costly while i still make monthly payments on my vehicle. can you help? *jb

Consumer will provide information on the front suspension problem. *ak

Loud rumbling sounds comming from underneath rubbing noise when brakes were applied, the rear brakes, had the drums cut and cleaned and the brakes still are rubbing and it sounds like the brakes will fail soon if they don't fix them i took my car back three times with the same problem,and the insist they fixed it and the same thing is still wrong i hope somebody can help i don't know where to go to get the proper help. i need my car.

Consumer took vehicle into the dealer on june 2 and june 9 because she heard some noise in the front end. it was later determined that the right front spring broke. the dealer replaced the spring under warranty. the consumer fells that the spring should not have broken on a 3 year old vehicle. *ak *ts *nlm

Left front lower control arm failure resulting in accident totaling 2000 ford focus zx3. *jb

Premature brake wear (4 wheels) rear brakes not functioning as designed, wheel bearings replaced (4 wheels, rear on recall, front under warranty). *ak

Driver's side front coil spring broke while backing car out of driveway 10 mph. *tt

Left front coil spring broke in my 2000 ford focus causing the spring to come down on the tire with the full weight of the car. this could have caused a major accident. i checked recalls and there have been none for that specific part. there needs to be an investigation so that people are not hurt. *nlm

I drive a 2000 ford focus with 32,000 miles on it. i was driving on the highway (i-44) at 70 mph speed when the spring on the strut of the front passenger tire broke. the car swirled, started smoking, made screetching noise, and with lots of struggle and dangerous swirls i pulled up on the left side of the 3-lane interstate. it was impossible to remain in this narrow lane because the danger was too high, so a police officer escorted my car across three lanes to pull in into the right side of the highway. after my car was taken to a repair shop, i contacted ford motor company to report this incident. ford informed that my warranty was up a month before the incident and there was nothing they could do about it. they showed no concern regarding this dangerous incident happening on a 3 year old vehicle. besides the traumatic experience and the repairs, this can lead to more incidents of this kind, but ford customer service showed no interest in this case. unbelievable. lawsuit waiting to happen. i will never buy a ford product again. *nlm

While driving, the right front coil spring snapped. *jb

Passenger front coil spring broke after going over speed bump @ 5 mph. could have punctured tire if not immediately noticed. 2000 ford focus, 38,000 mi. *nlm

60000 miles on car, 4 sets of tires, 7 recalls, defect in gas tank cover filler, 2 sets of brakes, rear alignment not adjustable (advised by independent shop) and horrible shaking at highway speeds after all this. dealer has been no help with tire problem. never buying a ford again. *jb

While having the vehicle serviced the mechanic noticed that all 4 coil springs were broken and needed to be replaced. *nlm *cb

2000 ford focus se 4-door sedan. front drivers-side coil spring failed. the coil-spring has a 3 inch piece of straight round tubing on the last ring of the coil spring. the shape of the coil causes the straight piece of plastic tubing not be tight to the shape of the coil. i assume water, road salt and other contaminants that would cause corrosion were able to get under the plastic tubing and corrode the coil spring to the point of its sudden collapse and failure. the break occurred directly in the middle of the sleeve of tubing. it broke after 3 years and 3 months with only 44000 miles on the car. a solid steel coil spring should not corrode and snap. *jb

I have nothing but grief with my 2000 focus. 1) most recently i had was traveling at 50 km/h when my front right coil spring dropped out of the front end. i phoned ford repeatedly and even though i discovered a program covering my the coil springs on i was given the run around saying that i was outside the program recall date by a few months even though the car was made at the wayne assembly plant; where other program recalls were coming from. i ended up in a field when the coil spring broke, narrowing missing the car next to me. i was thankful that i had escaped with my life but not to be covered by ford was a slap to the face. i am very upset about the way they handled this situation and i am determined to let everyone know about this situation. my alignment is also out because of the accident but can't afford to fix it right now. 2) four times since i've owned the car, the car has stalled. twice rounding a corner going onto a highway and 2 twice on a straight away highway. it always happened when the gas gauge was below 1/8 of a tank and so i thought it was my fault because i was running out of gas. of course i blamed myself. but four times ? i began to become suspicious when the car began chugging uphill on a recent long distance trip. i barely made it to my destination. when i took into a ford dealership in sudbury ontario the serviceman told me that knows of the problem though most of them came in under warranty. of course the problem at first only presented itself when the tank was near empty and so i always or nearly always made sure to have at least half a tank full of gas when driving. today the problem is present regardless of how much gas is in the car. very convenient for ford seeing as though i am outside the 60,000 km warranty plan. again i do not feel comfortable driving on the highways anymore. i am hoping that ford will hear me out a pay for the repair.

Failure of driver side front suspension spring on my 2000 ford focus se 4 door sedan. *jb

Ignition switch will not turn. i noticed in researching the internet that many others had the same failure. i did not see a recall. this is the latest failure of many: brakes, fuel gauge, bad struts. now at 39000, i am 3000 miles out of warranty. *jb

Nhtsa#00-v-303-000 vehicle description: passenger vehicles. the rear wheel hub retaining nuts can loosen and allow the left rear wheel and brake drum assembly to separate from the vehicle. consumer states dealer replaced three times but recall repair failed. *nlm

Spring/strut failure of left front wheel in driveway at slow speed (didn't travel >10 ft..); spring out of strut housing with pointed edge of broken spring on top and ready to puncture tire!; had this occurred during expected trip of this day on interstate highway at high speed would have been major catastrophic or fatal accident!; why did this spring fail at 35,000 miles and vehicle not even 3 years old? suspect faulty spring metal fatigue; have noticed that similar complaints of same incident "on left side" wheel only; what is going on here, ford? for an otherwise "more than satisfied" experience with this vehicle,in spite of numerous recalls for "small items" that i was not worried about given the "initial 2000 model" status.....i am concerned for my safety that would have been compromised by this apparent spring/strut problem and could cause fatalities; this will serve to document that you have numerous problems with this and need to investigate for possible recall. why did this spring/strut fatigue and fail at less than 3 years old (35016 miles) ? *nlm

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

I drive 25000 miles a year to and from work approximtly 115 miles a day and 70% of that is on open interstate hiway. stop and go is less than 20 miles a day. tires completely wore out at 41000 miles. tires started humming at 10 to 15000 miles. i constly complained about front end and tire noise. i put a set of goodyear aquatred tires on at 41476 miles. they also started humming, so the front end was lined up. this did not stop the tires from humming. now car has 80000 miles, tires are scarming go down the road fast or slow. frontend suspension has been making clanking or thud type noise. just recently turing left geting off interstate it felles like the right front is changing geomitry. car turns left vilently - must corect stering. this will happens without notice. this car is extmly dangeras. when driven on ice and snow, it will brake lose when going staright for no reason and start to spin out. brakes wore out at 45000 miles. $400 to fix front brakes only. i have never had to put brakes and tires on a car at less than 50000 miles. more like 65 to 75000 miles.

Nar 04/07/2003 mr. while driving, the rear tire disconnected from the vehicle due to a failed wheel bearing.. the air condition repeatedly leaked water in the vehicle. the brakes were worn which required new rotors. *jb

Consumer received poor service from ford motor company, as well as from following local ford dealers morande ford of berlin, ct and ray seraphin ford of vernon ct, and different opinions from ford employees concerning multiple recalls on a-frame/stereo/windshield wiper motor/rear wheel bearings, electrical system, and sudden acceleration/lurching. *ak

Clicking noise in front left side wheel area. *jb

Passenger side ball joint is broken at 48,000 miles. appears there is a safety recall, but ford dealership will not replace part without charging me. *jb

Nar 04/07/2003 mr. the consumer stated with 20,000 miles on the tires they were already bald. the dealer told the consumer only the rear tires were bald because they had not been rotated. the consumer took the vehicle to another mechanic and had the tires rotated and had new tires put on the front, however 10,000 miles later the rear tires were bald, they were replaced again and less than a year later they were bald again. the consumer learned that the problem with tires was due to a recall with the wheel bearings which was suppose to have been replaced a long time ago. *jb

2000 ford focus zx3

My complaint deals with the 2000 ford focus . i purchased this vehicle in june of 2001 with 100 miles on the odometer. since then i have had to bring my car back for a few recals. one of the recals was the rear suspension where my car lost control and i veered off the road....luckily noone was hurt. the reason why i am writing this complaint is because i understand that there is a investigation on the focus for various problems. i wanted to add to the investigation by saying that i just spent 340 bucks on my ignition switch because it wouldn't turn which i understand is a common problem and i also had problems with my car stalling in the middle of the thruway. i almost crashed into an eighteen wheeler! i have had the fuel pump replaced and my car still idols very rough and occasionaly stalls out when i am stopped. ford should be embarrased by this and should take all focus's off the road! i read that there were hundreds of ford focus' with the exact same problem but no recal was issued

The front wheel bearing failed while driving.*jb