Problems with 2000 Ford Focus POWER TRAIN

Vehicle lost all power while driving, took to dealer, and they said transmission needed to be replaced. after replacing 1st transmission vibration was still there. consumer took car back a third time for same problem, and they replaced transmission. shaking was still there.*ak

Since the purchase of my ford focus 2000, it has been subjected to recalls for wheel bearings, paneling, and the master cylinder. additionally, the trunk latch had to be replaced and the computer reprogrammed. since late sept. 2000, the engine dies at approx. 45/mph when i press the clutch to downshift from 5th gear, slowing from a higher speed. on aug. 21, 2001, i took the the car to maroone ford in margate, florida because it had stall (died) twice in one day. the mechanic said there was nothing wrong with the car and said that i didn't know how to drive it properly. i contacted ford motor dispute settlement board and they came out and drove with me. the car did not stall at that time, and he advised me that i didn't know how to drive the car! i believe i have been lied to by ford and by their representative, maroone ford, margate. i have copies of letters that i sent to maroone ford, and to the board of directors at maroone ford as well as a copy of the initial dispute settlement board application. i have complained over and over again that i fear for my safety, and that i want ford to either fix my vehicle or give me a safe car. i was a full-time nursing student at florida atlantic university in boca raton, florida when this started, i am now a registered nurse still driving an unsafe vehicle. i would appreciate your help.*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

Vehicle is in the shop as of 21 aug 01 for water leak under dashboard? trunk will not lock, automatic transmission difficult to get out of park worst car i have ever owned. ford motor company not helping at all. my warranty will be up in a few, that means all defects will come out of pocket for repair.

Popped out of gear at high speed, had to hold the shifter to keep it in gear and avoid accident. afterward, it was difficult to get the shifter to go into any gear without grinding noise, no reverse at all. had to be towed to dealer. dealer said they would replace the whole transmission, then later they said ford knew about the problem and recommended an adjustment to the linkage. *ak

Consumer owned vehicle for only 6 days. was driving at approximately 50 mph when axle broke, causing left front tire to fall down, resulting in loss of control and an accident. vehicle was a total loss. please provide further information. *ak

Brakes do not work and driver uses his clutch to slowdown vehicle. also, front brake drums, and front shocks broke/ vehicle stalls unexpectedly, and the cv axle broke. dealer cannot determine cause any of these problems. please provide further information. *ak

Gas mileage is poor on this size veh--motor kicks into neutral while driving at higher speeds. dealer keeps telling me there is no problem/cannot duplicate, 4 incidents, this is very freighting. especially in heavy traffic & cannot get off the road fast. brakes wear between 16000 and 18000 miles with normal driving. the motor belt had to be replaced at 22000 miles. this never happened so soon with any vehicle i have ever owned. repairs and services are very expensive, many safety recalls and product warnings that take time to repair. the dealer has a problem making sure the parts are available when i make an appointment. the wheel bearings have been replaced several times and sound like they may be going bad again! i do not feel safe in this vehicle. what if something fails while myself or my family are in this vehicle. this vehicle has depreciated at such a drastic rate, that i would be wise to trade it for another vehicle. i feel it is in direct relation to all the safety issues with this vehicle. *ph **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**763169

A major complaint about the 2000 ford focus. this was my first real car and i was excited. i had the car for a couple months when it stated whining noises. i took it in they said it was nothing. it happen i took it back. they said it was the transmission fixed a week later the car started shutting off on its own. it would stall and stop as i was driving. i said the car is still giving me problems and took it back they insisted that the car was ok. i talk to a ford dealer said the fuel pump. it happen again told bring the car in friday then i was riding down the expressway in buffalo ny with my children the car just shut down no brakes no excel nothing we were almost killed in that car i scrambled to get to an exit where the car stopped on its own on the shoulder near the end of the exit. i called them screaming crying scared about what happened do you know they said sorry can you tow it in. i have never in my life been so unhappy. i towed the car in and they said they would keep the car. it started up and everything and they still would not believe me. until one of the mechanic said he would drive the car home. it shut down on him as he drove home. the mechanic brought it back fixed and it and told me i had to pay for it i could come and get it. i was so so so angry i told them i would not pay another dime for that car but what i owed to the time that car almost took my life. they said fine and put a judgment on me for 4,000. i took it to a attorney to fight it i was sold a bad car and was very rude and not care about my life or my children's. now, 7yrs later i look at my trw to find not only did you give me a bad car, tell me i have to keep it but you put 2 judgments on me and it is still ruining my ...

I have had transmission replaced on this car previously but again the clutch is getting very hard to move. dealers claim this is due to a recalled part but when appointments have been made to replace this part, no parts are available!*ak

With clutch all the way in car will not go into gear, will not come out, and stalls. this has happend mostly at low speeds in traffic my wife and i are very weary of driving the car at all now, and we've had to wait 4 days before the dealer could give us an appointment. the dealer has already looked at the trans. but said nothing was wrong with it.

Nothing but problems with the car. first noticed leak in the floorboard on the front passenger side as the dealer detailed car. interior dome light fell off soon after, followed by the fuel gate door and the left drivers side mirror. now my transmission has blown up, all while going 25 mph or under, and all under 21,000 miles! we've had a major recall on average every other month too. what a lemmon! *ak (tiresize: p195/60r15)

Consumer was driving and the spring in the clutch pedal broke/popped up & hit the consumer in the leg. it made the vehicle very hard to drive.*ak

Consumers vehicle jerks and surged while being driven and the check engine light illuminates, the dealer has replaced the trans rang sensor 3 times and the entire transmission once but the problen reoccurs, possibly related to the engine. (attorney for client). nlm

When accelerating from a stop clutch spring broke, causing the pedal to remain on the floorboard. vehicle has been in the shop for 8 days. the part to correct problem is on back order. *ak *ml

Is it common for a new vehicle transmission to go out after driving it for only 3 months? even though you have a bumper to bumper warranty, in a situation like this should manufacturer be held responsible other than replacement, is it safe to assume that after owning a vehicle for only 3 months and the transmission goes out, a new one is installed, that this is a sign of a lemon? *ak

Multiple problems: replaced cd player once, three brake jobs, multiple trunk latch repairs, replaced transmission at 40000, 3 recalls, ignition switch locked up. the 2000 focus is clearly a lemon! *ak

My vehicle jerks very badly when shift gears specially from parking to reverse it jerks very much and the problem has been there for a while the car has been taken in vista ford of oxnard and nothing has been done about it.*ak

The clutch master cylinder failed. *mjs

The failure of the seal allowed differiential fluid to leak over the right side brake components causing the vehicle to have no brakes on a corner. nlm

Vehicle vibrated upon starting and driving. more acceleration caused vibration to worsen. also, vehicle appeared to be slipping out of gear while remaining in drive. vehicle is at dealer's shop at this time. *ak

This vehicle is clearly one of multiple problems and should be investigated. engine cooling, transmission braking and starter issues. ford protecting self as usual.

Windshield had cracked and was replaced, approximately one month later the windshield cracked again in the exact same spot, nothing had hit the windshield on either times that it had cracked. air conditioner drains inside the car to the drivers side floor. brakes squeak, dealer replaced rear brake shoes, however noise is still there. steering wheel was peeling, dealer replaced it. vehicle will not start at times, dealer reprogrammed the pcm and replaced the fuel pump. transmission slips into neutral while driving, it will not shift into reverse until after about 10 seconds, dealer has replaced the mlp sensor and transmission range sensor to attempt to correct problem yet it still continues, transmission lines leaking and dealer replaced lines. noise coming from under the hood. hood rattled, dealer adjusted and lubed the hood stops. engine races at times, vehicle hesitates and feels like it is going to stall. *slc

Engine making ticking sound, dealer did not look into it, just replaced engine, the day i got the car back, it was making a squealing noise, take car back next day, after removing transmission, and leaving me without a car for another day, they realized they forgot to hook up a hose, now car is making a grinding noise only when clutch is not pushed in, noise stops when you push the clutch in, car going back in a few days. *ak

No summary

Dt: transmission would not kick into gear. the key ignition is always getting stuck. consumer took vehicle to the dealer numerous times and was told it was only her imagination. finally, the transmission died and the warranty had ran out. the doors both front and back come open while driving. there is a recall on the rear doors but is also having problem with the front doors as well. vehicle was taken to dealer 3 times for the ignition key alone. car is currently in shop. *tt

Brakes to this date continue to be a problem; grinding, squeeling, etc; cruise control sticks, airconditioner leaks, sometimes ignition switch turns sometimes not, car vibrates excessively, car speeds up and slows down on its own, and stalls occassionally...received recall on rear drum axle but nothing from ford on anything else. i do not feel safe in this vehicle.

While driving 20 mph consumer applied clutch pedal, it went to the floor. dealer replaced a broken spring on clutch assembly. *ak

The door panel failed. nlm

I bought the car in june of 2000 since this time the car has had a number of recalls on the car. i feel that the people that bought the 2000 model of this car should not be liable to pay the amount the contact was signed. due to the fact that at the time the car was bought, the people that bought the car didn't know that most of the car's life would be in the shop being fixed. also ford knew that the focus was prone to this happening.

Third gear would grind, and sometimes could not get into third gear. when on highway vehicle will not go into 3rd, and consumer is forced to slow down. this could cause an accident. neutral switch clip broke off, and can't start the car unless pushing switch. *ak

7 new stereos, 2 ignition cylinders, a few trunk latches, transmission trouble(dealer cannot duplicate), 20,000 miles i have to replace 4 tires and 4 brake pads, horrible grinding noise when stopping, shakes on the freeway when braking, misassembled interior rails, and many others. i am completely dissatisfied with this vehicle, i will never, ever buy another ford vehicle and i will certainly never reccomend a ford to anyone.

The rear passenger side tire blew out while driving causing damage to the vehicle (firestone tire). nlm

At first transmission started to slip. then vehicle began to cut off from time to time when gear was in drive/ reverse or when initially starting vehicle up.*ak

Engine stalling - may be same as nhtsa action # pe02040 (vehicle has base 2.0 liter engine and 5-manual), vehicle stalled at highway speed when clutch was in, restarted when clutch released.*ak

After purchasing my car in jan of 2000. i had to take it into the shop 3 days after for a linkage problem. i was driving in reverse and reversing in drive. i have taken the car in quite a few times since then for a loud noise coming from under the hood, for it not accelerating when entering the freeway, and for it accelerating for no reason at all. each time i took it in they said that was normal. which i know it was not because i have been in other 2000 ford focus' and they are any where as loud as mine is and they do not take off like mine does, and the pick up speed is wonderful. i am aware that there are other vehicles manufactured near that date that are or were on recall. i would appreciate it if you could look into this, so i can get it fixed before any one is seriously injured. *jb

After taking vehicle into dealer to get recall oof001000 repairs done on power train control module, consumer took vehicle back to dealer for control problems. vehicle would accelerate when slowing down. contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do anything. *ak

We drove off the lot without having the pdi performed on the car, whcich resulted in low fluids in the vechicle, especially the transmission fluid. the low fluid caused the transmission to slip, and revved the engine,which made the car ride and drive real hard. the 1st day we had problems with the battery, which was already dead in the car. and now we received on dec 12,1999 a letter stating that the car was recalled because it had problems with fluids leaking into the cruise control panel, and to contact the dealer as soon as possible. so we contacted the dealer and let them know of the recall, and ask when it was possible to bring the car in. we spoke with the service manager who stated to us that the parts were orderd for georgia locations, but none of the parts ever had reach their location.. now that leaves us a problem as of today dec 18,1999, with constantly calling to find out when the part would be available and not only that the car needs to be seen also for the blown lighter fuse,as well as the ignition signal failure needs to be serviced also. we need immediate attention to this matter because the holidays are coming and we cannot use our car the way it suppose to be used, if we are trying to drive it out of town, please help us in this tough situation, because no one else is trying to understand that when a car is purchased brand new, it should not have these many problems with it in this short period of ownerhip, thank you.

Rear tires (no brand or size) are chopped, poor valve assembly. *slc