Problems with 2000 Ford Focus VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

While applying brakes vehicle accelerated suddenly and unexpectedly, resulting in a collision. dealer is inspecting vehicle. *ak

Accelerator stuck at 2000 rpm's, dealer said there was rub marks on the inside of assembly. the service manager said car is unsafe to drive in current condition. the part is backorded nationally.*ak

When you are driving the vehicle along between 40 and 50 mph the motor will rev up and the car feels as if it goes into neutral. we have taken the vehicle back to the dealer 6 times and each time they keep it for a week or so and then tell us that they couldn't find any problem with it. as soon as we continue to drive it the problem happens again.*ak

While driving vehicle cruise control remained in an open position and failed to disengage. in addition, emergency brake release handle under dashboard came loose, and covered brake pedal which caused consumer to run a red light. dealership has not examined vehicle. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

Driving down minor rd, drove through green light. suddenly car accelerated and went into uncontrolled skid, slamming back wheel into curb. jerked steering wheel left, almost into oncoming traffic. veered right again, this time slamming front wheel into curb before managing to stop car. no outward sign of damage beside cosmetic, but short distance later, car began clanking right before tire hit bump in road, causing it to swing outward at 45 degree angle. car was then immobile.*ak

Front brake system failed, gave no warning from one moment to next the only thing we heard was metal on metal grinding. dealership does not want to cover under bumper to bumper warranty. because the inside pads were worn down to metal and the outter pad had worn down to about half wear the dealer told us it was "negligent abuse" .this way it would not be covered under warranty.cruise control failed after one week of purschase took dealer over two months to call. now keyless entry do not function. dealer very evasive reguarding information available to us the consumer and now owners about recalls and customer complaints involving focus.

While driving at any speed could step on brake pedal and engine will suddenly accelerate. consumer has to step hard on brakes until stopping. then,shifted gear to park and vehicle will start working as normal. *ak the vehicle was at the dealer twice but the problem still exists. *yh

Consumer was in traffic, went to apply gas pedal and vehicle took off without prior warning. there were no injuries. dealership wasn't notified. *ak

Consumer was traveling 68mph set on cruise control. cruise control was disengaged to slow down. after resuming the cruise control, vehicle began picking up seed to 70mph & fish tailing across the road. consumer lost slight control of vehicle, traveling forward. vehicle hit a concrete wall & was totaled. invetigation is in process.*ak

Tl* the contact owns 2000 ford focus. the contact stated that when depressing the accelerator pedal, the pedal would intermittently become stuck in the open throttle position. when the failure occurred, the contact would shift to neutral in order to release the pedal yet the vehicle would continue to exhibit an unusually high increase in engine rpms. the contacts mechanic informed that there was water entering the vehicle speed control sensor and causing the failure. in addition, the mechanic also advised him of a potential recall for the vehicle (nhtsa campaign id number: 99v346000-vehicle speed control) yet the contact was advised by an authorized dealer that his vehicle was not included in the recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 67,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

Vehicle accelerates when applying speed pedal. if he doesn't apply brakes to slow down, vehicle will continuously speed up faster. he has to put vehicle in neutral, and turn the vehicle off. sometime it works and sometimes it doesn't work. *ak

Repeated attempts in dealing with ford service, customer service and management (regional and central offices) have failed to correct these problems. discrepancy in documentation by thomason damerow ford service department in what i was told was done to the car versus what was documented. i was told verbally that certain corrections were made to the car but these were not documented. for example, i was told by chad the evening service manager that there was something wrong with the crank shaft dampener yet this was not documented when i picked up the car and informed dealer i would pursue lemon law. dealer had car for 30 days in april and i was told parts were on back order. regional manager was to have called me back but did not. service manager contacted on 08/22/2000 and 08/23/2000 regarding repeated problems but he only seemed to be concerned with documentating our telephone conversation. service manager stated he did not know the status on the back ordered parts but that he would call me back but he has not. i informed him that car continues to stall while driving. dealer provided with new phone and address although they were to have contacted me a few months ago before i moved yet failed to do so since april 30,2000. car has since stalled, i am very afraid to drive the car on the highway as the car will not even reach acceptable and a safe speed to merge with highway traffic. i will not use the cruise control as it seems to accelerate on its own even after the cruise control is not in use and it is turned off. there are numerous other problems with this car but the one i am most concerned about is the safety of this vehicle.....stallling, engine shut down while driving on highway, inadequate speeds to merge with traffic, inadequate speeds on slight incline, unable to use car to travel up the mountains which are plentiful in the area where i live. please investigate this problem to protect the public's safety , both the ford drivers and others on the road

Vehicle experienced erratic surging which caused sudden acceleration/ jumping out of gear, and taking off intermittently. this has occurred on five occasions, and dealer was unable to locate the cause. please provide further details*ak

I was exiting highway 99 in modesto, ca and the speed control failed to disengage when i applied the brakes i then exited the highway offramp at 70 mph and the car would not slow down even though my foot was strongly applied to the brakes. i sped through an intersection continuing at 70 mph and my only option was to re-enter the highway on-ramp on the other side of the intersection. finally, i disengaged speed control by pressing the "off" button on the steering wheel before i rear-ended other cars entering the highway. this vehicle's speed control was previously serviced as part of a recall. if there had been other vehicles in the intersection when i exited the highway, i may have killed myself and another driver. it was a very frightening experience. i own a ford focus zts with a manual transmission. i will be taking the vehicle to the dealership on 6/19/00. i just thought i should report what may be a deadly defect in the speed control option. *ak

Consumer was traveling about 68mph and cruise control got stuck. consumer ran off into the shoulders of the road to prevent from hitting another vehicle. also, vehicle shook and vibrated when driving at speed of 50 mph and over. *ak

Intermittently engine revvs up to 700 rpm when coming to a stop. this could cause a crash. problem was reported to dealership. an adjustment was made on the idle. however, consumer was still experiencing a problem with vehicle.*ak

In reverse gas pedal stuck in depressed position, shifted to f,r,f,r,f & hit wall. *ak

While attempting to back into a parking space the vehicle experienced sudden acceleration and hit a tree, there was no deployment of the air bags, the consumer sustained muscle strains. nlm

Consumer was traveling on highway and was passing another vehicle, vehicle accelerated, and it made a squealing sound. he would have to apply brakes and turn vehicle off. he could feel that vehicle was trying to get away from him. *ak

Consumer was driving with speed control on. when she tried to disengage the speed control it failed to do so, causing the automobile to accelerate and spin around, hitting a pole, and destroying the front end and the hood. driver was shook up, and suffered some facial bruises.*ak

While driving accelerator pedal became stuck. vehicle was picking up speed. shifted into neutral to slow vehicle down. took vehicle to dealership & mechanic indicated the problem was the cruise control. ordering parts to replace the cruise control. *ak

Dt: the turn signal do not cancel after a turn. the spring broke three times. the trunk does not latch properly. dealership has taken care of both issues, but the problem recurred. in cold weather the idle speed was too high. when put into reverse it backed out like a rocket. this caused an accident on april 9, 2000. the consumer was backing out with the back door open. it happened so fast he did not have a chance to put on the brakes. the car door hit the garage post. there was no police report. consumer stated he had mental injuries and lost his job. vehicle was still idling high in cold weather.*ak

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 about 45 mph vehicle suddenly accelerated up to 80 mph. consumer tried to reduce speed by stepping on the brakes and using the emergency brake in order to stop on the side of road. after stopped, steam was coming out of vehicle and engine revved for 45 seconds. *ak *ml

Owner was not notified of recall 99v346000. *ak

Recall 99v346/ cruise control. after recall repairs were completed vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly accelreated to 90mph. dealer and manufacturer have been notified. *ak

Consumer has recieved three recall notices concerning a possible faulty speed control cable which may have caused the accident and death of their daughter prior to notification. nlm

Squeaking brake, extreme wear and tear of front tires, back tires with wear and tear issues, alignment issues on front tires and cruise control issues. *jb

Dt: the consumer complained about a vehicle speed control problem. this problem has been occurring since the consumer purchased the vehicle on march 1, 2000. the consumer took vehicle to dealer, and they told her there was no problem. there is nhtsa recall 99v346000 on this issue for the 2000 ford .focus zx3. the consumer owns a zts 2000 ford focus, which is not included in the recall. also, there is a fuel system problem. vehicle experiences hesitation, loss of power, surging, and dyeing this problem first started on june 1, 2004. when the consumer took vehicle to a dealership for repairs they told her they thought it was the filter in the fuel tank. there is nhtsa recall campaign 03v482000. the dealership told her that this vehicle is not included in the recall because it is a zts. *ak

Car accelerated on own/caused major accident/ford refuses responsiblity. *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

No parts available to perform recall 99v-346m for the speed control fitting. nlm

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.

Consumer was traveling about 75mph with cruise control on, applied the button to stop, and cruise control wouldn't stop. driver pulled over . vehicle was stopped by a pole. *ak *ml

Cruise control failed and replaced, while using new cruise control vehicle experienced sudden acceleration. *mjs

Throttle does not return to the idle position which causes unexpected acceleration. nhtsa recall 99v346000/manufacturer's 99s35. manufacture was not aware of the recall. also, contacted dealer, dealer was unable to determine cause of the problem. *ak