Problems with 2000 Ford Focus SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Brakes make a loud noise due to worn out brake pads. vehicle only has 13000 miles. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

While driving under normal operating conditions heard an abnormal noise coming from vehicle while braking. dealer examined vehicle and discovered that left front brake pad was loose. since that time, consumer has experienced problems with brake pads needed to be replaced or examined because left side pad support knuckle: spindle arm was bent, and causing brake pad to wear. dealership was unwilling to assist in repairs of because vehicle was no longer under warranty. please provide any additional information/attachments. *ak

Dealer cut warped rotor 17k--did not replace pads--at 23k rotor must be replaced at my cost--ford says it is normal wear. my vehicles' brake rotors have always lasted the life of the car-140,000+miles--23,000 is not "normal wear. " *ak

Brakes and air bags failed

The front disk brakes were worn out to the rotors after only 25,000 miles because they over heat and the pads wearout quickly. the vehicle was driven on expressway 80% of the time. the front wheels become extremely dirty due to quickly wearing out brake pads. when this was brought to the notice of the dealer about 8 months back he said the dirt is due to the wheel design, but the rear wheels do not get dirty since they do not overheat and wear out as quickly. the manufacturer and the dealer say it is normal to wearout front breaks any time after 9,000 miles and refused to pay for repairs. this is abnormal, my brakes always last over 55,000 miles.*ak

Noisy brakes- my car has been in the shop 3 times. twice the rotors and pads have been replaced but still noise brakes. dealer advised that there is no resolution for this problem and the car was created in europe. so why did you put your name on it and why didn't you disclose the noisy brakes to me at time of purchase? in general i am not satisfied with my car and the dealership is not willing to take it as a trade in for another vehicle.*ak

I asked ford to look at my brakes at 12, 541 miles because they were squealing. i was told that the noise was normal, so no action was taken. now, at 24, 643 miles, my brake pads and rotors are completely worn, and ford will not take any action to remedy this situation. *ak

After 6 months of purchase, the brake system specifically rotors failed. while applying brakes there was a constant grinding noise, resulting in extended stopping distance before vehicle came to a complete stop. mechanic stated ford focus had these common problems, also experiencing other problems such as erratic speedometer failure, an the interior light fell out from roof of vehicle, and 2 inches of water entering from side of door. *ak *tt

While driving and foot is removed from accelarator, motor races, loses power dies out.*ak brakes squeal intermittently. *tt

While vehicle is being driven an unusual noise occurred in the engine compartment. after inspection by dealer problem was diagnosed as premature brake wear. please give any further details. *ak

front brakes have been squealing since the car has had a brake job under one year out of the showroom. the first brake job done by team ford was necessary at under 20,000 miles indicating premature wear and possibly defective from factory disc brakes. many other focus owners are having this same problem. the brakes still squealed after the brake job and now in less then 2 years of ownership the brakes again needed new pads installed and also the rotors needed replacemant. this costs over 350.00. all this in under two years and below 30,000 miles on a new car. now my ase certified mechanic states that all the wheel bearings need to be replaced still the car had at that point less than 30,000 miles on it. when i presented the car to friendly ford of las vegas nevada, for bearing inspection under warranty, they declined to inspect the bearings and told me to bring my business elsewhere. this is non performance of warranty which covers (supposedly) defects for 3 years or 36000 miles. friendly ford and their service manager rob refuses to give under warranty service for the defective bearings and the cost of two brake jobs done by certified mechanics at premature wear levels was borne by us the owners. ford offers poor customer service and refuses to honor a valid warranty.*ak

Every 12000 miles consumer had the brake pads and rotors replaced. brakes were making noise, and there was extended stopping distance. contacted dealer.*ak

Front rotors were replaced due to vibration and squealing when applying brake. replaced a second time in february 2002 for the same problem.*ak

Ford has replaced master cylinder twice and all rotors and pads. still no brakes when first used after setting. *ak

Consumer states ongoing problem with engine stalling while driving at any speed, dealer was notified. nlm dealer replaced coil pack and fuel pump 6 times. vehicle is under warranty however warranty is not valid. the wheel bearings failed causing the rear wheel to fall off. the main belt broke. the transmission cooling lines broke. ignition switch had to be replaced. the rear brakes squeak especially when there is moisture in the air. *tt

Consumer traveled on highway alot and vehicle started making grinding noise. brake rotors and drums on the left were crumbling. manufacturer's recalls 00s20 and 00s31 did not affect consumer's vehicle due to vin. *ak

While driving would step on brake pedal, and the brakes will make noise. pads had worn out and were replaced. *ak

I was approaching a stop light and was more than 10 car lengths behind the car in front of me when i attempted to apply my brakes. i depressed the pedal but nothing happened. i applied more and more pressure until they finally engaged near the floor and locked. i tried to avoid the car in front of me and slid along side so i did not impact directly in the back. i had damage to the left front of my car and to the right rear of the other car. i want to see if similar reports have been filed with nhtsa. please contact me. *ak

While traveling at approximately 30 mph consumer attempted to apply brakes for a red light, and consumer had to force brake pedal all the way to floor which slowed vehicle down. but, did not bring it to a complete stop. light changed, and consumer continued on, and parked car. dealership has yet to examine vehicle. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

Purchased my car in 2000. my car currently has 51,000 miles on it now. since that time, i have purchased two brand new sets of tires and have had my car aligned two times.. ihave also needed my trunk latch replaced and although my brakes have been replaced they continue to squeal. recently, whilr driving on an interstate mt car sputtered and shut down. i waited two hours at which point it was able to be driven. i took it to ford and they believed i need my fuel pump replaced. this occurred one more time approximately three days later.*ak

I have a 2000 ford focus that i have had allot of problems with. i specially ordered this car to have all the safety features including side impact air bags, and anti loc brakes. we originally had bought the car in ca. the first problem happened at 3000 miles the rear brakes started squealing, and the seat belt buzzer wont go off. we took it to ford were they said nothing was wrong. we moved to nc were we now live. took it back to ford with the same complaint this now 30,000 miles. they said they were defective, they had the car over night for the seat belt buzzer, still no problem found. so they replaced the brakes. when we picked up the car the seat belt buzzer did the job of staying on for us. it stopped the squeal problem with the brakes. 1 1/2 weeks later we had an accident. whitch i might add the air bags did not go off. also in the accident the rear seat came unhinged and threw a plastic piece that holds the seatbelt at the back of her head causing a lump. my wife said the brakes just didn't work as they did previously with the noise. i took it out for a test drive found the brakes were not acting right, the car would not stop properly. took it back to ford, they told us that everything was fine. a friend of ours was a ford mechanic at a different dealership was going to look at it for us, he was killed that week in a car accident un-related. so we lost our inside mechanic to tell us what was really happening. now at 50,000 miles the noise is back, my wife who drives the vehicle says every once in a while the brakes will act up again. now we just don't have the time nor the patients to deal with the dealerships once again for now the fan blower only works on 3 on the dial and the cable broke to select def, vents, ect. along with the recall of the wiper motor, and the neeeding of new roters on the front. this car to me is a lemon.

I've had ongoing problems with the whole car and no one will help me. no safety defect listed. *ak

The vehicle stalled out while driving, when making left hand turns and also exhibits no start no clank condition, dealer replaced the sender but the problem resurfaced. nlm

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

Brake problems; there is a lot of noise when applying brakes. contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak

While driving 10 mph, vehicle unexpectedly accelerated to a speed of 50+ mph. dealership has examined vehicle four times, but could not reproduce the problem. *ak consumer also stated there is a noise coming from the rear brakes, dealer replaced the rear shoes, also front brake pads were replaced.*yd

When applying brakes there was a squeaking sound. dealer replaced front pads, and it did not remedy problem. on 11 sep 2001, while applying brakes pedal went to floor. dealer replaced front and rear pads and rotors.*ak

I have had 3 sets of brakes,3 sets of tires and my rotors shaved(that helped for about 2 months). seventy percent of my mileage is interstate driving,therefore,not using the brakes that much.the only way to stop the vibration of the wheels is to replace the rotors, which happens to be wearing out my tires with there 50,000 mile warrenty. in otherwords, the brakes and rotares on this car are of the poorest quality i have ever seen. so much for american pride, i'm going back to my honda!*ak

I am not please with this car ,me and my wife have brought two other cars from this dealer and this is the first one that has given a lot of grief and sorror,please help me be a continue customer by addressing this problem immediately,and also for future references. thank you ,sign off---sadden. no safety defect mentioned. *ak

When brakes are applied a very loud squeaking noise occurs, cause unknown. dealer has replaced brakes three times within one year. *ak the consumer stated that to correct the problem the dealer replaced the front brake pads and machined the front rotors. but the problem still continued. *yh

Problems with brake equipment. the vehicle has been to the dealer at least 4 times for a crunching sound when driving over bumps.. the brakes squealed when they were applied, the consumer was told they were fixed, however the problem resurfaced. *jb

Consumer states brakes squeak when stopping, consumer was advised that front brakes are needed. *jb

There was a grinding noise coming from brakes. dealer replaced front brake pads. also had increased braking distance. while driving about 10 mph, driver's rear wheel came off with drum still in it.*ak

While driving on i275 nth i heard what sounded like the noise a flat tire would make.got off motorway to investigate, could find nothing wrong. got back on only to find the car starting to pull toward the passenger side. luckily i was near a rest area, pulled off. only to find smoke pouring from the rear wheel. it had siezed solid. it was taken to a dealer, who fixed the following, drum&bearing cup, spindle, retainer asy wheel, rotor brake sk, cap rear wheel and the abs sensor. refused to check other side as that had already(much early been fixed under a recall) while their they did find the cause for the fuel smell inside the vehicle, in circuit 15rl3(gn.rd) @ c-87 terminal was not seated in connector, fuel consumption has improved from 28mpg to 31mpg. local dealer and ford customer service both told me my concerns with the other rear wheel and the engine due to it's consumption of unburned fuel(not to mention mine)were area's they will not check, even if i feel they are potentially dangerous to myself and any passengers i may have.*ak

7/00- tape was stuck in stereo, had to replace stereo. 3/01- had to replace front brack pads at 11000 miles. 11/01- ignition locked on vehicle. had to replace ignition. 3/02- transmission was neutralizing when driving. had to replace transmission. 5/02- car was stalling. ford unable to detect problem. 9/02- car was not accelerating and stalling suddenly- had to replace fuel pump. 9/02- had to replace front brake pads and back brake shoes at 34000 miles.

There is premature wear of front brake rotors and pads. when brakes are pressed pedal goes to the floor. please provide additional information.*ak

Problems have not been fixed. i am very concerned that my car is unsafe. the brakes are not dependable and squeak. my car is only 7 months old. i bought the car to feel safe with my 10 month old son. i do not feel safe; and i am becoming very disappointed with the car and service. *ak

My daughter was so excited to buy her first car. i'm not sure why but she chose a ford focus and qualified for a first time buyer program. after a few months she started having brake problems. it got so bad she the car to the dealer for repair. they said the noise was normal. later she took it in and they told her the brake pads were warped because she drove through water and that the warranty would not cover it. next time she went in for warranty service she complained about the brakes and they said there was nothing they could do about it. shortly thereafter she had a one-vehicle wreck. she was not hurt but the car was badly damaged. after three estimates we took it to a local body shop with a good reputation for quality work. the accident was due to the lack of adaquate brakes at a stop sign. at a little over 20,000 miles she began having more serious brake problems. again she took it to the dealer who told her the brake pads were bad and the rotors needed replacing. (at 20,000 miles) they offered to do the $400+ job for a 12% discount since the job was not covered under warranty. she took it to a brake specialist who did the job for about $200. add all the brake problems and the problems with the passenger door that leaked (they "fixed it" several times. it still leaks. actually, this cute little blue ford focus should have been painted "lemon yellow". another thing - when she took the car in she took a friend with her to drive her to work. during the conversation with the service manager about the problems he, and i quote, "told them to shut up - he would not be double teamed. they do not teach that in customer relation school, do they? do you think this same dealer would take it in for a trade in?*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

Vehicle was at the dealership for routine check up, and mechanic told consumer that she needed brakes in front and back. at 15000 miles she needed all new brakes front and rear. at 18000 she needed rear brakes, but front brakes were fine.*ak

Front brakes are making a squeaking noise when brakes are applied. dealership stated that brake pads and rotors were wore out and needed to be replaced. dealership informed conusmer that rotors were not a covered part, and they would have to have this repaired. *ak *slc

While driving at 35 mph and attempting to stop brakes and emergency parking brake would not engage to slow vehicle down. consumer impacted a vehicle in front, and suffered a bloody nose when air bags deployed. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

While driving fuel tank will show that it is empty when, in reality, tank is full. also, a problem with brake system. brakes will not activate on time to stop vehicle.*ak

Tires/ shocks/ wheel bearings/ transmission struts, and rotors all bad and worn out. dealer unresponsive and so is ford long file on this car. dealer refuses to lemon the car out. totally frustrated by lack of communication with dealer and ford am considering law suit against both (tiresize: 195r7015)

In to dealer three times, they say it's normal yet ford has 7 s/b's out for this problem. no safety defect. *ak

Brake pads and rotors had to be replaced two time already. i am very concerned with engine stalling and other troubling reports.*ak

Cruise control servo routes brake light system which causes no brake lights when servo failed. risk unknown to driver until notified by dealer.

Took vehicle to dealer 7 times for brake problems since jan 2001, brakes squeak loudly. dealer replaced pads and rear drums. did not remedy situation. *ak the brake problem reoccured, and the consumer states the problem appears to be not fixable. the vehicle was lemon. *yh

The consumer reported to the dealer that the gas pedal was sticking but the delaer was unable to duplicate the problem, the throttle body also sticks. nlm