Problems with 2001 Ford Focus ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Just driving to the bank and the car started to sputter as if it was losing power when i came to a stop at a red light. i have replaced the air filter and the fuel filter. i checked all fuses. when braking i have to have one foot on brake and other on gas to give it a little gas so it doesnt stall. *nm

Dt: while driving vehicle stalled and operated at a reduced speed. went back and forth eventually allowing the engine to die. this happened at all speeds. there was loss of power. the vehicle could not restart easily. it may take 20-30 minutes to restart the engine. the vehicle has not been to a dealer. no repairs were made. the consumer has no idea why this happened. the consumer believed this vehicle was included in nhtsa recall, nhtsa 03v482000 concerning the fuel system. the consumer contacted ford, and ford stated this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. *ak

My car has 29,500 miles on it. i bought it used about 3 weeks ago. following symptoms: 1 - car stumbles/hesitates/loses power at around 2-3k rpm...regardless of speed...but stumbling/hesitation is best felt on the freeway. 2 - car has had some type of recall work and dpfe sensor replaced at: 17500 miles. not sure if fuel pump recall has been performed...ford dealers have been very reluctant to tell me without making me spend $150+ on a stupid diagnosis...that's called good business. 3 - dpfe sensor replaced prior to me picking up the car at: 28440 miles. 4 - 1000 miles later...i have the stumbling. 5 - things i've done to the car: a - replaced air filter b - replaced fuel filter c - replaced pcv valve d - replaced plugs (using bosch platinum 2) so far i've done all changes myself because no ford dealership seems to care to offer advice or a helping hand. the consequences are that i've almost been hit from the rear due to stumbling/hesitation. *jb

Dt: contact stated car would not go over 60 mph. she took vehicle to a dealer, and they told her the egr valve was bad. she had not had the valve replaced yet. she noticed the problem on 7-23-05. she has been on the internet and found lots of fuel related problems; but nothing specific to the egr valve.*ak

Dt: the consumer's daughter drove to austin texas, when she entered the vehicle the ignition would not turn. the consumer had the vehicle towed to the consumer's house due to the dealer being closed. the consumer heard of a recall on ford focus zx3, which was having what consumer believed to be the same problem. the consumer contacted ford who said that this vehicle was not part of the recall. the consumer stated that one week after he bought the vehicle the service engine light came on. the consumer had the erg valve replaced. the consumer believed that this may have been a false reading. the nhtsa recall campaign 02v288000 was directed towards the electrical system; battery/cables. *ak *sc

Consumer states: starting to have engine hesitation,loss of power, some surging. the check engine light has been on for a few days. the engine sounds rougher but there is no knocking. *nm

The vehicle stalled. consumer pull over, and had the vehicle towed. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak at the stop light the motor blew out which caused the vehicle to stall. the #4 valve set dislodged some how most parts stayed in #4 and #3, but got in every part of the head. the service quote need replaced engine with long block. vehicle need engine assembly complete- remove and replace. *bf

The driver heard a humming noise coming from the front of the vehicle. the noise escalated while the vehicle accelerated. check engine light appeared on the dashboard, and remained on. then, vehicle stalled. driver was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that driver's side wheel bearing needed to be replaced due to corrosion. also, the engine needed a sensor. *ak

After starting the vehicle consumer smelled exhaust fumes inside/outside the vehicle. dealership repaired the gas recirculation valve (egr) valve. *ak

My 2001 ford focus has stalled again. this is about the 4th time. local mechanic found problem to be fuel injector pump. dealership claims that is only battery replacement. i have all old parts from recent service at dealership. i would like to see this vehicle recalled. found internet article that states that this is not an uncommon problem with this make/model. http://www.theautochannel.com/f/mania/repair/news.html?mania. *jb

Dirve the car for 30 minutes or longer (engine is hot). stop, and restart it from 15 to 30 minutes later, and the car will continually stall so long as the clutch is completely depressed. this will happen very predictably under these conditions. it is clearly temperature related, as restarting the car just 5 minutes later when still very hot, or an hour later when cooled down, and there is no stalling. dealer (athol ford) believes it is related to the idle air control valve, but refuses to fix it, even though it was taken in while still under warranty. dealer also claims to have no knowledge of any tsb related to this issue.*ak

Oct. 13-14, 2004: engine would crank and crank and not start after sitting overnight or for several hours. after much cranking, engine finally would start. oct. 14 - personal mechanic identified that fuel pressure was bleeding off - fuel was not remaining in fuel rail. directed me to take it to ford dealer for fuel pump recall 03v482000. oct. 18 - to solve the problem, related to ford's recall program #03n01, ford dealership replaced fuel pump. in conjunction with the fuel pump replacement, dealer recommended fuel filter also be replaced, at a cost to me of $62.95 plus tax. i approved this. dealer (suntrup ford) also recommended fuel cleaning induction service, done for $127.88. oct. 28 - returned to dealer for repair. car had sputtered at stop light twice, and idle when stopped had changed from what was normal. dealer could not duplicate concern, and reprogrammed the car's computer for $119.90. nov. 16 - on two occasions car sputtered after starting when engine was warm. on second occasion, car was extremely difficult to start. after it finally started, i drove about a block, and it stalled without warning and without sputtering. car was towed to private repair shop nearby, where on nov. 17 mechanic indicated he could not duplicate the condition. mechanic promised to look at car again on nov. 18. consequences of failure - inconvenience, potential dangerous condition, out several hundred dollars for recommended repairs (related to recall) and for towing. car still not diagnosed because condition has not been duplicated.*ak

Events leading up to the failure: check engine light came on has never gone off since, highly increased running noise, engine hesitation that at highway speed it causes the whole car to jerk failure: i took the car in and they told me i needed a new head that ford had redesigned a new one and it would cost $1000. the one i currently have deposits carbon and will keep doing so until it eventually gives out. the thing that irks me is ford obviously knew there was a design flaw if they designed a new one, therefore i feel they should be covering this. corrections: none, cannot afford. will have to drive it until the car gives out.

Check engine light appeared on the dashboard. vehicle stalled. consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. *ak

I have a 2001 ford focus and there is an exhaust tube that runs off the right side (looking from the front) of the manifold which broke from rusting. i searched some forums online and found that many other people are having the same problem. my car only has 60000 miles on it so i don't believe it should of rusted and cracked like it did. *nm

My 2001 ford focus has stalled numerous times and died once while i was getting on the highway. it usually dies when it has a quarter tank of gas or less but still not on empty. i have replaced the fuel filter and had the injectors cleaned. i also took it in and had the recalled bolt fixed.none of these things have fixed the problem.*ak

Was driving home and engine began knocking and got louder and when i returned home had my husband look at it and found 3 motor mounts were rusted off. dealership replaced motor mounts a week later at my cost and didn't give me a rental car. *tr

I had experienced a loss in acceleration and my car stalled. i started the vehicle again, it ran for about one mile and then it stalled again, this time there was a clicking noise from the engine. i could not get it started again and i called for a tow to the dealership. after they ran some tests and took apart the engine, they found that a valve had broken in the cylinder and damaged the piston and the head/head gasket. the car is a 2001 ford focus that i had purchased new and i don_x0019_t understand how this could have happened to the engine since it is less than 3 and years old. *ak

Consumer stated that vehicle surged/hesitated and stalled. she took the vehicle to the dealer, and they did not see any problem. consumer received a recall notice, and tried to get an appointment to get the vehicle repaired, but was put off. dealer stated that the recall had nothing to do with the problem she was having. consumer later took the vehicle to a local mechanic because engine" check light came on, and she was told that the egr sensor needed to be replaced. *ak

While driving vehicle stalled intermittently. consumer pulled over and restarted the vehicle. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

The vehicle stalled on two separate occasions. *jb the speedometer in the vehicle always reads zero. the milage erase on their own and pop up again days later then disappear again. the consumer stated that he has to turn the vehicle off and turn it on again to read the gas gauge. automatic locks engage 20 minutes after the consumer has started driving. the vehicle steering wheel became hard to move as the vehicle loss power and shut down on several occasions. *tc

Vehicle was taken to the dealership for a routine general maintenance, and mechanic determine that engine was leaking oil. service manager indicated to the consumer they will fix the problem for $100.00. but he had to sign an agreement if the job was not satisfactory dealership was not responsible. the settlement had to be resolved by a local arbitrator. vehicle was still leaking oil.*ak

My 2001 ford focus engine light came on a week or so ago, so i took it to autozone and had them check out my computer, and see why the light came on. the culprit was my egr valve. it said that the was low or no flow to the valve so i cleaned the egr valve ports and replaced the valve with a new original ford egr valve. the light stayed on and it is still acting up. it is hesitated with acceleration, it is stalling and cutting off on my at low speeds, and my gas mileage has dropped big time! also, my left-rear tire had warped drastically even despite rotating my tire often, it all ways seems to keep on warping my back left tire. *ak

Consumer complained about an ongoing hesitation problem. vehicle had been to dealer on several occasions, but problem recurred. *ak

While driving at any speed engine hesitated intermittently. as a result, vehicle was almost rear ended. a recall was issued for the engine stalling, however this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. *ak

My car has been stalling now for about a year. i had it fixed at around 27,000 miles and i still had a factory warranty and i went to joe machens ford in columbia, mo (where i bought the car in 10/01) and they said it was a wire on the transmission that was corroded. about 3 weeks ago, this happened again and again i took it to joe machens and they told me there was nothing wrong with it. i had asked them to check again because this had happened about a year ago and it was transmission problems. they replaced some seals. repair work took about a week. on june 4, 2004, i was going down i 270 in st. louis, mo and i was in the fast lane going 75mph when my car stalled. it would not go and i am glad that i was going to the speed i was because as it was dying i was able to maneuver over to the side of the road. joe machens again fixed it and said that it was the fuel pump. they replaced my fuel pump and my fuel filter on june 8, 2004. on my way home from columbia, mo on june 11, 2004 it stalled again. as of now i have not sent it any where to get it looked at because this happened last night on my way home from college. this will now be the fourth time this has happened with no results.*ak

2001 ford focus z3 cooling low speed fan system resistor failure, hot lead wire in plastic shielding melted , insulation melted from socket to source socket. contacts overheated/melted, circuit's fuse did not blow. high speed fan continues to operate when air conditioner is turned on. car overheats in traffic because low fan motors do not come on, never noticed problem as air conditioner usually on all the time. has been ongoing for past 6 months. just now checked resistor and found burned wiring. no fire, no injuries but given different circumstances could be a fire problem. the fuse should have protected the circuit but hasn't. *ak

While drivingthe vehicle stalled. the driver was able to drive it to dealer for inspection. the mechanic could not duplicated the problem. the driver informed the mechanic that this problem still occurs, and has not been resolved. please provide any additional information. *nm *tc

While at a stop sign or driving vehicle stalled. consumer restarted vehicle. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Vehicle shakes and dies erratically. took to dealer for fuel pump assembly recall. repair has not fixed. driving on highway, step on gas all the way and car decelerates and loses speed. intermittently dies when this happens. also shakes violently while stopped leading to stalling. all of the above have happened on several occasions in the past couple of months. i thought the recall for fuel pump assembly would fix it, but it has not. getting progressively worse. *nm

My car just started to stall out.. i had ford replace thew fuel filter and pump still has that problem.

While driving at 35 mph consumer heard a pinging sound coming from the engine compartment. several moments later consumer heard a loud popping sound and the engine died. consumer found out that the engine had thrown a rod through the engine block.*ak

while driving at an undetermined speed vehicle stalled. consumer took vehicle to dealer, and mechanic determined that engine and transmission failed. *ak

When trying to start the vehicle, consumer noticed a bit of hesitation on the engine. as driver started to back-out of the garage and headed on to the neighboring street, vehicle stalled and died. (nar) *la *cb

While driving 65 mph the vehicle stalled. the consumer managed to pull over and had the vehicle towed. the dealerships mechanic has been notified but did not resolve the problem. *nm the same incident occurred when the consumer's son was driving the vehicle. (the vehicle died while in heavy traffic) *sc

The vehicle tends to stall unexpectedly at various speeds. taken to dealer for check up, and the computer was reset. the stalling still persists, and the dealer has not determined a cause.*ak

While driving the consumer noticed that the instrument panel gauges were in operative. she could not tell how fast she was driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that the instrument panel needed to be replaced. *jb on some occasions when the speedometer failed the odometer also stopped working and the vehicle idled erratically. at times when the clutch was pressed while stopping the engine would die which resulted in loss of power. the fuel gauge was also unstable and as a result the consumer is never sure how much fuel is in the vehicle. *nm

When i driving more than 40 miles continually the engine stalls, i have to wait and make several tries to restart it again, some times while i in the highway its make me lose the control of the vehicle due to the lost of acceleration.*ak

While driving, the vehicle would intermittently stall. the consumer would have to depress the gas pedal in order for the vehicle not to stall. cause has yet to be determined. the dealership was notified, and the problem was resolved. *ph

The ignition switch was locked in place and would not move. this caused the steering wheel to be locked. also, exhaust sensor had to be replaced three times because it did not register properly. *ak

I just purchased a 2001 ford focus for my daughter a month ago and have had a problem with it stalling at unpredictable time. i did a little searching and found this is a problem that others are having and the nnhtsa is currently investigating. this is a very serious issue especially for a young, new driver. it can be deadly. please give me an update on this investigation and add my complain to the data. i hope you pursue this issue before ford allows someone to die from it. ms. *la

After three unseccessful attempts to have my ford focus repaired for engine stalls(while on the highway with the kids in the back seat,with 18-wheeler behind me).iionce again took my car to ford for warranty work.they found that the fuel pump was not suppling enough pressure and fixed it i thought,when at work with the car running and the exhaust at running temperature,all the fuel leaked out and could of very easily caused a fire which could of caused a great lose of life not only for myself but also for my wife and kids who always drive the car

The same as eveyone else. the vehicle is stalling at unpredictable times due to fuel delivery system/fuel pump. i am a ase certified mechanic. i talked to ford, then i called the local dealer. they told me, as they have in the past it's a fuel pump issue. they would have to charge me 75 bucks to check it out (because according to ford, it has to be done by them regardless of my qualifications) then if it's not having the performance problem at the time they would not be able to verify it's the fuel pump. since it's intermittent i chose to pull the tank and investigate my self. i agree "kinda" that it's a fuel pump issue. the reason i say this is because i pulled the tank tonight, disassembled the pump/sending unit assembly and found a large amount of sediment in the base and around the sides of the body the pump sits in. additionally the screen/sock on the inlet side of the pump motor was almost completely clogged with the stuff,. the tank itself had a light film of the brown stuff which easily is wiped with a clean rag. looking at the gunk, it would seem to me to be very bad gas, but why just the focus. i put the same stuff in both my other two vehicles and no problems. i can't analyze the stuff to determine what it is for sure but can assure you it's only a matter of time before it caused enough cavitation for the pump to heat up burn out. i did not see evidence of any gaskets or anything else internal attached to the tank going bad, but since i use the same fuel else were w/o problems it almost has to be a situation like a seals/sealant deteriorating and producing the nasty stuff. i plan on saving $250 and clean it all and see if things improve. the pump is only available from ford (interesting). ford needs to do somthing about this before they allow somone to get killed out there on the hiway. i just purchased this vehicle used a month ago for my 15 year old daughter. i should have done better research first.

We sued ford via the magnuson moss warranty act. the focus had been sold prior to the filing of the law suit. we reached an out of court settlement of $3500. the problem with the car was intermittent stalling. the local ford dealer was unable to determine the cause of the problem.

I was turning a corner to merge on to highway and car stalled and died on me in traffic. i was almost rear ended. *jb

Ford focus 2001, excessive rocking of the engine, replaced motor mount. *bf when the consumer went to the dealer the third time, new bushings were put on the front of the vehicle. when the consumer applied the brake at a very low speed, the wheel vibrated and the body of the vehicle appeared to stop at a slightly slower speed than the wheel and there was a jerking a reaction. the mechanic believed there was a problem with the rear center motor mount and the lack of an a frame brace, which was causing the problems with the wheels. *jb

Was driving for a few minutes engine light came on. had taken vehicle to dealership, and was informed by mechanic that cause of engine illumination was not known.*ak

My vehicle feels like it's missing or about to stall and i have taken it to ford and they say they can not do anything for me.they say it's a characteristic of ford focus 2001 with just over 19,000 miles. it is so bad that i feel like running it into a tree sometimes. please help me!!!!!!! thank you. *la

First time dealer replaced the serpentine belt, and second time dealer replaced nuts and bolts and serpentine belts. but squeaking noise still occurring. *ak

Was driving the turner turnpike back from funeral, cruise control on at 76 mph. boom from under the car, oil light comes on, smoke billowing out from underneath. i pulled over, turn the engine off. the whole engine covered in oil. behind is a trail of oil from over the hill to where i had stopped. i'm pretty sure the engine is gone. no knocking, temp was right, no warning light, just boom! didn't even get to 50,000 miles. what a crock!