Problems with 2002 Ford Focus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While driving i lost all power to the car. it completely shut down and i could not start it. it has been towed to dealership to be fixed twice. i do not feel safe driving this car with my kids in it. i don't think the problem is fixed and i'm waiting for this to happen again. now i need to take it back to the dealership again because there is a bad vibration in the front end. i had it there previously for this also, and they said it needed the tires rotated and balanced. even though it is still under warranty, they charged me $36.00....the vibration is worse now so obviously that wasn't the problem. oh i forgot to mention that the trunk won't latch properly and the windshield wipers won't go the whole way down when you turn them off. this car is not safe to drive. the dealership acts like they haven't had any complaints with this car! *la

Engine stalled after i had driven two miles with no warning. i had just down-shifted into 2nd gear as i was slowing to make a turn and the car stalled across two traffic lanes and would not restart. the oil light, battery light, and one other light came on (alternator i think). the car was manually pushed out of traffic lanes in neutral gear by two motorists who stopped to help. they were also unable to restart the vehicle. after approximately 10 minutes the engine started. i had the car towed and after 5 days the dealership still cannot find anything wrong. apparently the onboard computer did not capture the problem. i am extremely concerned because the car stalled without warning at approximately 25 miles an hour. had i been on the interstate as scheduled (i was running late and had to drop my daughter off before going home to pick up my laptop) i would almost certainly have been involved in an accident because i had no time to maneuver out of traffic after the engine stalled. it was 75 degree day (monday 11/3/03) so outside temperature could not have been a factor. *la

Car will randomly not start. this occurs both when engine has been cold for several hours and after engine has been running a while and then shut off and restarted. car will eventually start usually after waiting about 30-40 minutes. dealer says cannot replicate problem but they will not keep it long enough to really try. if we were to tow to dealer, car would be starting by the time it got there. occurs at random, about 1-3 times per month since november 2003. has been to dealership 2 times. first time, loose wire in steering column was corrected but they said nothing was wrong with car. second time they replaced a part in ignition switch but said nothing was wrong with it to start with. still having no-start problem. returning to dealeriship tomorrow.*ak

There is a line that went straight into the engine's intake that has been leaking fluid since 2,000 miles and was inspected by deler who told to me that it was nothing. but the engine case should not have a large leak of fluid that soon. finally now, they have done something on this and replaced the hose, as it was seen once more and knows of all the times reported. i hope this is just not a easy fix or this now hasn't caused any damange to the inside of the engine itself, as the engine has been in the shop for riding rough. they told me last time that the part of the transmission that was fixed would fix this. i think it is due to the oil leak on the top of the engine case since it was new. a new car should never have a oil leak on a engine case.

After having my 2002 ford focus for 4 months the engine began to stall wile i was driving. when this happened the radio would cut out, the headlights began flickering on and off, and sometimes the speedometer would drop to zero and pop back up while i was driving on the interstate. the problems got worse after aweek or so. i took it to a local dealership and they said it wouldn't do it for them so they couldn't do anything to fix it. it would stop doing it for a month or so and do it again once or twice then stop again, but eventually it gets progressively worse. i have taken it in three times and they refuse to admit anything is wrong. i have spoken to an attorney and am begining lemon law proceedings against ford.*ak

On august 11, 2003 i took my car into koons ford of annapolis, to have the have the ignition switch took at, because the key would not turn. i was told my service manager mike sheckells, the service advisor pete, and factory tech: 063 - randall bounds, and a cashier that this has been a major problem with most of the ford focus, i feel this i should be on a recall notice if its has been a major problem with the focuses. that the consumers should not have to pay for a major defect with these vechicle. also, i had my focus in koons for of annapolis, on may 10, 2003, to have new brakes, oil change and transmission problems. on the transmission problems because it was a intermittent that they could not find any thing.*ak on july 25, 2003, i left my car for service on the transmission because it was slipping out of gear completely. they had the car until august 7, 2003, which they put in a remfg transmission and c. i left koons for with 1.5 miles on the trip meter, i went another 17.1 miles went the transmissions surged, i e-mailed mike sheckell on august 8, 2003 which he did not answer as of this day. i talked to mike sheckell on august 11, about this problem and the answer i get is they can not do any except to let some one go on at test dive with me. this is not the answer because it's a intermitten problem and some one would have to drive it for a few day before the transmission would surged againg. i have kept record of this problem is surged at 18.5 miles, 93 miles and at 250.0 miles on the trip meter. i feel the transmission was not fixed and fixed right and also, feel that this is a safety problem. i have done business with koons for of annpolis for over 20 years. my daughter is scared to ride in this car now, and i do not feel safe in the car neither. i have never had this type of bad service or incompetent service before, i also feel they are just telling me anything, because of being a female.

I have a 2002 ford focus zx5 4 dr hatchback my problems started on 7/21/03 when my brakes lights, headlights, turn signal and radio stopped working. i took it into the dealership and it was repaired however now the radio will no longer response to me turning the vol. up or down as well as i only only set the time on military time. now on 9/7 my brakes have started to grind. on 9/11 my car now vibrates when i accerate at 60 mph +. in the past week i have also noticed that my car will accellerate and hesitate when in motion. in the last three months my gas mileage has slowly declined as well. i am taking it into the dealership tonight - but thought i need to report. seems there are many others like me.

My 2002 ford focus caught on fire late one night. the vehicle is no longer able to be driven. a engine compartment fire on the drivers side in the area of the battery is where it started. the dealer refuses to cover the loss. the date of the incident listed below may be incorrect i can provide you with the correct date soon.*ak

Vehicle won't start. dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak

Vehicle stalled and the ignition tumbler was defective whereby consumer have to leave the key in the vehicle. the ignition was replaced four times. also, front brakes squealed, and did not stop the vehicle. pads were replaced four times.*ak

While driving through a puddle, starter shorted and destroyed flywheel. later it was found that water had gotten into transmission. in addition, a large amount of water was taken into the cab of the vehicle under the door seals. i was not stopped in the puddle, only moved through it. due to the water incursion into the cab of the vehicle, the vehicle has been declared a total loss by my insurance. they fear electrical damage could result. i am concerned that anyone going through standing water (this was not a huge puddle) would find themselves with electrical problems that could result in injury. *jb

Went to start car and it would not start. when i turned the radio on the windshield wipers would come on, when i turned the wipers on the headlights would go off. ford dealer tried to say that the cause was related to a remote starter that had been installed. took it to another dealer and it was found to be a problem with the wiring. also having transmission problems and problems with the lock on the trunk. *jb

It all started on christmas day of 2002. my car was only 6 months old and the starter went out. about four months later i began to have problems with the automatic locks. sometimes the doors would lock all by themselves and at other times they would not lock at all. i reported this problem to the dealership and the service rep informed me that they could do nothing about it unless it was acting up at the time i brought it in. well, by the time i would get to the dealership everything was ok again. on the 7th of july i took my car to have the oil changed. when i left the dealership all the gauges on my dash were flipping all the way to the right and coming back again. and my battery light was on. i went right back to service dept. they drove the car and (surprise!) it would not do it again. they said they may have spilled some coolant on the belt and it was just losing voltage. as soon as the coolant wore off it should not do it again. on july17 i was driving my car and i looked at my gages and none of them were working. it was just like the car was not even started. i made a u-turn and went to the service dept. they told me to bring in the next day and they would give me a rental car until they could find the problem. the same afternoon they call me and tell my car is ready. i ask if they have fixed the problem and the rep informs me that they could find nothing wrong with the car (after only one day with it!). well they must think i'm some kind of hypochondriac for my car! i told her that i was not coming to get that car until they found the problem and fixed it. i can not tell how fast i am going and i'm sure they wouldn't like to pay for any speeding tickets.*ak

While the vehicle was running, the engine caught on fire. the fire started under the hood, due to an electrical short. ts scc

Purchased 2002 ford focus 4 dr sedan, took delivery 9/28/02. about 1-2 wks later, tried to start car, ignition key would not turn over. called ford assistance toll-free #, they advised wiggling the wheel while turning the key. they say ignition key sometimes will not turn when wheels are turned or parked up next to a curb. this has happened many times since, not all under those circumstances. today, 7/16/03, with just over 19,000 miles on it, i brought it into don hind's ford dealership in fishers, in, where i purchased the vehicle new. they have put a new cylinder lock in there, per kip jacobs of don hinds ford. mr. jacobs did try to get me to believe that this is a common problem among all cars. i informed him i've been driving 33 years, and i have never had a car do this. i consider this a safety issue. i rarely loan my car, nor is it driven by anyone else. nevertheless, should i do so, and forget to warn them of this peculiarity in advance, they may have an urgent need to start the car, and be unable to do so. (like, "my baby can't breath! let's get her to the hospital fast!") or if i sell it to someone else, if they aren't aware of this idiosyncrasy, and don't know the ford toll-free assistance #, they may be stranded until they can find a way to get help. i wanted to file this complaint for statistical purposes and for public information purposes.*ak

Runaway auto throttle body sticking caused car to become a runaway auto with no control to stop. exiting highway 80 at prnryn rd. ext. cruise control shut off auto speeded up enjine roared appliing brakes didn't stop auto. went off road and struck a large oak tree. vehicle overturned down an embankmend. landed on roof of auto. auto had 450 miles on it and was totally destroyed.

Vehicle hesitated to start. started after 40/45 mins. dealership serviced vehicle. cause unknown. please provide more details. mr

While driving on the highway at approximately 55mph in the center lane, the consumer blacked out and hit the guardrail. upon impact, the airbags deployed, and then a fire began under the hood. the consumer is very concerned because the vehicle had completely burnt in 10 minutes. *ak the consumer feels that the ford focus should be taken off of the market, stating that for the 48 years she had been driving, she had never experienced a situation of this type and feels that something was smoldering or burning in the vehicle as she was driving. *scc

May 25, 2002: vehicle stalled on hwy 15/93 interchange in las vegas, nv while doing 65 mph. traffic was moderate, and we were able to move to the side of the road. safety was of main concern here as we were not that far off the road. the vehicle restarted 30 min. later. may 27, 2002: vehicle stalled for second time on hwy 93, 34 miles southeast of kingman arizona while going up a hill at 65 mph. there was no shoulder to pull off onto. there was holiday traffic and we had to push the vehicle up a blind hill (to oncoming traffic) 70 ft to the nearest shoulder. we were towed into kingman. since then, the fuel pump has been replaced 3 times in 68 days. while no one has been injured, it is just a matter of time before we are in a location that will not afford us a safe exit. clearly, the fuel pump design in this vehicle is defective.*ak

This is my second ford, focus. my car stalls out and the steering wheel locks while driving. i initiated the lemon law for the previous focus 2001, but was offered a 2002 to avoid my proceeding to lemon law arbitration. wrong move on my part. my 2002 has the same iginition problems ... stalls out/steering wheel locks while driving! i do not recommend buying a ford focus.

The ford tech found a short in the cable from the tank pressure transducer. the wire was rubbing against the frame and finally shorted out the pcm and everything went brain dead. they replaced the pcm and rerouted a new fuel tank sensor wire away from the frame. so far so good. my car was in the shop for four weeks total. *ts *nlm *dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis*762059

While driving 45mph, in the snow vehcle suddenly lost all power, including electrical. vehicle was able to be restarted. took to dealer, and vehicle was placed on both the diagnostic and data recorder machine, nothing was found to cause power lost after one week.*ak

Consumer states while driving vehicle will just stall without any warning, will start back up after sitting for about half an hour. contacted dealer. cannot fix problem.*jb consumer stated that all electrical parts fail to operate when the vehicle stall. the dealer replaced many parts but the problem was not solved. *yh