Problems with 2007 Ford Focus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The alternator and battery on my 2007 ford focus se that has 27,783 miles are dead. i take the car to the dealer for regularly scheduled maintained on time. brought the car in today for oil change and 30,000 mile required inspection and maintained. i drove the car about 40 miles round-trip and stopped at the library. i tried starting the car and it would not turn on. all that happened was the oil light went on but the car made no sounds and engine was not even trying to turn over. had car towed back to dealer and after an hour was told that the alternator and battery were both dead. there was no warning that this could occur form the dealer and the car acted perfectly fine. the only reason i knew anything was wrong was because the car wouldn't start. the night manager at the ford dealer said that due to the alternator failing the car ran on 12volts of power from the battery and now the battery is dead and cannot be recharged. he also said that yes, the alternator does go out without any warning and that it is common to not know it had died until the car completely stops working. the car warranty expired 3 months ago in april and the dealer expects $645 to repair the issue. i feel this is a manufacturing issue that should be fixed by ford. i have done research tonight, and learned that it is common for ford focus car to have the alternator and battery die at about 3 years of age. i was driving during rush hour on several expressways today, had the alternator died 10 minutes sooner, i could have been dead or seriously injured in a car crash. 1. no warning before alternator and battery died. car was parked and would not turn on. car was at dealer today for 30,000 oil change/ maintenance car has less than 28,000 miles. 2. this is the first time the alternator or battery has died. 3. dealer said the car needs new alternator and battery. would not offer any discount for repair. *tr

Step-daughters took a loan for the low mileage economy car to commute to college and part-time job. starting having problems with the battery. replaced it. wife tried to take it to the market at dusk while her daughter was away just to keep the car from sitting. four miles down the two lane the electrics started failing. car died and would not crank. she was able to coast part way onto a side road. as it got dark she sat and waited exposed to traffic on a 50 mph road with no shoulders on a curve. luckily she was out of the cell phone dead spot. i blocked the side road with my truck so i could hook up cables. started car. checked with meter. only battery voltage. sat for 15 minutes with cables connected to charge up the battery. sent wife home in the dark running flashers and hoped for no deer crossing. pulled alternator which is just about as hard to get out is it could be able to be ( i work on equipment for a living). took alternator to test machine. it failed. rebuilt alternator is over $200 and i would rather not put a rebuilt in a low mileage late model, especially since its so hard to get in and out. then again maybe they are finding the fault during the rebuild and upgrading the failed component. ford and the others build cars with components that they purchase. sometimes there is a problem with a batch of components. in order to maintain their reputation and be able to represent that they are doing everything they can to protect the customer they issue a letter and fix the problem. if there are 20 people who took the time to complain here there are hundreds more and enough of these have happened under warranty that ford is fully aware of the problem. the best of the big three is not living up to its standing in this case and that this is happening in a low end car brings up recollections of the exploding pintos. probably not a lot of folks with access to expensive legal assistance driving the focus. *tr

About 4 days before the incident, i noticed my battery light flickering, i wasn't too worried about it because it would not stay on, i thought it was probably the battery and i would replace it the following week, well it did not last a week! the reason i would classify this as a safety problem is: because of the alternator failing and not charging the battery, my 2007 ford focus just stalled on a freeway going through cleveland ohio. not only did i lose engine power, every thing electrical shut down turn signals, brake lights, horn, etc. trying to navigate across 3 or 4 lanes of traffic is a dangerous situation, and depending on location of this type of failure or if it happened at night or early morning hours a different kind of dangerous situation could occur! i had to be towed to ford dealership on a saturday, but their service dept was closed until today monday, they called to inform me of cost of repair (over $400) when i pick up car i will make sure i get the old alternator. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. the contact stated that after the vehicle was parked she tried to remove the key and it would not come out of the ignition. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who removed the battery cables in order to remove the key. the failure continued to occur whenever the vehicle was driven. the ford dealer stated that they could repair the vehicle at the owners expense. the manufacturer was notified. the failure mileage and current mileage was approximately 37,000. updated 10/27/10. *lj

1) ignition lock failure. unable to remove key or turn key. 2) melting of both rear taillamp housing around bulb socket area; unable to replace or remove bulb. dealer says it is from the heat from the bulb! *tr

Got home from work and key is stuck in ignition of 2007 ford focus! car will still crank and drive but the key will not come out! shifter will also shift into any gear in the "off" position and without foot on brake! ............... second complaint is that since purchasing the car new in january 2008 when i fill gas tank the gauge only goes to about 3/4 mark... never the "full" line. dealership replaced gage once a few months after purchasing but it still does it! *tr

Battery light goes off and on. then radio goes out, with low battery reading across the radio. then lights start to dim. all meters stop working on the dash and then the car jerks while driving and dies as it was pulled to the side of the road. replaced battery assuming since this was the dash warning. as soon as i pull off with the new battery, the battery light goes on and off again. had to get car towed and after diagnostic testing it shows the alternator is bad. read many reviews of the same thing happening. the car is only 3 years old, but over the warranty as far as mileage is concerned. had previous cars with many more miles than the focus has with 56000 and had no problems with the alternator. *tr

There appears to be a problem with the alternator on the 2007 ford focus. searching online, i have found numerous complaints regarding the alternator failing on this vehicle, causing a failure of the electrical system (lights, turn signals, brake lights, speedometer, etc.), often while driving. this happened to me last night while i was driving. first, my battery light came on, then my abs warning light, then my brake warning light, and then the electrical system died. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. the keys were stuck in the ignition and could not be removed. the contact was able to move the gear shift from park to drive although, the steering wheel would not lock. it took her four hours to remove the keys from the ignition. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer; however, it will be taken to the dealer if the failure recurs. the manufacturer was not called. the failure mileage was 33,326.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on march 13, 2010 i drove my 2007 ford focus into my driveway, parked, turned the engine off, and attempted to take the keys from the ignition. they would not come out so i tried several different methods (i.e., restarting the car, placing the car's gear shift in various positions, re-parking the car) to remove them but none of these worked. i called ford customer service at 1 (800) 392-3673 but they could not help me. *tr

While driving around down town los angeles the 2007 ford focus the right front tire went flat then the engine stalled. when i attempted to restart smoke was coming from under the hood. when we got out of the car flames were coming from the windshield wipers area. 911 was called and the fire department came and put out the fire. the insurance company is going to appraise the damage on wednesday 3-3-2010. but i am pretty sure that is a total loss. *tr

The key is stuck in the ignition switch . i think the gear shifter button has broke some how now willnot release the key this has been a ongoing prob. with fords ....fix it please! *tr

2007 ford focus wagon with all the wires (about 10 of them) in the body to liftgate wiring harness cracked or broken. found due to brake lamp fuse blowing repeatedly, causing loss of all brake lights and a/t shift lever interlock operation. it might have gone unnoticed if it wasn't for the interlock not working. car is off warranty so ford will not fix unless i pay for it. this is a definite safety item in my opinion. i will replace the wires myself as i am an aircraft electrician. i will use a better quality wire too. the stuff ford uses is not meant to move and flex repeatedly. wiring should last the life of a car. *tr

I bought a ford focus 2007 car which is a lemon but didn't fall under the original lemon law due to the first transmission not going until 16 months. this car currently has had a total of 5 transmissions put in with the last one in oct 2013. with the one transmission- fluid leaked all over my driveway when i brought the car back home from the shop april 11, 2011. the next morning i took garbage down- didn't see it, fell & broke my wrist tfcf tear, subsequently resulting in surgery & the loss of my job as well as much pain when i never had an arm issue in my life. one transmission only lasted 6 weeks total. the first transmission was at around 20-22,000 miles. this brand new car did not pass my first pa inspection-what new car doesn't pass an inspection? car was bought brand new & only has 137,000 miles currently after 7 years. driving down the road, the seatbelts will jam or come undone & off for no reason, headlights will come on & off at times, the lighter switch almost caught on fire, when the car battery was jumped it melted some plastic on the car, the air bags show as being off all the time and numerous safety issues. we have called ford so many times including at the very beginning when all the problems began & they have refused to acknowledge or help us. they (ford customer service) have been terrible to work with-lacking care/compassion in regards to our vehicle & situation. we were forced to keep the vehicle since we took out a loan on it. i paid $18,000 for this car brand new and it has been nothing but a nightmare. this vehicle is an accident waiting to happen & a health hazard. someone besides myself is going to be seriously injured due to the safety. i will not buy a ford ever again. *js

2007 ford focus, 40k miles: events leading up to the failure: within minutes of a text message flashed across my radio monitor, "low battery", all gauges (gas, speed, engine temp) fell to 0. this happened while traveling at the speed limit (70mph) on interstate 75 north of sarasota, florida. reducing speed to exit interstate engine seized and bolted. singular failure. alternator replaced and new battery purchased. old part of new car purchase in march, 2008; left with repair shop. *tr

I have a 2007 ford focus. the key is stuck in the ignition. this happened about 3 weeks ago. *tr

2007 ford focus loses all power, lights, signals, speedometer etc, while driving. make it to dealership at great risk with no brake lights, turn signals etc. told alternator is bad, dealer to replace under extended warranty. ford has a really bad design issue here, as it also happened with my 2003 focus, but was misdiagnosed and that car is now unable to run more than a couple months without replacement.*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. after parking the vehicle and attempting to take the key out of the ignition, the key became stuck. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the entire ignition was replaced. the failure occurred two more times and the vehicle had not been repaired again at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was approximately 43,000. the current mileage was approximately 55,000.

While driving car, lost power, eventually lost all power. no indication present (red batt indicator never came on) ford service manager says this is normal for ford cars of all makes, trucks seem to work better. cause was alternator putting out 0 charge to battery. also, ford service manager revealed alternators are expected to last only 3-5 years, due to heat build up and no cooling provision for alternator. this is an unsatisfactory safety issue on both counts. ford should be required to make battery warning work reliably in all cars, and provision/design change to enable alternators to cool themselves and last to normal eol (5 yrs/100k miles). loss of power unexpectedly risks passenger and drivers safety as i had no external indicators, blinkers or brake lights available at 60 mph on highway. *tr

I have a 2007 ford focus. the key is stuck in my ignition. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. when driving he hears a grinding noise coming from the front-end of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to dealer the multiple times and the alternator was replaced twice an an expense of $500.00 for each repair. the repairs have not remedied the failure, because the problem has resurfaced. he was in the process of having the same component replaced again. the failure mileage was 90,000 the current mileage was 120,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. the contact stated the vehicle has 40,000 miles and the alternator has failed. the vehicle has shut off on four occasions and continuously failed to hold a charge. the dealer informed the contact that the repair cost will not be paid per the warranty since it expired at 36,000 miles. the failure mileage was 40,000.

Key stuck in ford focus 2007. this appears to be a consistent issue caused by an inferior design and metal selection made by ford. complaints for other model years is consistent and ford refuses to correct problem. *tr

My 2007 ford focus key is stuck in my ignition &its a security and safety hazard, ford wants to charge 400-500 dollars to fix their own common problem. the consequence of this is i will probably stop stimulating the economy along with others and not buy an american made car. i refuse to correct a problem ford will not correct for free so i am buying another car. *tr

Alternator suddenly failed while driving. i had no control of the car while in traffic including the steering. the alternator was replaced. approximately 3 years later on july 2, 2012, the same thing happened. sudden alternator failure while driving with no ability to control the vehicle. because the electrical system had a total failure i could not steer the vehicle, turn on the hazard flashers, or signal the traffic behind me that i was slowing down because the brake lights could not function. terribly dangerous. on july 6, 2013, alternator #3 failed and burned out the battery as well. ford motor company apologized for the inconvenience and said it was my problem because it was out of warranty and there was no recall. inconvenience? that takes the cake. i don't know why there is not a recall on this defect and it is clearly a safety issue. sudden electrical failure on a highway at high speed with no way to steer the car or warn other drivers merits a recall. the web is awash with complaints about sudden and repeated failure of the electrical system in the 2007 ford focus. *tr

Key is stuck in the ignition. based on other complaints, it looks to be the ignition cylinder and i would urge ford to do a recall. *tr

2007 ford focus- key stuck in ignition will not come out dealer say cost will be over $400.00 it is a problem noted by ford, but will not cover any cost. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. the contact stated that there was a windshield defect because it was not intact. the sealant was placed on the roof of the vehicle, which contributed to the faulty windshield. she also stated that there was an alignment issue that caused the vehicle to steer to the left while driving 70 mph. the vehicle mats were steamed by the dealer and never dried. as a result, the windows were frosted inside the passenger compartment. the contact found rust in the dashboard components and the fuse box. the current mileage was 897 and failure mileage was 692.

I've had to get the wheel bearings fixed 3 times. the electrical warning lights go off and on for example the engine light comes on and then goes off for no reason and the same with the airbag light. also the sensor for the passenger seat that senses a person or a inanimate load is incorrect sometimes. and last, when i punch my excellorator to go on the freeway, it doesn't kick into overdrive every time. more times it doesn't than does.

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford focus. when the contact releases the throttle, the vehicle continuously takes a long time to return to idle. while driving at various speeds, he does not have full control of the throttle. when the accelerator pedal is released, the vehicle pulls before it decelerates. the contact stated that the throttle response is horrible. the consequence of the failure could cause a crash due to the slow response time when braking. the vehicle has been taken to the dealer five times for this failure, but was only serviced once. the air control valve was replaced and reprogrammed however, after 25 minutes, the throttle failure recurred. the current mileage was 10,000 and failure mileage was less than 100. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on the several occasions to have the ecu either updated or reprogrammed. updated 06/16/08

Intreior lighting out. electrical problem ,new part ordered. *ak