Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | |||||
| 05310 | 02/21/2005 | 10012954 | Safety belt web stop button service. *eh | 04/05/2005 | |
| 14221 | 01/01/2000 | 620390 | Some vehicles built after 02/05/2000 have the drivers side seat belt pretensioner located on the seat belt retractor in the b-pillar, not on the receiver / buckle. *tt | 08/07/2001 | |
| 14221 | 06/01/2000 | 613878 | Subject regarding running change on the drivers side seat belt. *tt | 09/20/2000 | |
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - RETRACTOR | |||||
| 15712 | 03/01/2002 | 636352 | Some vehicles may exhibit a locked rear seat belt retractor after moving the rear seat from the fold down position to the seating position. *tt | 11/07/2002 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | |||
| 06/13/2010 | |||
| The ford focus collided head-on with a plymouth neon that was on a dark roadway with its lights off after a prior collision. the buckle pretensioner for the ford driver fired, but the retractor did not lock allowing the driver to strike his head on the windshield. there was material worn away from the b-pillar from the rapid extension of webbing, and latch plate had a channel carved into the plastic, where the webbing rapidly passed through the latch plate. there was not evidence that the seat belt was able to provide any significant restraining force. | |||
| 06/26/2010 | 185432 | ||
| Engine sometimes stalls while entering the freeway or making sharp turns.this has happened several times.the battery cables also get hot and the battery goes dead. | |||
| 04/28/2010 | 130000 | ||
| Driving down road after heavy rain, roads wet, rush hour traffic, sun came out glare off street. car two cars ahead of me stopped suddenly to turn left. car in front of me stopped. i saw the cars stop and thought i had enough room to stop, but streets were still wet and my tires locked going 25mph 2 car lengths behind car and i skidded into the car in front of me. little to no damage down to rear bumper or my front bumper however, my airbags deployed shattering my window and locked my seat belt. causing $800 in parts damage not including labor. first time having problem with airbag deployment, will have insurance repair my car/airbag/seat belt, window, causing my insurance to go up. i had chair positioned all the way back so the airbag did not hit me or protect me from injury (i'm lucky i did not have breathing problems from airbag smoke though) i was probably going 15mph when i hit the other vehicle, if the airbags did not go off i would have affordable insurance and an extra $1000 to my name. be careful!!!! | |||
| 10/20/2005 | 3 | ||
| Ignition switch would stick, since day of purchase...two months later, broken!! all the tumbler springs went out....$300!! to fix and one hour late to work. passenger outer tie rod boot is shot and the tie rod will not come off!!! $45 to replace!!! seat belt tensioner does not work properly at all!!!! *nm | |||
| 12/08/2004 | 1 | ||
| Fatality vehicle fire, dec. 8 2004. my husband is the original owner of a 2000 ford focus, subject to numerous service visits to bill brown ford, livonia mi for: ignition, steering column, wheel bearing, brake, rear window control, seat belt &trunk latches, overhead light and engine light. the vacuum line & fuel pump & valve assembly were replaced 2/03, followed by stalling. in 6/03, a/c compressor & manifold line replaced. fuel line & pump failure in 8/03, resulted in gasoline spill on residential street minutes after parking. bogging followed repairs, pcm reprogrammed & leaking pvc tube replaced 1/04. fuel pump again replaced. in 8/04, our 24 year old son took ownership of this problematic car. we are uncertain as to whether vehicle malfunction caused a 35 mph collision with a fire hydrant. an immediate engine explosion and fuel fed fire trapped my son and his passenger. described by police as a relatively minor crash which would not be expected to claim lives, the subsequent unexplained engine fire claimed two young lives. a malfunctioning driver's airbag was also detected. this incident was originally reported to nhtsa by my husband (#10104088). i am supplying these additional facts for your clarification. please correct your posting of 0 injuries as there were 2 fatalities. please take effective action to save lives, as these trouble plagued vehicles seem to become more lethal as they age. confirmation of receipt of this information is requested. *nm *sc *jb | |||
| 11/15/2002 | 14942 | ||
| Engine starts to stalls when comming to a stop. they claim it needs a new cylinder head. | |||
| 03/15/2003 | 10000 | ||
| The brakes have been looked at three time because of noise and it's been serviced several times. it's in service right now and has been there for two weeks. i don't know if they are working on it or if they are repairing other things or what. i haven't had heat throughout the coldest part of the winter. the seat belts don't work and the paint is peeling. the car has locked up not letting me start the engine twice, then just out of the blue it decided to start. i tried to turn in and the car dealer at ford said he wouldn't touch it, didn't want it. we bought it aug. 9 2000-ford credit, simple interest 6.5 --first payment september $456.99 a month they say we owe too much to trade in ???this made no since. now i know what's been going on. my husband has been out to sea usnavy for almost a year and i'm scared to drive it i'm a nervous wreck about this car and i don't know what to do. there has been is so many recalls on this car i don't know if they have fixed them or not | |||
| 02/15/2003 | 0 | ||
| I have been in the shop about 7 times during the last 3 years due to problems with my new focus. the clutch failed at 6700 miles, along with the brakes, and things got worse from there. the front windshield leaked water into the roof, the fuse on the fan/air conditioning system melted, and the brake pads were replaced numerous times. also, the fabric on the seats caused me to get shocked every time i got out of the car. ford's lack of customer service was painfully obvious as well during these repairs. i ultimately traded in my car for a competitor's car and i'm feeling much better now. | |||
| 12/15/2002 | 0 | ||
| Car has had the brakes serviced a total of five times and the car is stalling during acceleration. this car has been in shops for several recalls as well as twice for ignition lock failure. one of our children was trapped in rear seat by defective seat belt & had to be cut out with a knife. car stalls after it warms up. dealer says it's fuel pump but if that were so, wouldn't it stall waarm or cold. i spoke to an employee at another dealer who said ford was finding problems with sensor connected with cooling system. who do i believe? they want to charge us $700 to replace fuel pump that probably works fine. | |||
| 12/15/2002 | 0 | ||
| My complaint is all the problems we have had with the focus. we have had numerous recalls and work done from the drivers seat collapsing, wiring harness replaced, bearings in front, and rear, brake assembly, sway bar, and have had to replace 3 sets of tires, and line up 3 times because they will not make good and the car eats tires. now we have 52,000 miles on the car, and a pin has come loose and gone through the transmission, and case. altough the dealer has been very good, we bought a new car so we would not have this hassle, and that is all we have had. | |||
| 03/15/2000 | 0 | ||
| I bought the car in june of 2000 since this time the car has had a number of recalls on the car. i feel that the people that bought the 2000 model of this car should not be liable to pay the amount the contact was signed. due to the fact that at the time the car was bought, the people that bought the car didn't know that most of the car's life would be in the shop being fixed. also ford knew that the focus was prone to this happening. | |||
| 02/11/2004 | 44000 | 1 | |
| While driving at 45 mph, another vehicle ran a stop sign and collided with the right front end of the consumer's vehicle. during the collision, the driver's shoulder belt did not lock properly. the consumer suffered injuries to the her right shoulder. *nm | |||
| 9 | |||
| The consumer experienced two defects with her vehicle. *ph the back passenger seat belt was placed in backwards per manufacturer, the volume on the radio increased and decreased without control, the gear stick slid off the post, the vehicle stalled when going to a complete stop, the power knob to the radio would become sticky whenever the sun was present, the trunk would not open, the ignition switch jammed twice, the rear view mirror was stuck in the open position, and the steering wheel adjuster did not exist. the consumer requested compensation. *sc *jb | |||
| 11/25/2000 | 1 | 08/26/2000 | |
| A truck turned in front of consumer who hit the truck in the right front tire area, the seatbelt strap failed, it extended instead of holding consumer in place, the locking mechanism also pulled out from the catch, the airbags did not deploy until after the consumer's chin hit the steering wheel, consumer was injured in accident, vehicle has $6000 worth of damage. *slc | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT | |||
| 12/19/2005 | 28000 | 1 | 09/25/2005 |
| Dt: the contact stated while waiting at a stop light the vehicle in front of put on the brakes, this in turn caused the contact's vehicle to rear end the other vehicle. the seat belt did not restrain the contact. she hit her chest on the steering wheel. the vehicle was driven to the dealership to have this problem checked. no repairs were made.*ak updated 1/25/2006 - the dealer determined that the passenger side seat belt was also faulty. *nm | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - ANCHORAGE | |||
| 12/01/2000 | 2 | 08/03/2000 | |
| The center seat belt in rear malfunctioned and was fixed under warranty. it failed again and was fixed. *yh | |||
| 09/15/2002 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that during a vehicle accident the front seat belts buckles will not latch properly causing injuries to the consumer. dealer notified. nlm | |||
| 01/02/2001 | 5 | 10/02/2000 | |
| There have been problems with the rear/center seatbelt, the vehicle has been taken to the dealer on 5 occasions for various repairs but the problem still exist. nlm | |||
| 06/12/2002 | 7 | 10/16/2001 | |
| At 35mph, vehicle shuts off. could have caused an accident. cause unknown. dealer notified.*ak. consumer states the vehicle has been in the shop 7 times for the same problem, consumer complained of wind noise inside the vehicle, the seat belts were inoperable.*jb | |||
| 02/28/2002 | 02/01/2000 | ||
| Many safety recalls for this car. no safety defect stated. *ak | |||
| 10/06/2000 | 6 | 10/01/2000 | |
| Rear center seatbelt will not pull out in cold weather. dealer has replaced seatbelt 6 times with one of the same design. did not remedy problem. *ak consumer was informed that this problem occurs when the rear back/back vertical seat support gets bent.*slc | |||
| 07/11/2001 | 2 | 09/01/1999 | |
| Ford focus 2000. facts about this accident include that the impact was head on with the damage to left front of the vehicle. the passenger , jacob, was belted , but the seat belt failed to restrain him. the air bag did not open until he hit the wind shield of the vehicle. when the air bags opened the steering wheel caught fire and burned..combustion was subsequent to the air bag opening and there was a great deal of smoke that the driver inhaled before the passenger in the rear seat , michael williams, got out of the car and put the fire out. she was trapped in the car by the seat belt , it would not release but it failed to restrain her and she hit the windshield ..not nearly as bad as jacob, but it is broken. the steering wheel was burned. michael saw some sort of sparks that he thought was from the seat belt.*ak | |||
| 07/03/2000 | 10 | 02/22/2000 | |
| Was traveling approximately 65mph when vehicle went out of control. wheels had felt wobblely and loose. had to swerve to miss several vehicles. managed to get off freeway and stopped vehicle. had vehicle towed to dealership. was informed by mechanic wheel bearings went out. dealership has to order parts. vehicle was repaired previously under recall.*ak screws keep falling out of seat belt and has happened two times. drivers side seat lever keeps breaking and has happened three times. windshield wipers failed while driving during a heavy rain storm, received recall two weeks later, 01v258, dealer replaced wiper motor. turn signal failed, dealer replaced bulb. problems with brakes, rear drum assembly bearing wore into wheel spindle, front brake pads replaced, front rotors resurfaced. consumer feels every bump in the road. bearings have failed twice. side mirror broke. a-pillar trim coming loose after recall repair 00s20. *slc | |||
| 06/01/2000 | |||
| Had car 8mths, in shop 6 times never buy a ford again, never, problems from day one. no safety defect listed in summary. *ak | |||
| 09/01/2000 | 0 | ||
| Consumer was traveling about 40mph on highway and there was smoke coming from airbags. also, seatbelt didn't work. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Rear seat belt so tight, would not work or release, finally, the seat belt assembly pulled out of bolt frame. | |||
| 08/16/2000 | 0 | ||
| Suspension is hard when driving , vehicle swings from left to right, and there is a rattling noise. also, seatbelt on passenger's side broke, and when applying brakes, vehicle wanders to the left and right. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The right rear passenger seat belt was not properly secured during manufacturing. *mjs | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 09/12/2004 | 62000 | 1 | |
| Consumer stated driver's side seat belt locked. as a result, consumer was unable to fasten seat belt.*ak | |||
| 10/12/2003 | 1 | 09/02/2003 | |
| I skidded into the car in front of me with minimal force. there was no damage to the car i hit. there was minimal damage to my car, (small scratch on the front bumper and a headlight needed to be realigned) except both of the front air bags deployed and the front passenger seatbelt locked (there was no one in the passenger seat).. *ak | |||
| 02/15/2000 | 1 | ||
| Middle seatbelt in rear didn't buckle up.*ak | |||
| 11/12/2001 | |||
| Front passenger's seat belt would not latch properly. dealer notified. feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.*ak | |||
| 08/23/2001 | |||
| My motor mounts went out while i was driving down the highway making the engine hop. my seatbelts are locking up so that you can not get the seat belts on. and my tires cord broke making the tire wavy and the steel belt was showing through.*ak (dot number: e13 027430 tiresize: p195/60r15) | |||
| 02/15/2001 | 0 | ||
| Seat belt latches broke, and will not hold seat belt. since consumer had been paying for this vehicle could not count all problems that had been happening. *ak | |||
| 04/25/2000 | |||
| While driving on a local road another vehicle pulled out from a shopping center to make an illegal left turn and hit consumer on the passenger's side. upon impact, airbags deployed, but seat belt didn't lock or hold the driver in place. driver hit his head on windshield. *ak | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - RETRACTOR | |||
| 03/20/2007 | 34000 | 1 | 07/01/2000 |
| Driver's side seat belt pretensioner malfunctioned. seat belt did not function - pulled all the way out from the door pillar and did not retract. carwas dangerous to drive. vehicle should be recalled.*ak | |||
| 11/01/2005 | 44000 | 1 | 10/29/2005 |
| Seat belt does not stay snug around my body while buckled, becomes loose and does not take up any of the slack. when the seat belt is unbuckled it does not recoil, just lays there like a dead snake. i have to feed the seat belt back into the seat belt tier to avoid slamming the door on the seat belt. this seat belt malfunction occurred on the drivers side front seat. i had to pay $216 dollars to get it fixed, the dealership was not willing to cover its safety equipment. *nm | |||
| 09/30/2005 | 1 | 02/12/2001 | |
| Dt: the consumer complained about front driver's side seat belt which will not pull out. this happened on september 30, 2005. when the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they said that it was locked. the consumer then took the vehicle to a mechanic, who suggested that the problem was probably due to the fact that vehicle hit a bump in the road. also, the mechanic took the seat belt apart and unlocked it so that the consumer could wear the seat belt until the replacement was placed in the vehicle. *sc . *ak | |||
| 07/07/2004 | 54000 | 1 | |
| Seat belt retractor on passenger side did not retract once it was pulled out, and was not to be used. vehicle was takenn to the dealer, who sprayed a lubricant, and the retractor was now worksing. however, the consumer was concerned that it will fail again.*ak | |||
| 11/08/2003 | 37300 | 1 | 05/09/2000 |
| Seat belt retractor is jammed and does not allow the seat belt to be withdrawn for proper use.*ak | |||
| 03/11/2003 | 03/11/2003 | ||
| Driver's side seat belt does not retract. if pulled out, it stays out unless fed back in by hand (which must be done constantly while driving to keep it tight on your shoulder). i was told by the dealer i purchased the car from that this was a common problem and most of the focus' they have sold have had the same problem. *nlm | |||
| 03/20/2003 | 1 | ||
| The drivers seat belt just hangs and does not retract. the dealer had been notified. *nlm | |||
| 11/15/2001 | 25000 | 1 | 05/14/2000 |
| I sent this letter to ford in may of 2000 i purchased a ford focus, thinking it would be a safe, low maintenance car, considering it had been in europe since 1997. i would think this would be plenty of time to work out any bugs you may have. or, should i call them recalls. i think a car that has 16 recalls, most of them which i would consider safety issues, should be recalled entirely. i have had other issues with this car as well. my key would not turn, seat belts locking for no reason, door handles not opening the door (this is all happening again). and one that has not been addressed, brakes. i am now on my third set of front rotors since i have purchased the car. the same thing has happened every time. the driver side rotor and pad will wear completely down yet the passenger side will be just fine. i have talked to other focus owners and the same thing is happening. i still have my last set of rotors just to prove it. i got smart this time and bought replacements that were not made by you. stop tech cross drilled rotors and ebc greenstuff kevlar pads. i also replaced the driver side caliper with a non-ford replacement. i want out of this car because i feel it is unsafe. i also would like to warn other focus owners that this car is unsafe. you also had better not send me to the dealership again. what does the dealership have to do with the production of an unsafe car? nothing, except that they sell it. i am not putting up with ford pushing me around or giving me the run around either. this car is extremely unsafe and should not be on the road. i did not do this before but this time you leave me no choice. this letter will be sent to as many bad product websites as i can find. it will also be sent to nhtsa, consumer reports and the better business bureau. you did not do anything with my previous complaint and now there are more issues with this product that not only concern safety, but the life of the car. something will be done.*jb | |||
| 12/15/2001 | |||
| Passenger side seatbelt will not retract back into the retractor. contacted dealer please add vin. *ak | |||
| 09/06/2001 | 1 | 03/01/2000 | |
| Seat belt/shoulder restraint failed to restrain front seat passenger in collision. air bag deployed, but the front seat passenger's seat restraint failed to hold passenger in seat. passenger hit the windshield.*ak | |||
| 07/11/2001 | 09/01/1999 | ||
| Ford focus 2000. facts about this accident include that the impact was head on with the damage to left front of the vehicle. the passenger , jacob, was belted , but the seat belt failed to restrain him. the air bag did not open until he hit the wind shield of the vehicle. when the air bags opened the steering wheel caught fire and burned..combustion was subsequent to the air bag opening and there was a great deal of smoke that the driver inhaled before the passenger in the rear seat , michael williams, got out of the car and put the fire out. she was trapped in the car by the seat belt , it would not release but it failed to restrain her and she hit the windshield ..not nearly as bad as jacob, but it is broken. the steering wheel was burned. michael saw some sort of sparks that he thought was from the seat belt. | |||
| 10/01/1999 | |||
| Driver's side seat belt retractor does not take up any slack in belt. *ak | |||
| 01/15/2000 | |||
| Both front plastic housing covers foe seat belt retractors are breaking/falling aparts. dealer notifed and making repairs. please provide further details:*ak | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - WEBBING | |||
| 1 | |||
| Seatbelts in rear of vehicle are not latching because they do not reach far enough across to receivers, were designed improperly.*ak *slc | |||
| SEAT BELTS - REAR | |||
| 07/12/2003 | 75000 | 1 | 11/12/2001 |
| The rear seat belt is so short it can not be used. it will lock in child safety mode when seat is laid flat and will not release. i had to unbolt the seat belt to raise the seat up. *nm | |||
| 12/08/2004 | 10 | ||
| This complaint is concerning clarification of our previous complaints to nhtsa regarding the 2000 ford focus : #10104088 and #10107840. i am extremely concerned about the misinterpretation of data collected by your agency and posted for public review. deaths are not posted, nor are they included as injuries. this misrepresents the seriousness of the vehicle and equipment failures reported. *jb | |||
| 01/13/2004 | 26579 | 3 | |
| Consumer received recall 03v482000 concerning stalling. the vehicle has had recall repairs done in january, but, the problem recurred. also, rear seat belts were sticking. when consumer needed to undo the belts the buckle stuck. *ak | |||
| 11/02/2003 | 32000 | 1 | |
| Rear center seat belt will not retract. *ak *sc *jb | |||
| 10/18/2002 | |||
| Consumer states that it is hard for them to buckle in the rear seat belt due to the seat belt laying over the buckle. dealer notified ts | |||
| 06/08/2002 | 1 | ||
| Rear folding seat could not be placed back up because lap belt locked up and would not unfasten. dealer was not notified at this time. *ak consumer stated that the center rear seat belt was stuck. *yh | |||