Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | ||||||||||||||||
| 05V030000 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | from 04/07/1999 to 09/02/2002 | V (Vehicle) | 589932 | 03/09/2005 | ODI | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 02/01/2005 | 02/02/2005 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Certain passenger vehicles with four or five doors and originally sold in or currently registered in connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia, a build-up of corrosion at the pawl pivot area of the rear door latch can cause a binding condition of the pawl that may affect proper engagement of the pawl into the catch. the occupant may experience difficulty opening or closing a rear door, and eventually the rear door may not latch properly. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If not latched properly, the door may open while the vehicle is in motion. if an occupant fell out of the vehicle, personal injuries could occur. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will have a lower rocker seal added to the door and have the rear door latches evaluated free of charge. a latch that passes the evaluation will be lubricated to prevent future corrosion. a latch that does not pass the evaluation will be replaced. in addition, a sticker will be affixed to the rear doors advising the owners to use the recommended lubricant. the recall began on march 9, 2005. owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Ford recall no. 05s27.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HOOD - LATCH | |||||
| 03225 | 11/10/2003 | 10008158 | Difficult to open or unable to open hood condition. *tt | 07/22/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 06/09/2011 | |||
| Went to leave work yesterday and the key won't turn at all in my 2002 ford focus. after a quick internet search, it seems to be a huge problem and consistent failure on fords part...but they refuse to issue a recall. from what i've read, the dealership charges $350-450 to replace this part, and they replace it with the same faulty designed part that was causing the problem in the first place! | |||
| 04/01/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Rightrear door lock is stuck in locked position. it is not possible to unluck the door. this is dangerous situation in case of an accident, passangers will not b able to exit the vehicle. if passenger is a child on car sit, it is not possible to open the door to remove child from car. with door in locked position, emergency teams will not be able to open the door to remove passenger in case of accidente. | |||
| 04/18/2011 | 59000 | ||
| I have a 2002 and a 2003 ford focus the automatic door locks don`t work properity the locks will shut and open on there own as of now i can`t open the driver side door the locks have shut in an inbetween position.i hve to crawl over the consel to get out the passenger door.it will not let me open the door form the outside either the lockes are like in an inbetween position.this has benn going on for both of my focus for a long timei have called ford and they say they don`t have a problem with this.my mechanic friend says they get alot of ccalls about ford focus lock problem,my brother has a focus and has had the same problem | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 110000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. the contact stated that the driver side rear door latch malfunctioned and the door would not latch. the contact had to use tape in order for the door to remain closed. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised her that she would have to replace the entire door. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 110000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. the contact stated that the drivers side rear door latch has malfunctioned and the door was unable to shut close and that she has to tape it up in order to stay closed. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised her that she would have to replace the entire door. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000. tb | |||
| 02/15/2011 | 82500 | ||
| I have a 2002 ford focus zx5. the front passenger side door lock actuator is seized in the locked position. there are no alternative ways to open this door. this results in a serious safety issue if the passenger is not able to exit the vehicle in an emergency. there was no warning before this happened and appears to be permanent. the actuator must be removed and replaced at a cost of approximately $400.00. | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 131000 | ||
| I bought a 2002 ford fozus zx3 with automatic transmission in the fall of 2010. i found myself having trouble with the ignition key not turning once inserted into the ignition cylinder. this occured quite frequently (approximately once every two weeks) and i had to play with the steering wheel and the key for at least five minutes every time. i did not consider it to be a substantial problem until last night. i was at my friend's apartment and around 1:30 am i decided to leave. i got in my car, inserted the key in the ignition and could not turn it at all and the steering wheel was locked. i was in my friend's driveway for about a half hour, trying everything i could possibly think of to get the steering wheel to unlock and the key to turn. i engaged the gear release and manually put the car into neutral, i blew on the ignition with my hand cupped over it, as i thought this issue may have been caused due to the cold weather. i locked and unlocked the doors, because i thought it may have been a safety feature. after a half hour of effort with no results i had to call my parents and ask them to come pick me up, both of them had to work in the morning and my 62 year old father had to get out of bed, and come get me at 2 in the morning in the middle of january. i was ten minutes from my house, but every other time this has happend i've been approximately 30 minutes from my house or more. this has been a major disappointment and cause for concern, especially since my family and i have grown to trust and depend on ford vehicles. my oldest brother's first car was a mustang, my other brother's first car was a thunderbird and he now drives and escape. my father currently drives a ranger, my mother's last vehicle was a windstar, and my first car was an explorer. it served me well and when i had the opportunity to buy another ford i didn't have to think twice, but this latest experience has made me seriously second guess what i had thought to be an american name i could trust. | |||
| 06/15/2010 | 75000 | ||
| (2002 ford focus se) has auto locking doors now these doors sometimes stay lock press all buttons and not a thing happens.now sometimes i can be inside the car 5-7 minutes pressing the release buttons but the doors wont open.one problem is that this type of doors is all power opporated and they dont have manual release lacth.please note in a emergency if this happens no one would be able to get out of the car without having somethin to break the glass.these door should have a manual release lacth when the power fails. this keeps on happening very often. | |||
| 11/26/2010 | 80000 | ||
| Complete ignition lock failure. can not turn key in ignition to start the car. | |||
| 08/28/2010 | |||
| Key won't turn in the ignition of my 2002 ford focus -- it's locked. | |||
| 06/08/2010 | 110000 | ||
| 2002 ford focus ignition problem. i purchased this car two months ago and it works great. problem is sometimes ignition switch get stuck and wont turn. now my husband is stuck in another state and stranded due to this problem. very dissappointed with ford | |||
| 05/29/2010 | 83000 | ||
| Key sticks in ignition. 2002 ford focus, 83000 miles. we just purchased this car used on saturday and have already experienced this problem. | |||
| 02/27/2010 | 130000 | 1 | |
| Ignition locks up, will not turn regardless of effort, pushing, pulling, beating, or twisting your tongue just the right way. however, one tap on the edge of the key while it is in the ignition works. no amount of wd-40 or parts cleaner fixes the problem though. *tr | |||
| 01/02/2010 | 54000 | 1 | |
| I have a ford focus 2002 zx5 and the key will not turn in the ignition. i am seeing that this is a very common problem, in fact california has started a class action lawsuit. ford has not recalled this part. *tr | |||
| 12/28/2009 | 90000 | 1 | |
| I drove my car (a 2002 ford focus) to a restaurant on dec. 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm. when i got back into my car, the key would not turn in the ignition. i turned the wheel to release it from the locked wheel position, but the key still would not turn. i waited in my car for several minutes, then attempted to turn the key once more in the ignition with the same results. i was forced to call a friend and wait in my car with no heat. the temperature was approximately 27 degrees fahrenheit as i waited for nearly half an hour to be picked up, then dropped off at home by a coworker. he will have to pick me up for work tomorrow as all repair facilities are closed for the evening. i did some research online once i got home and found that this is a common problem with fords and specifically ford focus models from 2000-2003 yet there has been no recall posted and i will have to pay for repairs to an inferior part that is out of warranty. *tr | |||
| 04/11/2009 | 211000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2002 ford focus and i simply parked my car at the grocery store, locked my car, and when i came back i could not turn the key in the ignition to start the car. this is the first time its happen where i completely failed to turn the key. now my car is sitting at the grocery store and now i'm reading that i'm going to potentially pay 200 to 400 bucks to get this fixed. this is very, very upsetting. thanks ford for your lousy ignition design. i'll never buy a ford again. *tr | |||
| 11/05/2008 | 1 | ||
| Rear door wont latch right and driver side tail light wont work. *tr | |||
| 11/22/2008 | 63000 | 1 | |
| When the key is inserted, the ignition will not allow it to turn forward to start the car. although this just started without any warning sign on my car, i have heard of it happening to many other cars of the same make and model. i feel it is a safety issue because it could result in myself and my passengers being stranded in an unsafe area. *tr | |||
| 04/12/2008 | 35000 | 1 | |
| The passenger rear door power lock failed due to a problem inside the lock itself. when the lock failed you are unable to unlock the door by the power switch or manually. our 4 year old daughter had to crawl out of her car seat and exit the street side of the vehicle. you cannot open the door until you get the lock fixed. this created an unsafe condition for passengers riding in the car. this vehicle has had problems with engine fires which makes the situation more dangerous. we took the car to the dealer, and the lock module was replaced at a cost of around $400.00. 10/19/2008, the front passenger power lock module has failed making the front passenger seat unusable. it is being repaired today and i will save the old part. this car has been in one small accident(less than $500) damage to the rear bumper. no door damage has occurred to cause this type of failure. due to the cost factor of the repairs, not all people can have this issue repaired, making this a safety concern for passengers to escape in an emergency. the vehicle has only approximately 37,000 mile on it. the doors should still be able to unlock and open manually if the power lock fails . *tr | |||
| 12/26/2005 | 54429 | 1 | 01/11/2005 |
| I purchased my 2002 ford focus in january of 2005. i love my car, have found out about of things that could go wrong later. right now i am having trouble with my front wheels. i have put six used tires on the front since i purchased the focus. in november i had two brand new tires put on plus in may i have had a wheel alignment done. the car still shakes very bad. found out i need my wheel hub bearing replace, plus i found out there may be a recall on the rear bearing which i have not received anything. i should not have to pay for these things to be done. *jb | |||
| 06/10/2004 | 1 | 02/07/2004 | |
| Drivers side lach breaks so the door doesn't open from the out side. so you have to open the door from the passenger side the problem is there is only two locks on this car. | |||
| 08/07/2003 | 25000 | 10 | 03/19/2002 |
| Transmission went out 2 times in 1 year. driver airbag shifted on its own. rear passenger door does not unlock/open. front ball joint cracked. gas cover/door fell off. the smell of gas inside car at all times. blinker would not turn off by itself. key chime goes off when the key is out. *jb | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 05/21/2009 | 129000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. on may 20, 2009, when the contact attempted to open the rear passenger side door, he was unable to unlatch the lock. he took the vehicle to the dealer and they found that the rear passenger side door latch motor failed. a new motor would cost $400. the manufacturer stated that there was no recall for the failure; therefore, they would not assist. the current and failure mileages were 129,000. | |||
| 11/16/2007 | 70000 | 1 | 05/01/2004 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. the front passenger side door will not open or unlock. the door is completely stuck. through online research, the contact discovered several complaints, but no recalls. the powertrain was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 70,000. | |||
| 03/15/2005 | 2 | 09/15/2003 | |
| Dt:consumer took vehicle to dealer for rear door problems. the two rear passenger doors were fixed as part of recall. consumer said that on rear door one the latches broke,, and it was not part of the recall. when driving on the road the rear door will come open. when closing the rear door it must be slammed several times before door will stay shut, and even then while driving if vehicle was jarred by a bump or hole, door will still come open. also, seat belts do not work properly, they will not latch most the time. but when they do latch they will not come unlatched to release passenger. dealer said that consumer must pay to have seat belts repaired.*ak | |||
| 03/19/2005 | 52000 | 1 | |
| The front passenger side door latch failed . as a result, the occupant was trapped inside. a recall was issued for the rear door latch, but the front doors were no included. *ak | |||
| 09/13/2004 | 50000 | 1 | 03/01/2002 |
| The driver's side rear door will not latch. the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they ordered a new latch assembly which consumer had to pay out of her pocket. also, the dealer also informed the consumer that a new latch assembly was being ordered for which the consumer would have to pay. *ak *sc | |||
| 08/02/2004 | 60050 | 5 | 07/14/2002 |
| The rear passenger door sometimes will not latch shut. after looking at it, the catch just swings freely and doesn't grab the post. after repeated slamming of the door, it will work again for a short period. opened once while driving. i keep a bunjie chord with me in case and i bungee it shut when it acts up. i don't have anyone sit in the rerar passengers seat.*ak | |||
| 03/22/2004 | 40000 | 20 | 08/14/2003 |
| Door lock self activation - while we were in the dealership, we were the third person of the day to complain about this problem. since ford put out the service bulletin on this problem in 2002, i would think they should pay the $184 for parts in addition to the $189 labor. this is an obvious defect in their manufacturing. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer noticed that passenger's side rear door was open. upon locking door latch it will not lock in place, causing, consumer to secure vehicle. *ak | |||
| 07/25/2002 | 300 | 3 | 12/20/2001 |
| Ford focus: back door will not always latch. my son almost fell out of the car, thankfully he was strapped into his car seat. i shut the door and was driving away when the door flew open. focus is white,only 1 1/2 old and has rust spots all over the car. the trunk of the car has the most rust.the radio dial has melted feels like you are playing with bubble gum. have also had problems keeping the car on the road in rain and snow. i take the turnpike to work and feel that i am going to slide into another car if i go faster then 25 miles an hour in the rain or snow.*ak | |||
| 12/25/2002 | 16000 | 4 | 06/15/2002 |
| 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 | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - LOCK | |||
| 03/21/2002 | 4 | 02/01/2002 | |
| At first i thought i might have hit the hatch release when i unlocked the vehicle using the key fob. as i started the vehicle and pulled away, the doors locked and i had to stop at a light and noticed the rear hatch was up. the second time was when my dog started barking and there was the hatch up. i had to pull over, i'm luckey i did not lose the dog. i started using the key after that. as soon as i pull away, and after the doors lock a while later the hatch is open. this only happens now and then. every other month or so. i have checked the rear hatch prior to driving. this hatch can only be released by the button on dash or by using the key fob. no key. the third time i had grocery's all over the place. i have stopped using the rear hatch. side doors only. the dealership said they could find nothing wrong.*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TRUNK LID - LOCK | |||
| 09/02/2009 | 65000 | 1 | 08/28/2009 |
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. the trunk would not close properly. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the latch and stride were replaced. the failure and current mileages were 65000. updated 10/29/09 *cn updated 10/29/09.*jb the part has not replaced. | |||
| 03/28/2005 | 47072 | 2 | |
| Driver noticed that the trunk lid failed to lock properly . the driver would have to slam trunk lid before it would lock. the consumer drove to dealer for inspection. the mechanic replaced the hood lever due to wear and tear. the consumer informed the mechanic that this problem still occurred and has not been resolved. *ak *jb *nm | |||
| 03/04/2003 | 3 | 11/26/2001 | |
| 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 | |||
| 11/12/2003 | 14000 | 4 | 07/10/2002 |
| 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 | |||
| 06/27/2003 | 1 | ||
| The dealer had to remove the rear seats and trunk lock to get the trunk to open. *nlm *scc *jb | |||