Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||||
| 16157 | 08/01/2002 | 636173 | Some vehicles equipped with an automatic transaxle and 2.0l zetec engine may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code p0122, throttle position circuit low input. *tt | 11/06/2002 | |
| 0291 | 05/13/2002 | 636089 | Some vehicles equipped with the 2.0l spi engine may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated and diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) p0300 through p0304 stored. *tt | 11/05/2002 | |
| 0213 | 07/08/2002 | 635985 | Some 2001 vehicles equipped with a 2.0l spi engine may exhibit a pulsing or ticking noise originating from the engine compartment and / or may have a malfunction indicator lamp light on with diagnostic trouble code p0401 or p0402 code. * | 11/04/2002 | |
| 0256 | 03/18/2002 | 636049 | This bulletin involves proper procedures for preparation of service sheet metal parts coated with electro deposition primer (e-coat). *tt | 11/04/2002 | |
| 01157 | 08/06/2001 | 623988 | Information regarding transmission fluid usage charts. *slc | 10/31/2001 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | ||||||
| AQ10001 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11/18/2010 | Fleet Vehicle Recall Completion Audit | |||
| The agency, particularly in recent months, has been informed of incidents involving allegations of personal injury and death claimed to have been caused by safety defects and failures to conform to minimum federal motor vehicle safety standards (fmvss) on rental car vehicles for which a safety recall to remedy the safety defect or noncompliance had allegedly not been performed prior to the rental car company's lease of the vehicle.nhtsa understands that there is presently a petition before the federal trade commission (ftc) seeking to prohibit at least one rental car company from renting vehicles on which safety recall campaign remedies remain outstanding.the purpose of this audit query (aq) is to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on the above-listed safety recall campaigns.these campaigns were chosen due to their inclusion of vehicles used in the rental market.this information is expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets, in general or individually, perform necessary recall-related repairs or other remedies on the vehicles owned and then leased for use on the roadways.this aq is opened. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 10/12/2012 | 45226 | ||
| I own a 2002 ford focus zx3 with a very low mileage of 45226. on october 12th friday, i drove my car to the university, (~2 miles from my home) and parked for a few minutes. then i started driving toward the commuter parking lot. however, 30 seconds later, a huge | |||
| 08/31/2012 | 135000 | ||
| The design of the cup holders in the front seat, with the big opening on the sides, is a major flaw. while making a turn, whether sharp or normal, a drink can easily tip out of the cup holder, and fall onto the ground of the car. when i made a right turn, my normal sized water bottle flew out of the cup holder, due to the opening, and started rolling around on the ground. had i not picked up the bottle, or noticed it flew out, it could have easily become lodged between the break and / or gad pedals and caused a major accident. | |||
| 07/22/2012 | 135000 | ||
| I drove my ford focus about 6 miles to a stop light. when it turned green, i pressed the gas. the car stalled like it was out of gas, regained partial power, and displayed the airbag light. it made it to the next stoplight, and i pulled it over to the side and turned it off and removed the key. at that point a plume of white smoke shot out of the driver's side hood. i told my son to get out because i knew the car was on fire. we walked away, and as we did, the amount of smoke increased exponentially. within minutes, the front end of the car was totally engulfed in flames. the windshield shattered and melted, the hood was charred and black, the plastic parts of the fenders and bumpers melted away, and part of the body metal burned away on the hood and the fenders. everything under the hood was melted, distorted, or otherwise destroyed. i kept the car very well maintained, making sure to fix everything that was ever wrong with it immediately upon discovery. i kept up on all oil changes. it is perplexing that a car which is so well kept would spontaneously self-ignite, however there have been accounts of fires in the ford focus since 2000, and many since. now i have added one more. the car, obviously, is a total loss. | |||
| 03/15/2012 | |||
| I have a 2002 ford focus zts and the truck latch and locking mechanism is not working. the trunk won't stay latched. i brought my car to a ford dealership but they said they would replace it for $314. i can't afford that now. i asked if it was under recall and they said that they always check on recalls first. when i looked up the item on line it did have a recall. what can i do to solve this problem? | |||
| 02/27/2012 | 130852 | ||
| I had my 81 yearold mother with me, i turned off the car and when i tried to start it the key would not turn. it was not until 5 days later that my mechanic son in law was able to look at it and tell me the problem and that a ford garage had to fixit. their prices vary from 350.00 to 450.00 to repalce my ignition switch assembly. it is a 48.00 part. ford refuses to recall because they claim it is not a safety issue. it is if someone has a heart attack or a stroke because of the stress of being stranded in the middle of nowhere or because it is over 100 degrees and you can't walk to a phone or turn on the air conditioner. not everyone has a cell phone. it is covered under warranty but the problem does not occur until it is out of warranty and it has to be repaired every time by ford. it is a safety hazard especially for the elderly. | |||
| 01/04/2008 | 80000 | ||
| The motor on the sun roof went out while the vehicle was still under warranty i had it fixed then after the warranty expired it went out again and i couldnt afford to get it fixed, the motor for the rear windows went out (both passenger sides) the front passenger door does not lock because the motor went out, and know the drivers side window is starting to make a noise like it going to go out also and the door lock is making nois like its going to go out. this is a huge safety issue first of all when carrying small children in the back and another safety issue with the doors not locking makes it much easier for someone to car jack you. i have never had a vehicle that the electric windows and doors and the moon roof went out this has to be a defect i have gone to the dealership to complain after the warranty had expired and i was told that there are no recalls and they can't help me unless i pay. i can't even lock the door using a key because it doesn't work | |||
| 11/15/2005 | 52012 | ||
| After 2 complaints to dealer about rear brake vibration/noise, they found noting wrong.on our trip going down interstate 40 at 70 mph the back wheel comes off my car.the wheel and hub are broken,cuts the brake line and i lose my brake fluid. no brakes and trying to keep it out of the ditch.if there would of been a car on the side of me.i am positive there would have been injury/death.had extended warranty.ford paid 0.said i hit something in road.now at the repair shop again.the wheel bearings on the rear are frozen.i have to buy new drums for both side again. | |||
| 09/19/2011 | |||
| Key will not turn in the ignition, thereby preventing the car from starting. | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 170000 | ||
| I have had my 2002 ford focus for 2 months. the key has always gave me problems with not wanting to turn. today though i went to go to my college classes and the key will not turn at all. i have tried to get it to turn for 2 hours. untill i said fuck it before i brake the key and that i had already messed my class that i couldnt miss because of a test. now i get a zero. i like ford vehicles but if they cant even fix a small igntion defect for thier customers fuck ford. | |||
| 07/10/2010 | 73100 | ||
| My 2002 ford focus has a plastic grommet that holds the base of the hood prop in place. this is a engineering defect, because our grommet broke and the hood fell on my husband and i. i ordered the part from the parts department at the dealer and was surprised it was a $5.00 part that i am sure will break again over time. in fact all new focuses have this cheap $5.00 part. i hope no child is ever near the hood when it breaks. most cars have metal bases for the hood prop that swivel and last a lifetime. i plead with somebody out there to get ford to take responsibility for this. i tried. | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 170000 | ||
| I have had my 2002 ford focus for 2 months. the key has always gave me problems with not wanting to turn. today though i went to go to my college classes and the key will not turn at all. i have tried to get it to turn for 2 hours. untill i said fuck it before i brake the key and that i had already messed my class that i couldnt miss because of a test. now i get a zero. i like ford vehicles but if they cant even fix a small igntion defect for thier customers fuck ford. | |||
| 07/10/2010 | 73100 | ||
| My 2002 ford focus has a plastic grommet that holds the base of the hood prop in place. this is a engineering defect, because our grommet broke and the hood fell on my husband and i. i ordered the part from the parts department at the dealer and was surprised it was a $5.00 part that i am sure will break again over time. in fact all new focuses have this cheap $5.00 part. i hope no child is ever near the hood when it breaks. most cars have metal bases for the hood prop that swivel and last a lifetime. i plead with somebody out there to get ford to take responsibility for this. i tried. | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 170000 | ||
| I have had my 2002 ford focus for 2 months. the key has always gave me problems with not wanting to turn. today though i went to go to my college classes and the key will not turn at all. i have tried to get it to turn for 2 hours. untill i said fuck it before i brake the key and that i had already messed my class that i couldnt miss because of a test. now i get a zero. i like ford vehicles but if they cant even fix a small igntion defect for thier customers fuck ford. | |||
| 07/10/2010 | 73100 | ||
| My 2002 ford focus has a plastic grommet that holds the base of the hood prop in place. this is a engineering defect, because our grommet broke and the hood fell on my husband and i. i ordered the part from the parts department at the dealer and was surprised it was a $5.00 part that i am sure will break again over time. in fact all new focuses have this cheap $5.00 part. i hope no child is ever near the hood when it breaks. most cars have metal bases for the hood prop that swivel and last a lifetime. i plead with somebody out there to get ford to take responsibility for this. i tried. | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 170000 | ||
| I have had my 2002 ford focus for 2 months. the key has always gave me problems with not wanting to turn. today though i went to go to my college classes and the key will not turn at all. i have tried to get it to turn for 2 hours. untill i said fuck it before i brake the key and that i had already messed my class that i couldnt miss because of a test. now i get a zero. i like ford vehicles but if they cant even fix a small igntion defect for thier customers fuck ford. | |||
| 07/10/2010 | 73100 | ||
| My 2002 ford focus has a plastic grommet that holds the base of the hood prop in place. this is a engineering defect, because our grommet broke and the hood fell on my husband and i. i ordered the part from the parts department at the dealer and was surprised it was a $5.00 part that i am sure will break again over time. in fact all new focuses have this cheap $5.00 part. i hope no child is ever near the hood when it breaks. most cars have metal bases for the hood prop that swivel and last a lifetime. i plead with somebody out there to get ford to take responsibility for this. i tried. | |||
| 03/14/2011 | 125540 | ||
| Two nights ago i drove my 2002 ford focus zx3 to a nearby bank to use the walk-up atm. since it was after business hours, i parked along a curb, but not in a parking space. i used the atm and upon returning to the car, my key refused to turn in the ignition cylinder. it was as if all of the sudden my key was the wrong key for the vehicle. since i was not in a parking spot, i put on my hazard lights and ran a half mile to my home to retreive my spare key. upon returning, i found that it did not work either. no matter what i tried, the key would not turn in the ignition cylinder. i wanted to get the car to a parking space so i put the car (a manual transmission) into neutral and began pushing it forward. the steering wheel was locked, and because i could not move the key, i had two options - move the car straight forward, or move the car straight back. i moved the car forward to a slightly better spot, but could not maneuver it into a true parking spot. i called for a tow truck since the car would surely be towed at the start of business hours the next day. when the tow truck operator arrived he told me he had seen this problem before in fords, and said that i was lucky to have a manual transmission, otherwise he would likely not be able to tow it (it was a flatbed tow truck). i had him tow the car to a local ford dealership. that night i looked up information online and found that many fords 2000-2003 have had this problem - some people even said the key would get stuck in the ignition. the next day the dealership informed me that there were no recalls on the key cylinder issue, but that they would fix the problem for $501.56. i saw no alternative and had them put in a new ignition cylinder and issue 2 new keys. the dealer kept the old parts (old ignition cylinder and keys). the new ignition cylinder appears to be working fine (but keep in mind the old one appeared to be working fine as well before malfunctioning). | |||
| 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. | |||
| 11/12/2010 | 82000 | ||
| On nov 12, 2010 my car would not start. i had to have my vehicle towed on nov 13,2010. per the tow truck driver the reason why my vehicle would not start was because of a defective ignition part. later that night on nov 13, 2010 my vehicle once again began to work. i called the local ford dealership service department to inquire if the was any recalls pertaining to this part. they told me no. again on nov 17, 2010 the problem began again. i did not drive the car for several days until nov 20, 2010. today dec 1, 2010 i was left stranded due to my car not starting again. this is a safety concern for me because i have spoken with several mechanics as well as tow truck drivers who all have informed me that recently many ford focus vehicles they have either worked on or towed have all had the same problem as mine. as of now i will have to pay all costs out of pocket for these repairs for a well known defective part that the ford company refuses to put a recall on the vehicles that are affected by this problem. this company needs to own up to this problem that is a huge safety concern!!! | |||
| 06/13/2010 | 124000 | ||
| The ignition on my 2002 ford focus will not work and my understanding that this is happening to many people also. this issue will leave you stranded and unable to leave your current destination. in the event of an emergency it is unreliable. i work for a fire and rescue agency which requires me to make quick response and with this defect i cannot. imagine if a female is in a domestic issue and need to get away or is out shopping late and need to leave the area she is left vulnerable and alone with no way of leaving. this defect need to be addressed asap. i have researched this issue and found that after replacing the defected part you still will have the same issue because of poor design. your attention to this matter will be greatly appreciated. | |||
| 06/09/2010 | 130000 | ||
| Key is stuck in ignition, vehicle will not start. my son was stranded. | |||
| 06/04/2010 | 117164 | ||
| 2002 ford focus se: the key will not come out of the ignition. | |||
| 03/09/2010 | |||
| We just recently bought this car (2002 ford focus) and so i do not know the history of it, however the car just started locking up out of nowhere. the first time it happend was with my husband and luckly he did not have any of our children with him. the ignition keeps locking and we have to keep on having it towed home. we have had this car for about 2 and 1/2 months and so far it has happend 4 times. so we have had to pay $160 in towing costs. we have a friend that somehow fixed it and my husband spends hours outside messing with it to get it working. this time is wont start at all and its the worst timing ever we have a premeture baby and 4 other childern that need to get to school and daycare. | |||
| 05/02/2010 | 49000 | ||
| I bought my 2002 ford focus just 5 months ago (december 2009). when trying to start my car at a restaurant the steering wheel was completely locked, and the key would not turn in the ignition. after a full hour of trying to fix it, i had to have the car towed to a ford dealer, who replaced the ignition with a ford part that i fear has the same problem. the replacement ignition cost me over $400, and does not appear to be a long-term solution. according to many online complaints, the new ignition will fail to the same problem in time. i am limited by other options, as non-ford parts and locksmith work does not come with the 12 month-warranty that ford offers. my best option is to sell the car again before it happens, or before my warranty is up-- neither of which are a solution, but putting the problem onto someone else. this is a serious tragedy and in faulty design. i was lucky to have friends to help me in this situation, but the embarrassment and fear of it happening again are not worth it. this part needs to be recalled! | |||
| 01/27/2010 | 2 | ||
| 1. 2002 ford focus ignition switch problems. for a while my 2002 focus has been giving me ignition switch problems. either the key is stuck in the ignition switch and won't come out, or the key will not be able to turn the ignition switch. i bought the car when it had 48,000 miles on it, it now has around 67,000. 2. it happens on a fairly regular basis. although usually the key will eventually turn, simply by removing it and putting it back in the opposite way. if they key is stuck in the switch, usually restarting it or reversing and going back into drive will allow you to get the key out. 3. now i am currently stuck at work because the key will not turn in my focus at all! after researching the problem online, i have seen many complaints about the same thing. referenced here: http://autoforum.classifieds1000.com/ford-focus/ford_focus_ignition_cylinder_breaks_for_second_time and here: http://www.fordproblems.com/focus/key-wont-turn-in-the-ignition.shtml *tw | |||
| 10/24/2008 | 53000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2002 ford focus and my ignition won't turn. it just froze. it was ok. all of a sudden, i had an interview to get to and got in my car and it wouldn't start. the key just wouldn't turn. i am very grateful that i was at home when it happened. i think it is a disgrace that ford knows there is a problem and won't do a recall. a recall should not be completely about a safety issue but about providing the public with quality in the cars. obviously, the consumer is of no importance to ford. i think this whole experience has made me decide to never trust a ford again. i took the car in to two mechanics which told me it would be a few days to get the dealer parts and the repair will cost over $400.00. it is a disgrace that ford knows the problem exists and has done nothing to fix it. *tr | |||