Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - SEAT HEATER/COOLER | |||||
| 04B16 | 08/01/2004 | 04B16 | 10009872 | Update supplement announcement - customer satisfaction program 04b16. the front seat heater element pads are not adequately bonded to the foam cushions. this may result in shifting or folding up overtime, resulting in uneven heating of th | 11/01/2004 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEATS | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 100000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that the driver front seat bracket would break, causing the seat to lean to one side. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. a local mechanic attempted to repair the failure, but the failure would recur. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 114,000. nw | |||
| 01/21/2011 | 54677 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. while the vehicle was parked and warming up unattended for 15 minutes the contact open the drivers side door and saw smoke coming from the drivers seat. the contact stated she also had the defroster on at the time. the contact stated she did not realize the heated seat was on and the seat was on fire. the contact stated she placed her fingers down in the seat and burned to fingers. the contact did not seek medical attention. the contact poured water on the seat. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and she was advised that there was no recall on the vehicle. the contact stated the dealer called the manufacture and they were not willing to pay for the repairs. the vehicle was still at the dealer for the repairs and she had not been advised as to what needed to be repaired or replaced. the failure mileage was 54,677. vwb | |||
| 01/14/2011 | 89000 | ||
| My daughter and wife were out shopping and turned on the seat warmers in the front seat. as my daughter was driving she began to complain of a smell of something burning in the car. soon after realized her back side was hot ! summary- driver side seat burn marks visible and her winter coat ruined; it burned it too. why hasn't this been addressed with ford? several complaints have been filed stating this exact description. | |||
| 06/30/2009 | 80000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2003 ford focus. since i had the car from 2004 on, i have had to replace the driver side front seat because the seats driver door side back welding failed. the broken welding causes the seat to twist to the right. seat was replaced at my cost and replacement also broke at the same place. dealer refuses to acknowledge issue. i believe that may have also been a major contributing factor to a recent injury of my lower back since i had not received any trauma from any other source that i am aware of. a cursory review of the internet turns up dozens of complaints for the same issue. please note the date provided for the incident is the approximate date the second seat broke. the first one broke in 2006. both seats are available for your inspection should you want to review. *tr | |||
| 10/15/2009 | 55000 | 1 | |
| The driver's seat 2003 ford focus wagon ztw (purchased new in 7/2003, currently 55k miles) seems to have had a seat heater malfunction and burned through the seat cover, and the clothes of the driver at the time. the seat heater button would not turn the heater off. the fuse had to pulled to get it to turn off. there was never a problem with the seat heater before this event. the dealer (quirk ford in quincy ma) says it's only an out-of-warranty repair and wants to charge $600 to fix it. i think this is a major safety hazard that could have caused a significant fire and personal injury. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 101000 | 1 | 02/01/2006 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. while driving 60 mph, the contact heard a loud noise. he arrived home and felt as if the driver's seat back rest was leaning more than normal. he checked the seat and found that it had failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that a defective factory welding caused the seat bolt to fail. the contact will need to replace the entire seat and he feels that the manufacturer should be responsible for the cost. the manufacturer stated that they were aware of the safety concern, but they would not assist because the vehicle exceeded the warranty mileage. the current mileage was 133,000 and failure mileage was 101,000. updated 05/06/08 *bf updated 05/06/08 *tr | |||
| 05/18/2007 | 101000 | 1 | 12/17/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that the driver seat welds have failed and the back of the driver seat came apart. the vehicle has never been in a crash. the engine size and powertrain were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 101,000. | |||
| 09/06/2003 | 1 | ||
| Driver's seat had a piece of metal which was exposed, as a result, the consumer cut her leg. *ak (several others had been hurt as well) the metal was only exposed when the driver's seat was pushed forward to allow the passenger in the back to exit. if the seat was backed for a tall driver, it would be extremely impossible for the passenger to become injured. *scc *jb | |||
| 05/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| Representing jesus rosales/ requesting information on recalls in regards to seatbelts, air bags and or saftey restraint system for the for focus years 1990-2003.*mr *cb the vehicle was traveling about 45 mph at time of the offset frontal crash. the driver's seat broke from its seat bottom attachements to the floor pan causing fatal injuries. front seat passenger walked away from the crash. cw | |||
| 01/31/2003 | 3500 | 1 | 01/31/2003 |
| Sedan was rear-ended resulting in limited flexible bumper damage. substantial spinal damage to the healthy, 22 year old driver who was securely seat-belted into the driver's seat. what was lacking in the seat design to protect the driver from such injuries? ph | |||
| 01/31/2003 | 3500 | 0 | 01/31/2003 |
| A stopped 2003 focus sedan was rear-ended at a traffic light by a mazda 626 resulting in limited flexible bumper damage to the ford focus, but substantial spinal damage to the healthy, 22 year old driver who was securely seat-belted into the driver's seat. what was lacking in the seat design to protect the driver from such injuries? | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - RECLINER | |||
| 03/13/2007 | 1 | 07/14/2003 | |
| Under normal wear the back of the driver's seat broke on the 2003 ford focus. *ak | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - SEAT HEATER/COOLER | |||
| 02/13/2006 | 54000 | 1 | 03/01/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the seat heater burned through the fabric on the driver seat. the contact noticed burn marks on wife's white winter coat. recently, while doing spring cleaning on the interior of the vehicle noticed a burn mark on the driver's sidce seat that matchedc the very same location of contact's wife coat. will be making an appointment with the dealership for replacement of seat heater. *ak | |||
| 12/20/2004 | 1 | ||
| The heat warmer burned through the fabric burning the seat and causing a fire. the consumer will take the vehicle to the dealer to determine the cause. *jb | |||