Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||||
| 16222 | 09/01/2002 | 10008600 | Interior decklid trim panel discontinued. *mj | 08/09/2004 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||||
| 17269 | 10/01/2003 | 10004918 | Squeaking noise from front of vehicle when accelerating. *tt | 01/20/2004 | |
| 16888 | 06/01/2003 | 10002604 | Squeak and rattle condition from the instrument panel. *tt | 09/08/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE | |||||
| 17228 | 09/01/2003 | 10004084 | Corrosion on the liftgate strut ball-studs. *tt | 11/18/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HOOD | |||||
| 17059 | 08/01/2003 | 10003168 | Hood release cable breaking/binding in cold weather. *tt | 10/09/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TRUNK LID | |||||
| 16436 | 11/01/2002 | 10008358 | High decklid closing effort. *mj | 07/28/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 12/15/2012 | |||
| I have been in the wrecker business for 20 years, this being the second ford focus involved in an accident this year. i have noticed that this vehicle does not perform adequately when involved in a crash, therefore putting the passengers at risk of severe injury or death. the driver of the vehicle mentioned above lost control, and slid sideways into oncoming traffic resulting in an impact to the passenger door and resulted in a fatality of the driver..the area of protection surrounding the passenger compartment is inadequate in that it does not provide safety upon impact. this being the second focus towed recently, it has become aparent to me that these light weignt vehicles propose a safety hazard to the public and should be re-examined. *tr | |||
| 02/01/2009 | 1 | ||
| The car has been having issues with the locks for a while now. we can not put the key into the door to unlock it because it wont always work. the handle on the front driver side door has broke once and was replaced. now the key for the ignition will not turn to start the car. the steering wheel has locked and will not allow the key to turn to start the car. *tr | |||
| 12/20/2005 | 2 | 05/10/2004 | |
| I bought ford focus 2003 at 38,000 (certified pre-owned) from premier ford inc in brooklyn, ny in 5/04, had massive leaking of water during and after rain a month later in 6/04. this was repaired by dealership because it was under 90 day warranty. it was fine until this month 12/05 and is now again soaking my passenger floor when it rains or snows. i took to dealership, they said they cannot repair it - take it down the street where they always take it for this problem anyway. i called ford, they said it may be covered under my extended warranty, but the dealership needs to diagnose the problem. apparently, this is a very common problem with ford focus' according to the dealership and from many postings online i have found. it seems to be a structural design defect in the dash causing massive flooding into the car and if it does get into driver floor would be a safety hazard since your feet could slip off petals while trying to operate the vehicle. *nm | |||
| 08/27/2004 | 1 | ||
| On any rainy days the floor on the front passenger's side leaks water. dealersip was notified. *ak | |||
| 1 | 06/07/2003 | ||
| The sun's reflection on the dial system made it hard to see the speedometer. the consumer considered this to be a safety concern. *ak *scc *jb | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 10/12/2011 | 52000 | ||
| The driver side exterior door handle is not working. this has happened before and lasted a few days then somehow started working again but now it is back. when i try to pull it open it is as if there is nothing attached to the other side. i pull it out and it stays out and loose. we have had a recall on this same vehicle for the rear doors having this same exact issue except we have never had a problem with the rear doors, only the front. my dealer says they can fix the rear doors for free but i will be charged for the front. i find this funny because ford is willing to work on my doors that work fine for free but won't do anything for the broken and hazardous doors. can we please update this recall to affect all the doors on the 2003 ford focus before we have drivers rolling out of their cars? | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 84000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly stalled. the failure was experienced several times. the vehicle was restarted and began to function normally. the contact also stated that the trunk latch failed to function correctly and the ignition failed and was replaced. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the failure could not be replicated. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 84,000 and the current mileage was 93,000. the vin was not available. mh | |||
| 02/01/2012 | 84000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving at any speed without warning. the failure was experienced several times. the contact was able to coast the vehicle onto the road shoulder restarted the engine and the vehicle resume to normal function. the contact also waned to state that the vehicle ignition was replaced and the trunk latch failed. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to have a diagnostic performed but was unable to locate a failure code. the vin information was not available. the failure mileage was 84,000 and the current mileage was 93,000. li | |||
| 11/08/2012 | 62500 | 1 | |
| The left rear door doesn't latch properly, causing the door to fly open on it's own. thank goodness kids were not in the car when this occurred. since the first incident, the door will not latch and is now tethered with rope and can't be used. ford know about this problem as they have a current recall notice nhtsa campaign id number: 05v030000 ford claims that my vehicle is not covered. the issue for my vehicle is that it was purchased in the state of florida in 2003 and registered in the state of florida in feb of 2005 when the recall came out. (it is now registered in the state of ny where it has been since 2006. if the recall came out one year later, my car would be covered?) covered or not, ford knows that the car is unsafe. a remedy would be to re-issue the recall again so that it covers any 2003 focus as i am certain that my car is not the only car sold in a state not covered, but that has since relocated to a state where corrosion can occur due to salt and winter conditions (unbeknownst to consumers). i am lucky that my kids were not hurt, but someone else might not be as lucky. *tr | |||
| 11/08/2012 | 62500 | ||
| The left rear door doesn't latch properly, causing the door to fly open on it's own. thank goodness kids were not in the car when this occurred. since the first incident, the door will not latch and is now tethered with rope and can't be used. ford know about this problem as they have a current recall notice nhtsa campaign id number: 05v030000 ford claims that my vehicle is not covered. the issue for my vehicle is that it was purchased in the state of florida in 2003 and registered in the state of florida in feb of 2005 when the recall came out. (it is now registered in the state of ny where it has been since 2006. if the recall came out one year later, my car would be covered?) covered or not, ford knows that the car is unsafe. a remedy would be to re-issue the recall again so that it covers any 2003 focus as i am certain that my car is not the only car sold in a state not covered, but that has since relocated to a state where corrosion can occur due to salt and winter conditions (unbeknownst to consumers). i am lucky that my kids were not hurt, but someone else might not be as lucky. | |||
| 05/15/2012 | 118000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that the rear passenger wheel emitted a loud whining noise, overheated, and caused the engine rpms to increase. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic several times for the failure. the local mechanic replaced the rear passenger wheel drum assembly several times. the failure was not corrected. the rear passenger wheel continued to emit a loud whining noise, overheat and cause the rpms to increase. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 118,000 and the current mileage 121,000. sm. | |||
| 08/01/2005 | |||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that both the driver and passenger side rear doors failed to open. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic and the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 140,000. | |||
| 08/01/2005 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that both the driver and passenger side rear doors failed to open. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic and the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 140,000. kmj | |||
| 12/14/2007 | 42495 | ||
| Upon opening, three hard clicks are heard - and lock opens on occasion. often refusing to latch and on many occasions, i am unable to open the door. it appears to be as stated in nhtsa campaign id number: 05v030000 i have spoken with dealer and ford on many occasions the past several years, and they insist this car was not part of the campaign and refuse to inspect, or view, or assess. | |||
| 10/21/2008 | 118507 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. the contact stated that there was a recall for the rear doors on the vehicle. the vehicle was taken in to be repaired, but afterwards, the failure still occurred. the handles on the vehicle failed. the contact can open the doors from the passenger compartment, but not from the exterior of the vehicle. the doors seem to be sealed extremely tightly. the contact stated that this was a serious safety issue not being able to open the doors from the outside. the dealer did not repair the doors properly. the failure and current mileages were 118,507. | |||
| 07/27/2008 | 1 | ||
| Water leaks in to my 2003 ford focus from under the dashboard onto the passenger side of the car. i googled the problem and literally found 100's of complaints. it seems it is related to the cabin air filter housing. it acts like a funnel that directs rain that escapes the cowl seal into the cabin. why isn't there a recall on this? *tr | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 06/28/2009 | 59246 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 ford focus and back in february 2006 i took the car in for a recall to fix door hinges that become hard to open or actually break. they completed the work. as i was driving the other day my rear passenger door just swung open and the door will no longer latch. i called ford and they said since they put some grease or something like that on my door back in 2006 (they never put a new latch on the car) that i am out of luck and have to pay the $336 myself to fix the latch that i feel they should have replaced under the recall in the first place. two of my other three doors are getting hard to open and i feel it is only a matter of time before they completely break also. i have two children and thank god one of them was not in the back seat the day the car door just decided to swing open. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2005 | 3 | 11/10/2004 | |
| We bought our car used in november of 2004, since then, we have had the driver door handle break twice and the passenger handle break once. of course, this is not life threatening but it is really annoying to not be able to get your child in the back seat without having to unlock and open all the doors before you can get to the right door. we have had the handles replaced twice which was covered by the warranty, but it is broken yet again, and i'm not sure our extended warranty will cover it. it is obviously a manufacture problem, even though i can't find any other complaints of this nature. *nm | |||
| 06/30/2005 | 35930 | 3 | 07/01/2003 |
| Dt: consumer complained about transmission problems. the rear door on the wagon did not close properly and the windshield wipers did not go all the way down when turning them off. dealer was working on the transmission. also, dealer will take care of the door and the windshield wipers while vehicle was in the shop for transmission. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE | |||
| 06/01/2006 | 56000 | 5 | 05/05/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while stopped at a red light both frontal airbags deployed without warning causing the vehicle to rear end the vehicle in front. a police report was filed at the scene and seat belts were in use; no injuries were sustained. the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop. the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. the dealership was alerted. on a separate occasion, the hatch back failed to close, vehicle failed to start, the interior lighting failed and the motor made a knocking sound. this occurred intermittently. the manufacturer was alerted. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 11/30/2004 | 45000 | 3 | |
| Hatch release had to be replaced due to an electrical short. . consumer was told that if it was not replaced, since connected to the electrical system, vehicle could catch on fire.*ak...also, replaced trunk release switch. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TRUNK LID | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 5000 | 3 | 09/05/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. while parked in the backyard, the contact started the vehicle and the rear window blew out. the dealer repaired the window. a few days later, the locks on the passenger side door would not unlock. the dealer repaired that failure as well. afterwards, the ignition cylinder began to fail. the contact took the vehicle in for repair and had to pay $300. the current and failure mileages were 5,000. updated 05/21/08 *bf the consumer stated the trunk needed to be repaired as well. updated. 05/20/08. *jb | |||
| 11/21/2006 | 90000 | 2 | 04/04/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while attempting to open the trunk with the remote switch it became inoperable. the vehicle was driven to the dealer twice for this and both times the switch was replaced. *ak | |||
| 07/15/2005 | 28000 | 1 | |
| Dt: the contact stated the trunk will not latch. no repairs have been made at this time.*ak | |||
| 06/01/2005 | 5 | 05/01/2003 | |
| Dt: 2003 ford focus. when the vehicle was first purchased front window came out. the dealership fixed it. then, the trunk started popping open, the vehicle was fixed at the dealership where she purchased it. the vehicle was taken to another dealership, because she moved. they stated the vehicle needsednew brake pads. te consumer told the dealership the vehicle made a noise on the passenger side by the front tire. the dealership did nothing about it. the vehicle was then taken to a tire company, they found the front rotors wore out, and this was a manufacturering problem. the vehicle was taken back to the dealership and they stated the vehicle needed new rotors and brake pads. also a piece was coming off the vehicle between the two doors on the driver side between the windows. this vehicle just went over 15,000 miles when she was leaving the dealership. in addition, there iwas something wrong with the steering wheel, it was too hard to pull back, and it swerved in the other lane. the trunk was still coming open.*ak | |||
| 11/30/2004 | 45000 | 3 | |
| Hatch release had to be replaced due to an electrical short. . consumer was told that if it was not replaced, since connected to the electrical system, vehicle could catch on fire.*ak...also, replaced trunk release switch. *ak | |||
| 10/07/2003 | 1 | 10/07/2003 | |
| I bought my 2003 ford focus around oct 2003, since day 1 the driver's side area of the trunk gets soaked when it rains. i can't figure out where it is coming from or how the moisture gets in. also, car had rust on the muffler and undercarriage when i drove it off of the lot the day i bought it.*ak | |||
| 08/27/2003 | 1 | ||
| When it rained water leaked inside the trunk compartment. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS | |||
| 06/07/2008 | 74636 | 1 | |
| I took my 2003 ford focus wagon into the shop because of loud noises i was hearing from under the car while driving car. when they got it up on the lift they had me come to repair bay to look at it because they'd never seen anything like this before. what they'd found was that the cradle or subframe piece that holds the engine in was completed rotted out. it was so bad you could stick your finger through it. they said this is something you'd expect to find on a 1980s car perhaps, but certainly not one that was only five years old. i asked them if they could fix it and they said they could, but this was a safety issue and that i should take it instead to the ford dealer, which i did. the service manager at the ford dealer was equally surprised by the condition of the frame and said he'd talk to the warranty about it, but they said a 2003 model was not covered for rust damage. the car only has 75,000 miles on it. so the service manager suggested instead that i contact ford customers relations about it because 1) it was a serious safety issue that may warrant a recall and 2) as a result i should be reimbursed. i talked with the customer relations people but they took the position that since the car was out of warranty for a rust condition and because there was no recall in place for such a condition they couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it. so i decided to bring it to you. *tr | |||
| 10/11/2005 | 55000 | 7 | 07/19/2003 |
| Dt: the contact states she owns a 2003 ford focus. the rear tires kept going bald on the outside of the tire only. the vehicle is a front wheel drive. this happened four times. vehicle has 61,000 miles on it. the dealer had to replace the back frame two kits, one on each side due to an engineering notice put out on the tires. this did not fix the problem. the contact had to have the springs, struts, and shocks replaced recently with approximately 55,000 miles on the car, and the problem recurred. car bounced, and when she hit a bump the car picked up, and the rear end moved to the right or to the left. she had to have the car realigned at least six or seven times. sometimes the contact would have to go back the very next day to have it aligned again, and the dealer would not charge them for the service.. the front brake pad and the front rotors on the driver's side had to be replaced at 30,000 miles. she talked to the manufacturer ,and they told her she would have to continue to shell out money because there were no recalls on the vehicle regarding the tires, and the car was out of warranty. the warranty doid not cover the tires because it was blamed on uneven wear or/and the alignment. *ak | |||
| 05/06/2005 | 1 | 09/17/2003 | |
| Dt: there is a cross member piece of metal behind the dash of the car, the cross member bar behind the dash has obvious rust spots. *ak the brace behind the dash which extends from the steering column to the right end of the dashboard has obvious oxidation spots and rust. there is no indication of the cause. no water spots inside the vehicle. these rust spots can be seen behind the glove compartment as well. vehicle has very low mileage. vehicle also has a stuck accelerator caused by failure to the throttle body plate. *tt *nm | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS - UNDERBODY SHIELDS | |||
| 09/09/2004 | 19000 | 1 | |
| The consumer heard a grinding noise coming from the rear brake drums. the dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak the rear drum brake pads were defective, parts and compound were missing, trim under the steering column was missing, the transmission was slipping in first, second and third gear, and the ignition was damaged. *sc *jb | |||
| 06/07/2004 | 20500 | 1 | 05/07/2004 |
| Oil filter mounted at lowest point on undercarriage in front of car,i ran over something on the freeway, the only part of car hit was oil filter which lost oil and damaged engine. *ak | |||