Faults:

Throttle position linkage needs to be replaced.

Brakes need replaced rather frequently.

Water leak in passenger side floor board.

Bad front shocks.

Faulty springs.

General Comments:

This is my mom's car. I have a 95 BMW 318ti and she has the 2000 Ford Focus. The problems (with her car) are numerous. She has the typical passenger floor leak, rear tire wear, and everything everybody else says. Yet she also has a faulty throttle positioning sensor. And with good ol'e Ford you can't replace the sensor, but have to replace the whole throttle linkage! I accidently backed it into a pay phone and paid 300.00 dollars of my own money. (In high school, with a horrible job in a kitchen, that was 2 1/2 weeks pay!) And Ford did a horrid job. They used a trunk lid off a junker. There is something loose in it that rattles around when the lid is raised or lowered. And there was bondo dust or something ALL over the trunk that took forever to get out. I remember seeing this car in commercials and them saying this was like a Honda Civic, easy to drive and a breeze to fix. Yeah, always in need of those fixes. It's bad when she would rather ride in my car than drive her own.

Faults:

Air conditioner stopped working completely at 90,000 miles. Was told by my local Ford dealership it would cost over $2000 to fix it.

When going over uneven pavement, the car wobbles heavily from side to side.

Trunk does not always latch when closing.

Radio shuts off with out assistance.

Rear view mirror always loose.

General Comments:

Zetec engine has great giddy up and go.

Decent gas mileage.

Faults:

Enginge head has to be replaced because of sticking valve at 85,000.

Ignition Cylinder spontaneously locked-up at 85,000.

Front Wheel Bearings had to be replaced at 85,000.

General Comments:

The engine valve sticking is a design defect by Ford with the engine. The valve builds carbon, sticks and has to be replaced at anywhere from $1500-$2500. Ford is well aware of the problem since it is "Service Bulletin" for anyone repairing the car. I am unable to drive the vehicle since I was told the valve might stick at any time and stay stuck: It could cause myself or others serious harm if it did it in traffic. I have contacted Ford and a local dealer to no avail. Ford refuses to make the repair. Ford refuses to accept responsibility for the problem. I know from research the engine problems are common with this model. I now know why people are calling it "a piece of junk".

The ignition locking-up happened so suddenly. It was fine one minute and the next, the key refused to go into the ignition. I had to have it towed. It took a week to get the new ignition and get it installed. Then, the new keys had to be programmed by Ford so the car was towed to the local Ford dealer.

The wheel bearings were a surprise since I was having the engine checked for the above listed problem. The bearings on the right front were shot and the ones on the front left were close to being gone. It is an unusual repair at 85,000 and over $500+ later.