2001 Ford Focus ZETEC 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Poblems have clouded what could be a nice car

Faults:

Firstly:

Drivers door handle refused to open door (central locking didn't regester it) -Replacement handle.

Petrol gauge regestered on empty when tank was half/full. Was told it may be a glitch in tank. Advised to drive continuously round a roundabout, shaking the car from side to side! :Needed new float-fixed, but still reads on empty from time to time.

Cold start. Loud rasping from front of car engine. Reported problem time after time, but still not fixed.

Water appeared in passenger foot well. Pollen filter replaced. Water appeared again, went to garage for water tests, fixed problem.

Water appeared in both passenger-driver-rear passenger footwells - 3 inches. Spent 3 days in garage. One week later started to leak again. Drivers and passenger seat now damp after rain.

Went back into body shop to fix on going problem. Was assured this time problem was fixed. Started leaking again - drivers, passengers, rear passengers footwells - seats still damp after rain.

Green Moss growing on car door window, rubber ledges.

Car has constant fusty smell due to the water problem.

General Comments:

Problems apart.

Very comfortable seats, roomy interior, stylish, modern.

Engine slow for 1.6 16valve.

Handling very responsive.

Nice alloys and seats.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 2nd November, 2004

2001 Ford Focus ZX3 2.0 Zetec from North America

Summary:

The best value in America for the money

Faults:

Absolutely nothing. This car has be the picture of reliability. I have only done standard maintenence since I purchased this car.

General Comments:

Other than being extremely slow, in my opinion, this vehicle has been great.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st November, 2004

2001 Ford Focus Ghia 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good car to drive, almost all things to all people

Faults:

Multi Disc CD player failed however this was replaced under warranty.

Engine died a couple of times when approaching a roundabout. The ECU was reprogrammed at the first service and has not happened since.

Trim over pollen filter (lower edge of windscreen n/s) distorted and let water into the passenger compartment. This was replaced at the second service at my cost, however after the third sevrice the replacement trim is distorted, and will require replacement yet again.

General Comments:

Generally a very good car which is good to drive, I find it comfortable with reasonable space.

The car has been let down by the poor performance/fitting of the trim panel that covers the pollen filter, once this panel is removed it appears even Fords own servicing staff cannot get it to correctly seal when it is refitted.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th October, 2004

2001 Ford Focus SE Wagon 2.0 ZTEC from North America

Summary:

Major Lemon, avoid at all costs!

Faults:

The rear brakes were replaced at 11,000 miles.

The front brakes were replaced at 15,000 miles.

The car has had three sets of tires on the front wheels and two sets on the rear.

The ignition broke at 18,000 miles.

The rear lock broke on the rear hatch.

The blower fan for the heating and cooling broke around 25,000 miles and had to be replaced.

The electronics that control the cooling and heating broke and had to be replaced shortly after the blower fan was replaced.

The engine started having a major oil leak around 40,000 miles.

General Comments:

I bought this car because it had received excellent reviews from all the car magazines. I wish I found this website before I bought this Focus.

This car has been nothing, but a headache since I bought it.

In addition to all the problems it had, it does not begin to compete with Honda or Toyota.

My suggestion to anyone who is thinking about buying a new Ford Focus is to go straight to your Honda or Toyota dealer.

Also, this car depreciates so fast that you'll never get your money out of it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th October, 2004

26th May 2006, 21:47

As a mechanic I find it hard to believe that a car driven in a normal manner could go through brake linings in 15,000 miles. ANY car, foreign or domestic should go 60,000 to 100,000 miles on a set of brake pads. I've driven cars and trucks from GM, Ford, and Chrysler, as well as one German and one Japanese car. None of them ever required brake service of any kind before 80,000 miles. One Chrysler product had two sets of brake pads in 240,000 miles. Only continual tail-gating and riding the brakes can wear pads out in 15,000 miles. I suspect the other problems may also be due to abusive driving as well. The Focus is one of the best built cars on the road, foreign or domestic.

30th Jun 2006, 23:54

A Chrysler that lasted 240,000 miles? Wow! Was it being carried on the back of a roll back tow truck for the first 140,000? With most cars, I agree about the brakes. But the Focus has a poor front suspension design that causes the brakes to wear out. Look at the recalls!

25th Aug 2009, 21:40

However there are ways to get the front suspension fixed at no cost, as it is a recall.

26th Aug 2009, 17:06

"As a mechanic I find it hard to believe that a car driven in a normal manner could go through brake linings in 15,000 miles."

Hey guess what, I'm a mechanic too. And I owned a Ford Focus Wagon myself. It DID go through brake linings in 15,000 miles.

3rd Sep 2009, 22:59

My Ford Focus wagon has 182,000 miles on it and just had the original spark plugs replaced.