2001 Ford Focus ZX3 2.0liter Z-tech from North America
Summary:
It's a nice handling lemon... Ford lick me!
Faults:
Well first of all, let's start at the dealer, who told me it had 4 wheel steering...
After 2 days of ownership, the cooling fan off while traveling to work. They are not bolted and I managed to snap it back in place; that's quality there folks, "no bolts required"... lucky it didn't break.
4 weeks later, it rained and flooded the passenger side of the car. I was told it was the windshield and it was replaced... 2 days later it rained again and flooded just the same, although the windshield was leaking and the headliner was water damaged. Ford refused to replace it. So the second time I came back, my sunroof was apparently causing the flooding; I mean flooding 5 inches in the passenger side! They said they got it cleaned out... LOL not... it hadn't rained in a long time.
So next October (this month 2003) about 3 months later, it was time for servicing; again they replaced the 9th tail lamp and license place light, along with the shifter base, which is plastic and breaks easily. They replaced the radio which even died! They did the repairs on Saturday, and on Monday when I went to go for to work, my car was once again flooded and badly.
OK, by this time I'm beyond angry, and I took it to the dealer, where I was told the cowl was not seamed sealed at the factory. "Well isn't that nice" I told the manager. Ford can't even get a machine to build their crappy cars right... The entire dash, heater, stereo system, rug, seats, console and electrical system had to be taken out. I informed the manager that the car is getting a new rug and that Ford is paying for it. I was informed they had no courtesy cars. Well I work an hour and a half away in a remote community, what the hell am I supposed to do? Walk 120kms one way?
I also forgot to mention the wheel bearings and wiring had been recalled, along with my brakes, which had wore out very quickly, considering all the car sees is highway km's, and the rear tires wore out faster than the front tire's!
Gosh, when I think about all the problems I've had, I'd love to tell the Focus engineering to go back to Hyundai, which is making an attractive buy considering the Ford has more problems! Ford lick me!
General Comments:
It handles good and looks good to me. The seats are comfortable, which is why I bought the car in the first place. Too bad Ford messed it up and made it a sour lemon.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 20th October, 2003
27th Feb 2010, 23:19
There is a such thing as four wheel steering, it is when the rear wheels will turn just a bit to make the car have better handling, or better stability at higher speeds. This is usually in higher end cars though, and whoever said the Ford
Focus has it is mistaken
28th Feb 2010, 08:33
Above commenter is correct. There is such a thing as 4 wheel steering. It was also used on Chevrolet pick-up trucks for awhile, although I don't believe it's still an option. It was meant to make towing and maneuvering a trailer easier.
The Ford Focus does not, and never has had 4 wheel steering however.
8th Jul 2009, 15:37
Sure he did not say. All wheel drive instead? Seems like a more likely comment.