20th Apr 2005, 11:20

I agree with the original entry. My 2000 Ford Focus SE is a piece of junk. Dropping a value seat at 86,000 on ANY car is unacceptable.

2nd May 2005, 18:18

I have owned many Ford products and have family members who work at Ford. My last car, a Ford Ranger, was a wonderful vehicle. In an attempt to find a car with better gas mileage, I bought a Focus.

My story is similar to other people who have contributed to this page. I have had many problems with my 2000 Ford Focus. In addition to all the recalls noted earlier, I have had to replace the ignition. I was told by three different locksmiths that they had received a number of calls about ignitions being jammed that same week. I also have had difficulty with the transmission allowing the gear shifter to move from setting to setting with the slightest touch.

Now, my car is running very roughly and the engine light is flashing on and off. What's next? It's time to junk this car and find something more reliable. Perhaps it is time to look at other makers. Congratulations Ford, you have lost a customer.

7th Sep 2005, 18:05

I recently bought a 2000 Focus and I LOVE my car. My husband is a mechanic and has never had many Focus' in his shop. There is one thing though. The gas mileage isn't all it is cracked up to be. I wish I got 35 miles to the gallon instead of 23 or so.

6th Oct 2005, 17:14

Hello. I'm writing from Mexico. I own a 2000 Focus SE. Yes, I agree with some information that you give, but in general my car has been working in an excellent way. The regular maintenance is obvious, but, here in Mexico you can't trust on the dealers because the service sometimes is not the correct one, so you need to take care of use the best products for your car, like synthetic oil and good quality filters. Is necessary to mention that the recalls never appeared here. Or maybe I never knew about one. My car has 17 wheels and a lot of after-market equipment and I only have excellent comments of it.

20th Nov 2005, 20:00

I have had a number of small problems with my 2000 Focus SE. I find that it has a great engine, but the parts around it are a problem. Yes, I broke a coil spring after only one year. Also had the brake pads disintegrate on me. In a recent discussion I found out from the wife of a dealer that the 2000 is known as a lemon. So the question is, do I buy a new Focus or a VW Wagon for $10,000 more?

2nd Feb 2006, 18:35

I'm sorry, but I have to agree that the 2000 Focus has problems. I was "bought out" by Ford from a bad Windstar. This car was supposed to give me confidence in the Ford product. Honestly, there has yet to be a year that I haven't had a problem that cost me 500 or more every year since the warranty ran out. And this despite regular maintenance. The bad ignition, I have to admit, really grates on my nerves as I too was told by locksmiths AND MY LOCAL DEALER!!! that it is an all too common problem in the 2000 Focus. Yes, to the person who posted earlier, I DO acknowledge it was a first year vehicle. My problem is Ford's lack of action in handling the "bugs" they didn't work out of the vehicle. Basically, as soon as the warranty was done, so was their concern about the product despite obviously common complaints on this vehicle. Confidence in the Ford product? Not here, not until they start standing by their product, admitting the problems it has and taking some action besides ignoring it.

3rd Feb 2006, 09:45

While it was a "first year" model in America it was really a THIRD year model since it had been in Europe for a while.

That's why I recommended a friend buy it - it had proven reliability.

But, no, of course not. It's built in North America so we have to have the worst quality ever. My friend's car had 20 recalls and was in the shop at least 10 times. It had so many things happen to that wouldn't' have even been acceptable in 2000 much less 1980 that I will never recommend anyone buy a Ford again.

Fix Or Repair Daily. It's been their motto for decades and they still strive to maintain it.

23rd Apr 2006, 23:23

I think the car needs more power. I'm not sure why, but with my luck the rear tires popped the first day I bought it. it's a 2000 but runs like an 85. the ignition went out at 27k and the water pumped actually didn't go out until 78k. I wish I never bought the car, I should have got a civic, or something like it. the automatic windows are not working and a simple pot hole on the freeway caused my whole exhaust to fall off at only about 75mph. good luck to those with a focus.

24th Apr 2006, 11:02

To the above poster complaining about "Ford Haters": We don't hate Fords in general, we just hate the fact our 2000 Focuses were built EXTREMELY poorly. It isn't a question of "a bad car in the batch"...it's a question of the entire 2000 year being built like crap.

2nd Jun 2007, 23:00

Sure, there are some legitimate gripes about the 2000 Focus. I too had the ignition seize up on me. The locksmith that fixed mine had just gotten done with a Toyota Corolla, Dodge Neon, and a couple Hondas he said. That was most irritating. I had a vibration at about 85k miles when the engine was cold, turns out it needed new motor mounts. Everything else about the car works great. My Focus has been more reliable than others that have posted here. Great handling ride, always starts and runs great. No worries, don't plan on replacing it, especially with a Honda or Toyota or any of that crap. Check out some other opinionated sites where consumers post about their cars, the Japanese cars break down too and cost a whole more money and time trying to geth them fixed. At least when I do need parts they are readily available and affordable.

19th Jun 2007, 13:56

I own a 2000 Ford Focus SE and I agree that it is not the car to purchase. I have had mine for 2 years now now. I have had nothing, but electrical problems form the entire electrical system shutting down (power windows, electric locks, power trunk, etc) The ignition module also failed and and the key wouldn't even turn (ceased up). Engine light is always coming on even after bringing it to the dealer to be fixed. Engine sputters constantly. Maybe some people just have bad luck with Fords however this is my first Ford and it will also be my last ford. If it wasn't for extended warranty I would be out of Pocket $4000.00 Cdn. Thanks for listening.