27th May 2007, 20:44
2000 zx3 owner. Junk junk junk. Bought it new and the transmission failed pulling out of the dealership. The rest has been a nightmare. I almost got killed when it died in the middle of the freeway from "bad battery cables"? $800 to repair!!! No more Fords for me.
30th Nov 2007, 00:33
I own a 2000 Ford Focus Wagon. Since we purchased it in 2001, we have been in for service at least 10-12 times. There have been numerous recalls. We were in a bay awaiting our tires to be changed when we couldn't turn the key. At first we thought it was the steering lock, however it turned out to be the ignition lock. Towing cost us $30. and the warranty we paid for did not cover the expense of the parts replacement. We dished out $120.00 for that repair. The radio shuts off on its own. Seems to me that this may be an electrical issue?? Over the last few years, repairs have cost us thousands of dollars. Each time we take it into the dealer, they find a new problem.. can I say gauging!!! Labour cost us 100./hour with the warranty not covering much at all for any of the work done. We mailed Ford Canada a letter to complain. They paid for our warranty which never did cover any of the repairs. Never again will I buy a ford as the company obviously does not stand by their product. They truly have lost a customer.
31st Oct 2006, 07:50
I am sooooo tired of putting up with my Ford Focus 2000 (SE). Not to mention the fact that it's has at least 5 recalls, the car is made out of Ford excrement, and not even put together very well at that.
So far, I have had two very significantly dangerous things happening to my car that ended up being recalled several months AFTER it already happened to my car. Here is a list of issues that I've had, a few of the issues being covered under a recall:
-Stalling while making a right hand turn during acceleration (if gas tank was under 1/4 full) - they didn't even have a part to replace the fuel pump until months AFTER this was happening to my car! I had to wait for them to MAKE a brand new fuel pump to replace their poorly designed one. (I live in NJ, and w/all the ramps and u-turns and jughandles, this is the WORST place to have a problem like this, except maybe NY City.)
-Front coils rusting and breaking because they didn't put enough SLIP COVERS over the coils. Pathetic.
-Ignition lock locking up (had to have it towed and get it replaced. My mechanic walked down the street to see if he could jiggle the key around, but the usual tinkering wouldn't work.)
-Starter & battery dying (just happened to me 3 mos. after the ignition lock being replaced, but now the key gets stuck on the starter due to the NEW ignition lock, so it has to be fixed again. God knows I am NOT paying for that. I am going to have to fight with my mechanic.)
-Tire tread wearing WAY too fast. (I think the way the car is designed, they just wear too fast. The Focus also is too affected by wind when driving.)
-I know my transmission is going... the Focus I'm driving tries to slip into the next gear too quickly (engine revs randomly to try to switch into the next gear, as if I'm pressing hard on the gas, even when I'm just tapping it to give it a bit more gas to accelerate.) Plus, my car recently stalled when trying to switch from Reverse to Drive, then it started ITSELF quickly w/o me turning the key. :-|
My friend says I need an exorcist, not a mechanic.
NOTE: I did a little book report when I was much younger on the Model T Fords. When Henry Ford started the Ford company, he wanted to make the cars so they could be easily fixable, even by common lay people. Now Ford not only makes it impossible to do so (no doubt technology is too much for most people to keep up with), but they make the Focus so poorly, that it's a wonder they even still have so many customers.
Ford discourages me from wanting to buy anything American, though I wish that wasn't so... I believe in supporting our economy. But how can I with such crappy merchandise? The Ford Focus is an argument against buying anything American.