general problems of the 2000 Ford Focus - part 1

2000 Ford Focus se. Consumer writes in regards to engine and electrical problems.

The key would no longer turn in the ignition, leaving me and my baby niece stranded far away from home. We parked the vehicle and when we returned, we found ourselves stranded, because the ignition lock could no longer be operated. Apparently this is a known problem with Ford Focus locks!.

Tl- the contact owns a Ford Focus 2000. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that the vehicle started smoking heavily. The contact stopped the vehicle jumped out and flames were under the bottom of the vehicle near the engine. A police report was filed and the fire department extinguished the fire. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000. Am.

I was pulled over on my way home from work almost midnight, and was notified by the officer that I had no taillights, but my turn signals and hazard lights were working. The license plate light and running lights are not working either. In addition, several months ago the dashboard lights blew a fuse, and have repeatedly blown the same fuse. I saw that the wires on top of the hatchback, inside the rubber tube, are cracked and broken. I saw online that this is a recurring problem. There could have been an accident, as I work second shift and always drive in the dark. I don't know how long the lights have been out.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. While parked, the contact inserted the key in the ignition but the key could not be turned. The vehicle was towed an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing however, the mechanic advised that the vehicle would have to be taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the passenger side taillight would not illuminate. She also experienced other electrical failures on the passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the bulb was changed but the failure recurred. The manufactured was notified but they offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 224,000. Dt.

The key lock cylinder in my car failed to turn over one day. I was stranded for 3 hours due to a faulty lock cylinder and had to pay $540 dollars to get the part repaired. I called the Ford direct line for assistance and they refuse to accept responsibility for the issue. They acknowledged to me on the phone that they know this is a common issue, yet nothing can be done until a lawsuit, or recall is issued. I will never buy another Ford vehicle.

Put the key in ingition would not turn. Tried for over 2 hours. Had car towed to Ford dealer. Afterward saw online this problem happens alot on this model. This is a used car we bought for our daughter. She was stranded over 3 hours and 50 miles away. Ford knows of this problem and does not address it. This is unacceptable.

Engine compartment fire extending into passenger area, fire had started in the area of the driver side headlight.

I have a 2000 Ford Focus. Without warning, the key could not be inserted into the ignition and rendered the vehicle useless this evening. It appears Ford knows about this very common failure according to many owners (via online forums) with the same issue. Ford doesn't consider it a safety issue and hence not recall worthy. Consider this, when the failure occurred to my wife this evening after work, it was 6 degrees fahrenheit outside and dark too (and well into the negative digits with the wind-chill). This clearly seems like a safety issue in this regard for anyone. . . Luckily our 5 & 3 year old children were in the safety of indoor daycare at the time (what would have happened with two small kids late at night in a parking lot with sub zero temps?) according to a professional locksmith, this is a known issue and he fixed the same thing on another Focus this morning. He will be replacing the ignition cylinder with a non oem cylinder which will remedy the issue. The oem cylinder has known issues. The replacement cylinder (made by a different manufacturer does not) does not have the faulty mechanism the oem cylinder has. The steering wheel is also "locked" as a result of this failure to the ignition cylinder. I would "hope" that this failure wouldn't occur while the vehicle is driving down the road. Catastrophe could be the result.

Key will not turn to on position.

Like so many others my key gets jammed up it wont turn wont start the car and you get stuck where ever you happen to be at the time.

Due to a failure of the power lock actuators in a 2000 Ford Focus se (s/w), the passenger door and the rear passenger door have jammed door locks. The doors can not be opened any longer by key, by inside door opening handle or by the remote fob. The consequences are that the only egress from the particular car is via the 2 driver side doors, making half of the car unusable. Passengers who should enter via the functioning doors of the vehicle into the side of the vehicle with the jammed doors do not have an escape route in case of accidents that involve the functioning side of the vehicle. This is an extremely dangerous situation for any driver or passenger. An internet search for "focus jammed door" or "focus jammed door lock" returns numerous instances of the same problem, occurring on all Ford Focus doors including trunk/hatch. Drivers enter their vehicles through the passenger side or even through the trunk because some door locks are jammed due to failed power lock actuators, with all safety-related hazards and consequences. The jamming can occur at any time; there is no way to predict it and to take preventive measures. A repair is exorbitantly expensive due to the fact that the doors cannot be opened by key or door opening handle to gain access to and replace the power door actuator that is the cause of the jamming. Ford is neither willing to acknowledge this widespread problem nor participate in the cost of repairs, thus forcing people to take unacceptable safety risks. Because of the serious safety hazard that the jammed doors present and the unpredictability of an occurrence of the problem, a safety recall action should be initiated by the NHTSA to force Ford to make repairs free of charge.

2000 Ford Focus the car was being driven and had just pulled into our neighborhood when the ac fan stopped running and I noticed the smell of smoke. The car was pulled over immediately and turned off. Smoke started pouring out from under the dash board and burst into flames. 911 was called the fire trucks came and put the fire out. The entire interior is gone while the engine and drive train are fine. The car is totaled.

00 Ford Focus taillights not working. Found that Ford has a recall for the wire harness decklid. Took vehicle to a Ford dealership was told that my vehicle is not part of the recall. I've numerous recalls on this vehicle already. Vehicle was overheating. Was told by Ford dealership that needed a new radiator, cost me $800. When I picked up the vehicle it was still overheating, come to find out I only needed a new water pump.

Smelled smoke coming from vehicle and upon exiting vehicle fire was coming from the underneath of the engine compartment.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the power door locks stopped working. The contact noticed that the fuse for the power door lock had failed. He replaced the fuse, but the passenger front door failed to unlock. He did not experience any failures with the other doors. A dealer has not inspected the vehicle to determine the cause of the failure. The current mileage is 78,500 and the failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. He noticed that the wires would bend, fray and break when closing the rear liftgate. While closing the liftgate, the vehicle lost all electrical power to the rear wiper, washer and the top rear brake light which also caused the cruise control to become inoperative. He removed the sleeve and mended the wires together which caused the components to function correctly; however, the contact felt that if the wires continued to bend, the failure would recurr. He consulted the manufacturer about recall 00v411000 but was told that his vehicle was not included. The current mileage was 47,766 and the failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

The car had been driven 2-3 miles, then parked. About 15 minutes later the fire was spotted. Flames were 12 to 15 feet high before the fire dept arrived and put it out.

I purchased a car from mega motors on 10/3/06. On 10/04/6 the car cut off on me in the middle of the expressway. I took the car to the shop and a computer diagnostic test proved that the sensors are out on the car and that the transmission is out of range. I took the car back to mega motors on 10/05/06 and I also provided them with a copy of the diagnostic report. The company isn't doing anything to help me, all they are telling me is that they can't fix the car but I can come pick it up. I didn't have the car two days before it messed up on me in the middle of traffic. Ruiz auto shop said that the car is no good. I tried calling mega motors again but they just keep me on hold for a really long time. As a paying customer I feel like I was in danger for my life and I can't get the company to provide me with another car nor give me my money back, after two days of having the car. I contacted the bbb and found that this company has had nine complaints since 2003.

2000 Ford Focus zts, started to smoke from the fuse box, within 3 minutes the engine compartment was on fire and car was totally in flames. No warning signs, nothing odd about how the car ran. Just riding along and smoke starts and I pulled over ASAP and the car went into flames. Nothing was done to correct what ever problem it was. . . The car is destroyed. No one knows what caused the failure. When the car started to smoke, the smoke came from the fuse box on the drivers side. The smell of burnt plastic was smelled and as I stated before the car was in flames. I had just enough time to get out of the car and away from it.

: the consumer stated while traveling 40 mph the occupants started smelling electrical smoke. The occupants realized the vehicle was on fire in the dashboard; smoke was billowing out of dashboard. The consumer pulled the vehicle off the road and the occupants exited. The vehicle was extinguished, and then towed to the consumer home. There has been no inspection of the vehicle. The manufacturer has been alerted.

There is a leak in the resevoir for the radiator, electrical problem with the radio. The radio keeps losing power when going down the road. The master switch for the passenger window does not work, the rear passenger window assembly is broke leaving the window not able to stay up. There is a funny noise when driving down the road. It sounds like a crackly noise. Half of the time the heat will not work.

The contact stated there was an electrical problem. The dealer said it was a problem with the sensors within the fuel pump. The dealer said they would need to replace the sensors to remedy the problem. Due to the numerous attempted repairs that have not corrected the problem he was not going to have the vehicle repaired at this time. The contact already spent enough money having the vehicle repaired, and should not be out any more money for attempts to repair the vehicle.

The caller said automatic locks on the doors and trunk did not work. The keyless entry remote for the locks will not work to lock or unlock the vehicle. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were willing to provide any financial assistance.

While driving my 2000 Ford Focus, I came to a four way stop and the car ceased to work, as if I had turned off the key. . . No sputtering, just stopped. I restarted the vehicle and it lurched forward, died again, just as before. As I looked out the front windshield, I observed smoke coming from the hood of the car. I exited the car and flames were coming from the wheel wells. I immediately called 911. People began spraying water on the car from garden hoses, two people stopped with fire extinguishers and nothing put out the flames. When the fire department arrived, within 10 minutes, the entire front of the car was destroyed. Pieces in the engine compartment were melting and falling off the engine onto the ground. Police arrived to direct traffic. The car was towed to wendle Ford, and my insurance company removed the vehicle to their premises the next day. I still have no idea what could have caused this problem in a five year old vehicle with no prior problems. As I have seen several other incidents of fire in this vehicle, the government should make Ford motor company investigate why this is happening before someone gets killed!.

On Sunday the owner's wife made a right hand turn off of mentor onto hart street. The engine shut off like the key had been turned off and the engine burst into flames. The vehicle was towed to classic Ford but has not been looked at by the insurance company yet. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Both the fire and police departments were at the scene. The entire front of the vehicle has complete fire damage. There were no other vehicles involved. Prior to the fire there were no problems with the vehicle. The vehicle owner feels the fire was the result of a faulty electrical system.

I purchased a Ford Focus 2000 from john thorton on thorton road in lithia springs on or about 7/2005. I also traded in my Lexus 1991 vehicle which I had just fixed up for 2000. 00 and plus the dealer asked for a down payment of 1200. 00 which I gave, and I requested them to add a warranty which they did not in the contract. The vehicle was white and black inside. I drove smooth for about 4 months until one day as I was driving the vehicle cut off. I had the brakes redone, and some other work. I took the vehicle back to the dealer and they worked on it and charged me some more. Until I realized the mechanic called me name for pick up and he stated to me thinking I was another person, my vehicle is ready and it had 3 recalls on it in the past. I assume he meant me, and come to realize it was my car he was speaking about. Every since then, my car would cut off at stop lights and while I was driving. I was told by the dealer mechanic it has a short wire that can cause a fire and there is nothing they can do. I placed the car in ch 7 in bankruptcy in 10/05 and he no transportation except by bus and cab. Ford dealer in lithia springs, GA 30122 sold me a car with 3 recalls as part of the car's history. I don't know what else it involved.

2000 Ford Focus. Radio started turning itself on and off about 3 months ago. A/c started doing same this about 1 month ago (on same panel on dash). Now a/c will not work at all, but radio continues to turn itself on and off whether car is running or not.

Coming home from work my engine light came on , I took it to a friend and he check it and said it was as cylinder misfire he reset he code(?) and said that he didn't guarantee that it wouldn't come back on . It work fine the rest of the day , but when I was again coming home from work the next day it came on again ,I immediately turn around and took it to the garage where I get repairs done . He also said it was a cylinder misfire and suggests I replace my spark plugs and wires , he also cleaned something else and something iac ( you can tell I don't know squat about cars)I paid 149. 00 for this service . A day and half later I was back in the garage with the same problem (engine light on) this time he says it something with my transmission code and to call the CO. And see if there is or was a recall on it . Some thing about flashing the computer. I have only had this car since August 2004 and have trouble with all this and with the key not working but the car was still under a 30 day warranty and the car salesman took care of that problem. I am just wondering what next ,how much , money does not grow on trees around here. After reading all the complaints on this here website I wonder why I even bought a Ford Focus. I also have very squeal brakes constantly , and my rear passenger tire has a problem and my son won't even let me drive my car till I get it check out there is more money. My car only has 44,000. Miles on it.

While going 65 mph, a vehicle pulled off the ramp in front of the consumer. The consumer applied the brakes and they failed to work. The consumer lost control of the vehicle. All of the lights on the vehicles digital meters where blinking. The vehicle flipped three times and landed on the roof. Prior to the accident the vehicle had electrical and brake problems. All the digital figures on the dash would blink on and off.

Headlights/radio and electrical parts would come on and off on their own. Consumer drove vehicle to dealer for inspection, but mechanic could not duplicated the problem.

Events, just normal driving. Sway bar link disconnected causing sharp rightward pull at highway speed. Continued smelling of electrical burning from dash panel with intermittent instrument failure, and airbag lights flashing. Smoke came from the vent systems a couple times, but no fire noticed as of yet. Nothing has been done to correct failure, costs too much for me to have Ford diagnose the problem, $500+ for dash labour costs to pull it and inspect.

Very hard to put key into or remove from ignition, have not removed key in 8 years.

While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer restarted the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. Consumer informed the mechanic that the problem recurred, and had not been resolved.