Front Suspension Coil Spring problems of the 2000 Ford Focus - part 1

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, she heard a loud clunking noise and smoke emitted from the front end of the vehicle. The contact mentioned that after inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that both front coil springs and struts were fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who verified the failure and stated that the front coil springs, struts, and tires needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 80,000.

I was driving on the highway at about 50 mph and heard a loud pop. At first I believed it to be a tire blow out so I pulled over. On closer inspection, it was the left front coil spring that had broken and was rubbing against the tire. Had I not pulled over, the coil spring would have fully punctured the tire and caused a blow out. Ford issued an extended warranty for this issue but denied my request because my vehicle's extended warranty had expired the previous year. I don't understand why this is not a safety recall, a broken spring can easily cause an accident.

The right front coil spring on my 2000 Ford Focus has broken. This failure is due to a defect in the manufacture of these springs! Ford has admitted as much in their customer satisfaction program letter dated November 2004. This failure happened while my 18 year old daughter was driving the vehicle. Fortunately it did not result in a crash, but after reading some of the summaries in the other 88 complaints I believe that only by shear luck and the grace of god there have been no fatalities. I do believe that there have been some crashes and injuries, ( see complaints on front suspension in your database. I. E. Id no. 886337) as someone who works in the automotive industry I strive to maintain my vehicles to very high standards and this includes keeping them clean including the undercarriage. This is why if you were to inspect my vehicle you would not find any excessive corrosion anywhere on the car except the spring at the failure area. The failure occurred when my daughter was going over a speed bump.

Left front coil spring snapped, vehicle weight of sharp, broken remainder of spring against front tire while vehicle parked.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. While the contact was driving approximately 25 mph, there was a loud noise and suddenly the front driver side collapsed. The contact was able to continue driving with caution to an independent mechanic. The failure was contributed to the front driver side coil spring and strut. The technician also replaced both of the front strut assemblies. Recently, the front passenger side coil spring detached from the vehicle which caused the tire to blow out. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where both front strut assemblies were replaced twice. The rear coil spring was also defective. The coil spring and control arm were replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

The right front coil spring broke on my car and punctured my front right tire while it was parked. Luckily we were parked and the vehicle was not moving or it could of been very dangerous.

Car was turned on to return home from work. Hears a loud noise from front of car when put in drive. Car after that was rubbing on right front tire so didn't drive home. Left in work parking lot. Had towed to metcalf's auto clinic in dyer, in. Right front coil spring had broken. Asked why would that happen when miles are low 49k for 2000 Ford Focus se and garage kept. Attendant said Ford is aware of problem so I called Ford dealership in merriville in. Was told notices went out to inform owners of problem in Nov of 2004 and that an extended warranty was given to fix if problem occurred. Only I never received such notice. So now I am asking for Ford to pay for repair and they refused it saying it wasn't fixed at a Ford dealership. I was also told that you were notified when a notice was sent to me. . But when I called I was told only Ford has that information. So is a catch twenty two. Warranty offered by Ford is suppose to be for 10 years and 150,000 miles. So I fall under warranty but cannot prove I didn't receive notice and is their excuse for not wanting to re-imburse me for repair.

While the car was parked I heard a pop come from the car. Then part of the front passenger side coil spring fell out.

Went to back out of driveway and heard loud scraping noise. Found front coil spring broken and protruding into top of tire. Also, found a lot of rust under car by front tire. Severely gouged tire in just short distance in driveway. Car is at dealership for repair at this time. Presently car has only approximately 20,000 miles. If this had occurred at highway speeds, we would probably be dead!.

Driver side front coil spring snapped.

2000 Ford Focus; both front coil springs broken or coils overlapping.

Front coil spring broke and could have caused bad accident and injury. Coil spring where it broke was rubbing on front tire. Front end had been noisy and would sound like something bumping or not connected when on rough pavement or speed bumps. Had to have front coil springs and struts replaced, re-aligned.

We were driving our car (a 2000 Ford Focus) and had just pulled into our driveway, as we shut off the engine we heard a popping sound, but neither my wife nor I could decide if it was the car. About 30 minutes later my wife was going someplace with the car and when she had backed up we heard a scraping sound coming from the front end. Upon investigation we found that the driver's side coil spring had broken and a sharp pointed end of what was left was poked out into the tire, the tire did not blow, but could have if we were traveling at any significant speed. The coil spring should have been restrained by a clamp and a cup shaped plate, but the plate was not cup shaped at all. This seems like a defect and an unsafe thing that could result in injury or death to the occupants of the car. Ford has a known bad track record with springs, and there is a technical service bulletin that should be upgraded to a recall. Further, other models of Ford should be inspected to see if they also have this engineering design flaw with the spring base plate.

Own a 2000 Ford Focus, was backing out of a parking space, when I heard a loud noise from the front drivers side. Stopped the vehicle, got out to see if I hit anything, nothing was there, just smooth asphalt. Was very nervous about driving the vehicle after that. On my hour commute home I notice the vehicle drove differently, something didn't feel right. Also noticed a rubbing noise when turning the steering wheel. Drove as slowly as possible. Called my mechanic next morning, took it in to be looked at, two mechanics took a quick look and drove it. Both came to the conclusion the front drivers side spring coil had broke! mechanic informed me the vehicle was very unsafe to drive.

Was driving slowly (luckily), when the spring of the suspension broke on our Ford Focus se 2000 station wagon. This lead to shredding of the front tire. Ford replaced the 2 front springs for free indicating that they knew about this defect and chose not to fix it in advance despite the risk. Nevertheless, the same incident would have happened at 75 mph it is very likely that this would have lead to an accident with possible injuries/deaths.

Up to this time, the vehicle was running fine with no sings of any problems. I had just merged on the highway. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang. I thought a rock had kicked up and struck the bottom of the car. After exiting the highway and making a turn, I heard a "clunking" noise. After getting the car to the shop to check the problem, it was found that the front driver side coil spring had snapped. To repair properly, both front coil springs and struts will be replaced and the front end aligned. Only new replacement parts used for repair. I never heard of, or experienced this.

- the contact stated that while driving the 2000 Ford Focus with 98,000 failure mileage at 30 mph she heard a dragging sound and the vehicle began to smoke from the front passenger and driver sides. The smoke and dragging got worse, therefore, the contact returned home. The vehicle was raised, and the contact noticed that both driver and passenger coil springs were broken. The vehicle has been repaired. The consumer stated original coil springs were sent back to Ford to assist in possible reimbursement, however the Ford Focus was not listed in the recall notice provided. Update 05/04/07.

2000 Ford Focus tire blew out. Customer states she was informed after the repair of the vehicle that there was a silent recall on the coil spring. She stated that the coil spring broke causing the tire to blow out. The consumer stated she was notified by Ford that they were not going to be reimbursed for the repairs. The consumer provided a copy of the silent recall issued by Ford pertaining to the vehicle.

Driving on rt 80 at 65 mph the passenger front coil spring failed causing the coil spring to rub on the tire and damage it. However, the bf goodrich sidewall was strong enough to allow the car to be driven slowly to a Ford dealer about 1. 5 miles away. Both front coil springs were then replaced per the earlier NHTSA agreement with Ford. The coil springs were left with dealer. As the coil failure could have caused a high speed blow out, in my opinion, Ford should replace all 2000 to 2003 Focus front coil spring in stead of free replacement when they fail per Ford's 03m02 customer satisfaction program.

While leaving a parking lot, crossed a speed bump, at 5 mph, heard a loud clunk and the car would not easily move. Car was taken to a repair facility on a flatbed. Garage determined that the left front coil spring broke and bound up on the left front tire. The left front coil spring was replaced, as well as the left front sway link, which was also damaged by the broken spring. The broken spring is available for inspection.

The front left coil spring on my car snapped and lodged in the front left wheel, causing it to seize while driving at highway speeds. The car came to a rapid halt, and if I wasn't in the right lane when the incident occurred, an accident might have resulted. A few days before, I had heard a snapping sound from the left side of my car, but I noticed no immediate symptoms. Ford has determined that the coil spring was improperly manufactured, but no recall was performed. Ford's response (campaign 03m02, in response to investigation ea 02-023) was not adequate for the following reasons: 1. Ford's response states that the spring failure will cause "suspension noise, possibly accompanied by sagging of one side of the vehicle. " clearly, the failure that I experienced was not considered when determining if the situation warranted a recall. 2. Ford did not notify me that it knew that the front coil springs were defective. This left me without the information that I needed to recognize the failure and prevent further problems. 3. The spring was inspected by the dealer 7 months before the accident, but the corrosion was not spotted. This indicates that the dealers were not monitoring the spring, despite the fact that I live in a high-corrosion area.

While having the car serviced at a 'big-box' service department on July 16,2006 ,it was lowered to the floor,with a loud bang. . . The right front coil spring had snapped , with a part wedging the "new" front tire against the inner panel. . The other part of the spring damaged the strut assembly. . The service manager told me to contact a towing company --because the car could not be driven. . When my tow truck driver saw the car and dragged it off the lift . . He replied to me that I was lucky it did not happen at 65 mph or I would have been history. . Now, even with all--all new parts I don't know if I will ever feel safe driving it. .

I was parking when I heard a noise. The coil spring on the right front had broken. I drove to a gas station and had it repaired.

: the contact stated while traveling 25 mph, there was a loud pop as though something hit underside the vehicle. The steering then pulled to the right. The vehicle was driven to an independent repair shop that determined both front coil springs fractured and the springs were replaced.

Left front suspension spring broke after riding over a manhole cover at low speed. The vehicle made a grinding noise and it was parked in the nearest parking garage. The damaged tired had to be removed and replaced with the spare to move the car back out of the parking garage to be towed. This tire was also damaged (however, the damage was less severe). The car was then towed to the nearest dealership. The coil spring cleaved under the rubber shielding and damaged the left front tire. If this had occurred at highway speeds, the tire would have punctured and caused significant damage and possibly injury/death.

Front passenger spring broke, separated from the mounting bracket, embedded the end of the spring into the tire which punctured it. Vehicle required towing for repair. I was notified of an "extended warranty" on the problem and submitted a claim to the local dealership for reimbursement. After 5 months of follow-up, I finally received a check for the repairs.

: the contact stated while in reverse coming out of a parking space at 1mph a noise was heard rubbing against the tire. Upon inspection, the contact determined the front passenger side coil spring broke. The part with the rubber seal in the coil spring rusted causing the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who suggested contacting the NHTSA to file a complaint. The manufacturer has not been alerted.

Had car towed after loud noise coming from front end. Front coil spring broke while car was parked(??). Dealer replaced the spring at no charge under recall 03m02b (coil spring corrosion warranty extension). Dealer said could not replace rest of coil springs until/unless they break. Is it dangerous to drive around with possibly defective coil springs?.

Both front coil springs broke during normal usage. The springs, struts and one strut bearings had to be replaced.

1) no known events lead up to the failure. We had no warning. We did nothing unusual. 2) we were driving and heard a loud noise. We hadn't run over anything and the car appeared fine. Upon taking it to be looked at we found that we needed a new spring. We also found out that this is a very common problem in the 2000 Focus and also that the Ford taurus had the same problem. However the taurus was given a safety recall. I was informed by my mechanic that had the spring punctured my tires sidewall, I would have blown a tire and could have lost control of the vehicle, which, even at lower speeds is undesirable. 3) the mechanic put in a new spring, but thinks that the other spring may be more vulnerable now having beared the extra load. Also, he says our struts may have been compromised as well. . . I don't have a lot of money so he replaced the spring on the front passenger side and that is all for now.

Front passenger side coil spring broke and the sharp edge of the spring (created by the break) stuck into my tire causing a flat. The car came to a grinding hault. I was traveling at about 5-10 mph, turning down a side street. I had been on the highway 2 minutes earlier. If this happened on the highway it would have been very dangerous probably resulting in serious injury or death. When I talked to the service tech. At my local dealer he told me that it was a recall item but Ford did not send out notices and they were fixing the problem cars when they come in broken. The local Ford dealer replaced both front springs and the one tire that was damaged.

While driving, rolled over high-speed speed bump at about 25 mph, heard a loud noise. Afterwards, right front of car made very loud clicking noise as if it were binding during sharp turns at low speeds. Upon further inspection, found right front coil spring broken. Both springs had portions of the black coating missing, exposing rusty steel. Uncertain if driver's side spring broken. Broken right front spring tilted inwards, did not contact tire.

Front coil spring broke on passengers side, the spring was locked on the tire and ruined the tire. Goodyear had never seen anything like that, and Ford said they never had one come in like that. Goodyear said it could have been anything that made it break.

Without warning driver's side front coil spring broke . Ring that sits on top of coil spring that supports the car broke. Has not gone to dealer yet. Manufacturer has not been contacted. The consumer contacted the dealer and manufacturer and they informed the consumer that the part had been recalled. However since the consumer had the part repair at a non-Ford dealer they refused to reimburse the consumer for the repairs.

Contact states: right front coil spring broke, causing loss of control, damaging right front tire.