Three problems related to rear axle spindle have been reported for the 2002 Ford Focus. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Ford Focus based on all problems reported for the 2002 Focus.
I was driving home from work on the freeway when my brake light and traction control lights came on and it felt like my back end was fishtailing. I pulled off the road and called aaa. As aaa was towing my vehicle, the right rear wheel came off. The wheel could not be located and to my knowledge did not cause any accidents or injuries to other vehicles. It was determined that the rear wheel bearing had failed and the repair bill was in excess of $2,900, including the damage that occurred to the rear spindle, control arm and suspension. My vehicle is a 2002 Ford Focus. The previous 2 model years were recalled for rear wheel bearing failure.
I am not sure Ford has completly fixed the problem with the rear wheel bearings on the Ford Focus vehicles. I just had to take my car in to the dealer, because the complete wheel and hub asy just about came off the vehicle (wheel bearing failure). Could have caused a accident if the wheel came off, and possible injury to my wife.
The rear end of the car started to wobble, loose control and fish tail at a driving speed 0f 70 to 75 mph on a totally non slippery dry road. On wobbling, the car quit responding and started fish tailing eventually rolling over twice before it came to rest upside down down a hill. The police officer that investigated the crash site, looked into the tyre marks and verified that the brankes had been hit even before the car touched the fog line(wake up strip). The officer also made a note in his report requesting for an investigation into the rear axle of the car.