general problems of the 2005 Ford Focus

The left lower control arm on the front suspension failed at approximately 45 mph on a 5 lane city road causing the wheel to fold under the vehicle. The car made an immediate left turn into oncoming traffic and control of the vehicle was lost. Fortunately the car came to a stop without hitting anything and no one was injured but the potential for a serious accident was certainly there. The control arm failed due to corrosion and upon inspection, it was found that the right front lower control arm is also rusted through and cracked and nearing failure as well. Pictures are attached. The car has approximately 105,000 miles on it and we are the second owner. It has been extremely well maintained throughout its life. In my 50 years of experience working on automobiles I've never seen a control arm failure like this.

Beginning last year, there have been multiple occasions when I was decelerating and the entire front end of the car would begin to vibrate and the steering would become difficult to handle. Took the car to an independent repair shop, they could not duplicate the problem, asked me to make note of road conditions, etc. Tires replaced sometime in the past year. Alignment performed within past two months. Tires are wearing in diagonal pairs oddly. Blew fuse which operated the automatic safety locks, cruise control and the locking control on taking the car out of park. Called Ford dealership, was told to pop small piece of plastic off the shifter deck and stick a screw driver in to be able to shift out of park. Was also told this could be a big problem and to bring it in. After charging me $130. 00 to "diagnose" the problem, they then charged me $10 to replace the fuse, could find no reason for it to have blown. Then told me my transmission fluid needed to be replaced. Too many dollars later, I left the dealership. Two weeks later, fuse blew again. Took to independent garage,$ 0. 95 for the fuse and $30 to try and figure out why it was blowing out, unsuccessfully. The shimmy in the front end was getting worse and I was debating dealership or independent, decision was removed from my hands when the front of the car began swerving toward traffic in rush hour at 45mph on Monday night 6/24/13. Suddenly, there was a loud noise and I managed to wrench the steering wheel to the right and hit a curb instead of oncoming traffic. Friend behind me witnessed incident and said the car looked like it jumped sideways. Both right tires off rims, shredded, unknown further damage at this point as the shop hasn't had a chance to make an assessment. My insurance company is already considering totaling the car out. It has 128000 miles or so. I feel like I have sideways whiplash. No airbag depl.

Went to pick my son up from school. Could not get key out of ignition. Took to a local mechanic and cylinders were replaced. That was in March. Got home today (may) and the same problem. Luckily have a driveway but I am annoyed and nervous about keeping this car. Fearful that the key may get stuck at an inopportune time.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Focus. The contact stated he was having a problem with the alignment and all four tires on his vehicle. The front tires are worn down and had to replaced more than once. The vehicle was never taken to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who replaced both tires again and realigned the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 144,000.

The steering wheel has been fall apart the last ten years, and your not covering it. Is that nother Ford better idea?.

I am the owner of a Ford Focus 2005 automatic. There has been numerous instances of the ignition key stuck in the ignition since January 2010. An auto locksmith was contacted key removed and ignition line replaced. Locksmith revealed that it is a regular occurrence in the Ford Focus ignition unit. July 2010 car loss power and carburetor replaced. July 2010: ignition key stuck again; difficulty in engine turning over. Ignition key was able to be remove one week later. Presently, ignition key is once again stuck unable to be removed and the engine sounds sluggish.

My key is currently stuck in my ignition. This has happened two times before. I went to take my key out of the ignition after turning my car off the key could not be removed. It has now been over 2 months and the key will not come out the ignition.