Ford Focus Sedan

mdaffron

ANOTHER RECALL?

http://www.auto.com/industry/focus16_20020416.htm

Meade

seminole_kev

that was a pre-release defect that applies to the SVT Focus only. Doesn't effect any of the regular Focus's out there.

vocus

It still counts against the car. That means it has had 8 recalls since its debut, not a good sign.

seminole_kev

let me know when the Pro appears in as many models and sells in as many numbers and will see if it gets close in recalls or not ;-)

seminole_kev

that it's not good.

but it's still the best selling car in the world with 5 different versions and a few on the way.

monaco2

The NHTSA just opened Safety Investigation #5 on the 2000-2001 Focus. Nine recalls, five safety investigations; do you think Ford believes that bad publicity is better than no publicity?

Perhaps it's their innovative No-Cost Advertising Plan. Hey, don't laugh, they haven't had problems selling them, so far.

tiredofmanual

In other countries, the Focus has proved to be extremely reliable. I posted a while ago about it being the most reliable car sold in Germany. Unfortunately, the North American Foci aren't screwed together in the same factory as the German ones. Focus sales have been slipping in the US, but then again Accord sales have dropped significantly as well.

fdthird

You know, I know the Focus in America has had teething problems, but I still think its a good little car.

My son's 2001 SE Sport is just a year old and Mr. College has put over 14,000 trouble free miles on it.

Last week, my wife's 2001 Taurus was at the dealer waiting for a new window part and they gave us a 2000 Focus SE to us for about 4 days. This too was a great little car and we enjoyed putting 250 miles on it.

Some have definitely had problems but I have to think that the vast majority of the owners have enjoyed their rides.

seminole_kev

on a 2000 Focus ZTS and it's been great. But I know that doesn't mean that everyone else's have been fine. The Civic's had more than it's fair share of recalls too, but I don't hear much about it. Corolla/Matrix/Vibe have already started having some but you won't hear about it on CNN. Ford has been in the spotlight following the Firestone deal, so I guess it's to be expected.

imprtlvr

The whole Ford line has quality problems, Focus/Mustangs/Explorers/Rangers have been recalled at a higher average than most other cars out there, certainly more than the imports. GM is just as bad. They both make good trucks, but not cars. Outdated styling also. Check out the gov. highway & transportation vehicle recall website and check it out.
Oh, and Accord sales have slipped b/c of the redesign of the Camry and the Accord is at the end of its design cycle. I've never heard of anyone leaving Toyota or Honda for a Taurus, sorry!

mdaffron

"Let me know when the Pro appears in as many models and sells in as many numbers and will see if it gets close in recalls or not."

First of all, number of units sold should have no bearing on recalls. Sure, it has something to do with the number of problems customers experience down the road, but cars -- I don't care how many -- shouldn't be rolling off a modern assembly line with defects. That indicates quality control problems at the factory, whether you're producing ten cars a day or a thousand.

As many models? Well, lessee here ... the Protege comes in DX, LX and ES models with two different engines and a sport wagon, and there was a souped-up MP3 version this model year and there will be the MazdaSpeed version to complement the lineup next model year. That appears to be five models each year as well.

Meade

seminole_kev

thanks for spliting hairs. I was talking about 3-doors, 5-doors, Sedans, Wagons, and a very differnt sport version in the SVT. Not trim levels like SE, ZTS, LX etc. If you want to play that game you're silly.

If you want to include future models, the Focus has more coming out than the Pro does. The thing is I like the Pro, but am tired of this superiority complex you have. Especially when the next Protege's going to be a Focus with a mazda logo on it.

By the way the number of units sold can influence recalls as you may have to go through a couple of diferent subcontractors for parts, increasing the risk of geting bad parts.

mdaffron

Don't kill the messenger. I'm not making this stuff up -- I'm merely repeating what's being reported by the automotive press. What you call a "superiority complex" is really just plain satisfaction in feeling I made the right choice in a reliable car, based on my past experiences with Ford-built products and the FACT that Ford is having quality control problems right now. And not just with the Focus.

BTW, the next-generation Protege won't just be a rebadged Focus. The engine will be Ford, but most of the rest of the car will be Mazda. Want to know why that kind of thing scares me? Go over to the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute Problems topic and read to your heart's content. That new-design, trendy vehicle that Ford gloated so much about currently occupies an honored spot on Consumer Reports' latest "Used Cars to Avoid" list.

Again, don't kill the messenger just because I like to stay informed and make decisions based on research. Current research does not favor Ford products, and I cringe to think that my reliable Protege may -- MAY -- suffer a fate similar to the Tribute's once Ford's engine goes into it.

Respectfully,

Meade

seminole_kev

yes sir!

mdaffron

Leaving you to your own devices, my liege. Now go forth and sin no more!

;-)

Meade

tomcat630

2005 Focus is to be a collabaration of Ford, Mazda, and Volvo. I heard this in some Auto websites.

Ford Europe will do chassis, Mazda supplies the drivetrain, and Volvo does safety equipment.

If a used Focus has had all if its recalls done, wouldn't all the "factory bugs" then be gone?

seminole_kev

it would still be a Ford.

tomcat630

OK, that's fine with me.

tiredofmanual

...Is the biggest bug of all (wheres the rolleyes emoticon when you need it?). Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go thank my preferred diety for the miracle of having a Ford product NOT fall apart the second I drove it off the dealer's lot (I'm still rolling my eyes...).

fdthird

I'm not having a good day and you bozos are not helping!

seminole_kev

cheerup! We're only being sarcastic. I really like both my Focus's.

tiredofmanual

Yeah, Kev and I both love the Focus. In fact both of us are struck with the Focus bug and actually spend money we don't have to on our Foci. I have a performance exhaust going into my Focus this weekend. With the intake I already have on it, it's gonna sound awesome!

mltomek

I am so glad i chose the Toyota Echo over the Ford Focus. Agreed, the Focus has a fancier compartment and more funky features---but AFTER reading Consumer Reports, test driving the Focus, and having 2 out of 3 friends with extensive recall and mechanical probs on the Focus' i am SO HAPPY to be driving a TOYOTA ECHO!!!!! My buddy's wife shut her door last summer on her leased Focus and the WHOLE back window fell out. And i hear the wheels fall off when salt from the plowers touch the Focus. Ford can keep their crap--and so can ALL the American junk makers. I may be American, a damn PROUD AMERICAN--but i won't buy CRAP!! Ford--Quality is job NONE.

mike(catch me in the echo room here at edmunds)

p.s. trade in the crappers berfore they get 50k on them an no one wants them. I will say one thing--Ford sure knows how to market CRAP--AND even sell it!!!

seminole_kev

check the protege sedan topic on the echo's resale value. Almost identical to the Focus after two years. Glad you got a great handling, good power for its class, car. Where's that rolling eyes smiley face when you need it....

I don't understand compairing a sub-compact commuter car (which Toyota does best) against a compact that has class leading ride and handling (protege's right there too). It's like saying "Gee I'm so glad I got that Corolla over the Audi A4" Huh?

fdthird

I am SO HAPPY I don't own a Toyota Echo!! I don't know who was out to lunch when they designed that car but it has to be the ugliest car on the road. First of all it looks like it was squeezed and that's how the shape was made. Its too high vrs the width! Then, who's bright idea was that dash treatment??? If you told me they sold those cars at K-Mart, I'd believe it! Looks like Toyota designed it for a remake of one of the Godzilla movies! Reminds me of the "funny" cars Toyota built in the 60s.

Oh...I think I'll go to the Echo board and tell all those people who bought that car what an ugly car I think they've got. I mean, obviously they have no taste or they would not have bought something that looks like it was designed by people wear blindfolds!

mltomek

as if the ford fucus is an audi---lol!!!---maybe in comparison to reliability the Focus scores just abut as well as an audi a4---both are piss poor in quality and reliabilty tests and STUDIES!! looks are very subjective---i prefer the Focus's interor and the Echo's funky body style-----but wht is OBECTIVE and PROVEN is the Focus's HORRID quality record. that CAN'T BE HIDDEN. The only thing Ford desgns well is the F-series trucks---and now that Toyota makes the Tundra the experts will SOUNDLY tell you there is no reason for anyone buying a F-series. Like i said looks aside, the Echo will outlast a Focus anyday in regards to durability,QUALITY, and workmanship. The only Ford i will ever own again is the festiva---as it is a mazda(all mazda--none of this crap like tying a junker/quality as bad as the Focus, Escape to a mazda Tribute badge--mazda is shooting itself in the foot allowing this crap with their name on it) and the lil' festiva ran forever and still runs. Japanese cars outlast american cars 3 to 1. and i don't feel bad buying them, as alot are being made here with AMERICAN workers. it is almost time b4 Toyota knocks out dodge in sales, then ford then gm--toyota almost knocked dodge out last year in sales. people are wising up---they want their transportation dollars to go as far as possible. and the Focus is a poor car in relation to quality and as an example of getting large amounts of quality for ANYONE'S hard earned work dollar. the Focus handles well,rides nice, has decent pep---BUT improve the quality to a toyota and i might buy. i'm not talking looks--only quality, and the lack of, on ford's part, for this otherwise SWEET automobile. until they can get it right, i am a Japanese buyer 110% everyday.

mike

p.s. poor volvo------quality is horrid now that ford bought them out. hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

also i work with people in MI---many are out of work and all tell me it's because lack of QUALITY from american junkmakers---not the american people. wake up gm, ford, n Daimler Chrysler.

seminole_kev

good to have such an intelligent poster aboard. Welcome!

tomcat630

What statistics prove that Volvo quality is nay better or worse now that Ford owns them? It's always "Well I heard someone, who knows someone..."

vocus

Go read the Volvo S40 board. The 2000 models. when they first came out, were nothing but problems.

seminole_kev

which had been out in Europe before the release here in the states is that it's more Mitsubishi than Volvo. It's basically a Mitsubishi Charisma with some different body and interior.

vocus

I know that. I thought it would have something to do with the parts though, because they do have different assembly points right? Just curious.

The S40 came out in 1996 in Europe and just debuted here in 2000.

seminole_kev

but when did Ford by Volvo's car division? Though it was 1996 or later. I believe the (European) Carisma and S40/V40 are both produced at a plant Belgium if I remember correctly.

vocus

I know the 40 Series is built in The Netherlands. Don't know about the Charisma though.

schmide10

Oy, I haven't read such flaming babble in a long time. Thank you for reminding me what ignorance is, I don't get enough of that in my daily life as it is.

By the way, 2000 Ford Focus ZTS, 42,000 -- not a single problem. Nada. Zilch. Zero. And to think I'm one of those "experimental" batch of people who got the first generation car, yeaaaahhh.

Love this car, I don't know how you can compare the focus to the Echo. Lots of offense intended, but I don't care how well the Echo drives, it looks like a turd with 4 wheels on the road.

I'd go for a hybrid like the Insight or Prius before the Echo... at least they have an excuse for looking like they were made by slightly geometrically-inept engineers.

Ok there's my post of the month, goodnight my Focus brethren.

seminole_kev

found several sources that repeated the same thing as below:

(From an article about the current Mitsubishi Carisma)
It is manufactured in a Dutch factory "Nedcar" that is jointly owned by Mitsubishi, Volvo and the Dutch government.

tiredofmanual

Every single Ford Festiva sold in North America was built by a little South Korean company you may have heard of: KIA. Gasp!

mltomek

the ford festiva was "put together" by KIA with all mazda 1-2-1 parts---nothing was kia and nothing was ford-----they ONLY PUT IT TOGETHER!!!! the festiva is a very well made car---cheap interior but the engines n powertrain run forever!!! hence the reliability. i could care less what the echo or focus looks like, a turd on 4 wheels or not---the echo is a superior, much higher quality automobile than the focus. ford can't make dependable cars(thry do ok on trucks)---unless it is an escort(aka mazda). i am sorry to break it to you focus owners. the toyota echo will go thousands of miles further than a "typical"ford focus, statiscally speaking. toyota has the reputation(accurately proven) for the most dependable, longest lasting cars on the planet. ford is known for recalls, safety issues, and huge quality gaps. i am sorry to break it down to you---even the 2001 focus's are coming in with major mechanical probs. JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ford---quality is job NONE.

mike

mltomek

don't take my word for it----the major car experts will tell you----the focus is a great car, i.e. great performance n nice interior n options----BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, the reliabilty has been horrid from beginning to now. check out Consumer Reports,UNBIASED and ACCURATE, reports!!

mike

windowphobe6

For the vast majority of people, "unbiased and accurate" means "agrees with me".

Being the generous soul I am (and not wishing to incur the wrath of the nearest Town Hall host), I won't utter the dreaded word "sludge" here.

And I speak as a person who drove a Toyota (one Toyota, literally) for twenty years and was very impressed by the two Foci I got to drive recently.

mltomek

the ONLY toyota even possibly connected to SLUDGE is the Sienna---and that is FAR from being FULLY researched and reported on. No carmaker is 100% on the money for every make but Toyota is years closer than Ford i do admit!! It appears some folks ACTUALLY do their homework before posting. as far as ford quality can we say Focus, Windstar, Taurus, The WHOLE car line!!! the word sludge doesn't have the same meaning now does it!!!

please don't get angry when accurate sources alert you to the lack of quality on the focus' behalf. simply admit it, and enjoy your Focus. it's not your fault---Ford put it together!!

p.s. Consumer Reports ROCKS!!!

mltomek

#2954 of 2959 Smoothness of ECHO by kneisl1 Apr 27, 2002 (07:07 am)

The ECHO is so quiet, smooth, and vibration free that I inadvertantly went 106 mph in mine in the NJTPK while passing a driver who was going 60 in the fast lane and refused to pull over. In fact he tried to block anyone who tried to pass him. I just put my foot on the floor until he was in the rear view. He tried to match my speed for a few minutes, then gave up. I thought "Gee I must be going 80, good way to get a ticket" Imagine my suprise when I looked at the speedometer! My new boss has a Ford Focus. I told her FORD means Found On the Road Dead, which is true because shes had it back in the shop six times in the eight months shes owned it! Latest problem: car goes 75 on the freeway then decelerates to 0. Pushing on the gas pedal doesnt help. Reason (found after three trips to dealer) debris in fuel line from factory. I have not heard that Toyota has any plans to discontinue ECHO. Anything you may hear otherwise is urban legend. Im hoping they will build a car like the VW Polo, which has a one liter, three cylinder turbo charged diesel engine. They call it the "three liter" because it gets 100km to three liters of diesel. Im very fond of the ECHO, but when VW imports the Polo, Im gone. (unless they make a diesel ECHO) Mileage just hit 10k, only things to do so far is rotate the tires and change the oil! I will bleed the brakes and clutch cylinder at the two year mark this November. I feel like the Maytag repair man with this car!

tiredofmanual

The Echo is a great, wonderful, and marvelous automobile and I'm happy that you like yours, but this is starting to get old. You obviously do not like the Focus and hold a grudge against Ford. Can we just leave it at that and move on?

windowphobe6

If he'd done his, he'd know that (1) the sludgemeisters are trying to tar the Camry with the same sticky brush and (2) I don't own a Focus, though it was my second choice last time I went car-shopping. But hey, who said this was about research?

The most useful Focus reports I've seen, actually, were the two long-term tests by Automobile and Car and Driver, magazines which adhere to the absurd notion that cars ought to be enjoyable. Automobile reported some annoying problems with their particular Focus; C/D didn't experience them. But the more valuable information was what it was like to live with these cars for thirty or forty thousand miles in rapid succession. And, unlike some of the Town Hall denizens, automotive writers tend not to have a pathological fear of service shops.

pat

Folks, let's take this continuing Echo talk to the discussion where it belongs, and leave this conversation to the Focus. Be sure to check out the Sedans Comparisons board if you'd like to set up an Echo vs. Focus comparo.

Thanks.

Pat
Sedans Host

djp2c

Just got a recall notice on my Maxima is seems the gas pedal is defective and dangerous.

Did you read about it in the Media. No because they are busy catering to the European and Japanese manufacturers

Also the so called testers that review new cars are very biased. They get free trips to Japan and Europe many many times.

They are called perks and the testers are called jerks.

Their obvious corruption is a detriment to the industry

konrados

I am experiencing some excessive engine vibration in my 2001 Focus ZTS (with the Zetec engine). It only happens when the engine is hot
Interestingly this symptom goes away once A/C is turned on (I believe that this is due to higher RPMs)
I took the car to a dealer a few times and they flushed the PCM module and replaced one of the engine mounts but nothing seems to have improved.
Does anyone have similar problem with their Focus?

bjones8

OK PEOPLE, LETS GET THIS STRAIGHT; THE FOCUS IF A WONDERFUL CAR ONLY IF ITS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR (EG. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A FULL-SIZED CAR YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE SATISFIED WITH THE FOCUS) AND I SEE THAT SOME OF YOU ARE COMPARING TO CAMRY'S AND OTHER LARGER CARS THAT AREN'T IN THE SAME CATEGORY SO YOU GUYS NEED TO GET INTO THE RIGHT CHAT AND BY THE WAY THE FOCUS IS FAR BETTER THAN THE ECHO (OR WHATEVER: SEE I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SPELL IT) THE ECHO LOOKS LIKE A .......... THERE'S NO WAY TO DESCRIBE IT ITS PLAIN UGLY AND YOU KNOW IT TOO. AND THE ECHO HAS WHAT, 13 INCH WHEELS OR IS IT JUST THE HORRIBLE LOOKS THAT MAKE IT LOOK THAT WAY; I DON'T KNOW. AND THE ECHO HAS THE GUAGE'S (SPEEDOMETER, TACH,ETC.) IN THE CENTER AND C'MON THAST NOT ATTRACTIVE. THE ECHO HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST INSURANCE RATINGS BECAUSE IT HAS NO POWER BUT ON THE OTHER HAND THE FOCUS ATLEAST AND CAN MOVE ITS SELF. WELL BASICALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT TYHE FOCUS IS 200 TIMES BETTER THAN THE ECHO AND ALL OTHER CARS IN THE COMPACT CAR CLASS (THE SENTRA FOLLOWING CLOSELY) AND THE FOCUS RULES; IT HAS EVERYTHING; LOOKS POWER, FEATURES, SAFETY, AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. WELL THAST ALL I HAVE TO SAY SO HOPE TO READ RESPONSES SOON.

randyrhodes

He is driving an Echo because that is the only car he could afford, and now has to tick everyone off to make himself feel better. Now I know why I stopped checking this Edmunds stuff. I have enough crap to deal with at work, I don't need it on the net. Goodbye

theparallax

That was a very mature and educating post.

wgas