Ford Focus Hatchback ZX3 - Part XIV

tickbitty · October 2000

the 2.0 zetec is standard on the NA ZX3 so at least the mileages that you hear from the US folks on here should all be for the same engine. The worst mileage I get is around 27, for all about town driving. Mixed is more often like 33, and I have gotten as high as 39 for almost all highway. I believe some on here get worse mileage, but that is my experience.

fordfocuslover, don't be so harsh. Vadp was correct about the size of the cars, a couple of the others were wrong. No need to call names.

robbieg2 · October 2000

Check this out . . .

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001017/us/ford_recall_2.html

run4life · October 2000

Carlady- you are right on when you say that a large number of the people who lurk and monitor this site are really interested in finding out any serious problems with their chosen car. They, for the most part, have purchased a small car that will provide an economical response with quality operation at a price they feel comfortable paying. Most have no interest in expanding its horizon in either looks or response. If we wanted a race car, we would have bought the expensive auto either foreign or otherwise and we would have the sense to know we had to pay the price. No amount of cosmetics will ever make it look like anything other than what it is and life will go on with or without such changes.

I have always been in the range of 33-39 miles per gallon depending on where I am driving. I will admit, that I do not speed nor do I try to get to the next red light before the guy behind me. I have had no problems that I am aware of except for this recall on the back wheel falling off. I have had less than adequate response on this issue. I informed the dealer long before he knew a problem existed and he ordered the parts but after more than a week they have not arrived. This is not good especially since I am off to Cape Cod from NC in the next day or so with or without the fix. Hopefully, there will be no problems, but in the event of an accident, Ford will be in deep trouble and my next of kin will be rich. I contacted Ford by email and they said they would respond in three days or less--no response and so much for boiler plate software. No word and life will go on. I intend to live until I die..ha!

I have about 5500 miles on the car and am very happy with its performance thus far. Let's hope that this rear wheel problem is not much of a problem in real life. Hope that we can all say we had a great experience with our Focus come time to trade, but in any case, life is far more important than to worry about a car and we should enjoy each day and live it to the fullest. Life is a beautiful event and is too important to be subject to the small details. Live it!

radnorz · October 2000

I took my black '00 ZX-3 in for the recall and was told that, upon inspection, the wheel bearings "...looked fine" - no fix required. Am I getting snowed? Is the fix mandatory? On a separate note, to correct a difficult to shift/gear jump-out condition, the service manager has determined that the shifter cables need to be adjusted. Unfortunately, the dealer is unable to do this b/c they do not have the required "shifter centering clip" in stock. It is very annoying since, at stops, the clutch seems to not stay fully-disengaged (I must shift into neutral at every stop - not fun on inclines in traffic). Anybody experience this particular problem?

radvlik · October 2000

cobie:

I have a 2001 with the 5-speed and about 2000 miles on it. I'm averaging 32 with a low of 27 (first tank) and a high of 35. I drive about 75% highway, 70-80 mph. I was curious if the 16 inch wheels would give more rolling resistance reducing mileage? I haven't had any problems with mine, except for a bad stone chip on the hood. It's bad enough I want to get it fixed (dent and chip through the paint). oh well...

hkoenen2 · October 2000

have the automatic. When new I averaged 24 mpg in combined. After they replaced the transmission I am up to 27 mpg combined. The best I ever got was 31 mpg all highway steady 65 mph. Now, before you blame my driving habits on this poor mileage, consider that on my last car, a 96 Dodge Stratus I was averaging 29 mpg.

So I ended up paying 15k for a much smaller car with lower mpg, lots of repairs (see previous posts) but somewhat better handling.

Having to do it again, I put a bit of money into the old Stratus and drive it till the seat falls out. That doesn't sound bad considering I am waiting for my rear wheel to fall off (waiting for the parts for 5 days now)on my Focus.

pcleveland2 · October 2000

Did lots of research before buying the ZX3. Knew it was a new model (Consumer Reports recommends not buying first year new models) and brought it anyway. Caught by surprise by first recall, but no problem (Wish I had that injector pressure sensor back, as I got better mileage with it). Second recall no problem as they caught it before anything happened.

Am I still happy with my ZX3. Yes! It is everything everybody said it was. Got to be a few bad ones out there, glad mine has held up. Feel your pain if you got a bad one. There are bad Hondas, VW, Alfa's, BMW, Audi's and so on.

Pat

silyboy · October 2000

fordfocuslover, in reference to your doubt that the 5 door is coming- there have been multiple news reports, including autoweek, that have ran articles stating they are bringing the 5 door to the NA market....... here is a link for an image of the article
http://pages.about.com/focuszx3/focus_5door_story.jpg

kernick · October 2000

I am not an auto professional, but I love autos and read as much as I can. I also don't own a Focus, so I'm not going to comment specifically on that.
But please take a look at the problems Ford has had. These are not minor issues. Most are major items. If someone would like to pick any other brand and put up a compareable list I would like to see it.
1) Ford 4.6 and 5.4 liter engine head failures
2) Explorer design contributing to Firestone tire failures
3) Bad ignitions (recent California recall of millions of cars)
4) Mustang Cobra - not safety, but badly missing performance so much that 2000 models cancelled; no 2001 yet
5) Now 3 recalls on the Focus. What's 1 - the rear wheel can fall off? Great!!

I'm not going to say go look at a Honda, Toyota, ... etc. But pick anything else. Ford can say "Quality is Job 1" all they want, but these are major issues, not squeaks, rattles, or loose plastic.
Former owner of '82 Escort (timing belt broke at 13K requiring engine replacement), '88 Escort (weak engine and auto. trans.), and '91 Taurus (paint wore off in 2 years). All were problems.

michman · October 2000

I have a manual with 5500 miles. My commute is almost all highway. My average fuel economy is about 31, with a high of 32. Somehow, my heavier contour with the same powertrain averages over 35 on the same commute and has gotten as high as 38.

What would people here trade to get better fuel economy? Any one else interest in a Focus model along the lines of the Civic HX, that is similar performance with improved fuel economy?

fordfocuslover · October 2000

Hey do any of you belong to the Ford Focus group on e groups? Or the Zetec list? just curious. check it out www.egroups.com

fordfocuslover · October 2000

I don't care what the magazines say....Ford has NO plans for a 5 door at this time. Let me just tell you I have inside information. OK?!

kostamojen · October 2000

Yes, the wider and lower profile 16" wheels do increase the grip and handling performance, but I'm not sure how good the tires are (but when I test drove a Kona with the same tires, they were great!)

jimmyfocuszx3 · October 2000

I remember "Follow the leader, he's ON a Honda" referring to motorcycles. Since you brought up the topic of 80's commercials. Do you remember "Some cars not for use with some sets"? or how about "If you've got the time, we've got the beer"? Damn those slogans of yesteryear were catchy.

Jimmy

zx3beast · October 2000

i guess my service writer had it right.ford to recall all focus.they can keep my z as long as i have a free ride with their contour.amazing how no
planning went into expediting one simple little nut
for availability to perform recall work.
kernick has it right,quality is job1 according to
ford.i hate to see job 2. i dont care how much i like the z, i say ford blew it in a big way.they
absolutely underminded consumer confidence with
this latest deal.they reap what they sow.

fgaydos · October 2000

Well, my dealer has the parts in stock buy cannot get an appointment till next Thursday.
Will drive gingerly till then.
Also, fuel gage acts up after I fill the tank. Very odd.

bam063 · October 2000

I just spent two weeks in the UK, and England is crawling with 5-door foci. I think I saw one or two wagons, one sedan and just a few 3-doors. The 5-doors are great looking cars, and they really split the difference to offer the best of a sedan (a real back seat) and a wagon (the hatch). And they come in trim packages from basic to luxurious, with a selection of engines, interiors and the works.

And when they start selling them over here, maybe they'll bring a few pumas to sell too....

existenz · October 2000

I am somewhat feeling a certain shift in the tone of the mesages here over tha past month or so. Is this the recall?? If this is the case, you people are wrong. There were rapturous comments at the begining and now this... I think both of these approaches are wrong. One cannot expect a PORSCHE or Jaguar (whatever one prefers) from a 15k (or indeed a 25k car) car!!!! The bottom line is that Focus is and will remain the best car in in its class and price range . Moreover - it handles much better than quite a few cars that are like 10k more pricey than ZX3.
Well, to make things shorter here are my points:
1) this car has done really well in Europe (I am from over there myself and ZX3 was my first choice since I came here), I would chose it even if I could afford a 10k more expensive car (my option in that case would be Saab 900), I do not see any reason why it should not do well in North America.
2) Recalls - so what? - Audi, BMW, etc. - all have suffered and will suffer from this and some in a major way.
3) common complaints - well (knock on wood) but my only personal concern was fuel consumption during the break in period (now its fine), and some tire vulnerability - three punctures in 6 months due to minor(!!!!!- really) curb contacts
4) I realize that most of us LOVE the car and want it to be perfect. Lets be more realistic - it has and will have its faults but its still stands out on the background of the overall dullness of American car market and certainly delivers as far as technical aspects are concerned.
Thanks. It was to long

)))))

jwkessler1 · October 2000

radnorz commented - "It is very annoying since, at stops, the clutch seems to not stay fully-disengaged (I must shift into neutral at every stop ... Anybody experience this particular problem?"

This isn't related to the shifter. Some early models suffered from a bad seal in the clutch master cylinder. As I recall a few folks were even able to see bits of the seal floating in the reservoir, which is shared by the brake system.

The result is the clutch would slowly engage while you held the pedal to the floor. Get thee to thy dealer!

zx3beast · October 2000

recalls,so what? the folks in this forum bought a focus,not an audi or bmw. another mfg, recalls has nothing to do with the other. the
tone has changed because there are real
legitimate problems and fordhas been work-
ing at a snails pace to deliver parts. it just adds to the frustration. ther point is, you shouldnt have to accept less. at least here one gets an honest appraisal from real owners about their experiences the good , bad and ugly. remember,quality is job1!

cobie · October 2000

Okay, all you Focus lovers. I'm ready to buy my first new car and play the "haggle" game at the dealership. I plan to be fair about this and have to order my car from the factory so I feel confident that it's fair if I split the difference of the holdback percentage as well as split the diff. between invoice and MSRP w/ the salesman.
Am I on track or being to generous (or too stingy)? I welcome any thoughts you have on this. I want to be fair to the dealer but still not cheat myself. TIA

tickbitty · October 2000

you sound like a nice fella. The best "haggle" I was able to do was about 300 over invoice (oK, I didn't try that hard.) I ended up getting it thru (what turned out to be) a fly by night internet company for 900 BELOW invoice, which was great, but here's the deal, the dealer that the internet company bought thru has an internet sales manager, who sells everything right at invoice and still makes money thru holdbacks and VOLUME sales. So the right "at invoice" deals can easily be made. But sure, if you want to have a great relationship with your dealer and feel that the salesman earns his commission, pay whatever you feel is fair.

tickbitty · October 2000

it is my experience that most dealers don't think you are clever by figuring out the holdback thing. They blow it off and say that that money goes to running the dealership & etc. and they don't give too much on it or let you play with those figures.

sunnyz · October 2000

I do not mean to undermine the concern that a wheel falling off a car gives, that is a valid concern, but, No Car Is Perfect. Remember that most of us that use this board are internet surfers and the internet gives massive information from millions of people. We are able to get that information quickly and that's great but, you are given massive amounts of info which is not always what it appears. In my opinion there is a tremendous amount of nit picky info that people can take to heart. But before you become too critical of one car, read about other cars as well and I think you will find that no car is excempt.

One of my favorite cars was a 1969 VW Beatle. That car would get me anywhere. But, the trunk (up front) tended to fly open while I was driving, the heater box did not work, ( wore heated hunting sox in the Winter), When I had the hazard lights on the horn would honk to the beat of the hazard lights, my starter died often until finally I just hot wired to the battery,(under the back seat to start the car), The front window iced up while I was driving and I would scrape the windows as I drove, and talk about gas gauges, mine died early on ( a known problem with the 60's bugs) and I had to insert a yard stick to tell how many inches of fuel I had in the tank). Why did I love this car? Because it was fun to drive, got me through many a bad snow storm and despite everything, it always got me everywhere I wanted to go. Most people who owned these beatles truly loved them and most had problems like mine. Today they would not be accepted because of the ease that information is given on the net and the other choices and expectations of buyers. Yes, I expect to get quality and yes, I expect the dealorship to responsive to my concerns ( mine has), but, I also expect that nothing is perfect. Be thankful that you are able to have recalls. Recalls were unheard of in years past, not because problems didn't exist, but because of consumer groups who demanded change. I forget to tell you, I also had a Honda Civic, had a meeting with a deer head on, deer went through the windshield with its rear hoofs two inches from my face and THE AIRBAG DID NOT ENGAGE.

I would encourage those who love their foci but are discouraged by Ford, and those who are having problems with their foci, but would like to love their cars to write to Ford and tell them what you like and dislike, numbers speak. Don't think that Ford will take the time to read message boards and search the net for complaints about dealers, and problems you are having with your car, or Fords attitude, be active and send them those complaints and keep them coming. That is how consumer groups changed laws that created recalls, yes it takes time, but is overall the most effective way for change.

Finally, if you are having service problems with your dealor, let them know you are unhappy, then again let Ford headquarters know, Ford rates the dealorships with incentives and buying programs.

zgrrrl · October 2000

I paid invoice for my Z. Most Foci in general seem to be going for $100 over invoice.

I got a quote from a dealer 50 miles away saying they'd give me my Z at $100 UNDER invoice, I brought that e-mail into my local dealer and they said they could give me invoice but not under...

There is a forum (or was) for ZX3 prices...other stories are there...

ZX3 Beast - ALL Foci are being recalled? I've called the customer service dept 3 times in the last 3 weeks (including this morning) and every time they say there is no recall on my Z (build date May 00)

ltrez · October 2000

We have got to tell Ford that we would like to see this model stateside if your in the USA please goto

http://www.fordracing.net/focusrs/focusrs.html

at the end of the presentation there is a comments area fill it out them them you WANT an RS in the US

vadp · October 2000

If Ford screws up, it's the Ford's problem.
Why some of you are trying to defend FoMoCo is beyond of my understanding.
If Ford cares about building a favorable image of its cars it can do just that by improving quality. The customer satisfaction will follow.
If you think that by praising Ford you can do any good to its image - don't. It doesn't need it.

sunnyz · October 2000

Hmm, my message simply stated that ALL CARS HAVE PROBLEMS! Critisizing Ford on the message board is serving little purpose when you have such a strong opinion as you do, in addition to voicing that opinion to this board, write and keep writing to Ford. If you don't want to compose a letter, hit your print button when you write on the board and send that message to Ford.

Until a group of small problems, or a big problem stikes my focus, I'm gonna love this car, and tell people how much I do love this car. In the meantime I am not going to sit in anticipation that the above will happen, maybe it will, maybe it won't, but today and yesterday(s) nothing has happened to change my opinion and the way I feel about my car.

hkoenen2 · October 2000

Does anyone have information on the A pillar recall? Paper here talked about added padding and replacement of the A pillar trim. One of the DOT site talked about a problem in that area, but that is the first I heard on the recall.

vadp · October 2000

The only reason I spend my time on this board is to let any new potential customers as well as the existent ones know what's happening to my car.
"We report - you decide".
It's an appliance. I want this appliance to be reliable by the modern standards. If it doesn't meet them, too bad. I love the cars for whatever they are. If this piece of machinery doesn't satisfy me in a certain way I reserve my right for forming an opinion about the manufacturer of it.
And believe me, I spent lots of time on providing Ford will all the information in regards of what was wrong with the car. In my 4 months of owning the Focus I had a privilege to meet 4 times with the Ford dealership technicians (and more are still needed). Also I made at least a dozen of phone calls to the Ford customer service center (complete waste of time).
Before accusing me of not doing certain things I would prefer that you make yourself aware of all of the facts.
Thank you.

greycap · October 2000

One cannot expect a PORSCHE or Jaguar (whatever one prefers) from a 15k [...] car!!!!

Maybe not, but surely one has a right to expect the wheels to stay on at any price. I appreciate that recalls are a benefit to consumers, and that apparently no wheels have yet actually fallen off (15 complaints, no accidents.)

But a recall is still not as good as not having a flaw in the first place:
getting your recall serviced is a hassle, as many here have reported
there is always the possibility that you will be the guinea pig that exposes the need for a recall
a high level of recallable build errors suggests a high level of in spec but sub-optimal builds

chicagodriver · October 2000

Sorry if this question has been posted already but has there been any recalls made for the 2001s. Mine was made 9/00. Thanks

zgrrrl · October 2000

Another concern I have about the recalls - the uninformed media "reporting" them.

Was listening to 103.1 the 80's Channel (out of Chicago) this morning...and awoke to hear

"If you have a Ford Focus, it's a piece of crap. Take it back to the dealer. The wheel's gonna fall off, the cruise control sticks and the thing will collapse on you...Ford is recalling 350,000 Focuses...." Then he went on to talk more about what crap the car is.

I am not kidding nor am I exaggerating. This is exactly what he said (perhaps chicagodriver heard it too)

So, the wacky morning DJ guy decides to "report" these problems in the WORST way possible.

Meaning, people driving on their way to work who may be listening in their Foci think they better pull over because all of this is going to happen RIGHT NOW on their daily commute. So now I can just imagine many freaked out Focus owners in line along with the Firestone soccer moms in the greater chicago land area screaming at the service reps.

That to me just as irresponsible.

Like I said, I am not trying to take away from the seriousness of the issue and I am not here to cheerlead for Ford or anything, but come on...

existenz · October 2000

This was exactly my point. Nobody minds objective reporting - after all this is all this site/board is supposed to be about, but one should not become too emotional. Wheels falling off???? Have there actually been reports on this really happening?? Or maybe those who had experienced that and could have reported it are unable to do so for obvious reasons

))They will fix the recall, do not worry (until the next one)

vadp · October 2000

"...but come on..." what?
This is exactly what will happen when the company has such a disastrous recall record.
The Firestone fiasco started a chain of events that may be followed by very unpleasant public reaction. Ford should know better.

silver_bullet · October 2000

How many people are going to think twice before buying any Firestone brand tire? The same sort of negative media frenzy directed at the Focus can't be doing our resale values any good. I'm not particularly worried about my wheel falling off (you can check your own wheel bearings, BTW), but I am worried that my Focus will end up being as valuable on the used car market as an '89 Hyundai.

zgrrrl · October 2000

Re: resale value - exactly my concern. Someone heard that wacky DJ declair the Focus a hunk of junk and without any further consideration - thinks it must be so...after all that wacky DJ is on the radio, right?

vadp, See above.

sunnyz · October 2000

You are absolutely correct. You are entitled to your opinion etc, as am I. I apologize for the perception that I may have sounded like I was accusing you of not doing anything, the comment was intended for all the readers of the board.( esp. with bad experiences). I've said it before and I'll say it again one of the beauties of the web and this board is that we can agree to disagree. I am not totally disagreeing with you either, but I am saying that again NO CAR IS PERFECT.

I also have a Buick Regal which I paid 26000 for rour years ago. Talk about headaches. Brakes need replacing every 9 months, the trunk hasn't been dry since I bought the car, the air conditioner leakes to the inside on the drivers side floor, the inside lamp drops from the roof when you hit a bump in the road, I have to open the hood with pliers because the release broke three years ago and have yet to have it fixed properly, the emergency brake cable has broken twice and the rearview mirror tells me exactly when another year has passed by falling off, something it has done from the first year and still can't be put on properly. Did I speak up, you bet, did I write letters, yu bet, did I get anywhere Nope, and no more Buick's for me. Other than the above the car runs great though. I have received on average three recalls on the Buick a year, the most recent two weeks ago telling me that the engine could drop out of the car while I am driving. Now I wouldn't hesitate to drive the car while I'm waiting for my scheduled appointment in three weeks ( they haven't gotten the part to fix this recall) because I have had no indication that the engine is going to drop out of my car yet for 84,000 miles and there have been several long distance trips too. Now there are tons of people who highly reccomend the Buick Regal, not me.

whyford · October 2000

Jeez, just when i thought nobody noticed my car...

I walk into work and everyone i know is saying my car has been recalled. Resale Value? Don't know if this harms resale but every newspaper and television news programs have it! Yikes!

Well i checked my answering machine and no message from my dealer (they send me forms to rate them though) and nothing in the mail box.

The person i bought my car from (no haggle $500 over list and less than book on my trade in) said she would call me when i was due for my oil change etc... Still no phone call.

I think i picked a good alias... "whyford"!

Hate to say it but i should have kept my truck even if gas prices are high.

Newspaper said 'A' pillar trim will be replaced in U.S.A but not Canada at same time recall repairs are done,

WhyFord?

pcleveland2 · October 2000

Guess nobodys wheels fell off! Somebody had loose wheel bearings, but nobodys wheels fell off as far as I know.

Good they caught this before nobodys wheels fell off.

Just who is this nobody anyway? Please speak up.

Pat

PS: Got to listen to Ralph Nader speak to the Detroit Economic Club the other day on PBS Radio. Boy, I could almost vote for the guy. It isn't just Ford. It's all of them, to include Honda.

silver_bullet · October 2000

All this talk of loose wheel bearings leading to wheel separation got me curious, so I went to the service CD-ROM for a peek. The Focus wheel hubs (both front and rear) are retained on the stub axles by a precisely torqued retaining nut - that's all. No locking cap, no cotter pin, nothing but the nut. It is easy to see what might happen on the left side of the car if this nut was not torqued properly - normal forward wheel rotation would have the effect of "unscrewing" a loose retaining nut, and voila! Bye bye wheel. I'm guessing Ford's fix is to install some sort of lock on that retaining nut.

vadp · October 2000

And the reason for this "brilliant engineering" idea was saving a couple of pennys for the locking cap or eliminating an "unnecessary" assembly operation?
Ford will pay dearly at the end for the "design efficiencies" like that.

pcleveland2 · October 2000

Vadp,
You got it right, but don't think it was "engineering" idea. Think it was the pencil pushers idea. They say the pencil pushers don't like to listen to the engineers. Cost savings is the big thing out there. Step over a dollar to save a penny, then have to pay out dollars later.

Pat

zgrrrl · October 2000

So, my question is this - if it only affects those Foci assembled before 5/00 ... what did they do to the ones assembled AFTER 5/00 differently to make sure it didn't happen.

And since these changes have supposedly been made, is SB's CD "outdated" - did they update the CD maual to reflect these assmebly changes - or have they even made them?

And the nhsta web site shows the A frame recall but says ford has no plan of action yet?

silver_bullet · October 2000

BMW does it the same way on many of their cars, at least on the front hubs. The only difference is that once the nut is torqued, they "peen" a collar on the nut in such a way that it locks into a slot cut into the end of the axle. I haven't taken my car apart to see if Ford does the same thing, although the service procedure on the CD makes no mention of locking the nut in this fashion

silver_bullet · October 2000

Engineering data is being updated all the time - my CD is Version 16.0, dated June 2000. Maybe a newer CD lists a different procedure?

zgrrrl · October 2000

If it's dated June 2000 shouldn't it reflect the "unaffected 5/00" cars that aren't supposedly part of the recall? I dontknowanymore....*sigh*

Leather wrapped steering wheel = cost of nut to hold wheel on?

Yikes.

tickbitty · October 2000

how about foglights = cost of splitting lower bench and maybe an easy access passenger seat!

vadp · October 2000

the standard cd player = a properly functioning fuel gauge.

silver_bullet · October 2000

Hey, let's not forget that flash is easier to sell than substance to most buyers - or at least that may be what's happening here to an extent. Having spent more time (and money) than I care to admit working on old and new BMWs, I can truthfully say it is obvious where a lot of your money goes when you buy one of their cars - there are lots of nicely engineered and beautifully finished mechanical bits that most people who own those cars will never see. That kind of attention to detail costs money. Maybe Ford chose to put more money into the "gee whiz" aspects of the ZX3. Overall, I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the mechanical bits that make up our ZX3s... can't say the same for how they were assembled, in some cases

And Ford really does need to get a handle on the quality (or lack thereof) of subassemblies coming from outside vendors.

Ford Focus Hatchback ZX3 - Part XIV

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