2008 FORD FOCUS Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD FOCUS. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, BUT A FAILURE CODE COULD NOT BE LOCATED. IN THE PROCESS, THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE SUBFRAME WAS SEVERELY CORRODED AND DEEMED THE VEHICLE UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH CASE NUMBER: 15332352. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT ALSO SPOKE WITH AN UNKNOWN DEALER WHO STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT ASSIST WITH REPAIRING THE SUBFRAME. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

"TAKATA RECALL" THE PASSENGER SEAT IS NOT REGISTERING THAT THERE'S SOMEONE SITTING THERE WHO 5'5" AND WEIGHS ALMOST 135 POUNDS AND IS WEARING HIS SEATBELT. SO THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE CENTER CONSOLE COMES ON AND SAYS "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" AND THE YELLOW AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS LIT UP ON THE DRIVERS DASHBOARD UNTIL THE CAR IS SHUT OFF, ALL WITH SOMEONE WHO'S BIG ENOUGH FOR THE AIRBAG SENSOR TO KNOW HE'S SITTING THERE. ALL VEHICLES HE SITS IN THAT HAVE SENSORS FOR AIRBAGS FOR THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT ALWAYS READ THAT HE'S SITTING THERE, SO I KNOW HE'S BIG ENOUGH TO SET THE SENSOR OFF AND FOR IT YO KNOW HE'S SITTING THERE AND TO ACTIVATE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. PICTURES ARE OF THE YELLOW AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DRIVERS, THE CENTER CONSOLE "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF", AND A FEW SHOWING WHERE HE'S SITTING IN THE SEAT AND BOTH THE YELLOW LIGHTS ARE STILL ON. THE YELLOW LIGHTS ARE ONLY ON WHEN THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING, IN MOTION, ON HIGHWAY, STOPPED, ON CITY STREETS, TURNING, AND GOING FORWARD. (ITSL'S ALRIGHT TO SHARE ALL PICTURES PUBLICLY, I KNEW THEY'D BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC BEFORE TAKING THEM.)

"TAKATA RECALL" THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT STAYS PUSHED IN WHEN YOU PUSH THE RED RELEASE BUTTON TO TAKE OFF YOUR SEATBELT. UNLIKE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT AND THE THREE BACK SEATBELTS THAT ALL FOUR COMPLETELY RELEASE WHEN YOU UNDO YOUR SEATBELT, NONE OF THEM STAY PRESSED IN THEY ALL FULLY RELEASE. THE 1ST PICTURE IS THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT RELEASE, 2ND PICTURE IS THE BACK PASSENGER & BACK MIDDLE SEATBELT RELEASES, 3RD PICTURE IS THE BACK DRIVERS SEATBELT SEATBELT RELEASE, & THE 4TH & 5TH PICTURES ARE THE FRONT SEATBELT RELEASE FROM TWO DIFFERENT ANGLES SHOWING HOW IT'S STILL PUSHED IN & NOT FULLY RELEASED EVEN THOUGH THE SEATBELT IS UNBUCKLED SO THE BUTTON SHOULD BE FULLY RELEASED.

THE INGNIITION SWITCH WENT OUT FOR A SECOND TIME. I REPLACED IT ONCE BUT DECIDED TO PUT A START BUTTON ON MY CAR. I CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR AN ANOTHER INGNIITION SWITCH. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD FOCUS. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, IT FAILED TO START. THE DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD MAKE A NOTE OF THE FAILURE, BUT NOTHING COULD BE DONE AT THIS TIME. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.

ABS PUMP IS MALFUNCTIONING. CAR HAS "SOFT PEDAL" THAT IS NOT RESOLVED BY REPLACEMENT OF MASTER CYLINDER, BRAKE BOOSTER OR THOROUGH BLEEDING OF THE BRAKES (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC BLEEDING OF THE ABS). IN ADDITION, AFTER ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES OF DRIVING, THE BRAKES START TO CLAMP DOWN ON THE ROTORS WITHOUT DRIVER INPUT. THE FRICTION IS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS (E.G., ON A HIGHWAY), TO THE POINT WHERE THE CAR BEGINS TO VIBRATE FROM THE FRICTION. BUT IT WILL ALSO SHOWS SIGNS OF BRAKE DRAG EVEN AT LOWER SPEEDS (E.G., 30-50 MPH). NO ABS LIGHTS/WARNINGS/CODES CAME ON, BUT MECHANIC (CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE, LOCATED IN HOUSTON TX AREA) CONFIRMED THROUGH MANUAL TESTING THAT ABS PUMP WAS MALFUNCTIONING. AS IT TURNS OUT, I AM TOLD THE ABS PUMP FOR THE 2008 MODEL WAS A ONE-YEAR DESIGN AND WAS DISCONTINUED AND CANNOT BE PURCHASED ANYWHERE NOW. THE PROBLEMS ALL STARTED ABOUT ONE YEAR AGO.

THE BREAK MASTER CYLINDER HAS BEEN LEAKING SINCE 70,000 MILES. SINCE THEN, THE BREAK OIL HAS BEEN ADDING WHENEVER A PARKING BREAK LIGHT WAS TURNED ON. I HAVE DRIVEN MORE THAN 10 DIFFERENT USED AND NEW CARS IN DOMESTIC AND IMPORT. THIS IS FIRST TIME TO HAVE THE BREAK MASTER CYLINDER ISSUE. IT IS NOW 156,000 MILES. THE LEAKING BREAK OIL SEEMED TO BE DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF THE BREAK PUSHING. THE OIL DOESN'T SEEM TO BE LEAKING WHEN THE CAR IS IN PARKING. FOR EXAMPLE, I PARKED THE CAR MORE THAN 3 WEEKS BECAUSE I TRAVELED. WHEN I CAME BACK, I DIDN'T NOTICE THE BREAK OIL LEVEL CHANGED. THE SHORTEST REFILLING THE BREAK OIL WAS WITHIN A WEEK. ONE OCCASION, IT LASTED OVER 3 MONTH. THERE WAS NO CAR ACCIDENT INVOLVED IN THIS CAR. THERE WAS NO MECHANICAL MODIFICATION DONE ON ANY OF THE PART. THIS WAS EXACTLY THE SAME CAR THAT CAME OUT FROM THE FACTORY. THE DRIVING CONDITION WAS USUALLY A CITY BOUNDARY WITH WELL PAVED ROAD. THE LONGEST DRIVING WAS 300 MILES. THE LEAKING OIL USUALLY WENT DOWN CLUTCH PEDAL THAT MADE THE PEDAL SLIPPERY. IF I HAD A HAND TOWEL TO ABSORB THE LEAKING OIL, I HAD TO CHANGE IT ONCE A MONTH OR TWO MONTH. THE BREAK OIL DIDN'T SEEM TO LEAK OUTSIDE OF THE CABIN. THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS CLEAN AND DRY.

STARTING ISSUES RELATED TO IGNITION HOUSING AND OR SWITCH. HAD TO PAY $500 TO HAVE REPLACED. WAS TOLD BY REPAIR SHOP THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD VEHICLES ESPECIALLY THE FOCUS SERIES. THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS YOUTUBE VIDEOS DOCUMENTING THE SAME ISSUE AS WELL AS SEVERAL FORUMS AND ARTICLES THAT CAN ALL BE FOUND WITH AN EASY SEARCH ON THE WEB. MY CAR STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS STARTING AT AROUND 100,000 MILES UNTIL IT WOULD START AT ALL.

I HAVE REPLACED THE TIRES ON THIS VEHICLE 5 TIMES IN 6 YEARS. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED IN 2010, ONLY 2 YEARS OLD, AND THE FIRST SET OF TIRES WAS REPLACED IN 2011. EACH TIME THE TIRES ARE REPLACED IT'S BECAUSE THERE IS ABNORMAL WEAR ON THE INSIDE OF THE TIRES; SO MUCH DAMAGE, THE STEEL RADIAL FROM TIRES IS STICKING OUT. I WAS TOLD I NEEDED NEW SWAY BAR LINKS; REPLACED THOSE AS WELL, BUT HAVE SINCE PUT ANOTHER NEW SET OF TIRES ON THIS CAR. WHEN I REPLACED THESE TIRES, I ALSO HAD TO REPLACE 3 LUG NUTS WHICH WERE BROKEN AS WELL. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM; MANY OTHERS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS SAME ISSUE. TWO MECHANICS HAVE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS CAUSING THE TIRES TO WEAR PREMATURELY AND UNEVENLY, AND I STILL HAVE NO ANSWER. MY TIRES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD FOR 45,000 MILES OR MORE, DEPENDING ON WHAT I BUY, AND NO MATTER WHAT BRAND I BUY, NONE HAVE LASTED 20,000 MILES. THE ONLY OPTION I HAVE IS TO REPLACE MY TIRES APPROXIMATELY ONCE A YEAR WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE. I REFUSE TO SPEND MONEY REPLACING PARTS TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM BY "PROCESS OF ELIMINATION" BECAUSE NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM IS. THE PREMATURE, UNEVEN TIRE WEAR IS SIMPLY A "SYMPTOM" OF A DEFECT THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY. THE FIRST THING YOU WILL NOTICE IS THE VIBRATION; WHICH CONTINUES TO GET WORSE EVEN AFTER ALIGNMENTS AND TIRE ROTATIONS. ALSO, THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT WILL GO ON BECAUSE THE TIRES LOSE AIR SINCE THEY ARE WEARING PREMATURELY AND UNEVENLY. ONCE THIS STARTS HAPPENING, YOU MAY AS WELL START SAVING FOR A NEW SET OF TIRES; UNLESS FORD COMES CLEAN AND ADMITS THE DEFECT AND DOES A RECALL; BUT DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH. ON THIS FORM, THERE IS A QUESTION THAT SAYS "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?" I HAD TO CHOOSE A YEAR SO I JUST PICKED ONE; IT HAS HAPPENED IN 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, AND 2016.

OUR CAR IN 2017 WHILE DRIVING ON ROAD SUDDENLY STOPPED WITH ALL THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS ON. CAR GOT STUCK AND WE COULD NOT START ENGINE IN NEXT FEW MINS. AFTER FEW MINS EVERYTHING BACK TO NORMAL. WE STARTED DRIVING AGAIN. AND DID NOT HAVE THAT PROBLEM AGAIN FOR A WHILE. FAST FORWARD TO OCTOBER 2018 IT HAS DONE IT 3 TIMES NOW WHERE THE LIGHTS COME ON WHILE DRIVING AND IT DIES NO POWER AT ALL I HAVE TO PUT IN PARK AND TURN OFF. IT THEN NORMALLY STARTS RIGHT UP AGAIN. THIS STOPS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC IN BUSY STREETS NEVER KNOW WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. TOOK CAR TO LOCAL SHOP. THEY SAID SERIOUS PROBLEM BIT WHERE THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE. NEXT WENT TO FORD DEALER. SAME ISSUE HAPPENED IN FRONT OF THEM . THEY TOLD ME IT COULD BE IGNITION AS IT WAS OFF A LITTLE BUT THAT IT WOULD NOT START SO THAT WOULD NOT BE THE PROBLEM WITH IT DYING WHILE DRIVING. BUT AGAIN SAME PROBLEM. WE CALLED THEM AGAIN AND THIS TIME THEY HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHILE DRIVING CAR BACK TO SHOP. BUT AFTER GOING THERE THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE PROBLEM. SO THEY SAID TO TAKE CAR BACK BUT ADVISED TO BE CAREFUL WHILE DRIVING AS CAR MIGHT STOP ANYTIME