At 40,000 miles on my 2000 Focus wagon, dealer tells me that the clunking noise I hear from front and rear will be fixed with a new front tie rod and rear shocks. Visited dealer 3 times to fix a windshield washer leak into tailgate, filling light fixtures and seeping into rear of car. I have had my fan motor replaced and my rear door latches are not working correctly. All of many recalls have been addressed, we even received 4 new tires due to tread wearing. It took many trials to get a correct alignment. My stereo often will cut out for no reason. I am no longer under warranty and fear that this most recent suspension repair will be costly while I still make monthly payments on my vehicle. Can you help?

- Ellison Bay, WI, USA

In April of 2000 the first problem was encountered when the car lost electrical power and went on auxillary power- I was towed to the dealer and the alternator was found to be the cause of the power failure - both alternator and battery were replaced with no further problems to report as of yet. Second problem encountered while idling I noticed the fan was not turning on to cool the engine down- I brought car to dealer in January of 2002 where I was told that there was a problem with the fan relay switch which was replaced to my satisfaction. No further problems have surfaced with cooling system. Thirdly and most troubling is my experience with the automatic transmission. I had noticed the transmission slipping in early 2002 (Jan) and had the dealer look at it- they told me the fluid level was low and added a quart and test drove - immediate afterwards changed gears great - as time went on I noticed it again- I made an appointment with the dealer- before the appointment the car started worsening until complete transmisiion failure occured. The car was towed to dealer wher it was worked on for about 3-5 days - a new transmission was supposed to be installed (4/2002). 2000 miles later and 4 months same problem surfacing again!! I have an appointment in the morning hopefully the problem will be addressed. I believe this problem is a safety concern and an accident waiting to happen- so far I have been lucky enough to escape injury or death. There are over 60 incident reports listed on NHTSA 's web site for transmission failures and I believe someone needs to look into this matter further. I am considering legal options as well as a simple yet effective way of voicing my opinions through never purchasing a Ford again!!!

- West Babylon, NY, USA