Similar to what other people have said. I was revving the engine at highway speeds when the lights started to flicker, all of the display lights flickered and then suddenly the engine went dead. Wouldn't restart. Took it to the mechanic and it was a dead alternator that'd been overworked by constantly charging a near dead battery. Wouldn't yah know it I was on my way to work, my first day at a new job when it died. But despite my misfortune, there was a tow truck across the road from where I had come to a stop. The driver towed my car to my mechanic, dropped me off at my apartment and told me that everything happens for a reason. I don't believe in that stuff, but I'll really never know. Either way, it all worked out in the end.

This problem is repeatable. After warm-up and in CL, the engine will chatter and die when coming to a stop at an intersection or in idle/neutral and requires heel & toe to keep the revs up. Otherwise, the engine runs fine. Cleaned MAF sensor, replaced PCV valve, replaced upstream O2 sensor and checked for vacuum leaks, none of which helped. No DTC was set during/after the stalls at idle, but P0171 and P2195 were occasionally set when driving.

Update from Dec 13, 2015: Found a break in the PCV hose near the EGR valve. This is almost certainly the cause of the problem and has been reported by others as a common problem with ther Focus.

Update from Dec 16, 2015: The photo shows my fix which includes cutting out the damaged section of the PCV hose and then splicing in a short piece of copper tubing held together with small hose clamps.

my 2004 ford focus is the biggest piece of crap!!!! i have only had the car 8 months it was used but come on the check engine light has been on since i have had the car of course they say nothing was wrong. but now my battery light is on i had the battery changed not the problem had the wireing harness changed not the problem now it goes dead every time we stop at a light my husband has to drive it by putting it in nuetril then drive after we get going . this car has cost alot to try and fix.and it is still not FIXED!!!!!!!!

My husband purchased this car in September. Since then, the car has died out on us three times while driving within 3 months. Once in October where it wouldn't restart. I was pregnant at the time and leaving the hospital after a false alarm with our two toddlers in the back seat. Luckily his mother was following us and we left the car where it was and it had to be towed. The dealership said there was a problem with the module. They replaced it and said it was fixed. The second time happened in November. We were driving around and the car started to sputter and was on the verge of dying. My husband kept it going on a back road. He struggled to keep driving it. Then the car picked up in speed and it was fine. He drove it back to the dealership where they checked it out again and said it is all fixed. Then it just died on us on a very busy road by a dangerous intersection. We had all three children in the back seat. The car died at the intersection just as the light turned green and my husband accelerated. We coasted into a fire station and had to wait an hour for a tow truck as no one was able to pick us up because we had three car seats this time. It was extremely dangerous as we were on Route 6 and there are numerous accidents at that intersection. As we were waiting there was a five car accident a few minutes after we pulled into the fire station. The car was looked at, driven for 7 miles, and all set to be picked up because it was "All fixed!!!" How can a company sell a car without knowing how a car runs? If dealerships have no clue on how to fix this problem, shouldn't they have courses on each individual make and model of car?

My 04 Focus cuts off while driving and at times will start itself back up again. At other times the transaxle light comes on for a couple seconds.

I finally was able to get an appt with the dealership and was told if nothing is found I would have to pay for testing. If they found a problem they would have to contact the after purchase warranty people.

As I knew would happen they said nothing is wrong the car is GREAT. I asked how could it be great when it CUTS OFF when I'm driving and then start itself up again at other times as well as the transaxle light coming on. All they could say is everything checked out great. I asked for them to keep the car another day and keep driving it.

I wanted him to drive it back and forward to home & work but he said he couldn't. How can they find a problem when they drive a car for 5 minutes? I'm afraid I'll be driving one day, the car will cut off and I'll be in a major accident. Anybody else have a focus that does this?

I am a college student on a very limited income. Choosing the Ford Focus was to save gas and for the reasonable price. At 27,000 miles, my air conditioning went out and

it cost me around $400.00 to repair. About a month later, the EGR broke in half, the mechanic told me this was a common problem on the Focus due to the welding. This cost me about $200.00. It is a month later now and my car is dying on me when I drive

and when I am idling. From what I have seen on line, this is going to cost me around

$200 to $300 to repair. The car is at 34,000 miles now and I cant imagine what problems will come when the car has high mileage. The Ford Focus has been a big disappointment. My other complaint is with the Ford Dealership. Before the EGR broke, I was having some problems that later I found out were because of the EGR. When I called the Ford Dealership as I was still under a warranty, the mechanic told me it would cost $75 to put it on a machine to see what was wrong with it and that if they found nothing, I would have to pay the cost. After it finally broke completely in half and I went on line to see what it might be, there seemed to be many complaints about this happening. My question is, if a Ford Dealership mechanic works on these cars all the time, then why would he not have known this was a common problem? It could have been repaired under warranty but he scared me from getting it put on a machine. Thanks alot Ford! You are helping young Americans out of much needed money and you should be proud of yourself! "Ford Built To Break"

Regarding the 2004 Focus dying while driving, it is not a battery issue. It continued to happen to me the very next day after installing a new battery. Also, the only way I was able was to make it home was to perform the following procedure every time it stalled: I shifted to "Neutral", started the car, then quickly shifted to "Drive" while simultaneously accelerating (but not too hard). If I didn't accelerate while shifting to "Drive", it would immediately stall again. After numerous attempts at this, I was able to get off the main road. I pulled into a parking lot, sat for about twenty minutes for the engine to cool (or recover), then drove home without incident. I don't know if it has any bearing on anything, but while I was waiting, I checked under the hood. Even though the temperature gauge was reading "Normal" on the dash board, the radiator hose was extremely hot and was constantly spurting coolant into the reservoir tank despite the fact that I had only driven a few miles. I think that they should recall the 2004's as well.

Robert B.

Rockville, MD, USA

Purchased this used 2004 Focus 2 months ago. Brakes continue to squeal, rattling noise under car and now the car dies while driving it. I took the car back on 10/24/06 for repair. I picked the car up on 11/04/06 and after paying $226.55 drove away and noticed that the brakes still squeal, the rattling noise is still going on and then the car died on me twice while driving home. It comes to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road and dies. A light comes on with a little exclamation point in it and then it restarts. This is VERY scary, especially since I was driving with a 4 yr old child in the back. I could be hit from behind. The car is back in service and I am still waiting on the results. NEVER buy a Ford focus.

My car simply died while I was driving it. There was no warning... just died. I was able to restart it again and get it to a dealer, who kept the car for a couple of days and claimed they couldn't replicate the problem (though it happened a couple of times again on the way to the dealer!) A week later, the car did it again, where it was taken to a different dealer that claims it's my battery, but I remain dubious, and so I'm now stuck with a car that I'm scared to drive because it simply won't work. Fun, huh?