This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
1) ignition lock failure. Unable to remove key or turn key. 2) melting of both rear taillamp housing around bulb socket area; unable to replace or remove bulb. Dealer says it is from the heat from the bulb!
I bought a 2007 Ford Focus in May 2009, and shortly after I bought the car I started have problems with the key getting stuck in the ignition. You can move the car in & out of gear even though the key is in the off position, but unable to remove the key. I took it to the Ford garage where I bought it, said they had not heard of the Focus having this type of issue even though they had 2 Focus' in the garage with the exact same problem. Donnley Ford in shelby Ohio stated this is not covered under the warranty and is not covered under the extended warranty they sold me for an extra $80 a month (which they said at time of purchase would cover everything) and would cost between $800-$1200 and the after market replacement may not actually fix the problem. I have had the key get stuck 11 times in the past 4 months and have only got the run around from the dealer insisting this is not a common problem in the Focus.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the driver's side air bag sensor would continuously illuminate on the instrument panel. The dealer removed the entire dashboard in order to replace the mechanism. The repairs were covered under warranty. Less than a year later, the vehicle was taken to the dealer again for routine maintenance to the steering wheel. It was discovered that the passenger side rear door would not lock and the driver's side air bag sensor continued to illuminate on the instrument panel. The dealer could not duplicate the failures. A diagnostic was performed; however, no error codes were produced. The contact also stated that while making left or right turns, the steering wheel felt as if it would pop off. The dealer found a defect with the steering column and had the component replaced. The service manager at the Ford dealer stated that there may be an issue with the air bags for a plethora of reasons. The contact stated that the driver of the vehicle does not feel safe operating the vehicle. He was very leary of operating the vehicle on the highway due to the fact of not having a functioning air bag in the event of a crash. No additional repairs have been made to the air bags. The failure mileage was 31,000 and current mileage was 53,786.
I have two problems with design flaws in my 2007 Ford Focus sse: (1).because of where the door lock is located, just above the door handles (front driver and passenger sides) all the doors will lock at times and you don't realize it when you open, get out, then close the door. Most often in situations where you have left the motor running with the key now locked inside. This happens because of coming in contact with this lock with your fingers or hand while opening the door with the handle. This has occurred on several occasions despite now knowing what causes the problem. This is a complete nuisance and dangerous if children would happen to be left in the car with the engine running and the doors locked and no second key on hand. (2). The second problem I have with the automobile is I have experienced the "Audi effect" where the car accelerates on occasion when braking. This I also ascribe to a design flaw: The brake pedal and gas pedal are placed too close together and at a relative close height to one another. After taking the defensive position, in a potential braking situation, if you have to depress the brake quickly and hard, the car accelerates. This takes you completely by suprise and it takes time to respond. I have been driving the same way for 45 years, with many vehicles, and this is the first time I have experienced this problem. Luckily the car sat most of the winter because of the problem I described previously and no one had this experience on snow covered or icy roads. I brought this up at the end of April in a visit to the dealer and was told to file a complaint by service manager steve lovalvo. I want to bring both of these defects to your attention because I feel that I have leased a lemon that has problems that cannot be serviced by the dealership and presents potential problems for many other drivers also.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Duluth, MN, USA