CarComplaints.com Notes: Even though the first model year of a major redesign should typically be avoided, Ford did a good job & the 2008 Ford Focus doesn't appear to have any major defects.
That said, the following model years of this 2nd generation Focus (2009-2011) do appear to be slightly better.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,600 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
Entered vehicle as usual closed door and began driving (vehicle was in motion). While in operation driving down a city street the driver side door swung open. I attempted to close door immediately but door would not close. It bounced open at every attempt. I pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road where after many attempts I was able to close the door. I attempted to open door to get into the vehicle the door latch pulled but the door would not open latch remained in pulled position and door unable to be opened at all. This malfunction appears to be a broken door latch which was recalled for vehicles (not including mine) NHTSA recall number 17V652000. However Ford stated my VIN was not covered under recall. I am currently awaiting a estimate for repair as it is extremely dangerous to operate the vehicle in this condition.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. While driving 10 mph, the rear passenger door opened independently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Have problems with passenger door and both rear doors. Door won't latch at times and power door lock won't lock at times and sometimes won't unlock or both.
- Pioneer, LA, USA
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The doors will not open from the outside & the passenger door will not stay closed. The problem started one day when it was parked at wal mart & I could not get into the car upon returning to it. I pop trunk, push seat down & crawl through. There are multiple complaints on line with same issues & recalls on newer models for same complaints.
Manually unlocked vehicle from driver's door, but latch would not disengage to open the door. Vehicle must be entered via the passenger side and the driver's door must be opened from the interior.
Driver side door will not open from the outside. 2 weeks later passenger door failed from the outside as well. I drilled a hole through the interior handle and strung it outside the door so I can get into my coupe. Yeah that's right all doors will not open from the outside. What makes it even worse is Ford in their infinite wisdom discontinued both parts I need to fix it faulty though they may be. 8S4Z-5421812-D (passenger) and possibly 8S4Z-5421813-B (driver - though I'm not entirely certain this is the correct manual lock assembly.) so Ford put millions of faulty latches out there and discontinued the part needed to fix it. In the meantime I'm not able to keep my car secured with any belongs I may put in it as I have to have a rope/string hanging out anyone can walk by and pull to get in my car.
In July of 2015 the right front door of my car would not open from the outside. In July and August of 2016 my drivers door will not open from the outside as well as the back door on the right side. I'm disabled and I have to leave my doors unlocked so that I can crawl into the back seat and open my drivers door with my cane to get in.
Takata recall one day went to get into my car on driverside and my doorhandle broke from outside, can open it from inside but not outside took it to local dealer they told me it would cost me 200-300 dollars to fix I dont have that kinda money so I get in passinger side and roll window down so I can reach in drivers door to open door its a hassle
The outside door handles have broken twice on my car, I can unlock the car but cannot open the car, currently both door handles are broken on the car and the only access inside the car is through the trunk, the part /labor to fix the door is about $400 and the part only lasts about a year before it breaks again. The first time the door handle broke I had stepped out of my car with the engine running to get my mail, went to open the door and it would not open! there were two emt's across the street and they called the deputy sheriff to help me get access to the car. They said it was lucky that I had not had an infant or small child in the car. This is truly a safety issue. I have to keep my window rolled down or crawl through the trunk until I can get it fixed.
Takata recall I have 4 door handles that have broken twice and have 3 broken door handles right now, including the drivers door. The car is no longer under warranty and the cost to repair is $400 per door. I believe Ford should recall these door handles and pay for the cost of repair on the broken doors I have now. If I had a medical emergency while driving, no one could open my door to help!
The vehicle has flawed latching mechanisms. Within 6 months, 3 out of my 4 doors failed to close. They still will not close. I was taking a turn, when my rear passenger door opened. I eventually got it to close, however after several uses, it will not latch shut. Neither will the rear driver door. The driver door had the same problem, but I had it fixed. Both back doors are currently duct taped shut due to high price of parts. This is a safety issue. I have a friend with a Focus with the exact same problem. If a door opens while driving, someone will get seriously hurt in a collision.
Driver's side front door no longer opens from outside. In order to enter car, must either enter through passenger seat, or leave the driver's window down so I can reach in and open the driver's door from the inside.this is a serious safety issue, because in the event of an accident, emergency personnel would be unable to remove the driver from the vehicle, since all of the car's doors automatically lock themselves! I have found several other complaints of this issue on this website.
I was driving nw on SR626 about 45 mph when a white car pulled from stop sign striking my car in the pass side, hitting rear tire and body just in front of tire as I was swerving left to miss car. At impact my car spun 180 degrees sliding backwards into a deep ditch, on right side of road, rolling onto drivers side then back onto all four wheels. The airbags never deployed as I was tossed around inside car hitting my head, neck and left shoulder area causing injury. I did have my lap and shoulder belt on and in the correct position.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that she attempted to open the rear drivers side door from the outside but the door was jammed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection but they could not determine the cause of failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred and included the rear passenger side door. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, a loud popping noise occurred as the sunroof suddenly detached from the vehicle. The contact indicated that the sunroof was closed when the defect occurred. After the incident, the contact discovered rusting and corrosion located where the sunroof was positioned. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 130,000.
The back passenger door latch failed resulting in the door not remaining closed. The door had to be held shut with a belt so that it could be safely driven. Thank god that no one was in the back seat as they might have been hurt if the door flew open while driving. The amato Ford dealer did a diagnostic test (for what we are not sure as it is a manual door no electronic locks or windows) that cost 113 dollars and then told us it would cost 385 dollars to fix. This is clearly a safety issue and Ford should fix this before someone is killed. I have been a loyal Ford customer but never again will I purchase a Ford vehicle if they care this little for their customers safety.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the doors failed to open from the inside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that the door locks were faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Green River, WY, USA