Reliability of the Focus?

To all those who own a Focus, how reliable is the car? What model do you have? What year? How many recalls have you had to take the car in for?

Or in general, how happy are you with the car? I'm really considering buying a 2000 ZX3 5spd. I would like as unbiased answers as you can give.

Man, either nobody owns a Focus or they just don't want to talke about their car.

C'mon people. I want to hear from real world owners.

I own a Focus,have for 2 days now, did a sum total of 50 miles in it, 30 of that Interstate.
Car goes great, very nice smooth ride and really enjoyable transmission when it comes to changing gears.
To be honest, I own a Subaru Impreza too, and right now I enjoy driving it more:) That may be because the Subaru is auto trans, still a great car but I LOVE stick.
Focus sound system is very nice, minimal wind noise inside(compared to the Subaru again) and corners nicely.
Anything else I can say? I am very happy with the car.

Thanks for the reply. Its funny, I was considering a 2.5RS for a while until I realized how hard they are to find (1998)! Oh well. I like manuals and I really want a 5spd for my next car.

What year/model is yours? Where did you buy it (dealer or private)?

The Focus is an ex-dealer lease, and I got it from the dealer.
I am still happy with the car, nothing I would change yet....:rolleyes:
Well, maybe, if I could change it into an RS Cosworth version it would be nice.....wishful thinking....:D
I think if you could get a 2.5RS in a stick shift, you would be a lot happier, it has nearly 40 more HP, AWD and is generally a great handling car. I think the Focus is my Favorite for a number of reasons; it's a new car to me(boys and their new toys:D ), it is a 5 spd manual, and it has less wind intrusion when the windows are down on the IState.
If all you can afford is the Focus, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Ray

I guess not many Foci owners come here. No one wants to say one way or the other if their Focus is reliable.

I'll pipe in.

My wife and I own a 2000 ZTS Sedan. VERY DISAPOINTED!!!!

It has only 30,000 miles on it and has been in the shop quite a few times for the same things. The wheel alingment will not stay straight, there is a knocking noise coming from the front suspension, it eats tires like nothing (which we found that Ford had Firestone make tires to Ford's specifacations for this car), and drives like hell if it is anything other than on a completely dry road.

Check out FordFocusSucks.Com (http://www.fordfocussucks.com).

My first post here. I owned a 2k ZX3 for two years and loved it. It was the closest thing I could find to the spirit of my old GTI. Very tossable and fun. I had 0 (zero) problems with it. I onl sold it to get my current car, which is a 2002 SVT Focus. No problems here either. I highly recommend one.

While the Focus reliability is average, there have been a lot of re-calls and generally, the North American Focus' are pretty lousy in reliability compared to thier European counterparts

I am a former Focus owner. I had a 2000 SE Sedan, it ran good and didn't have any drive-train problems, and if you like swimming it is the perfect car for you!! I had it in the shop 5 times in less than 8 months for the same problem....a water leak, and I'm not talkin a little leak, I'm talkin a major like 2-3 inches of water in the floorboards after a good rain type leak!! Lucky for me my state has a lemon law. We made Ford buy back the car. As I said before though, it is a good running little car.

I wouldn't be caught dead in one of these death traps read these before buying that thing:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos...us-recall_x.htm

http://consumeraffairs.com/news02/ford_focus.html

My Focus sedan has been the model of reliability; 175,000 miles of daily driving and pseudo-WRC abuse, and all i've had to do was regular maintenance and I just replaced a the OE fuel pump that went bad. great car

I have a 02 SE Sedan for 1 year now and not a single problem. Consumer reports are not always best to read. At lease Ford isn't covering anything up with their recalls and by doing so they are admitting to their faults and making a better vehicle. yeah yeah, the americanized version does use cheaper parts than what the europeans receive.

Anyway, I have not had a single problem with my car and I love it!!! That and I have a factory freak so thats always a good thing.

As any car make and model, there are always a few bad apples...

i have an 02 zx3 that i replaced my lemon maxima with. The only problems ive had have been the 6 disc has been replaced 6 times and the sunroof button failed once. Other than that, its a strong car and fun to drive.

Originally posted by Jimster
While the Focus reliability is average, there have been a lot of re-calls and generally, the North American Focus' are pretty lousy in reliability compared to thier European counterparts

Exactly.
I expect my US market Focus to be as wonderful as the European market Focus, only to find out it is nowhere near as wonderful as its European counterpart.....

Guess that's what happens when you assemble cars in Mexico....

I have a 00 zx3 i've had it for about 4 months at first i didn't like it casue i kind of got corned into by my parents, but before i ahd a SHO and the power difference was hard to get use to i had to wood it everywere but after doing some mods my car got pretty peppy and coners awsame. i recomend the car to anyone....:bigthumb:

Originally posted by crpford32
I recommend the car to anyone....

....that enjoys working on their car and doing monthly repairs.....

I drove a 2001 ZX3 for a year and it was a piece of rubbish, I wouldn't recommend the car to anyone unless they had unlimited funds to fix everything that will go wrong and isn't covered in the warranty.

After April 2002 the reliability issues pretty much stopped. Thank a retooling of the Mexico based plant (new machines actually stop tightening bolts when they are supposed to, and keep tightening the ones that need more... amazing concept)

My Focus was built post April 2002 and I've had 0 problems. In fact I still have 0 rattles in the cabin despite the horrible roads here in the winter, and the 15" sub I have shaking the shit out of the car.

I would avoid pre 01 models like the plague, but do take a look at the newer models, including the SVT.

They are all horribly slow (yes the SVT is slow) but they are grewat to drive. Don't let the past reliability issues deter you from new models :)

Sounds lik you need you're head screwed - who ever heard of a reliable Focus over 100k - I'll never buy another !!!!!

I have had a good experiance with the Focus. A/C problems were the only thing, but they had her in and out in about 20 minutes. Its just a new car. Most things that go wrong with it are under warranty. I would recomend it to anyone that is looking for a quick little car for a great price.

I own a 2003 Focus ZX3 (hence the name) :p I dont know why people are saying its not a reliable car. Mbaye becasue they just like the japanese ricer grinders which suck anyway. My focus has already got me out of certain trouble twice now. once was certain death or major injury....if i didnt have the STOCK suspention or better on it i would have benn hit by a car going at least 130mph. So i say get one. and heres another hting for you www.nopi.com has superchargers for the focus. HAVE FUN :sunglasse