2004 Ford Focus

On November 18, 2010, NHTSA's Recall Management Division (RMD) opened an audit query (AQ10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.It was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadways.RMD queried three (3) major motor vehicle manufacturers (Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors) and requested data regarding completion figures for fifteen (15) discreet safety recalls.Analysis of this data demonstrated that rental car recalls completion was neither complete nor consistent.The rental car companies representing the largest market share in the industry were then queried as to their respective policies for the rental, lease, and sale of vehicles with open recalls.The data and responses from the manufacturers and the rental car companies can be found in the document repository by accessing the ?Associated Documents link above.In December 2015, Congress enacted the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.One section of the Act prohibits rental car companies from renting, leasing, or selling motor vehicles subject to open safety recalls.With the passage of the FAST Act and its prohibition, there is no continuing need for the agency to investigate rental car recall completions.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The agency reserves the right to open any future investigations, including audits of individual recalls, or groups of recalls, or rental car companies, to examine more closely safety recalls performance and completion issues in this area.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle jerked abnormally. There were three clicks before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted after approximately 10 minutes. The contact stated that on one occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled nearby train tracks. The contact waited for 10 minutes, restarted the vehicle, and drove the vehicle to safety. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where a handheld diagnostic test indicated that the PCV valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that an ignition coil needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred approximately a month later. The vehicle was taken to the same independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel relay fuse needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred approximately three weeks later. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,010.

NHTSA ID

11710614

Incident

Oct 31, 2025

Mileage

200,010 mi

As I was stopped at red light it stalled as I drove thru. So I pulled over. Got out to open hood. It was smoking.struggled to open hood. Ran around to get towel to smother the fire. But it was too far gone. Man told me just leave it. It was total loss.

NHTSA ID

11515638

Incident

Mar 31, 2023

2004 ford focus started bucking a few years ago, on occasions only. For months there was no problem and than it would buck. If I shut off the engine and waited a few minutes and started it, it would drive without bucking. Recently, it stalled while driving. Fortunately, I was on a country road and could pull over to safety. Now, on occasion, it wont start. Locks in park. After a while, I can get it out of park and start it. I do not drive it on highways since I am fearful of it shutting off. I have been to three garages for service and they cannot figure it out. I even wrote to the corporate office to ask them to let me know what the problem is. On line many people with 2004 ford focus have the same problem. It isnt just my car. Corporate office answered my letter requesting the vin number on which I gave them. After that, I did not hear from them again. I would think that they would have followed through on this since I told them that it has happened to others with the same vehicle. It stalled again a few days ago as I drove in my driveway. Everytime I try to start it, I hear the clicking sound. I go out once in a while to see if it will start. Sometimes, while in park, it wont start. Another time checking it our, it will start. But, I am not driving it anywhere. I am having it towed to another garage to see if they can figure it out. This car has less than 60,000 miles on it and everything else is good. I have spent a lot of money trying to get this resolved. It has been on diagnostic machines and it doesnt show anything. All I wanted from the corporate office was an engineer to let me know how to fix it. They must have heard the complaints since there are many. A recall wont do me any good since I will be having it looked at again this week. I am doing this for others who have the same problem. However, I would like to know exactly what has caused this.

NHTSA ID

11488334

Incident

Oct 7, 2022

I was coming home one night, in my 2004 Ford focus, when another driver comes speeding up behind me. He then proceeds to pass me during a corner, cutting me off. I hit the brakes and lost control. Ended up rolling my vehicle with my 8 month old daughter and i. Back window exploded, and not a single air bags had deployed when I got into my accident.

NHTSA ID

11468967

Incident

Nov 11, 2018

rear passenger door wont latch shut.Door flies open when making turns

NHTSA ID

11467507

Incident

Apr 14, 2021

IN JANUARY, I WAS INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC CRASH. I APPLIED THE BREAKS TO MY VEHICLE (GIVING PLENTY OF TIME TO COME TO A STOP AND ONLY TRAVELING 20 MPH ) BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. AS A RESULT, I HIT A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. IT WAS AS IF THE BREAKS WERE NOT WORKING CORRECTLY.

NHTSA ID

11317279

Incident

Jan 4, 2020

Mileage

125,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD FOCUS. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, A LOUD NOISE WAS DETECTED FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE KEY OVERHEATED IN THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO DRIVE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT FURTHER MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE'S FUEL CONSUMPTION WAS HIGHER THAN NORMAL. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT BOTH PASSENGER DOORS WERE INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR NEEDED EXTRA STRENGTH TO OPEN AND THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR WAS STUCK AND WOULD NOT OPEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MULTIPLE UNKNOWN DEALERS WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE ENGINE VALVE WAS STUCK. THE CAUSE OF THE OTHER FAILURES WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 250,000.

NHTSA ID

11245773

Incident

Jan 1, 2017

Mileage

250,000 mi

MY BATTERY LIGHT SEEMS TO FLASH WHEN THE CAR IS OFF. CAR HAS STALLED SEVERAL TIMES WHILE DRIVING TRY TO ACCELERATE OVER 50 MILES AN HOUR CAR WILL SHUT OFF. BACK HATCH ON WAGON SEEMS TO RELEASE ITSELF WHILE DRIVING WELL UNLOCK AUTOMATICALLY. HAVE REPLACED THREE THERMOSTAT AND THERMOSTAT HOUSING DUE TO OVERHEATING CAR WILL NOT TELL ME IS OVERHEATING IT WILL BOIL IN THE OVERFLOW RETURN TANK PRESSURIZE AND SHOOT THE CAP OFF?...

NHTSA ID

11234370

Incident

Jul 1, 2019

Mileage

125,550 mi

The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a limited refresh rate when reading these PIDs and cannot display quickly enough to validate a concern. The PCM automatically monitors these inputs more accurately and will set diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) when appropriate. Using these PIDs for diagnostics will lead to inaccurate results and improper ETB replacements. If a concern is intermittent and no DTCs are present, refer to historical DTCs and the PC/ED, Section 3 No DTCs Present Index chart for further information.

For 2000-2005 Focus vehicles built on or before 1/26/2005 Safety Recall 05S27 has been issued for vehicles that are operated in high corrosion areas for an extended period, where the rear door latches may experience corrosion in the pawl pivot area preventing proper engagement of the pawl into the catch. Initially, customers may experience difficulty closing the rear door that may eventually progress to a point where the rear door may not latch properly. If not latched properly, the door may open while driving.

FORD: DUE TO HIGH CORROSION AREAS, WHERE VEHICLES ARE OPERATED FOR EXTENDED PERIODS, LOWER CONTROL ARM (LCA) CAN SEPARATE FROM FORWARD ATTACHMENT OF SUBFRAME. MODEL 2001-04 ESCAPE. *PE

FORD: REAR DOOR LATCHES ARE EXPERIENCING CORROSION IN PAWL PIVOT AREA THAT PREVENT PROPER ENGAGEMENT OF PAWL INTO CATCH, WHEN OPERATED IN AREAS CAUSING HIGH CORROSION. MODEL 2000-05 FOCUS. *PE

FORD: ON SOME VEHICLES, OPERATING FOR AN EXTENDED TIME IN HIGH CORROSION AREA, A SAFETY RECALL 05S27 WAS ISSUED, WHERE REAR DOOR LATCHES EXPERIENCE CORROSION IN PAWL PIVOT AREA PREVENTING PROPER ENGAGEMENT OF PAWL INTO CATCH. MODEL 2000-05 FOCUS. *PE

REPLACE TIMING BELT IDLER PULLEY DURING 2.0L ZETEC ENGINE CYLINDER HEAD REPLACEMENT - SERVICE TIP. *TT