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NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2008 Ford Focus.
| Trim | City | Hwy | Combined | Annual fuel $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4 cyl Automatic 4-spd | 24 | 33 | 28 | $2,150 |
| 2.0L 4 cyl Manual 5-spd | 24 | 35 | 28 | $2,150 |
| Overall Rating | Not Rated |
| Frontal Crash | Not Rated |
| Side Crash | Not Rated |
| Rollover | Not Rated |
| Overall Rating | Not Rated |
| Frontal Crash | Not Rated |
| Side Crash | Not Rated |
| Rollover | Not Rated |
Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
K2 MOTOR IS RECALLING 1,921 AFTERMARKET HEADLAMPS OF VARIOUS MODELS SOLD FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS ARE MISSING THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTOR WHICH FAILS TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT."
Consequence: WITHOUT THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTORS, THE LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY BE AFFECTED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: K2 MOTOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMEBER 17, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT K2 MOTOR AT 1-909-839-2992.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
CERTAIN VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED IN FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208, 'OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.' THE DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ASSEMBLED.
Consequence: THIS CONDITION MAY PREVENT THE DRIVER AIR BAG FROM PROPERLY DEPLOYING AND REDUCE OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE YOUR DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 20, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
The brakes went to the floor and the whole car locked up. When I pressed the brakes to slow down it felt like something on the brakes just fell apart. I was in a car accident because of this I hit another car no no
Starter has always been difficult but now key stuck in ignition and won't start either
I purchased a 2008 Ford Focus from my father (now deceased). The airbag warning light has been on. When I had the OBD read, it came back with code # B2294 indicating a fault in a control module. My research makes me believe this vehicle should be included in NHTSA# 07V541000 (Ford # 07C19); however, both NHTSA and Ford say it isn't. I would like to find out why this particular vehicle was excluded and is there something I can do at this point to have it included.
The 2008 Ford Focus has 2 NHTSA recalls and 249 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of Not Rated out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
Enter a specific VIN to get the full report — specs, recalls, safety ratings, complaints, investigations, and technical service bulletins.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak and a corroded subframe. The contact was informed that the subframe was significantly thin due to corrosion and that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,625. The VIN was unavailable.
Steering began to wobble and vehicle pulling hard to the right. Took car to Tires Plus for alignment and inspection. Technician advised the drivers side front tire has advanced tread separation and the front passenger side tire is beginning to separate and is cupping. My daughter drives this car. 205/50R/16 87H, passenger tire is dot [XXX], drivers side is [XXX] . Tires rated for 65k, they only have 34k miles of wear on them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The trunk when pulled open will drop down. I pulled my trunk door all they way up went to get something inside the trunk it came down and hit me on the head. This has happened before I was able to catch it before it hit me. This time it hit me on the top of the head hard and my left hand when I tried to catch it. It comes down fast and forcefully. Something is wrong and seriously injure someone. I had a cut on my hand and couldn’t see my head for laceration. But I was afraid I could have been knocked out or had a concussion. Please look into this.
Ignition cylinder fails, leaving drivers stranded. Ford Focus online forums are plastered with numerous complaints about the focus ignition lock cylinder failure, and there are youtube videos showing how to repair it with tape or rigging a bypass push button ignition switch, but FORD should be fixing these issues so people are not stranded. Issue does not happen when driving, and only happens when key is off, and attempting to crank the car. Several people have complained about 500 dollar repairs that only last a few months before issue returns, and ford is very aware, but there are no recalls for the defect. I suppose a car that wont start is not considered dangerous, in itself, but the "hacks and fixes" for the issue can potentially be, and I think this deserves extreme scrutiny, as it affects several ford year models. drivers can suddenly be stranded miles from home and stuck with expensive repair costs that can render them without any transportation at all with no means of resolution.
Both Front Door latches have failed and will not open from the outside
Airbag light came on. The vehicle has 123,000 on it. It just recently came on the dash while driving. I see there is no recall for airbag light indicator.
THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR HANDLE NO LONGER WORKS FROM THE OUTSIDE. IT FEELS LIKE THE DOOR HANDLE ISN'T LATCHING ON TO THE MECHANISM INSIDE THE DOOR TO OPEN IT. I CAN OPEN MY DOOR FROM THE INSIDE THOUGH. I HAVE FOUND ONLINE THAT IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND AM CONFUSED TO WHY NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN ISSUED OUT FOR THE FAULTY DOOR HANDLE BRACKETS.
THE GAS PEDAL GOES WITH GAS AND DECELERATES ON ITS OWN. BRAKE BOOSTER DOES NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY. THE MOTOR SHAKES AND LOOSES HORSEPOWER.
MY IGNITION SWITCH IS GETTING STUCK AND IT IS NOT ALLOWING ME TO TURN ON THE CAR. IT IS HARD TO TURN ON MY VEHICLE. THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS MARKING ON MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, IT ISN'T ALLOWING MY VEHICLES MOTOR TO VENT OUT.
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.
IF YOU HIT YOUR BRAKES AND THE ABS ACTIVATES MOMENTARILY BECAUSE YOU HIT A BUMP WHILE BRAKING OR JUST BECAUSE YOU HIT THE PEDAL A BIT TOO HARD, A LOSS OF BRAKES OCCURS. THE VALVE INSIDE THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTIVATION OF THE ABS FAILS TO CLOSE COMPLETELY CAUSING FLUID BYPASS AND NO BRAKE PRESSURE RESULTING IN THE PEDAL FALLING TO THE FLOOR. AFTER SOME TIME, THE PEDAL RETURNS TO NORMAL FUNCTION AND THE HCU VALVE SEEMINGLY SEALS BE IT THE SAME DRIVE, OR A COUPLE DRIVES . THIS OCCURS AT RANDOM, ONLY WHEN THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF BRAKE PRESSURE AND ROUGH ROAD CONDITIONS COMBINE FOR THE ABS TO ACTIVATE. HOWEVER, THE BREAKS DO NOT RETURN IMMEDIATELY, SO YOU ARE FORCED TO DRIVE WITH VIRTUALLY NO BRAKES TILL IT FINALLY RESOLVES ON ITS OWN. THIS HAS HAPPENED IN STORMS, WHERE I HAD TO STOP HARD DUE TO DEBRIS IN THE ROAD. THIS IS ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC WHEN EXITING A HIGHWAY AND THE EXIT RAMP IS MILLED, SO WHEN YOU ARE BREAKING AND HIT THE GROOVED SECTION THE BRAKES DISAPPEAR. THIS ALSO OCCURS IF YOU HIT A ROUGH PATCH OF ROAD OR POTHOLE WHILE BREAKING. THIS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS, WITH THE ROOT CAUSE BEING A DEFECTIVE VALVE DESIGN IN THE HCU AND IS A COMMON ISSUE ACROSS THE FORD LINEUP. THE ISSUE IS THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT, HARD TO DIAGNOSE, AND ALWAYS MISDIAGNOSED AS AIR IN THE SYSTEM. THE ROOT CAUSE IS A FAULTY HCU CAUSING A VALVE TO FAIL TO SEAT PROPERLY AND ALLOW PRESSURE BLOWBY. THIS IS GOING TO LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE IT IS NOT PREDICTABLE, AND IT DOES NOT RECOVER UNTIL SOME TIME HAS PASSED. SO IMAGINE A FOCUS EXITING THE HIGHWAY AND LOSING THE BRAKES UNEXPECTEDLY AND FOR THE REST OF THE DRIVE - THAT IS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. NO INDICATION OF ANYTHING ABNORMAL IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, NO LIGHTS. THIS HAPPENED AGAIN THE OTHER DAY AND IT HAS YET TO RESET ITSELF - FORD NEEDS TO FIX IT!! LOSS OF BRAKES FROM HITTING A BUMP - SO DANGEROUS! *LN*JB
WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD MY THROTTLE CONTROL/TRANSMISSION LIGHT JUST POPS ON AN I LOSE A GREAT AMOUNT OF POWER AND ACCELERATION. I'VE OWNED THE CAR FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW AN HAD THE SENSOR ON THE THROTTLE BODY WHICH SEEMED TO HELP FOR ABOUT 2 DAYS THEN THE LIGHT POPPED BACK ON. IT DOES THIS A LOT WILL DRIVE FINE FOR ABOUT 25-30 MINUS AT ABOUT 50-55 MPH THE LIGHT POPS ON WITH ABOUT 30MPH WORTH OF POWER.I PULL OVER TURN THE CAR OFF AND ON IT TURNS THE LIGHT OUT AN ALL POWER IS RESTORED. I'VE LOOKED ONLINE AND EVERYONE SEEMS TO POINT TO THE THROTTLE BODY GOING BAD. THE CAR IS IN PERFECT SHAPE AND HAS A FRESH ALL AROUND TUNE UP.
Showing 15 of 249 complaints