The Used Car Index

2003 Ford Focus problems

NHTSA lists 977 complaints for the 2003 Ford Focus, 52 of them mention a crash and 17 mention a fire. 37 complaints mention an injury, with 51 injuries and 1 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD FOCUS.

At a glance

Complaints
977
With crash
52
With fire
17
With injury (complaints)
37
Injuries
51
Deaths
1
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
589,932
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
109

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM52253.4%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES828.4%
STEERING737.5%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING606.1%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC515.2%
SUSPENSION495.0%
POWER TRAIN484.9%
AIR BAGS464.7%
STRUCTURE404.1%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER252.6%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION370
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION30
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE25
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICFOUNDATION COMPONENTS25
STRUCTUREBODY25
AIR BAGSFRONTAL24
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESDOORS24
SUSPENSIONFRONT14
STEERINGCOLUMN13
STEERINGCOLUMN LOCKING10

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

05V030000

Date: 2005-02-01. Systems: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES.

Defect: CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH FOUR OR FIVE DOORS AND ORIGINALLY SOLD IN OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A BUILD-UP OF CORROSION AT THE PAWL PIVOT AREA OF TH (excerpt)

Consequence: IF NOT LATCHED PROPERLY, THE DOOR MAY OPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. IF AN OCCUPANT FELL OUT OF THE VEHICLE, PERSONAL INJURIES COULD OCCUR. (excerpt)

Remedy: DEALERS WILL HAVE A LOWER ROCKER SEAL ADDED TO THE DOOR AND HAVE THE REAR DOOR LATCHES EVALUATED FREE OF CHARGE. A LATCH THAT PASSES THE EVALUATION WILL BE LUBRICATED TO PREVENT FUTURE CORROSION. A LATCH THAT DOES NOT PASS THE EVALUATION WILL BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, A STICKER WILL BE AFFIXED TO THE REAR DOORS ADVISING THE OWNERS TO USE THE RECOMMENDED LUBRICANT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 9, (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

AQ10001

Opened: 2010-11-18. Closed: 2015-12-28.

Fleet Vehicle Recall Completion Audit

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 roadway

Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

109 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
POWER TRAIN28
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING21
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM15
STRUCTURE9
SUSPENSION9
VISIBILITY8
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES5
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC5

10183768

Date: 2016-04-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES.

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 c

10058099

Date: 2014-09-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES, STRUCTURE.

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

10058100

Date: 2014-09-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE, SUSPENSION.

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

10056643

Date: 2014-08-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES.

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

10019073

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

DTC P0316, P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 AND/OR P0304 - SERVICE TIP. *TT

10019076

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

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

10019081

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

MIRFIRE DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0316, P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303, OR P0304 - SERVICE TIP. *TT

10019375

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

MANIFOLD OR CATALYTIC CONVERTER HEAT SHIELDS LOOSE/MISSING. *TT

10020173

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

POSSIBLE ENGINE DAMAGE - INSTALL SPECIAL SERVICE TOOLS PRIOR TO REMOVING CRANKSHAFT PULLEY BOLT - SERVICE TIP. *TT

10017934

Date: 2005-06-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

REAR BRAKE SQUEAL. *TT

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
FOCUS977

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2003

Sources

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