The Used Car Index

2004 Ford Focus problems

NHTSA lists 387 complaints for the 2004 Ford Focus, 34 of them mention a crash and 13 mention a fire. 24 complaints mention an injury, with 34 injuries and 1 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD FOCUS.

At a glance

Complaints
387
With crash
34
With fire
13
With injury (complaints)
24
Injuries
34
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
60

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 SYSTEM18347.3%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC318.0%
STEERING297.5%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES287.2%
AIR BAGS246.2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING225.7%
POWER TRAIN205.2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL184.7%
SUSPENSION174.4%
STRUCTURE143.6%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION112
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICFOUNDATION COMPONENTS12
STRUCTUREBODY12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE9
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION9
AIR BAGSFRONTAL7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP7
SUSPENSIONFRONT7
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESDOORS6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLACCELERATOR PEDAL6

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

60 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
POWER TRAIN16
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM10
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES5
SUSPENSION4
VISIBILITY4
STRUCTURE3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC2

10109070

Date: 2016-09-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

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

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

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

10019947

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

NEUTRAL TOW CAPABILITY - SERVICE KIT REQUIREMENTS. *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

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
FOCUS387

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2004

Sources

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