Problems · by component
2001 Ford Focus structure problems
59 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2001 Ford Focus cite structure, 3% of all 1,790 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
59
3% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
Reported by owners
What owners say about the structure
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“ON 9/2/2020 AROUND 10 PM IN MICHIGAN I WAS MAKING A PIZZA DELIVERY, I PULLED INTO THE SUBDIVISION WHERE I HAD TO MAKE THE DELIVERY, ALL THE SUDDEN MY CAR COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. I COULDN'T ACCELERATE OR BRAKE. I GOT MY CAR FO SAFTEY AWAY FROM THE HOUSES BECAUSE MY FIRST INSTINCT WAS SAFETY. I GRAB MY PHONE TO CALL MY BOSS, I THOUGHT MY CAR JUAT BROKE DOWN. THEN I SAW SMOKE AND SPARKS. I CALLED THE EMERGENCY SERVICES AND THE CARS SMOKE GOT DARKER AND THE FLAMES GOT BIGGER. I WAS VERY SCARED. ALL MY WINDOWS EXPLODED AND THE CAR MELTED TO GROUND. BY THE LOOKS OF MY PHOTO THE FIRE STARTED NEAR THE BATTERY AND CABLES. EVER SINCE THAT NIGHT, I'VE BEEN SCARED OF FIRES, HOT SURFACES, AND WEARY AROUND CARS. I'M LUCKY TO BE ALIVE BUT IT WAS VERY DANGEROUS AS THE FLAMES REACHED ABOUT 10 FEET HIGH. LUCKILY IT DID NOT CATCH ANYTHING NEAR BY ON FIRE.”
“MY DRIVER SIDE PASSENGER DOOR HAS BEEN ACTING UP FOR MANY YEARS NOW AND FORD WILL NOT FIX IT. NOW MY DOOR WILL NOT CLOSE. MANY OF THE 2001 FORD FOCUS HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS ISSUE AND THEY SAY MY VIN NO. IS NOT ONE OF THEM. PLEASE HELP ME GET MY DOOR FIXED. WHEN I WENT TO GET IT INSPECTED ON 11.2.18 THEY OPENED MY DOOR AND NOW IT WILL NOT CLOSE AND AGAIN THEY SAY THAT I HAVE TO FIX IT. AS MENTIONED, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR YEARS AND I AM STILL DEALING WITH IT. MY CAR IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND DO NOT WANT TO GET RID OF IT. I BELIEVE THAT FORD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING THE LATCH. MY CAR HAS HAD A FEW RECALLS THAT WERE FIXED, ONE OF WHICH WAS A FEW YEARS AGO THAT THEY HONORED. I HOPE TO GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED QUICKLY AND THEY WILL NOT PASS MY CAR FOR INSPECTION AND I NEED MY VEHICLE. THANK YOU.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD FOCUS. UPON DRIVING OVER A SPEED BUMP AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE AND THE VEHICLE SWERVED. AFTER REACHING HER DESTINATION, THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE SUBFRAME WAS COMPLETELY CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY AN INSURANCE ADJUSTOR WHO CONFIRMED THAT THE REAR SUBFRAME WAS CORRODED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,909.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD FOCUS. THE CONTACT OBSERVED THAT THE CROSSMEMBER FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY THE CONTACT, WHO WAS AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.”
“CAR WILL NOT IDLE WHEN STOPPED AT A LIGHT IN THE CITY, WHEN SHIFTING INTO DRIVE FROM PARK, RUNS ROUGH AT LOW SPEEDS WHILE IN TRAFFIC AND GOING THOUGH PARKING LOTS. STARTED ONE MORNING, RAN HORRIBLY, STALLED AND HASN'T STARTED SINCE. THE BACK DOOR DOESN'T STAY LATCHED WHEN SHUT.”
“TAKATA AIRBAG DEPLOYED AFTER THE CAR HAD COME TO A STOP. ALI STOPPED TO AVOID HITTING A CAR THAT HAD SUDDENLY BRAKED IN FRONT OF HER. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE CAR IN FRONT HER AS ALI WAS ABLE TO STOP IN TIME, BUT THERE WAS MAJOR DAMAGE TO HER CAR. WHEN THE TAKATA AIRBAG DEPLOYED IT BURNT HER LEFT FOREARM/HAND AND INCURRED $107.00 IN MEDICAL EXPENSES. CALIBER COLLISION SAYS THAT TO REPAIR THE CAR IT WOULD COST ALI $7,639.37.”
Showing 6 of 59 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.