Mk 1 Focus....Are they reliable?

woody33

Hi, we're thinking of getting a 2002 focus and I've heard tales of instrument problems, and even the brake pedal falling off because a pin can undo. Rear wheel bearings can go wrong too, though that should be a cheap enough repair. We would have a mechanic give the car a going over first, so I wonder what experience you guys might have had that age of Focus. Our '00 1.4 Almera suited us pretty well, but sadly is no more. The supposed better handling of the Focus would be great, but reliability and economy are close to the top of the list. Our driving pattern probably would not suit a diesel. Thanks for any ideas.

George Dalton

The Mk1 Focus was a great car, very reliable.

However, obviously a 2002 Focus is now 10 years old. So the standard of maintenance in the past 2-3 years is the main factor which will determine how reliable or otherwise it will be over the course of your ownership.

Crackle

Well I can only speak for my Focus (03) which I've had for the last 4 years or so. I've had no major issues with it. The only things I've had to do (apart from regular service parts) was a rear wiper motor and a resistor for the fan blower. There's 110k miles up on it now and it's going perfectly. But like I said, that's just my experience.

Supergurrier

It's the car that pretty much set out Ford's stall for their new reliable image, class benchmark like the 98 passat was

kirving

Parents both have them. Quite reliable over all.

Fan resistor seems to be a very common problem, and it failed on one of them. The fan speed switch also melted though, which was a bit of a pain to fix - but cheap enough.

The vehicle speed sensor (VSS), is a known problem and has been replaced on both. Causes the speedo to drop to zero.

The dash lights can be problematic. This is cause by a connection in the switch that I think wears out over time. I've had to take the switch apart from time to time to clean the contacts. Works fine afterward. However, this problem coupled with dodgy VSS makes people think the dash needs replacing.

Fuel pump motor went one. Cost <€100 to fix, but that was a DIY fix. Most likely a one off.

Then we have the problem of Ford door locks. They're tempermental on both Focus', but it's not a huge problem really. They "click" from time to time when driving along. I think it's a short circuit somewhere, or they're influenced by a wireless signal or something. Seems to happen when braking moreso?

OK, so it seems like a long list, but you have to remember that these are just my experiences, and that cars' have done about 180k Miles between them. They're also cheap fixes for the most part which don't leave you stranded.

A pretty safe car for the time too, scoring 4 NCAP stars on the old scale, which is worth bearing in mind.

woody33

Thanks, that's good info. I think I'd like one myself.