Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Ford Focus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I purchased a Ford Focus 2003, the car had 18,000 miles. I paid pacific coast Ford seven thousand dollars cash for the car, two day later I brought it back because the car just shut down while I was driving it. They ran tests told me nothing was wrong with the car. A couple of days later it was back for the same reason. Ultimately I had to bring it to lakewood transmission where after two attempts it was finally fixed it. I've had to get my ignition done two times and is ready for a third. Mallionn Ford fixed that for me. Now three weeks ago I roll into a lady doing 5-10 miles an hour. The police are called but since there is no injuries or damage to either parties the police say they won't come. No police report. Im driving home and my air bags deploy smashing out my windshield . A little ate you think. I cut one air bag out and continue to drive home. …
Driving down road after heavy rain, roads wet, rush hour traffic, sun came out glare off street. Car two cars ahead of me stopped suddenly to turn left. Car in front of me stopped. I saw the cars stop and thought I had enough room to stop, but streets were still wet and my tires locked going 25mph 2 car lengths behind car and I skidded into the car in front of me. Little to no damage down to rear bumper or my front bumper however, my airbags deployed shattering my window and locked my seat belt. Causing $800 in parts damage not including labor. First time having problem with airbag deployment, will have insurance repair my car/airbag/seat belt, window, causing my insurance to go up. …
I have a 2000 Ford Focus, I hit a car from the back, because they slammed on their brakes. My airbags did not deployed. I was going 25-30 MPH. The front of the car is totally totaled. But the airbag sensor is visible to the human eye! I am wondering why my airbag do not deployed? Airbag defects? My face smash the steering wheel. Me and my passenger have neck, back, shoulder contusions. I have severe pain in those areas. I did some research on why my airbag didn't deployed because it did not seem right to me. And I discovered a case and which the same car model, make and year, similar to mines which stated, "Ford admitted that it didn't even know the actual air bag non-deployment threshold when it started selling these cars to its customers! …
Auto accident on 8/26/2013 in fredericksburg, va, corner of hwy 1 and hwy 208 at 9:15 am. Driving between 5-7 MPH due to stop at red light to make right turn. Driver in front started through the red light and stopped. I hit her car but no car body dents on either car. My 2000 Ford Focus upon impact deployed (2) air bags, even though I was the only person in the car and no weight on passenger seat. The air bags caused all the car damage and second degree burn on my right hand. The passenger air bag lid smashed the car windshield. The car was drivable but unsafe to drive away from accident. I towed it to local Ford dealer (purvis) on hwy 1 for diagnostics test to check the sensors. The dealer report said that the car operated as designed and both air bags should deploy and cause all that damage (car/body) estimated $4914.00 at low speeds. The repair cost is more than the value of the car.
The vehicle was involved in a head on collision. The dual airbags deployed, however due to impact with the air bags the driver died. Please provide additional information. Consumer state that the driver of the vehicle which was his mother in law had a heart condition which May have caused the driver to pass out and hunch over the steering wheel while driving. The driver was not wearing a seat belt. The driver veered into the opposite lane and ran into a parked car. An eye witness saw the driver hunched over the wheel prior to the crash. The air bags deployed into the chest of the driver resulting in blunt force chest injuries to the chest and subsequently died of internal bleeding. The driver did not have any broken bones. Cw
My mother was parked in the car and moved the gear accidentally to drive rather than reverse to back out of her parking space and pushed on the gas which inevitably went forward instead of backwards and hit a curb and barrier, approx. 4-5 ft. In front of her. This caused the drivers & passenger airbags to deploy which destroyed the windshield. Now the car was not obviously going fast at all and there is no way these bags should have deployed. Very bad situation. We had to pay $250.00 to replace the windshield and are currently getting price quotes to repair the air bag system which so far, exceeds the value on the car...
Following a minor accident, no damage, the airbag deployed broke the windshield and dashboard. For 12 months afterward the passenger floor would fill with water during rain showers. I took it to be repaired 4 times with no success finally on the 5th trip the body shop figured out that the glue or filler that was placed between the welded structural components during assembly at the factory had cracked leaving a tiny hole that was siphoning water into the passenger compartment. They applied sealant to the seam between the passenger door panel and roof and so far no more leaks.
A minor accident occured in a parking lot. The car was travelling at approx. 10 MPH and hit the rear end of anothe car which was stationery. The airbags inflated and caused minor injury to the driver and extensive damage to the car. A new windscreen is needed, new airbags need to be installed and there May be more as yet undiagnosed damage. It is my contention that the airbags should not have inflated and that the manufacturer should by rights cover the costs of all damages to the car related to the deployment of the airbags.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 5-10 MPH, the vehicle locked and began to slide. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the preceding vehicle. On impact, the frontal air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact's hand was injured and the front windshield was cracked. He called Ford and is awaiting their response. The vehicle has not been repaired and is unable to be driven. The failure and current mileages were 99,967.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. While driving 35 MPH, the contact rear ended another vehicle stopped at a traffic light. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the right side or her skull and suffered headaches. The radiator was pushed into the engine and the vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The VIN was verified, but appears to be invalid. The failure and current mileages were less than 100,000 kilometers.
NHTSA investigations
Inappropriate air bag deployment
There is no summary currently available
Air bag burn injuries/vehicle fires
Information disclosed during this pe shows allegations of burn injuries resulting from abrasion and/or termal causes.allegations of chemical burns also exist.several incidents allege vehicles fires resulting from deployment of the air bags.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea) to facilitate a thorough review of the complex issues in this matter.
Burn injuries due to air bag deployment
All of the consumer complaints allege an incident in which deployment of the driver frontal air bag caused some type of burn injury.most of these injuries are due to contact and/or abrasion with the air bag and are of relatively minor to moderate severity.it is possible that some drivers May have sustained burn injuries to the skin as a result of hot gases exhausting from the vents of the air bags in the subject…
Airbag complaints in other Focus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2000 Ford Focus?
NHTSA has 191 complaints about the air bags of the 2000 Ford Focus, 5% of the model year's 3,686 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (114 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Ford Focus airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2000 Ford Focus, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Ford Focus airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 76,000 miles, and 13% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 127 crashes, 7 fires and 90 injuries and 5 deaths to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.