Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
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).
Dt: the turn signal do not cancel after a turn. The spring broke three times. The trunk does not latch properly. Dealership has taken care of both issues, but the problem recurred. In cold weather the idle speed was too high. When put into reverse it backed out like a rocket. This caused an accident on April 9, 2000. The consumer was backing out with the back door open. It happened so fast he did not have a chance to put on the brakes. The car door hit the garage post. There was no police report. Consumer stated he had mental injuries and lost his job. Vehicle was still idling high in cold weather.
Ignition failed, had to be replaced, tires wear incredibly fast (4 sets of tires at 45000 miles), radio cut out, had to be replaced twice, brakes failed at least three times causing two accidents, dealership said they replaced them, but lied and never did, was forced to spend $500 having them replaced, trunk doesn't close, bad suspension, spun out on an exit ramp
We purchased the car in May 2000. In January 2002 the lock stuck several times. In September 2003, the lock began to stick again. We took it to the Ford dealership where we purchased the car. We were told we had to pay for the repair ourselves because the car was out of warranty (over 3 years old but with only ~26,000 miles). We ended up paying ~$75. October 16, 2004 the same thing happened again. The car now has 32,937 miles on it. After a call to the same dealer we are informed that the repair was only warranted for 12 months. If only the part had broken a month sooner! We ended up calling a locksmith who drilled out the lock and replaced it for $116. The locksmith told my wife that this is a common problem with the Ford Focus and two other Ford models. The locksmith repairs about four fords a month. I did some quick math on the problem. …
Fatality vehicle fire, dec. 8 2004. My husband is the original owner of a 2000 Ford Focus, subject to numerous service visits to bill brown Ford, livonia mi for: ignition, steering column, wheel bearing, brake, rear window control, seat belt &trunk latches, overhead light and engine light. The vacuum line & fuel pump & valve assembly were replaced 2/03, followed by stalling. In 6/03, A/C compressor & manifold line replaced. Fuel line & pump failure in 8/03, resulted in gasoline spill on residential street minutes after parking. Bogging followed repairs, PCM reprogrammed & leaking pvc tube replaced 1/04. Fuel pump again replaced. In 8/04, our 24 year old son took ownership of this problematic car. We are uncertain as to whether vehicle malfunction caused a 35 MPH collision with a fire hydrant. An immediate engine explosion and fuel fed fire trapped my son and his passenger. …
I have a 2000 Ford Focus se. The vehicle has power locks. Over the course of a week, every time I would hit the button to unlock/lock the door it would react very lazy until finally the button stopped working. Once the power locks stopped working, I was unable to manually unlock the driver door and not only that but I was unable to open the door because it was frozen in the lock position. I had to climb out the passenger side. Even if I pulled the handle on the inside of the car on the driver's door, it wouldn't open. The fuse had blown and it wasn't until I replaced the fuse that the drivers door would open again. When the power locks are working the driver's door will open when I pull the handle, but the fuse blew again two days ago and the same thing happened, the door is stuck in the lock position and I have to crawl out the passenger side. …
I have owned this car since December of 2003 and it has been a very large money pit. This time the car just stopped running. I had taken it to autozone and they told me it need an EGR sensor or hosing for it. When I was turning at a light the car just stopped running when I had just turned onto a main highway. There has been major electrical problems with it since day one. This car has had 5 clutches in it and I have complained about that all in itself because a car should never need that many clutches within 100,000 miles. That is ridiculous and very expensive and I have gotten no where with that even though there are other 2000 Ford Focus's with the same issue. My one head light is not right it never has been there is corrosion on the inside of the headlamp. The rear door latch does not work on the passenger side of the vehicle. …
I have a 2000 Ford Focus. As most know, winters in the mid-west are very cold. I was out at my grandparents house in new richmond, wisconsin; picking up some boxes in the garage. They travel to arizona for the winter months so they were not home. I went to start my car and the key would not turn over in the ignition. It was completely stuck. I tried everything. I made sure it was in park, tried turning the steering wheel side to side, everything. It would not budge. I was all alone. It was freezing cold. Luckily I had my phone so I was able to call for help. I ended up having to pay 200$ to have a locksmith come out and fix it. This problem is clearly a safety hazard and Ford knows it. Ford knows all the complaints from people having this exact same problem. Why should we have to pay for a problem they know exists. …
I'm writing to you about (part # xs4z*11582 cyl assy strg col ignition lock) I've had it replaced 2 times and it's at Ford as I write this for the third time. Two times it was covered under my Ford ESP (extented warranty) at a $200 deductable.I can't find paper work on first time but second time was (dec. 9, 2003) 74960 miles on car. This time it hasn't been 12 months or 1200 miles (current date and offically at Ford service center July 17, 2004 (83500 or so miles) I don't think I'll be charged this time because it's within the warranty time but I won't be sure till Monday. I know several people that have had the same problem. My neighbor just went through this a week ago and message boards online are teaming with hundreds if not thousands with this same problem. This is definitly a part problem that Ford refuses to own up to. Ford does not give old parts back. …
On 09/26/04 opened the driver's side back door of my 2000 Ford Focus sedan to place something in the back seat. I closed the door and proceeded to start the car and drive away. It was then I noticed the door ajar light on and pulled to the side of the road. Found the driver's side back door would not latch. The latch would lock sometimes if pushed with my finger but not when closing the door normally. At that point I drove home with my son holding the door closed until we could use a bungee cord to hold it shut. The car is presently at elyria Ford in elyria, ohio being repaired. I have called Ford motor co and filed a complaint also after investigating on the internet and finding that a probe has been launched into failing door latches on 2000 Ford Focus the VIN no is [redacted], mfg date 02/00. The car has 32000 miles on it. Updated 07/24/2012
While driving the dash light began to flicker then the vehicle shut down suddenly while in gear. Campaign id number : 00V411000. The consumer was told that the power cable to the battery was the result of the problem. Campaign id number : 02V288000. The consumer was told by the service department that this is a problem because the vehicle could explode. The warranty company turned the consumer down stating that the problem was not part of the warranty. The key gets stuck in the vehicles ignition and would not come out. The doors would not close properly and remained open while the vehicle was in gear. When the tire was removed the consumer noticed that the wheel was missing a lug nut. Campaign id number : 00V303000 the air vent did not stay open when the A/C was on high. The brakes howled like a wounded dog from the time of purchase. Pads and rotors needed to be replaced.
Related recalls
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
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…
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.
NHTSA investigations
Rear door latch failure
This investigation was opened on April 8, 2004, based on 17 reports that one or both rear door latches did not function properly.the complainants alleged that the doors were difficult to closeand that the door latches would not remain latched while the vehicles were being driven, resulting in a door coming open.several of the complainants reported that corrosion of the door latch mechanism caused binding of the…
Rear door latch failure
This investigation was opened on April 8, 2004 as pe04-033 and upgraded on August 18, 2004 to ea04-023.the complainants alleged that the rear door latches failed to keep the doors in a closed position, resulting in rear doors coming open while the vehicles were being driven.some complainants reported that at timesa rear door, or doors, could be difficult to close.others reported that corrosion of the door latch…
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Focus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2000 Ford Focus?
NHTSA has 201 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2000 Ford Focus, 5% of the model year's 3,686 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (114 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Ford Focus door lock & latch problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 05V-030 (latch, Feb 1, 2005). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 Ford Focus door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 72,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 2 fires and 4 injuries and 4 deaths to locks & latches 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.