Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
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).
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. …
Dt: the contact stated while waiting at a stop light the vehicle in front of put on the brakes, this in turn caused the contact's vehicle to rear end the other vehicle. The seat belt did not restrain the contact. She hit her chest on the steering wheel. The vehicle was driven to the dealership to have this problem checked. No repairs were made. Updated 1/25/2006 - the dealer determined that the passenger side seat belt was also faulty.
While driving at 45 MPH, another vehicle ran a stop sign and collided with the right front end of the consumer's vehicle. During the collision, the driver's shoulder belt did not lock properly. The consumer suffered injuries to the her right shoulder.
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. …
The brakes have been looked at three time because of noise and it's been serviced several times. It's in service right now and has been there for two weeks. I don't know if they are working on it or if they are repairing other things or what. I haven't had heat throughout the coldest part of the winter. The seat belts don't work and the paint is peeling. The car has locked up not letting me start the engine twice, then just out of the blue it decided to start. I tried to turn in and the car dealer at Ford said he wouldn't touch it, didn't want it. We bought it aug. 9 2000-Ford credit, simple interest 6.5 --first payment September $456.99 a month they say we owe too much to trade in ???this made no since. Now I know what's been going on. My husband has been out to sea usnavy for almost a year and I'm scared to drive it I'm a nervous wreck about this car and I don't know what to do. …
Ford Focus 2000. Facts about this accident include that the impact was head on with the damage to left front of the vehicle. The passenger , jacob, was belted , but the seat belt failed to restrain him. The air bag did not open until he hit the wind shield of the vehicle. When the air bags opened the steering wheel caught fire and burned..combustion was subsequent to the air bag opening and there was a great deal of smoke that the driver inhaled before the passenger in the rear seat , michael williams, got out of the car and put the fire out. She was trapped in the car by the seat belt , it would not release but it failed to restrain her and she hit the windshield ..not nearly as bad as jacob, but it is broken. The steering wheel was burned. Michael saw some sort of sparks that he thought was from the seat belt.
Ford Focus 2000. Facts about this accident include that the impact was head on with the damage to left front of the vehicle. The passenger , jacob, was belted , but the seat belt failed to restrain him. The air bag did not open until he hit the wind shield of the vehicle. When the air bags opened the steering wheel caught fire and burned..combustion was subsequent to the air bag opening and there was a great deal of smoke that the driver inhaled before the passenger in the rear seat , michael williams, got out of the car and put the fire out. She was trapped in the car by the seat belt , it would not release but it failed to restrain her and she hit the windshield ..not nearly as bad as jacob, but it is broken. The steering wheel was burned. Michael saw some sort of sparks that he thought was from the seat belt.
The Ford Focus collided head-on with a Plymouth neon that was on a dark roadway with its lights off after a prior collision. The buckle pretensioner for the Ford driver fired, but the retractor did not lock allowing the driver to strike his head on the windshield. There was material worn away from the b-pillar from the rapid extension of webbing, and latch plate had a channel carved into the plastic, where the webbing rapidly passed through the latch plate. There was not evidence that the seat belt was able to provide any significant restraining force.
Seat belt does not stay snug around my body while buckled, becomes loose and does not take up any of the slack. When the seat belt is unbuckled it does not recoil, just lays there like a dead snake. I have to feed the seat belt back into the seat belt tier to avoid slamming the door on the seat belt. This seat belt malfunction occurred on the drivers side front seat. I had to pay $216 dollars to get it fixed, the dealership was not willing to cover its safety equipment.
This complaint is concerning clarification of our previous complaints to NHTSA regarding the 2000 Ford Focus : #10104088 and #10107840. I am extremely concerned about the misinterpretation of data collected by your agency and posted for public review. Deaths are not posted, nor are they included as injuries. This misrepresents the seriousness of the vehicle and equipment failures reported.
Seat Belt complaints in other Focus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 2000 Ford Focus?
NHTSA has 54 complaints about the seat belts of the 2000 Ford Focus, 1% of the model year's 3,686 complaints. The component named most often is front › anchorage (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Ford Focus seat belt problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seat belts 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 seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 37,000 miles, and 14% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 4 fires and 13 injuries and 4 deaths to seat belts 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.