Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Ford Focus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Vehicle has a recall for Rear Door Latches. I have attempted to take the vehicle to 2 different Cloninger Ford in Hickory and Cloninger Ford in Valdese. Both dealerships claim they can not do the recall due to parts. I would like to know what steps do I need to take to get my vehicle repaired for this recall!
I was leaving a parking lot doing no more than 5 MPH when the car made a sudden jerking motion. Had the car towed to a garage. The damages were severe rust, sub frame rotted, right front axle broken, right front control arm broken, sway bar bent. The tow driver said the wheels could have fallen off my car and I could have been seriously injured or killed because of the thing that went wrong. I put myself and my family in danger with this death trap. Supposedly this car was inspected February 2018. With everything that went wrong with it and the damages, I dont see how it could have been. I believe there to be fraud involved and believe this matter should be investigated further for putting lives in danger. I paid $3,000 for this car in the middle of feb. 2018. It is now August and it had incurred $3,000 in damages. I sold the car for salvage at $125
Both rear doors on my 2003 Ford Focus do not stay latched and will fly open during driving maneuvers. I cannot have passengers in the back seat of my vehicle because of fear that they could fall out while driving. My model and year were recalled by Ford in 2005 for this issue. When I recently took my vehicle to the Ford dealer to have the issue evaluated I was told there was no issue with the vehicle. The service manager said they didn't need to evaluate the vehicle for the recall from 2005 because the VIN was not in their system and would not report the issue to Ford directly because it was not a safety concern.
Dt*: the contact stated while stopped at a red light both frontal airbags deployed without warning causing the vehicle to rear end the vehicle in front. A police report was filed at the scene and seat belts were in use; no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. The dealership was alerted. On a separate occasion, the hatch back failed to close, vehicle failed to start, the interior lighting failed and the motor made a knocking sound. This occurred intermittently. The manufacturer was alerted.
The sub frame broke while driving the car. Entire sub frame had to be replaced. Almost caused an accident. Struts had to be replaced. Caliper and rotor had to be replaced. Control arm had to be replaced. Just replaced the ignition switch tumblers after the switch locked up and refused to work. There are no recalls listed for this car. Service manager said that Focus are notorious for these problems. Car has 34,000 miles on it. The brake line running from the front of the car to the rear rusted out causing a lose of brakes. The car is dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. While driving at 20 MPH, the passenger side door became ajar. The contact was able to safely pull the vehicle off the roadway to close the door. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 05V030000 (latches/locks/linkages). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Dt: the contact states she owns a 2003 Ford Focus. The rear tires kept going bald on the outside of the tire only. The vehicle is a front wheel drive. This happened four times. Vehicle has 61,000 miles on it. The dealer had to replace the back frame two kits, one on each side due to an engineering notice put out on the tires. This did not fix the problem. The contact had to have the springs, struts, and shocks replaced recently with approximately 55,000 miles on the car, and the problem recurred. Car bounced, and when she hit a bump the car picked up, and the rear end moved to the right or to the left. She had to have the car realigned at least six or seven times. Sometimes the contact would have to go back the very next day to have it aligned again, and the dealer would not charge them for the service.. …
I took my 2003 Ford Focus wagon into the shop because of loud noises I was hearing from under the car while driving car. When they got it up on the lift they had me come to repair bay to look at it because they'd never seen anything like this before. What they'd found was that the cradle or subframe piece that holds the engine in was completed rotted out. It was so bad you could stick your finger through it. They said this is something you'd expect to find on a 1980s car perhaps, but certainly not one that was only five years old. I asked them if they could fix it and they said they could, but this was a safety issue and that I should take it instead to the Ford dealer, which I did. The service manager at the Ford dealer was equally surprised by the condition of the frame and said he'd talk to the warranty about it, but they said a 2003 model was not covered for rust damage. …
The left rear door doesn't latch properly, causing the door to fly open on it's own. Thank goodness kids were not in the car when this occurred. Since the first incident, the door will not latch and is now tethered with rope and can't be used. Ford know about this problem as they have a current recall notice NHTSA campaign id number: 05V030000 Ford claims that my vehicle is not covered. The issue for my vehicle is that it was purchased in the state of florida in 2003 and registered in the state of florida in feb of 2005 when the recall came out. (it is now registered in the state of ny where it has been since 2006. If the recall came out one year later, my car would be covered?) covered or not, Ford knows that the car is unsafe. …
I own a 2003 Ford Focus and back in February 2006 I took the car in for a recall to fix door hinges that become hard to open or actually break. They completed the work. As I was driving the other day my rear passenger door just swung open and the door will no longer latch. I called Ford and they said since they put some grease or something like that on my door back in 2006 (they never put a new latch on the car) that I am out of luck and have to pay the $336 myself to fix the latch that I feel they should have replaced under the recall in the first place. Two of my other three doors are getting hard to open and I feel it is only a matter of time before they completely break also. I have two children and thank god one of them was not in the back seat the day the car door just decided to swing open.
Body complaints in other Focus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2003 Ford Focus?
NHTSA has 40 complaints about the body & structure of the 2003 Ford Focus, 4% of the model year's 977 complaints. The component named most often is body (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Ford Focus body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2003 Ford Focus, though it has 1 recall 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 2003 Ford Focus body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 59,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries and 1 death to body & structure 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.