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 2007 Ford Focus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I have some major concerns with my brand new Ford Focus. I was in a very minor car accident. The only damage to my vehicle was a couple of cracks in the front bumper, loss of the Ford emblem and cracked grill. The front was not caved in or the grill either. The support brackets for the grill were still in tact. Absolutely no damage to the hood. As I got back onto the road the hood flew up and smashed out the windshield, and some damage to the roof. The hood latch assembly, in my opinion, was poorly constructed. The middle part of the latch is metal but it is incased in plastic. Keep in mind that when the hood flew up, the hood latch assembly was still attached to the hood. This is not a very good safety feature for the vehicle. …
The front driver's side door latch mechanism will not catch all the time and requires several times shutting the door before it will catch. Also, occasionally while driving the door will become unlatched and open on its own. I've seen many complaints about this online and there has been a recall on other years with the same part but not on the 2007 Focus.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that all four door latches became inoperable in warm climates. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Tl contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the driver's side air bag sensor would continuously illuminate on the instrument panel. The dealer removed the entire dashboard in order to replace the mechanism. The repairs were covered under warranty. Less than a year later, the vehicle was taken to the dealer again for routine maintenance to the steering wheel. It was discovered that the passenger side rear door would not lock and the driver's side air bag sensor continued to illuminate on the instrument panel. The dealer could not duplicate the failures. A diagnostic was performed; however, no error codes were produced. The contact also stated that while making left or right turns, the steering wheel felt as if it would pop off. The dealer found a defect with the steering column and had the component replaced. …
Passanger rear door lock will not lock with manual operation or the remote. This is a safety issue because our kids can just open the rear door because you have no ability to lock the door with the child safety lock feature. The lock is jammed in the unlock position. There is a recall on the 2005 Focus door locks but not the 2007? The latch lock assembly is the same from 2000-2007 Ford model years. There are a lot of people reporting this issue all over the web. I hope people start reporting this more on this site. The dealer wants to charge me $500 to replace the jammed unlocked door latch that requires the complete latch assembly to be replaced. I'm also not happy that anyone can get at my child by just pulling on the door handle. If you can't lock the rear door it makes it real easy for someone to harm our children. …
3 of 4 doors have now broken on my 2007 Focus, due to the same problem as what was recalled on the 05 model -- the doors will not latch and/or lock. The door mechanism is the same for 2000-07, so I'm not sure why 07 was not recalled as well. I paid the dealer over $1000 to fix the front driver and back passenger doors in 5/12, and now in 7/12, the back driver door is doing the same thing -- when you go to shut it, it just pops back open, as the latch does not catch. I had to drive home from my baby shower last night with the rear doors tethered to eachother to keep the door from flapping open while I drove down the road. …
My driver's side rear door will not lock. When I try to auto lock it, it does nothing. And there is no way to manually lock it. Because of this, the door remains unlocked at all times and I cannot even child proof because that would allow the door to be open from the outside, not the inside, therefore still essentially not locked. This is a safety issue for anyone riding in the backseat if they accidently open the door for whatever reason. More importantly, for me, it is a security issue if my car is never locked. I have looked online and seen many, many others with this exact issue with the same make, model, and year (as well as other years too). I learned there was a recall for this exact issue with the '05 model but Ford for some reason will not take responibility for the other years as well. …
I bought a 2007 Ford Focus in May 2009, and shortly after I bought the car I started have problems with the key getting stuck in the ignition. You can move the car in & out of gear even though the key is in the off position, but unable to remove the key. I took it to the Ford garage where I bought it, said they had not heard of the Focus having this type of issue even though they had 2 Focus' in the garage with the exact same problem. Donnley Ford in shelby ohio stated this is not covered under the warranty and is not covered under the extended warranty they sold me for an extra $80 a month (which they said at time of purchase would cover everything) and would cost between $800-$1200 and the after market replacement May not actually fix the problem. …
My 2007 Ford Focus rear passenger door lock will not lock. This is a real safety issue because I have children who can pull on the door and open it while I am driving down the road. I can not even "child lock" it. In addition, on Tuesday night I was robbed of all my christmas presents that were in the trunk of my car because the door will not lock and someone accessed my car through the rear door and popped the trunk. They also stole my usps rain gear and important paperwork I had in my car ( I am a union representative). There is several complaints about this issue and we should not wait until a child dies from falling out on the freeway to recall these vehicles.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the rear passenger side door opened without intent. The contact maneuvered to the side of the road and attempted to close the door yet the door failed to remain in a secured position. The vehicle passenger manually held the door to prevent it from opening when in motion. The contact stated that the failure was related to the plastic door latch. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were notified and they were unable to provide assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Focus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2007 Ford Focus?
NHTSA has 30 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2007 Ford Focus, 8% of the model year's 391 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 Ford Focus door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 2007 Ford Focus. 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 2007 Ford Focus door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 66,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries 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.