2002 Ford Focus Fuel System

FUEL PUMP QUIT ON MY 2002 FORD FOCUS - CAR STALLED IN TRAFFIC. THIS SAME PROBLEM ON YEAR 2000 AND 2001 FORD FOCUS HAVE BEEN GIVEN EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT NOT THE 2002. *JB

(1) VEHICLE WITH APPROXIMATELY 40K MILES EXHIBITED HARD STARTING AND OCCASIONAL STUMBLE FOR 6-8 WEEKS. (2) FAILURE WAS CLOGGED FUEL PUMP AND VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. (3) CORRECTION WAS REPLACEMENT OF FUEL PUMP WITH UPDATED UNIT. *NM

MY FORD FOCUS 2002 IS STARTING TO STALL & HESITATE WHILE DRIVING. I ORIGINALLY HAD BELIEVED IT WAS BAD FUEL BUT IT IS RECURRING & ONCE IT STALLS IT IS DIFFICULT TO NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP RUNNING WHEN PUTTING IT INTO DRIVE. I HAVE HAD IT TOWED ONCE & LOOKED AT BY MY MECHANIC, WHO IS PUZZLED AT THIS POINT (FUEL ADDITIVE, OIL CHANGE, FILTERS CHANGED, SPARK PLUGS CLEANED). IT SEEMS TO BE WORSE WHEN THE GAS GAGE IS @ OR BELOW A 1/4 OF A TANK. I HAVE READ THAT THERE WAS A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THE 2000-2001 MODELS & AM INQUIRING IF ANYONE WITH A 2002 IS REPORTING SUCH INCIDENTS. I BOUGHT THE CAR USED (FROM A FORD DEALER) WITH 12,000 (I THINK) MILES ON THE SPEEDOMETER & HAVE BEEN FAIRLY HAPPY UNTIL JUST THE LAST 60 DAYS. I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAD NO PROBLEMS UNTIL I RAN VERY LOW ON GAS ONE NIGHT & STOPPED & FILLED UP AT A STATION THAT I NORMALLY DO NOT USE, BUT IT IS A STATION THAT DOES A GREAT DEAL OF BUSINESS IN THE AREA WHERE I WORK. I THOUGHT THAT I MAY HAVE GOTTEN SOME BAD FUEL OR HAD RUN THE TANK SO LOW THAT "GUNK" FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK HAD GOTTEN INTO THE FUEL. I USED SOME "FUEL ADDITIVE" & I KNOW THAT MY MECHANIC (AFTER TOWING IT) ALSO USED A FUEL ADDITIVE...EVERYTHING WAS FINE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BUT THEN IT WAS HESITATING/JERKING WHILE I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON A 1/4 OF A TANK OF PREMIUM FUEL (MY MECHANIC SUGGESTED I ONLY PUT IN $10.00 OF GAS IN CASE IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP). MY MECHANIC DOES NOT BELIEVE IT IS THE FUEL PUMP BECAUSE ONCE HE GOT IT TO RUN & HE HAD IT RUNNING HOT HE HAD NO PROBLEMS...HE FEELS I MAY NEED TO JUST WAIT IT OUT...STALLING WHILE IN TRAFFIC IS A BIT TOO ADVENTUROUS FOR ME!!! *NM

2002 FORD FOCUS STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. MECHANIC REPLACED FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY AND FUEL PUMP RELAY. *KB ***NAR*** *JB

MY 2002 FORD FOCUS WITH 80,000 MILES STALLS WHEN GOING HIGH SPEEDS, AND IT HAS HAPPENED 5 TIMES, TO DATE. THE LAST TIME I WAS GOING 55 MPH ON AN ENTRANCE RAMP TO THE FREEWAY, WITH OVER 1/4 TANK OF GAS WHEN THE ENGINE STALLED, VEHICLE LOST POWER, INCLUDING POWER STEERING. I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES AND STOP IN "V" WHERE ROAD SPLIT, CAME VERY CLOSE TO HAVING AN ACCIDENT. TOOK IT TO FORD DEALERSHIP AT RECOMMENDATION OF FORD, DETERMINED IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP. THE FIRST PERSON WE TALKED TO AT FORD SAID THEY WOULD FIX IT ONCE WE TOOK IT IN AND PAY FOR DIAGNOSTIC, THE SECOND PERSON WE CALLED AT FORD AFTER TAKING IT IN SAID IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE THE PART. I AM EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD TO LOSE STEERING AND POWER AT HIGH SPEEDS. *JB

DRIVING MY 2002 ZX5 FORD FOCUS AROUND PITTSBURGH, WITH LESS THAN A 1/4 TANK THE ENGINE STARTED STUTTERING. THEN THE CAR STALLED. I TURNED IT BACK ON AND DROVE ABOUT A 1/4 MILE WHEN IT STARTED STUTTERING AND SHAKING PRETTY BAD AGAIN. WHEN I TRIED TO ACCELERATE, THERE WAS NO POWER AND THE ENGINE STALLED AGAIN. I WAITED A LITTLE BEFORE TURNING IT BACK ON. IT DID THE SAME THING TWICE MORE; ONCE IT STALLED WHEN I WAS DOING A LEFT TURN AT A BUSY TRAFFIC INTERSECTION AND THE OTHER WHILE DRIVING DOWN A CROWDED AVENUE. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO MAKE THE 2-HOUR TRIP BACK HOME WITHOUT ANY INCIDENTS. I TOOK IT TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP IN MY TOWN AND THEY TOLD ME THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP, FUEL FILTER AND ALSO PERFORM A FUEL FLUSH. THE TOTAL COST IS ROUGHLY $600.00. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN THE INTERNET AND THERE IS A HISTORY OF FAILURES WITH THE FUEL DELIVERY MODULE ON 2000-2001 FOCUS. FORD HAS CLAIMED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED IN 2002. MY BUMPER-TO-BUMPER WARRANTY EXPIRED THIS PAST JANUARY AND THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THAT SINCE MY CAR IS 2002 THE EXTENDED COVERAGE PROGRAM 03N01 DOES NOT APPLY IN MY CASE, THUS I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. I DISAGREE AND I DO NOT FEEL THAT THE COST SHOULD BE MY RESPONSIBILITY. MY CAR SHOWS ALL THE SYMPTOMS DESCRIBED ON THE 03N01 DOCUMENT, WHICH IS A QUALITY ISSUE THAT FORD SHOULD HAVE RESOLVED AND CLEARLY HAS NOT. IT IS UNSAFE DRIVING A CAR THAT CAN STALL WITHOUT WARNING LEAVING THE DRIVER STUCK IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *JB

STALLED, POWER LOSS, ROUGH IDLE. *JB

CAR SPUTTERED, STALLED, AND DIED IN TRAFFIC ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS (ONE MONTH APART), REQUIRING TOWING. I WOULD DESCRIBE THE SYMPTOM AS "FUEL STARVATION", LIKE A BAD FUEL PUMP OR FILTER. BOTH TIMES, IT OCCURRED WITH A WARM ENGINE, 1/4 TANK OF GAS, AND ACCELERATING NORMALLY FROM A STOP. MECHANIC SUBSEQUENTLY DETECTED NO PROBLEMS, EXCEPT BLOWN FUEL PUMP FUSE. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. UPON INSPECTION, THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THE FUEL DELIVERY MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, HOWEVER NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. THERE IS A NHTSA RECALL, # 03V482000, REGARDING THE FUEL SYSTEM GASOLINE. THE VEHICLE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS AS INDICATED IN THE RECALL; HOWEVER IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.

OUR 2002 FORD FOCUS STALLS, HESITATES AROUND 1/4 OF A TANK. SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO FUEL DELIVERY MODULE COMPLAINT OF PREVIOUS YEAR MODELS. *NM

CAR IS STALLING AND DYING WHEN STOPPED. WILL NOT IDLE PROPERLY. HAVE REPLACE BOTH SPARK PLUGS AND PLUG WIRES EVEN THOUGH ONLY HAVE 36K MILES ON THE CAR. ONLY THING DIAGNOSTIC TEST SHOW IS THE FUEL IS TOO LEAN. I AM ASSUMING THAT I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE FUEL FILTER SINCE FORD WILL NOT INCLUDE THE 2002 MODELS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS AS EARLIER MODELS. *JB

R.E. FORD FOCUS 2002 FUEL PUMP FAILURE [XXX] I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR WITH THE ENGINE IDLING WAITING TO PICK MY WIFE UP FROM WORK AT AROUND 5PM CST. AS SHE APPROACHED I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND EXITED THE VEHICLE SO SHE COULD DRIVE. UP TO THIS POINT WE HAVE LOVED OUR FOCUS BECAUSE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN RELIABLE. WHEN SHE STARTED UP THE ENGINE, IT STARTED TO SHAKE. THE SHAKING BECAME PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AND THEN THE ENGINE STARTED TO SPUTTER. SHE TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND WAITED A MINUTE AND THEN RESTARTED. THE SHAKING CONTINUED AT A LESSER INTENSITY SO SHE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. ABOUT 25 FEET LATER, IN THE MIDDLE OF BUSY OFFICE BUILDING ACCESS ROAD, THE ENGINE STALLED. SHE TRIED TO RESTART THE ENGINE TO NO AVAIL. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE ENGINE WAS NOT GETTING ANY FUEL. WE HAD A 1/4 OF A TANK. WE CHECK THE FUEL PUMP FUSE AND TRIED THE FUEL PUMP RESET SWITCH. THINKING THAT THE FUEL TANK INDICATOR MIGHT BE DEFECTIVE AND THAT THE CAR MIGHT BE OUT OF FUEL, MY WIFE HAD A CO-WORKER DRIVER HER TO A LOCAL GAS STATION TO GET GAS. ADDING GAS DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM AND THE FUEL TANK INDICATOR SHOWED THE ADDED FUEL. WHEN NONE OF THE QUICK FIXES WORKED, WE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO APPLE VALLEY FORD IN APPLE VALLEY MINNESOTA FOR SERVICING. THEY IDENTIFIED THE FUEL PUMP AS THE CAUSE AND BECAUSE IT IS NOT COVERED BY THE 2000/2001 FOCUS "EXTENDED WARRANTY" FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, WE WILL HAVE TO PAY AROUND $600 TO REPAIR THE CAR. I AM FURIOUS ABOUT THE COST BUT MORE SO ABOUT THE DANGEROUS AND UNTENABLE SITUATION THIS DEFECT PUTS MY LIFE AND THE LIFE OF MY LOVED ONES. HOW COULD THE 2002 NOT BE INCLUDED? AFTER RESEARCH INTO THIS ISSUE, I AM ANGRY THAT OUR LIVES ARE NOT CONSIDER IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO FORD OR TO THE NHTSA. I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE ENGINE HAD STALLED ON THE FREEWAY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF RECENT COMPLAINTS ONLINE BY OTHER 2002 FOCUS CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THEIR FUEL PUMPS MULTIPLE TIMES. *NM UPDATED 07/19/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

RE: EA02022 FUEL PUMP IS FAILING. CAR STALLS AT IDLE. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER STATES THAT 2002 FORD FOCUS ZX5 WAS HAVING FUEL ECONOMY PROBLEMS. THE CONSUMER INDICATED THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM WAS OPERATING POORLY AND FUEL WAS SURGING AND HESITATING. WHEN GOING DOWN HILL THE CAR ROCKETED AND HAD TO HIT THE BRAKES. THE CONSUMER CONTACTED FORD ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND COMPLAINED THAT CAR WAS NOT GETTING GOOD FUEL MILEAGE AND WAS NOT WORKING CORRECTLY. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. *AK

I OWN A 2002 FORD FOCUS AND HAVING TROUBLES WITH HESITATION AND STALLING WHEN THE FUEL TANK NEARS OR BELOW A QUARTER OF A TANK OF FUEL. REPLACED THE FUEL FILTER TRYING TO REMOVE POSSIBLE PROBLEM. PROBLEM STILL EXCISTS. RESEARCHED AND FOUND THAT FORD HAS IDENTIFIED YEARS 2000-2001 FOCUS'S WITH THE SAME DEFECT IN THE FUEL DELIVERY MODULE. SINCE THIS VEHICLE IS DRIVEN BY OUR COLLEGE AGED DAUGHTER, I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THIS CONDITION. I TELEPHONED FORD CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND THEY HAVE INDICATED AN UNWILLINGNESS TO ACT IN CORRECTING THIS DEFECT. I FURTHER IDENTIFIED THAT THERE WAS A CURRENT EXTENDED COVERAGE PROGRAM 03N01 FOR THE 2000 AND 2001 YEAR MODELS. FURTHER IN A ODI RESUME, INVESTIGATION #EA02-022 INDICATES THAT 2002 YEAR VEHICLES ARE ALSO BEING AFFECTED.

WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE AND DRIVING WITH THE AIR CONDITIONER ON OR ON A SLIGHT ENCLINE VEHICLE STALLED. THIS AFFECTED THE STEERING AND BRAKES. VEHICLE IS AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE FOURTH TIME. *AK

VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN DUE TO A DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP.*AK

ON A TRIP TO FLORIDA FROM NC, MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, IT TURNED OFF ON IT'S OWN. A WEEK LATER THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. BEFORE I HAD THE DIAGNOSTICS RUN, IT WENT OFF AGAIN. FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE INCIDENT DATE, THE LIGHT ONCE AGAIN CAME ON. DURING ALL OF THIS, THE CAR RAN FINE, NO STALLING, NO SURGES OR FAILURES. I PARKED MY CAR AT WORK, AND 12 HOURS LATER CAME OUT TO GO HOME, ONLY TO FIND MY CAR WOULD NOT START. AFTER HAVING IT TOWED TO A SERVICE STATION, I FOUND OUT THAT MY FUEL PUMP WAS SHOT, AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS CAR IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD, AND A FUEL PUMP SHOULD LAST A LOT LONGER THAN THAT. AND THE FACT THAT I HAVE TO PAY $500 OUT OF POCKET FOR FORD USING A FAULTY PART IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THE INVESTIGATION ON THIS MATTER WAS CLOSED. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ENACTED. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP AT THIS TIME, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THEY STILL HAVE THE OLD PART. I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF MY CAR HAD JUST QUIT ON THE WAY TO FLORIDA WITH MY FOUR YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND I ALONE ON A BUSY I95.*AK

CONSUMER STARTED UP THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED GAS SMELL. CONSUMER GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE, LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE, AND NOTICED GAS LEAKING. IMMEDIATELY HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED. *AK

MY 2002 FORD FOCUS HAS HAD A NO START AND STALLING PROBLEM SINCE 9-28-03.I HAVE TAKEN IT TO ELITE FORD IN COVINA CA. THIRTY TIMES OR MORE AND THEY CANT SEEM TO DIAGNOIS THE PROBLEM.I ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY FRONT END MAKING A CLUNKING SOUND,THEY SAID IT WAS A SWAY BAR THAT WAS LOOSE AND THEY TIGHTENED IT.THAT PROBLEM STILL EXISTS ALSO.*AK

CONTAMINATION IN FUEL TANK CAUSING ENGINE PULSING AND NEAR STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS IN 1ST AND 2ND GEAR. FUEL FROM FUEL FILTER TANK SIDE INTAKE IS BROWN, ALMOST THE COLOR OF TEA, FROM CONTAMINATION. DEALER MECHANIC, SERVICE TECH, AND SERVICE MANAGER CLAIM THE CONTAMINATION IN THE PLASTIC TANK IS FROM BAD GAS. I DISPUTED THIS CLAIM AND INFORMED THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT I'VE BEEN HAVING THESE ENGINE PROBLEMS SINCE A MONTH OR SO AFTER TAKING DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE AND THEY'VE BECOME STEADILY WORSE.*AK

VEHICLE SMELLS LIKE GAS. DEALER NOTIFIED. PH

OWNERS MANUAL STATES THAT VEHICLE SHOULD GET 26 GALLONS IN CITY AND 32 ON HIGHWAY. HOWEVER,VEHICLE GETS 18 GALLONS IN CITY. CONSUMER FEELS THE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT IN OWNERS MANUAL. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE STARTED LEAKING GASOLINE FROM GAS TANK. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK