2002 FORD FOCUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 901 complaints · 8 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (251 complaints · 27.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 81
  • Fires 20
  • Injuries 75
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2001 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 251 of 901 owner complaints (27.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 251 complaints, 27.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 251 · 27.9% · 4 crash reports 11 fire reports ENGINE: 93 complaints, 10.3% of reports ENGINE 93 · 10.3% · 4 fire reports SUSPENSION: 82 complaints, 9.1% of reports SUSPENSION 82 · 9.1% · 9 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 62 complaints, 6.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 62 · 6.9% · 2 fire reports AIR BAGS: 60 complaints, 6.7% of reports AIR BAGS 60 · 6.7% · 38 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 57 complaints, 6.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 57 · 6.3% · 7 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 41 complaints, 4.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 41 · 4.6% STEERING: 37 complaints, 4.1% of reports STEERING 37 · 4.1% · 9 crash reports STRUCTURE: 37 complaints, 4.1% of reports STRUCTURE 37 · 4.1% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 616 complaints, 68.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 616 · 68.4% · 51 crash reports 10 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 251 27.9% 4 crashes · 11 fires
ENGINE 93 10.3% 0 crashes · 4 fires
SUSPENSION 82 9.1% 9 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 62 6.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
AIR BAGS 60 6.7% 38 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 57 6.3% 7 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 41 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 37 4.1% 9 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 37 4.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 616 68.4% 51 crashes · 10 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2005. 2002-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2002-Q3: 43 owner reports 43 2002-Q4: 27 owner reports 27 2003-Q1: 31 owner reports 31 2003-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2003-Q3: 44 owner reports 44 2003-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2004-Q1: 59 owner reports 59 2004-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2004-Q3: 29 owner reports 29 2004-Q4: 34 owner reports 34 2005-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2005-Q2: 28 owner reports 28 2005-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2005-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2006-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2006-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2006-Q3: 28 owner reports 28 2006-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2007-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2007-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2007-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2008-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2008-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2008-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2008-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2009-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2009-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2009-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2009-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2010-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2010-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2010-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2010-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2011-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2011-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2012-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2012-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2013-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2002 Oct 2024 Recall campaign 05V030000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V030000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 06E049000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E049000 Recall campaign 06E056000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E056000 Recall campaign 08E050000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E050000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000 Recall campaign 12E007000 ◆ Recall campaign 12E007000 Investigation PE02044 ● Investigation PE02044 Investigation EA02014 ● Investigation EA02014 Investigation EA02023 ● Investigation EA02023 Investigation EA02022 ● Investigation EA02022 Investigation AQ10001 ● Investigation AQ10001
  • Campaign 05V030000 was reported 1,121 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 08E050000 was reported 1,670 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 1,943 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q1 Owner reports 4
2002-Q2 Owner reports 21
2002-Q3 Owner reports 43
2002-Q4 Owner reports 27
2003-Q1 Owner reports 31
2003-Q2 Owner reports 27
2003-Q3 Owner reports 44
2003-Q4 Owner reports 19
2004-Q1 Owner reports 59
2004-Q2 Owner reports 25
2004-Q3 Owner reports 29
2004-Q4 Owner reports 34
2005-Q1 Owner reports 22
2005-Q2 Owner reports 28
2005-Q3 Owner reports 27
2005-Q4 Owner reports 18
2006-Q1 Owner reports 17
2006-Q2 Owner reports 26
2006-Q3 Owner reports 28
2006-Q4 Owner reports 17
2007-Q1 Owner reports 12
2007-Q2 Owner reports 10
2007-Q3 Owner reports 15
2007-Q4 Owner reports 15
2008-Q1 Owner reports 15
2008-Q2 Owner reports 16
2008-Q3 Owner reports 18
2008-Q4 Owner reports 21
2009-Q1 Owner reports 19
2009-Q2 Owner reports 16
2009-Q3 Owner reports 10
2009-Q4 Owner reports 13
2010-Q1 Owner reports 14
2010-Q2 Owner reports 15
2010-Q3 Owner reports 10
2010-Q4 Owner reports 6
2011-Q1 Owner reports 10
2011-Q2 Owner reports 9
2011-Q3 Owner reports 12
2011-Q4 Owner reports 10
2012-Q1 Owner reports 8
2012-Q2 Owner reports 6
2012-Q3 Owner reports 7
2012-Q4 Owner reports 5
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 9
2013-Q4 Owner reports 4
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 6
2014-Q3 Owner reports 4
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 6
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 5
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 05V030000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 06E049000
Recall campaign 1 06E056000
Recall campaign 1 08E050000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
Recall campaign 1 12E007000
Defect investigation 1 PE02044
Defect investigation 1 EA02014
Defect investigation 1 EA02023
Defect investigation 1 EA02022
Defect investigation 1 AQ10001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (8)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V030000

    Report date
    Component:
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
    Consequence:
    IF NOT LATCHED PROPERLY, THE DOOR MAY OPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. IF AN OCCUPANT FELL OUT OF THE VEHICLE, PERSONAL INJURIES COULD OCCUR.
    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. A LATCH THAT DOES NOT PASS THE EVALUATION WILL BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, A STICKER WILL BE AFFIXED TO THE REAR DOORS ADVISING THE OWNERS TO USE THE RECOMMENDED LUBRICANT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 9, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E049000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E056000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    FAILURE OF THIS CONNECTION COULD LEAD TO FUEL SPILLAGE AND, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    UFI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 4, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT UFI FILTERS USA AT 800-230-5876.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E050000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTORS, THE LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY BE AFFECTED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    K2 MOTOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMEBER 17, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT K2 MOTOR AT 1-909-839-2992.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  8. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 12E007000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THE ASSEMBLY SEPARATES DURING INSTALLATION, IT COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO THE INSTALLER. IF THE ASSEMBLY SEPARATES WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, IT COULD RESULT IN SECONDARY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE AND POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    RIDE CONTROL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND WILL SET UP PROCEDURES TO INSPECT, REPAIR, AND/OR REPLACE THE AFFECTED PARTS WITHOUT CHARGE TO THE OWNER. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 30, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RIDE CONTROL AT 1-800-999-3903.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 901 complaints · page 1 of 37

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources