Overview & Reviews

Raising the bar for compact vehicles, Ford is offering its stability system -- called AdvanceTrac -- on ZTS Sedans and ZX3 Hatchbacks. Ford has also made previously optional features standard equipment. Highlights include a driver armrest on every model except LX and power windows on SE Sedans and Wagons. SE Wagons also get the Zetec engine as standard and can be ordered with a manual transmission. A new manual moonroof is offered on the ZX3 and new 16-inch wheels are standard on ZTS Sedans and optional on ZX3 Coupes.

• Thoughtful and large interior, smooth ride, sharp steering, good selection of body configurations and features.

• Lots of suspension movement, not enough low-end grunt, polarizing styling.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 229.00

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  Note to all the poor souls who own the 2.0 SPI variant. - 2001 Ford Focus
  By pc1967 - October 28 - 6:26 pm

  As the title states if you own the 2.0 SPI SOHC aka (2.0 split port) variant. Sell this car immediately its a literal time bomb. Possibly the worst engine design by Ford ever. No matter how you baby that engine expect the valve seats to fly directly into the cylinder head anytime after 70K miles. The minimum cost to fix is actually almost as much as the cars valuation. Even if you catch it prior to damage its a very costly fix and one that could have been avoided by Ford if the had made a slight design variation to the 2.0 SPI. Symptoms of failing valve seats include. Engine chatter Running rough or stalling in idle A #2 or #4 cylinder misfire code Avoid the Focus VIN P at all costs

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  Garbage - 2001 Ford Focus
  By bg - September 25 - 2:00 am

  Had 13k miles on it and was 5 y/o when purchased. Thought the proverbial little old lady must have owned it. How mistaken I was. A/c out 6 months later. Cooling system problems, electrical problems, bearing problems, fuel pump, door panels rattle (this will drive you slowly insane), brake problems, motor mounts all replaced, transmission mounts. Need I say more?

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  If bought a rebuilt in an Emergency. - 2001 Ford Focus
  By TheNIGHTCRAWLER - September 25 - 2:00 am

  I needed a car on the spot. A mechanic rebuilt this wrecked car for his wife. I bought it from him as he was moving into the soccer mom SUB stage of life. He replaced the ignition and suspension and life is good. I would have bought this car whether or not anybody signed off on it. They did. Bare bones and gets me where I have to go dependably. This works for me. Note: Its an automatic. the green button under the shifter turns off the overdrive. The child safety locks on the rear doors still confuse me. No children. Anti-theft key is nice. I like to date. Basic car is a keeper.

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  Out of Focus - 2001 Ford Focus
  By Pat - February 23 - 11:03 am

  This car was a comfortable, responsive, and very nice car up until 2006 when at 57,000 miles the fuel system began to cause it to stall intermittently. Since then, with plenty of $$ in repairs to the fuel system and rentals, it still stalls out anywhere - anytime - any speed - very dangerous. Now Ford is telling me that it needs a $1200 wiring harness, which I cannot afford to do after all the rental and repair expenses. The charge for diagnosing this: $181.00. In 2001, I had an immediate repair under warranty for something that caused a tsunami in the front passenger floor. Now its moldy throughout. A spring broke last year, fixed under a warranty "silent" recall. Steer clear of this car.

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  Stay away from these cars - 2001 Ford Focus
  By Nathan M. - November 23 - 4:43 pm

  This car was purchased used from a private seller in early 2009 to be used as a commuter vehicle in Canada. The car passed a licenced (3rd party) inspection when I bought it, but has since required ~$3,000 in repairs in the nine months that I have been driving it - about the same amount I spent buying the wretched thing. So far the front shocks & struts have had to be replaced twice (the first OEM replacement parts broke less than a month after being replaced by a licensed shop), the front brake pads, rotors, & calipers, the rear brake cylinders, the heater core, and the OEM 6-CD stereo. Needless to say, I wont be buying another Ford in the foreseeable future.

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  Throw away car - 2001 Ford Focus
  By sherman - August 15 - 3:49 pm

  Bad motor problems, Too mini plastic parts on motor. Pullies, stat. housing. radiator. Electrical problems, burned up factory installed wiring harness, alt. went out and you cannot replace it in the drive way, it needs a lift to remove from the bottom. Plastick core support? power window motor went bad. Rear view mirrors will brake off if bumped in any direction. Transponder key broke in half. Upper timing belt cover cracked and making noise. I have spent nearly 2000.00 fixing a car I bought for 3000.00. KEEP away from this car.. Looks good, very bad quality. It will suck you dry 100 bucks at a time.

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  You get what you pay for. - 2001 Ford Focus
  By tommyschw - February 25 - 9:59 am

  We bought this car used for a pretty good price. We have had it for 3 years now and it has been fairly reliable. It can be a bear to work on yourself at times, due to the way it was built. There have been sensor problems and it is leaking coolant now. Hopefully we can get a few more years out of it, we take really good care of it, and it still seems to have problems. More so than my Pontiac Grand Am.

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  ZX3 - 2001 Ford Focus
  By Alex - January 28 - 11:14 am

  Since my wife and I have had this car, weve had several issues with it. Fords build quality is poor. Weve had issues with the air conditioner leaking, after its rained the back of the car has had large amounts of water in it, the ignition where you put the key in broke and had to be replaced, the plastic (let me reinforce plastic) thermostat housing unit was leaking coolant, also the hoses arent sufficient enough to carry the coolant since they eventually balloon up, the car jerks when you back up, etc. The radio always shut off and you have to push in the radio/cd area to turn it back on. Other than maintenance issues, the car is pretty comfortable inside and is fun to drive.

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  Never again - 2001 Ford Focus
  By JTnVa - December 3 - 2:00 am

  I put allot of milage on my car . More miles in a year than most people do in two . High milage or not this car has been a headache . I absolutley hate it . In between having to replace the o2 sensor not 1, or 2 times , but 3 . Having to have both rear window motors replaced twice.My quater window broke due to body flex,and why does a quater window cost more than a windshield anyways.My ac quit working right after my warrenty ran out.My radiator dumped all of its fluid out on a roadtrip. My power steering pump, and a few other things.Not to mention all the recalls this car has had its not worth what Im paying for it.

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  Focus SE fun & cool WHEN not in service - 2001 Ford Focus
  By dbhero - September 7 - 10:00 am

  I really wanted to like this car, it fits what I need to fit in it, and it is fun to drive. My hubby liked his, though he never bothered to fix some minor quirks. Unfortunately, mine has been in the shop TOO many times! The service light kept coming on for various reasons causing 4 return visits within the 1st 1.5 months & several since. The seatbelts broke in the back, the CD player ate my CDs. I traded in my van for this because I needed dependability, wondering if I should have kept 1997 van. Anyone interested in a class action /lemon law?