KnownCarProblems2008 Ford Focus Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 250 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Focus, most often about the electrical (23% of complaints, typically around 83,000 miles). It is 16th of 19 Focus model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2008 Ford Focus problems
Electrical
57 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 83,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, instrument cluster/panel.
I purchased my car used and was very happy with it for the first 3 years, but now I am having problems with the ignition switch. I have had one part replaced, but they are telling my that it is just a temporary solution as after only 2 weeks it would happen again. I would drive somewhere and go into a store, only to…
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. While attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer stated that they would make a note of the failure, but nothing could be done at this time. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 82,000.
Body and structure
41 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the rear doors would not open. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 74,000 and current mileage was 80,000.
Manually unlocked vehicle from driver's door, but latch would not disengage to open the door. Vehicle must be entered via the passenger side and the driver's door must be opened from the interior.
Wheels and tires
29 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 30,000 miles. Parts named most often: pressure monitoring and regulating systems, tread/belt, temporary/emergency spare tire.
My wife took our 2008 Ford Focus in for a routine oil change and tire rotation. The dealer stated they could not rotate the tires because the rear tires were bad. The "cords" in the rear tires had broken inside the tire and now they are out of round. They said they are not under warranty because the dealer did not…
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus equipped with hankook 395 tires, size p195/60/r15, dot [VIN]. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer since he noticed excessive wear on the tires. The dealer informed the contact that the inside of the tires were wearing excessively but they were unable to diagnose the failure.…
Air bags
26 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
I was driving nw on sr626 about 45 MPH when a white car pulled from stop sign striking my car in the pass side, hitting rear tire and body just in front of tire as I was swerving left to miss car. At impact my car spun 180 degrees sliding backwards into a deep ditch, on right side of road, rolling onto drivers side…
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle was involved in head on collision and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained minor bruising and back pain. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision shop. The vehicle was declared…
Doors and locks
25 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 51,500 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
Door latches continue to have problems. We have had them repaired by dealer twice now and the rear door latches are broken again now for the third time! This is a serious safety concern since rear passengers cannot quickly or safely exit vehicle in case of emergency!
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. While attempting to close the front driver side door, the door failed to latch. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure…
Transmission
23 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
My wife was cut off on the highway she gave gas to move and the transmission band broke almost got hit. There's a huge problem with the focuses transmissions and should demand a recall. Car only has 77000 miles transmission should not break when given gas. Never buy a Ford again.
I have an 08 Ford Focus s that has just under 80,000 miles and the car is horrendous recently it won't accelerate in low gear. You can put the pedal down but the engine rpms go up but won't accelerate until you slightly let the pedal go and it will jolt forward and engage the transmission. This isn't the first case…
Suspension
23 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 32,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear, subframe/mounting bracket.
My tires will not last over 1000 to 2000 miles without starting to whine from cuffing on the edges. Ford did not provide any chamber adjustment in front or back and the car wears out tires very quickly. I have a little over 61,000 miles on my 2008 and am on my fifth set of tires. I have added replacement arms to the…
I went and got new tires and alignment in sep.2009 and within 10000 miles on 03-06-10 my tires were chopped on the inside the dealer were I had got my car from had told me that it was caused by the alignment so I went back were I got the tires done they had told me it was my struts they went ahead an put new tires on…
Engine
21 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 68,500 miles.
I purchased my Ford back in may of 2014, it had 60,000 mile at the time of purchase. The car passed all inspections. I did purchased an extended warranty. For the past week I noticed the car felt as if it was idling high and not accelerating properly, on and off. On october 23, 2014, while driving at 20-25 miles per…
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH the vehicle stalled without any warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 68,000 and…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Ford Focus recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: This condition may prevent the driver air bag from properly deploying and reduce occupant protection in the event of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace your driver air bag module free of charge. The recall began on november 20, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Full defect summary
Certain vehicles fail to conform to the requirements specified in federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, 'occupant crash protection.' the driver air bag module may not have been properly assembled.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Tire valve cracking
Summary
On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant ch
Questions about the 2008 Ford Focus
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Ford Focus?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (57 complaints, typically around 83,000 miles); body and structure (41 complaints, typically around 74,000 miles); wheels and tires (29 complaints, typically around 30,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Ford Focus have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from November 21, 2007 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Ford Focus?
- It is 16th of 19 Focus model years by number of complaints, with 250 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.