2004 Ford Focus consumer reviews

In 2020 and a half I bought a 2004 Focus ZTS 5-speed manual. It had a 113,000 miles on it and 30,000 miles on it. I bought it for right at $1,900 and about a month after buying it I did put a new catalytic converter on it. That was a costly repair, just the part alone will be anywhere from $500 to about $800. Then you've got the labor. The labor cost is and can be very extensive because they have to loosen the motor mounts lower your motor to get to where they can take it out. I'm not sure what Ford was thinking when they designed this because for a car that brand spanky knew there's only $18,000, and it has a $1,500 repair for a catalytic converter because it bolts up directly to your manifold there is no pipe that comes down off the manifold to it and then a pipe to your muffler. I found a reputable muffler shop in my area that was willing and somehow able to do it for $850 and that included one O2 sensor that I wanted to have replaced the one that mounts right up on your converter the number one. In about 9 months later I have to replace the alternator. I chose to let a mechanic that has done work for me for 30 years tackle that one. Once again unless you have the really right tools like I'm sure the shops do, the job for the Pro. I wasn't willing to tackle this one. Got to loosen the motor mount dropped the motor down a little bit just not my cup of tea I mean I could have done it I just chose not to and the result was I spent like $700 but my mechanic also gave me a 2-year warranty on both the parts and the labor if it were to fail then the alternator itself has a lifetime warranty. Can't go wrong with a warranty on that like that! When I bought the car there was a little bit of surface rust around the front fender wells. I have absolutely loved my Ford Focus I'm in the process right now of taking care of the body work that I have to do which again it's nothing but surface rust I'm going to be easy peasy or it has been so far and I'm going to paint the front fenders and the hood with one coat and I'm going to give the whole car a coat of paint using exactly what it came out of the factory with. Not necessarily OEM but it is the factory paint Oxford White. The car has been so good to me that I feel that I owe it to this car to make it look really nice. I mean it looks nice now but it's a 2004 is 2022 the car is 18 years old. Has got to be the factory paint job what's the exception of a few scratches here and there looks awesome hasn't oxidized or anything like that It was pretty awesome I also tended to windows practically black and I got a sunroof and everything works on the car just like it should. It's paid for and if I have to put you know a few hundred dollars into it every year for upkeep I'm good with that. I changed the oil religiously. The only thing I didn't like but at the same time it does have advantages is the way that the catalytic converter mounts directly to your manifold. But the positive side of that is I'll never have to worry about someone stealing my catalytic converter LOL.

Love it my grandson drives it now but have had problems with transmation have had to have it fixed three times have other people had trouble with it

Car had 75k mileage at used purchase. Spent lots in repairs. Do not recommend. I could afford the repairs because I didn't have car payments. I'm sure other focus models have more reliability. Research!

My grandparents gave me their old blue 2004 ford focus SE automatic sedan with 287,000km and an automatic transmission. Comfort wise I am six foot and never had an issue with how much head or leg room I had. People in the back seat didn't mind either as most peoples heads didnt even touch the roof. The seats were decent and I had no problem with them on long trips (longest I drove this car in one sitting was only 3 hours though). The only thing is they are kind of narrow so you find you and the person in the passenger seat fighting over the center armrest, if you have one in your car. I had no problem loading up all 5 seats in this car. Only thing I don't like is that you can't recline the seats flat. The interior design isn't the most proffesional looking but I like the bubbly looks of it, it gives the car personality. Mine was equipped with the 4 speed automatic and the 2.0 dohc zetec engine, it actually gets up and goes pretty good. I never had a problem with acceleration in this car, it isnt by any means a race car but it isnt slow as xxxx either. The gas mileage wasn't amazing for a 4 banger but it is still decent. I got 7l/100km (33.6mpg) average at best and 13.5l/100km (17.4mpg) at worst. On average the gas cost me 8.6cents/km to drive. I had the car from June 2019 to December 2019, over that time in total I put $291cad in servicing and maintenence. I did the motor mount which cost $25.80, got some cheap used tires off kijiji for $50, got windshield wipers for $6.90, did one oil change which cost me about $22, and thats all. Other than that all I did was put gas in the tank. The car started every time and even started in -30 no problem. A/C worked like a dream aswell. I did have issues though. One thing is that the car had a plethura of electrical problems. For example when I pushed on the brakes the door open light came on, and if I pushed hard enough the parking brake light would come on. Also the car always smelled like burning oil as the valve cover gasket was leaking. I didnt mind it though and couldn't be bothered to fix it. I could pull off peices from the bottom of the car it was so rusty. Also there was a small pin sized hole in the passenger rear floorboard that would leak water in if the car was in the perfect position in rain. It only happened to me once but there was a foot of water in my back seat. The power locks didn't work cause someone put in a aftermarket alarm system and that screwed everything up. Power trunk release didn't work either. The rear power windows stopped working for a week but then started working again. But thats all. I drove the car on average 70km (43 miles) a day and it was fine generally through snow and sun. Sadly in December I was driving the car along and the transmission just stopped working. Park and neutral worked, but none of the gears worked, they all acted as neutral. I won't go into detail, but I spent alot of time trying to figure out the issue, and couldn't. I might get another focus but with a manual transmission this time. Overall this is a very good car value wise and you get alot for your money compared to the competition. Even on the SE trim I had, I still got power windows, height adjusting seat, cruise control, power trunk release, alloy wheels, 135hp. I just don't think that I would pay more than 2,000 for one.

I’ve got 287000 miles on it and it still gets up and goes. Great car, paid 400 for it and I would do it again

This car is fantastic. I have had it since 2005 and have never had any major problems with it. I have had the usual wear and tear problems within the past 4 years, but that's expected. The pickup is very good and handling is nice. Comfort is ok, the seats are what you'd expect from a small, non luxury car. Heating and AC are great. Gas mileage is very good. In winter it is awesome on snow with snow tires. I have 170,000 miles on it. Only real problem is that the door and rocker panels are rusted badly. But it still runs great

I got this car used with around 160000 miles. Just passed 200000 miles a few weeks ago. It’s been pretty reliable. Not going to really impress people with a tan Ford Focus but it’s drives surprisingly well with pretty good acceleration. My favorite thing to do is to take off in front of sports cars after stop lights. Overall stanly the tanly has been a great car and I’d definitely recommend the 2004 Ford Focus.

I bought this car right before I started college, it was cheap, good on gas and reliable. It wasn't f;ashy but it was exactly what I needed at the time. I would have bought it again if I had to make the choice again. I drove it a good 100,000 miles and it probably had a longer life to live had a deer not jumped in front of it.

My problem is the gas filter. After reading cars .com. My car acts as If the gas wont get threw. Soon enough. I have to keep pushing the gas pedal for it to catch up.

There are a few things you need to know, first.. my Focus broke more motor mounts than I can count, has to be close to one a year. My wife drives that car with a philosophy of "Stay under 2k RPMS". I would reccomend putting in racing ones as each break. Solid blocks. It will run harder, but save you lots of money in the long run. THAT said, it was fairly reliable. The things that break often are not usually expensive. You can get them cheap. Its a nice car for when you need a car, its not super fun... but it gets the job done. Its a workhorse.