In June of my wife and I bought a new Ford Focus. Being our first new car, we were very excited. The car held up pretty well and until last week (June), we hadn't had any problems with it. The car only had 18,000 miles when the brakes began to grind. I took the car to North Point Ford in Atlanta on my lunch break on a Tuesday afternoon only a few days after the problem began.By this time the grinding was worse. I told the mechanic that I needed to get my 15,000 mile service and that I was having some brake problems; although they were busy, I was assured that they would have time to do the service but they may not be able to repair the brakes that day. It's important to note that a brake inspection is part of the 15,000 mile service.By the end of the day I still had not heard back from the mechanic and I began to call to find out the status of my car. I was informed that the service was complete but they did not do any brake work and an appointment was rescheduled for Saturday morning.
Saturday morning rolled around and I had the car back into North Point Ford at 8 A.M. Because it was my only car, I decided to wander around the nearby stores until it was finished. When I returned, I learned that my car had not been repaired because they did not have the necessary parts (if they had looked at them Tuesday when they were supposed to, they would have had the opportunity to get the parts in). The brake pads and rotors were shot and need to be replaced. Given, I am not a car expert but I do know that brakes, and especially rotors should last a little longer than 18000 miles. The repairs would cost me approximately $400.
When I returned home I began making some phone calls to find out if any brake shops could do the repairs and do them for cheaper. I was amazed what I learned.
I called several brake shops (Meineke, Just Brakes, and Midas to name a few) and they all said the same thing. The brakes on the Ford Focus wear out incredibly fast. Not only do the parts wear out fast, but they are hard to find and very expensive as well. I was also told that most brakes should last a minimum of 25,000 miles and usually up to 50,000, and I know of some cases that they last almost 100,000 miles. Disturbed by this information I called Ford (see contacts for the number) and was told that they knew nothing of any problem with brakes and that I was responsible for any repairs because the warranty on the brakes are only good for 12 months or 12,000 miles.
I had the brakes repaired later that day by another shop and was assured that I would be back with in 20,000 miles because due to the construction of the brake system, they would not last longer than that. I can look forward to spend that much money on my brakes about every year. That's not what I call a high quality product.
A web search for "Ford Focus Brake Problems" produced a great many sites pertaining to the Ford Focus and the great many problems they have had. I have linked several of those sites to this one (see Links). I have read a lot of stories similar to mine and I know I am not the only one with this problem. The intent is not to put Ford out of business, it is simply to raise enough attention and awareness that Ford will have to recognize it and just maybe they will stand behind their product rather than look away and pretend it doesn't exist. Please help spread the word.
Steven L.
Http://www.FordFocusBrakeProblems.com
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