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2009 Ford Focus

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2009 Ford Focus are lower than the model-year median of 864.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

189 reports with mileage · 40 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 45 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

26 crash reports2 fire reports13 injury reports

Tires complaints

17 reports
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12,000 miles · Jul 16, 2011
Latches/locks/linkagesTires

2009 FORD FOCUS SE. BOUGHT NEW JULY 2009. MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH POWER DOOR LOCKS NOT UNLOCKING FROM INSIDE/OUTSIDE W/KEY,REMOTE,HANDLES. WARRANTY WORK, 3 TIMES IN PAST ONE (1) YEAR ON DOOR LOCKS. LATEST 7/15/11. SAFETY CONCERNS OF BEING TRAPPED IN VEHICLE. CONSTANTLY BEING TOLD BY FORD TECHS. ROAD DUST CAUSING MALFUNCTION. HAV…

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2009 FORD FOCUS SE. BOUGHT NEW JULY 2009. MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH POWER DOOR LOCKS NOT UNLOCKING FROM INSIDE/OUTSIDE W/KEY,REMOTE,HANDLES. WARRANTY WORK, 3 TIMES IN PAST ONE (1) YEAR ON DOOR LOCKS. LATEST 7/15/11. SAFETY CONCERNS OF BEING TRAPPED IN VEHICLE. CONSTANTLY BEING TOLD BY FORD TECHS. ROAD DUST CAUSING MALFUNCTION. HAVE OWNED AND DRIVEN MANY OTHER MAKES/MODELS OF FORD CARS/TRUCKS W/ POWER LOCKS ON GRAVEL ROADS WITHOUT PROBLEMS. ONLY THIS CAR HAS THIS PROBLEM. 1ST. FRONT PASSENGER DOOR HAD LOCK ASSEMBLY REPLACED.WOULDN'T UNLOCK INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. 2ND. LEFT BACK WOULDN'T UNLOCK INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. DOOR LOCK ADJUSTED BY FORD TECH. SO FAR BOTH WORKING OK. 3RD. TRAPPED OUTSIDE CAR. FINALLY UNLOCKED W/ REMOTE AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS. KEY IN OUTER LOCK WOULDN'T UNLOCK DOOR. NOW IT'S THE DRIVER DOOR THAT HAS TO HAVE THE LOCK ASSEMBLY REPLACED AND IS SCHEDULED TO HAVE THIS DONE.ALSO HAVE COMPLAINT OF ORIGINAL NEW TIRES (HANKOOK P195/60/R15) WEARING OUT AND HAD TO REPLACE AT 21,000 MILES ON 7/09/11. PS. TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR IS A USELESS DEVICE. *TT

NHTSA ODI #10413114

Mileage unknown · Jul 6, 2011
Air BagsEngine And Engine CoolingService Brakes, Hydraulic

2009 FORD FOCUS. CONSUMER STATES PROBLEM WITH TICKING NOISE *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WERE ENGINE/EXHAUST NOISE EMITTING FROM THE VEHICLE AFTER IT WAS TURNED OFF. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, SOME FORD VEHICLE MAY EXHIBIT A TICKING/PINGING NOISE FROM THE HOT EXHAUST AFTER THE ENGINE IS TURNED OFF AND THE EXHAUST COOLS DOWN, WH…

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2009 FORD FOCUS. CONSUMER STATES PROBLEM WITH TICKING NOISE *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WERE ENGINE/EXHAUST NOISE EMITTING FROM THE VEHICLE AFTER IT WAS TURNED OFF. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, SOME FORD VEHICLE MAY EXHIBIT A TICKING/PINGING NOISE FROM THE HOT EXHAUST AFTER THE ENGINE IS TURNED OFF AND THE EXHAUST COOLS DOWN, WHICH IS DUE TO THE EXHAUST SYSTEM EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING DURING HEATING AND COOLING CYCLES. THE TICKING/PINGING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED NORMAL. THE BRAKE FLUID LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND IT WAS DETERMINED THE FLUID WAS LOW. THE TIRES WERE FOUND TO BE OUT OF ROUND, THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE TPMS LIGHT ILLUMINATED DUE TO LOW PRESSURE IN ONE OF THE TIRES. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT ONE OF THE TIRES HAD A LEAK. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10411074

25,000 miles · Oct 25, 2010
SuspensionTires

PRE MATURE TIRE WEAR, RIGHT REAR TIRE WORE OUT AT 25,000 MI. WORE OUT IN 3 AREAS DIAGONALLY ACROSS TIRE FACE. EXCESSIVE VIBRATION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. TIRES HAVE BEEN BALANCED 3 DIFFERENT TIMES. NEW TIRES REBALANCED TWICE. 45,000 MI. ON VEHICLE NOW. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10362217

31,084 miles · Oct 17, 2010
Tires

I RECENTLY HAD FOUR (4) NEW TIRES INSTALLED ON MY 2009 FORD FOCUS. IN THE PROCESS, ONE OR MORE TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS WERE DAMAGED. THE TIRE STORE HAS 'WELDED' THE BROKEN ITEM BACK INTO PLACE, A TEMPORARY FIX AT BEST. THE TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS ARE APPARENTLY FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE TO THE TYPES OF STRESS PUT ON THE AUTO WHEEL…

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I RECENTLY HAD FOUR (4) NEW TIRES INSTALLED ON MY 2009 FORD FOCUS. IN THE PROCESS, ONE OR MORE TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS WERE DAMAGED. THE TIRE STORE HAS 'WELDED' THE BROKEN ITEM BACK INTO PLACE, A TEMPORARY FIX AT BEST. THE TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS ARE APPARENTLY FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE TO THE TYPES OF STRESS PUT ON THE AUTO WHEELS DURING TIRE CHANGES. I ASSUME THAT THE "FIX" MAY FAIL AT ANY TIME, AND ALSO THAT DURING FUTURE TIRE REPLACEMENTS, OTHER SENSORS WILL BE DAMAGED. FORD NEEDS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. I KNOW TWO OTHER FORD FOCUS OWNERS, BOTH OF WHOM HAVE SUFFERED SIMILAR PROBLEMS DURING TIRE CHANGES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10360948

14,000 miles · May 26, 2010
Tires

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD FOCUS. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE PASSENGER REAR TIRES BLEW OUT. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY WOULD ONLY REPLACE TWO OF THE FOUR TIRES AND REFUSED TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 14,000.

NHTSA ODI #10332357

24,274 miles · Apr 7, 2010
Tires

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD FOCUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION WAS TURNED ON THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM MONITOR WARNING LIGHT INDICATOR DID NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN TIRE FAILURE OCCURRED. DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE WARNING INDICATOR THE TIRES COMPLETELY DEFLATED AND NEARLY SHREDDED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHENEVER THE VE…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD FOCUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION WAS TURNED ON THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM MONITOR WARNING LIGHT INDICATOR DID NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN TIRE FAILURE OCCURRED. DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE WARNING INDICATOR THE TIRES COMPLETELY DEFLATED AND NEARLY SHREDDED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHENEVER THE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER APPROXIMATELY THREE TIMES FOR THE IDENTICAL FAILURE. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM MONITOR OPERATED PROPERLY AND THAT THE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHEN THE TIRE PRESSURE MEASURED 15 PSI, ALTHOUGH THE ACCURATE PRESSURE SHOULD MEASURE BETWEEN 26 TO 27 PSI. THE CONTACT WAS WAITING ON A RESPONSE FROM THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 24,274. THE CURRENT WAS MILEAGE WAS 33,512.

NHTSA ODI #10324203

17,200 miles · Mar 12, 2010
SuspensionTires

NEAR MISS. I BOUGHT A NEW 2009 FORD FOCUS 7 MONTHS AGO; IT HAD 25 MILES ON IT. I HAVE PUT 18,000 MILES ON IT SO FAR, MOSTLY IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS. THE BACK STARTS THUMPING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ABOUT 1000 MILES AGO SO TODAY I TAKE IT IN TO BILL KNIGHT FORD, WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR (74133) , AND THEY TELL ME I NEED A REAR END ALIGNM…

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NEAR MISS. I BOUGHT A NEW 2009 FORD FOCUS 7 MONTHS AGO; IT HAD 25 MILES ON IT. I HAVE PUT 18,000 MILES ON IT SO FAR, MOSTLY IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS. THE BACK STARTS THUMPING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ABOUT 1000 MILES AGO SO TODAY I TAKE IT IN TO BILL KNIGHT FORD, WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR (74133) , AND THEY TELL ME I NEED A REAR END ALIGNMENT AND 2 NEW TIRES. AMAZING ENOUGH, THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIRES IN STOCK- I'M GUESSING CAUSE EVERYONE THAT TRADED IN THE CLUNKERS 7 MONTHS AGO (TO BUY A FOCUS), ALREADY BEAT ME TO THE DEALER SHIP. IS IT JUST ME OR DOES THE $17,000 CAR HAVE PROBLEMS? *TR

NHTSA ODI #10319338

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.