YearsTell

all vehicles · every Focus year · method

Ford Focus 2008

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.23 per 1,000

better than this nameplate’s own median · from 46 complaints filed in the first three years, of 249 ever. 95% lower bound 0.17.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model yearPer 1,000Complaints
20080.2346
20090.3053
20100.4778
20110.1323
20123.11655
20132.75661
20143.29748
20150.64134
20160.83154
20171.08176
20180.99134

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Electrical System 57 complaints

ignition2849%
key2747%
ignition switch1323%
unlock1018%

When it breaks

21% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 61,640 miles, from 199 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 0 of which list a recall campaign. Owners had filed 17 complaints about this component over roughly 4 months before an investigation opened.

TIRE VALVE CRACKING

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

10211644 · 10216930 · 10218952 · 10221643 · 10223217 · 10229381

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.