Is the Focus xz3 dangerous to drive??

Just took possession of low mileage,5500 miles, Ford Focus, year 2000, zx3.

According to KCBS in Los Angeles and the latest roll-over tests by NHTSA the Focus zx3 is dangerous to drive and has been the most recalled vehicle in history.

Should I get rid of it before it puts on new mileage?

Great driving car, but consumer complaints, auto reports and government crash statistics scare the hell out of me!

Am I over reacting?

Please advise.

Reply to
Walter Blackman
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Yes.

A car is only as safe as the driver that is driving it.

Reply to
John R Cambron

"Walter Blackman" wrote

Yes, assuming your post is even genuine. Recalls were mostly minor, and rollover and crash performance is well up to industry standards, and better than many similar cars of the same year.

Reply to
Dave Gower

Looks like the media's "culture of fear" has caught another victim. Forget what the media tells you and get on with the enjoyable experience of driving a Focus. Given the excellent handling of the car and decent body structure, I would say it offers more active and passive safety than most cars out there.

Oh, and watch out for spills in the kitchen... those wet floors will kill you.

Reply to
Stephen F.

The Focus gets a 4-star rollover resistance rating from the US NHTSA. Magazine reviews do not mention any unusual rollover instability, and they generally give praise to the Focus' handling. Rollovers are more of a concern with high center of gravity vehicles, like many SUVs.

However, the ZX3 has had poor results for the rear seat passenger in NHTSA side crash tests (without side air bags, which are an option for the front seat only in any case). Whether you consider that to be "dangerous" may depend on whether you have people sitting in the back seat, whether you drive in places with lots of red light runners, and what alternative vehicle you'd drive instead.

2000 was the year of the recalls, but you should be able to go to a Ford dealer to check the recall history and get any that were not done fixed.

With only 5500 miles, you'll want to inspect the car for any problems due to being used in the city, used for cold start short trips, or parked for long periods of time without being driven.

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

Reply to
aotv09

Go figure. I have a 2000 ZX3. Recent crash tests have not been kind to this car particularily for rear seat passengers. Yes, it has had it's share of recalls. I bought mine in the fall of 2003 and within a few weeks went back to the dealer to see what had been done on the car prior to my purchase. I was surprised yet pleased to learn that there were many recalls but that everything was up to date on my car. I might add that it has been trouble free for the past year and a half.

Now my other car is a 2005 Subaru Outback and guess how it scored on NHTSA testing?

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The only one with 5 stars in all four categories.

So, now I have the best and worst cars LOL. However that will not change my driving style which is relatively careful and cautious anyway.

My advice: unless it is mechanically troublesome, keep it and enjoy it. I know I will keep mine. It is more fun to drive than my Outback.

Ron

Reply to
Ron Joiner

The most recalled vehicle in history I'm not so sure about. But regardless, getting recalled doesn't make a vehicle inherently unsafe. In fact, if the the recalls are performed on your vehicle, then you can probably have comfort in knowing that the purpose of the recall is to improve the safety of the car, thus eliminating the "unsafe" factor.

As far as government crash tests go, they don't tend to represent real world data. The insurance industry does their own research based on real world crashes, and they analyze damage, repair costs, injuries and fatalities in each crash a specific vehicle is involved in. And the majority of times you'll find that their results are VERY different from the NHTSA tests.

Probably not. Don't believe everything you see on the news. The news station you were watching probably had a slow news day and had to drum up ratings, so they decided to pick on the focus and make it out to be some kind of death trap based on only theoretical data and recalls. I'd bet real money that more people have died in Crown Victorias than in Ford Foci, and some would argue that doesn't make the Crown Vic any less safe.

Reply to
Isaiah Beard

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