2008 Ford Focus Problems, Recalls & Reliability
336 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2008 Ford Focus, alongside 2 recall campaigns and 1 defect investigation. It scores 6/100 on the trouble index — one of this model's quieter years. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 86,500 miles.
One of the quieter years. Relative to its siblings, the 2008 Ford Focus has drawn well-below-average complaint volume with at least four years on the road.
Better year
Where 2008 sits among all Focus years
What owners report
“Door will not unlock manually or with the door unlock buttons. This problem is intermittent. Sometimes one door won't unlock, sometimes all doors won't unlock.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Focus
“In july of 2015 the right front door of my car would not open from the outside. In july and august of 2016 my drivers door will not open from the outside as well as the back door on the right side. I'm disabled and i have to leave my doors unlocked so that i can crawl into the back seat and open my…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Focus
“Going through rear tires. Causing it to act like rear wheel drive vehicle on wet pavement. Had an alignment dine about 1 month ago and had good tires on it, they are now bald. Also back end slides when hitting even small bumps. First time was about 2 years ago, got it aligned and new tires was fine…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Focus
“My son rear ended another vehicle at about 35 mph air bags didn't deploy other vehicle was stopped”— owner report to NHTSA, 2008 Focus
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 259 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 66,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 35,000 and 100,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (2)
K2 MOTOR IS RECALLING 1,921 AFTERMARKET HEADLAMPS OF VARIOUS MODELS SOLD FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS ARE MISSING THE AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTOR WHICH FAILS TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD…
Fix: K2 MOTOR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMEBER 17, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT K2 MOTOR AT 1-909-839-2992.
CERTAIN VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED IN FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208, 'OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.' THE DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ASSEMBLED.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE YOUR DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 20, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
Federal defect investigations
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2008 Ford Focus reliable?
The 2008 Ford Focus drew 336 complaints in federal safety records — one of this model's quieter years. Its trouble index is 6/100, scored against the model's worst year (2000).
What are the most common 2008 Ford Focus problems?
The top reported problems for the 2008 Ford Focus are electrical (57 complaints), body & structure (42), and wheels & tires (35).
At what mileage do 2008 Ford Focus problems show up?
Owners most often report 2008 Ford Focus problems around 66,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 35,000 and 100,000 miles.
Does the 2008 Ford Focus have recalls?
2 recall campaigns apply to the 2008 Ford Focus. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.