[Vwdiesel] Ford Focus

[William J Toensing]

I own as my daily driver, a 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 manual 5 speed transmission. This car was designed in Europe, Germany I believe. It was introduced first in Europe in 1999. It was cheapened somewhat for the American market & introduced in the 2000 model year. When first introduced in the American market it was subject to several defects, recalls, etc. I bought mine on the Labor day weekend 2001, just a few days before 9/11 It was assembled in Aug. 2001.  I bought it new for $11,643 including Calif. sales tax & license, about half the price I would have had to pay for a VW Golf or Jetta TDI & would have had to buy one outside of Calif, probably at full list price, & would have had to find one that had over 7,500 miles on it to legally bring it back & register it in Calif. I would have had to pay around $22,000 including tax & license to get a new Toyota Prius hybrid, which I also would have prefered.
I now have 86,000+ miles on my Focus, which was assembled in Mexico as are VW Golfs & Jettas. My Focus has been one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned-so far. It is a fun car to drive & has European handling which is why I bought the car plus its low price. I would have much prefered a VW TDI or Prius but not at double the price, which I couldn't afford either. However, the Focus fuel economy STINKS! About 26 to 30 MPG. If Ford wants to sell me another Focus, they better bring in the European diesel verson which gets 50 MPG! I Focus overall quality exceeds VW quality. Consumers Reports also thinks so. The ONLY reason a VW is on my radar screen is because they offer a TDI in most states.
I fear fear my Focus may not be as reliable for the next 80,000 miles but past experience has showen be this on all the other cars I have owned. I am 73 years old & have been driving since age 15. The "check engine" light reciently came on & my OBD II code reader showed a failure code of PO460 which is a "fuel level sensor circuit malfunction". Frankly, I don't know how to trouble shoot this. Some of the people on the "Club Focus" chat line suggest the fuel level floar & sensor need replacement. I have been getting some iratic fuel level readings for a few years but it seems to be fairly accurate when the tank gete to 1/4 full. I was able to turn the "check engine" light off with my OBD II code reader. How long will it stay off? We will see.