Vehicle Data Hub

2008 Ford Focus electrical system problems

57 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2008 Ford Focus, which is 17% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
57 17% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
83,000 miles 45 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
0 and 0
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 2008 Ford Focus Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 83,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 4 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 2 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 6 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 6 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 8 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 6 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 5 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 2 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 3 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 2 complaints 200k+ miles: 1 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 83,000 miles
Based on 45 complaints that include mileage. 27% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles4
20k to 40k miles2
40k to 60k miles6
60k to 80k miles6
80k to 100k miles8
100k to 120k miles6
120k to 140k miles5
140k to 160k miles2
160k to 180k miles3
180k to 200k miles2
200k+ miles1

What the data shows

Of the 45 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 83,000 miles, and 27% were reported before 60,000 miles.

None of the electrical system complaints mention a crash, fire, injury or death.

What owners wrote

On numerous occasions, usually at speeds around 67 MPH, the engine looses power and goes to idle. It will not accelerate, but idles at 1100 rpms. The fix it light turns on. Once pulled over, I turn off the engine, then restart. It runs roughly for a moment the appears to run normally and the fix it light goes out. I have taken it to the dealer, but they will not drive it long enough to duplicate the event - usually happens every few hundred miles.

Reported at 62,000 miles, May 2010

Vehicle suddenly lost power, only continuing to run at a rough idle. The vehicle would not allow any acceleration. The only possible response was to limp to the shoulder of the road. After turning off the ignition the vehicle was restarted and ran as normal for the rest of the trip. Four days later the same thing occurred. Upon taking the vehicle to the ford dealer and having them tell me to continue to drive the vehicle until it occurred again and then have it towed in, I convinced them to look further into it.

Reported at 45,800 miles, August 2011

Other problems reported for the 2008 Ford Focus

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Ford models