NHTSA Safety Recalls
2004 Ford Focus Recalls
The 2004 Ford Focus has 6 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on February 1, 2005.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2004 Ford Focus. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 6
- Owner complaints
- 387
- Crashes reported
- 34
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
13 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2004 Ford Focus, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
6 recalls on the 2004 Ford Focus
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- Campaign
- 05V030000
- Reported
- February 1, 2005
- Vehicles affected
- up to 589,932
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2003, 2005 Focus
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 06E026000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2003, 2005 Focus, 42 other models
Fuel system, gasoline
- Campaign
- 06E056000
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2002–2003, 2005–2007 Focus, 24 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 08E050000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2003, 2005–2008 Focus, 12 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2003 Focus, 46 other models
Equipment
- Campaign
- 12E007000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2000–2003, 2005 Focus
2004 Ford Focus complaints by year
NHTSA has received 387 owner complaints about the 2004 Ford Focus, the newest on January 13, 2026. Of these, 34 describe a crash (9%) and 13 a fire; owners reported 34 injuries and 1 death.
In complaints about the 2004 Ford Focus, the component group named most often is the electrical system (47%), followed by the service brakes, hydraulic (8%) and the steering (7%).
None of the 2004 Ford Focus's 6 recalls concerns the electrical system.
Where 2004 Ford Focus owners gave the mileage (293 complaints), the median was 53,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Electrical System183
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic31
- Steering29
- Latches/Locks/Linkages28
- Air Bags24
- Engine And Engine Cooling22
Complaints received, by year
| 2004 | 49 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 45 | |
| 2006 | 42 | |
| 2007 | 40 | |
| 2008 | 53 | |
| 2009 | 44 | |
| 2010 | 29 | |
| 2011 | 17 | |
| 2012 | 5 | |
| 2013 | 7 | |
| 2014 | 13 | |
| 2015 | 9 | |
| 2016 | 11 | |
| 2017 | 7 | |
| 2018 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 7 | |
| 2020 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 1 |
Complaints about the 2004 Ford Focus peaked in 2008, when NHTSA received 53. 45% arrived between 2003 and 2007, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2004 vehicles, the 2004 Ford Focus drew 0.8× the complaints of the median Ford Focus year in the same window: 12th highest of the 19 ranked years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
The 387 complaints about the 2004 Ford Focus are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
2004 Ford Focus crash tests and safety technology
NHTSA rated 3 versions of the 2004 Ford Focus: 2-door HB, 4-door Wagon and 4-door.
On the 2004 Ford Focus, in the side barrier test the front seat scored 4 stars and the rear seat 1 (2-door HB) and the front passenger seat scored 4 stars in the frontal barrier test, the driver seat 5 (4-door Wagon and 4-door).
For the 2004 Ford Focus, NHTSA lists electronic stability control as an option and no forward collision warning or lane departure warning. None of the 16 Focus years NHTSA rated (2000–2018) lists forward collision warning as standard.
NHTSA puts the chance that the 2004 Ford Focus rolls over in a single-vehicle crash at 13% (4 stars); the 2-door HB is higher, 14%. That is tied for the highest of the 12 Focus years NHTSA rated from 2004 on (11.6%–13%); the 2015 had the lowest, 11.6%. Of 73 other 2004 cars with NHTSA ratings on this site, 62 (85%) had a lower rollover risk; their median was 10.9%.
Photos: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, NHTSA test vehicle 1118, shown from static.nhtsa.gov. Ratings, rollover risk and technology of the 2004 Ford Focus: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings API, retrieved October 28, 2026; NHTSA terms of use. How the tests work
Ford Focus by model year
Other 2004 Ford models
Newest record on this page: January 13, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted