2001 Ford Focus

The 2001 Ford Focus has 3 recalls, the most serious being a front seat recliner defect that can cause the driver's or passenger's seatback to suddenly drop backward while the vehicle is moving, potentially causing the driver to lose control.

The seat recliner mechanism relies on a spring-loaded handle to keep the seatback locked in position. When that spring is damaged, the handle loses tension and may not fully engage the locking pawl that holds the seatback upright. The result is a seatback that can feel loose or chunky when pressure is applied, and in a worse case, one that gives way without warning while driving. Both the driver and front passenger seats are affected. There is also a label recall: certain vehicles have French-language airbag warning labels on the sun visor that may not stay permanently attached, meaning French-speaking occupants could lose access to important airbag safety information if the label falls off.