2008 Ford Focus Coupe: Pull my Handle

Maybe the door handles are placed where they are because since the door opens so far, some people wouldn't be able to reach them in a more traditional position.
 
I believe this was the case of the 06 Explorer.

I don't thing ford is even trying.

7,214 miles and this is happening? Completely unacceptable. In addition to the cruise control fires on the Ford trucks, I don't understand what they are doing over there at Ford. Ford lovers I'm sure will defend them once again. Yes mistakes happen, unfortunately some car manufacturers make more of them.

There should be a good old fashioned bolt going right through the hidden upper part of the door pull. It would be accessible once the door lock/handle cartridge was removed, as it has been with most all cars i've seen have their door panels taken off. Try to go without it, and that dealer repair issue is what you get.

The domestic makers will NEVER get the details right. And didn't the previous Focus have awful seats? Hardly a minor detail!

Nice video. I've read the blog posts about the handle positioning before, but this time I could actually see it. Thanks, James.
 
This certainly looks like a very poor design, to be breaking at such a young age, on the passenger's side no less! A more robust design would have cost Ford maybe $1 per car, to bolt those handles down. While not a safety issue, it certainly affects the functionality of the car. In ANY car, you shouldn't have to close a door "using the plastic trim piece lip at the base of the window."

i'm surprised theres no bolt, my sunfire has 2 bolts right where the grab handle is. alot of clips everywhere else (took my door off many times now).
 
but still thats just cheap.
 
then again, my sisters sentra had a similar problem.

That looks like it will happen in a lot of Focus', not just yours. Those little clips that 'secure' the door handle are meant for a sunglass holder or something, not a door pull.
 
Judging by Focus sales, Ford is going to get a lot of complaints about this.

I'm no mechanical engineer but when you move the handle forward like they did don't you increase the amount of force needed to pull the door closed. That would put more pull on their attachment of the handle too.
 
Isn't Ford the one that runs the commercial where they have the guy sitting there in the virtual reality goggles and they have him reach to adjust the mirror as a small female would do it? Guess they didn't goggle the door handles.
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=27432

It could be worse, the steering wheel cover might have popped up. Don't you love domestic economy cars?

"Don't you love domestic economy cars?"
 
I really want to, but they sure do make it difficult.

What are you guys talking about? it was ment to pop out like that ,so that when you ?????(scratching head)sorry i've got nothing.

Agree...with all the torque that is going to be exerted on that handle (remember that most people pull VERY hard to get the door moving, and then control the shut with their hand guiding it...it's not a smooth pull most of the time, at least from a door wide-open standpoint).
 
That thing should have at least a 3/8" bolt running into a support frame of some sort. And the uppermost position would benefit it the most.
 
The silver-plastic trim on my Civic SI seperated from the door handles at like 500 miles, but at least it's stayed that way for 42k since then :)
 
Joe

I've noticed this in Fords. I have no inherent bias against them (almost considered buying one), but if a Ford is more than two days off the lot, you can watch whenever people close the door. First they pull the handle & it moves. A couple of seconds later the outer door shell catches up with the handle (I guess that is the breaking point of the elasticity of the door panels...)

also that door panel looks like it belongs on a pickup truck from about 15 years ago.

The handle pops out to provide more room for work gloved hands.
 
Ford is always thinking about the American construction worker.
This must also mean the Focus is great at off roading.

Don't judge all domestic small cars by this. Sure my Cobalt has cheap hard plastic on the dash, but at least everything fits together solidly, and is positioned well. My door handles are in a perfectly normal position. I don't have things popping out. It does need an redesign to be up-to-date competitive, but it doesn't have any jarring errors like this. In the case of the Focus, you have to wonder if anyone actually sat in the car before it was finalized. Actually, you'd wonder that if you weren't busy wondering why they just don't bring over the European Focus.

The handle doesn't 'fall off', it's detachable. Also, the steering wheel has an anti-impalement feature (doesn't telescope), awkward console lettering (to keep you focused (pun intended)), a big brother engine (to keep you away from illegal speeds), and a vintage, nay classic, key fob. Ford is always first on the market with innovative ideas.

A few weekends ago I went compact car shopping with my 25 year old sister (who has no brand allegiance whatsoever). She was coming out of a '04 Corolla lease. So we spent the whole Saturday sitting in all and driving most of the following (sedan) compacts:
  
1)Corolla (new one)
2)Civic
3)The 3
4)Cobalt
5)Lancer
6)Elantra
7)Spectra
8)Focus (yep, the new one)
  
Here were the conclusions (consensus from enthusiast and non-enthusiast):
  
1)Corolla: smoothest driving car of all but new interior is hard and no improvement over one sis just spent 4 years in
  
2)Civic: Cool steering wheel but long dash and sloped front end made it hard to judge frontal proximities
  
3)The 3: Impressive interior; sedan styling "pig-like" according to sis
  
4)Cobalt: decent package but hard plastics; not memorable honestly
  
5)Lancer: 'youthful' interior but exterior was worst looking of all cars (base model)
  
6)Elantra: biggest surprise! Rather appealing interior and exterior; drove fine
  
7)Spectra: cousin to Elantra - didn't drive it - wasn't up to snuff - Elantra impression axed it from her list
  
8)THE FOCUS: we couldn't believe it was a "new" car. Sis liked the exterior styling but we both agreed it was (for what ever reason) the most unappealing interior of all 8 cars. Seeing the pictures of it here brings back the "uggh" feelings of a few weeks ago.
  
Overall - the experience was (fun - for me) quite valuable as we literally saw all cars in the span of 4.5 hrs. Sis said bye to the Corolla (interest rates way too high)got the Civic (base) - with a great deal. The Focus never made the top 3 list (it didn't even make the top 7!)

The Elantra is a really really nice car in this class that most folks unfortunately look over. Not the most fun, but it does everything else really well.
 
These above impressions are interesting to hear. I look forward to hearing similar thoughts on this compact class in a few weeks in our second installment of the Consumer Comparison Test.