NHTSA Complaint #10047099 — 2000 FORD FOCUS

I OWN A 2000 FORD FOCUS 2000 SE 4 DR SEDAN. IT WAS BOUGHT AS NEW CAR 11/1999 AND CURRENTLY HAS 39500 CAREFULLY DRIVEN MILES. EARLIER THIS AUTUMN AN AMBER DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AS I WAS DRIVING. AT FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO DECODE ITS MEANING FROM VEHICLE'S MANUAL, I LEARNED IT WAS THE 'AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE/COOLING' WARNING LIGHT ON ZTEC EQUIPPED MODELS (LIKE MINE). I TOOK IT TO LINCOLN MERCURY DEAL (WHERE I HAVE HAD MY FOCUS REPAIRED OFTEN): 'BARON LINCOLN MERCURY' IN FLUSHING, NEW YORK WHERE THEY PERFORMED A COMPUTERIZED CHECK OF SYMPTOMS. I WAS TOLD SERVICE WRITER THERE WERE 'CODES' WHICH INDICATED SOLENOID AND GEAR RATIO PROBLEMS IN 2ND AND 4TH. I WASN'T SURE WHAT ALL THAT MEANT BUT SEEMED LIKE GOOD IDEA TO TAKE ADVICE AND SCHEDULE ANOTHER MORE DETAILED INSPECTION FOR POSSIBLE REPAIRS; THE EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY WAS AROUND 10 DAYS FROM THAT DAY AND I TOOK IT. I SHOULD MENTION THAT THE LIGHT HAD NOT CONTINUED TO REMAIN 'ON' FOLLOWING THE 1ST TIME. I TOOK MY CAR TO BARON ON A SATURDAY MORNING AND ON MONDAY FOLLOWING IT, I SAW SAME LIGHT TO COME 'ON. THAT DAY I CALLED LOCAL AAMCO DEALER AND AGREED TO HAVE CAR LOOKED AT THERE THE NEXT MORNING WHERE THEIR COMPUTER FOUND SAME THING. I AGREED TO LET AAMCO OPEN UP TRANSMISSION FOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK-UP AND THAT AFTERNOON WAS TOLD THAT NEEDED REPAIRS TOTALLING APPROXIMATELY $2700. I AGREED TO LET AAMCO PERFORM WORK AFTER HAVING FIRST CONTACTED THE SAME SERVICE WRITER AT BARON LINCOLN-MERCURY WHO INFORMED ME THAT THEY VERY SELDOM DID TRANSMISSION WORK AND THAT IF THEY DID IT'D COST AROUND $2700. SINCE AAMCO'S SPECIALTY IS TRANSMISSIONS, IT MADE SENSE TO PROCEED. I AM A TWO TIME FORD CUSTOMER ('96 AND '2000) AND WON'T PERMIT THE IDEA OF BUYING ANOTHER TO CROSS MY MIND. *LA