NHTSA Complaint #10390107 — 2001 FORD FOCUS

AFTER PURCHASING CAR WITH 62K MILES ON IT, I DISCOVERED A COOLANT LEAK THE NEXT DAY. THIS LEAK HAS GOTTEN WORSE OVER THE LAST WEEK. A SEARCH OF DIFFERENT INTERNET SITES FOUND AT LEAST 15 REPORTS OF THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING COMING LOOSE/BREAKING LOOSE FROM ITS POSITION AGAINST THE ENGINE BLOCK. THIS IS WHERE THE LEAK IS COMING FROM ON MY CAR, AND THE DESCRIPTION IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER CASE APPEARS TO BE IDENTICAL TO MY OWN LEAK. THE DESCRIPTIONS FOUND ONLINE RANGE FROM NEARLY IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASE TO APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR AFTER PURCHASE. THIS LEAK IS SEVERE ENOUGH TO GENERATE A 2FT WIDE BY 4FT LONG PUDDLE OF COOLANT IN APPROXIMATELY 12HOURS. CONTINUOUS LEAK EVEN AFTER CAR HAS SAT FOR GREATER THAN 12 HOURS RULES OUT A FAILURE ONLY WHILE UNDER PRESSURE. *TR