Ford FocusOverall, it feels cushier than other compacts, both in terms of its comfortable seats and its soft suspension. It's fun to drive, however, with agile handling. It's comfortable on long trips and stable at high speeds. The Focus is among the best of the compacts in terms of ride quality and has been lauded by the enthusiast publications for its handling.
I have a 2000 Ford Focus ZX3 that starts to red-line after 15 minutes. After driving for that 15 minutes my temperature gauge climbs into the Red and my light turns on accordingly. After that I am no longer able to accelerate and have to pull over and shut the engine off. I also notice that there is light steam (or smoke) from the right side of my hood, from overheating. After a few minutes I restart and drive again and repeat the process.
Sidenote: I noticed that my Battery indicator light has flashed to on once this problem appeared.
Sidenote: My AC does not blow out warm air when the heater is on, has been like that for about 2 to 3 months now
Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem is? My guess is that it is the thermostat, but I am not quite sure.
Have been putting coolant back in ?If the coolant is low the heater might not work.It coulb the thermostat or maybe trhe fan isnt coming on.It could be as simple as a leaking hose.
Yes I have. This started late last night, and this morning before I left for work I refilled with coolant. But the same issue again as it overheated. It could be the hose because I noticed that there was a brownish moisture around the compartment. I will recheck the cap as well, but I believe that is on there tightly.
your thermostat is probably stuck. Four screws.. its easy.. BTW I hope you havnt blown your head gasket by overheating it over and over....... Not smart!!! Check your oil to see if water got in.. It will look like foamy milk. When standing in front of your car looking at the radiator. Follow the hose on the right strait ahead to that Black plastic housing. Where the hose attaches there are 4 torx screws. an 5/32(I think) allen will do the trick if you cant find a torx bit. should take you less time that it take to finish one beer... No excuses for not fixing!!!!
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2000 Focus ZX3 Overheating 
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