What's wrong with my Focus?!

northstar23

Can't beat word of mouth... too true.

Independent's have to be honest... in short they have no choice. If my local village garage rips off a customer and that word goes round the neighbourhood then they'll have no business within a month.

And the point of a warrenty... in some ways I'm not sure. People always pay to have a dealer service just to get a stamp in the book and keep the warrenty valid but I'm sure that the extra money spent on that would pay for any parts and labour in the event of a breakdown had you not kept the warrenty up to date.

They are sly things anyway, for example Ford guarentee timing belts to 100,000 miles. On the surface this sounds great, but in reality its the tensioner's or pulley's that break, taking the belt with them. And of course Ford will point out that the belt didn't actually break, thus making the warrenty as good as a chocolate fireguard.

missingink

northstar23 wrote: »

When I first got my Focus there were a few little niggles like broken springs on the gear lever and faulty idle control valve... they gave me the right parts numbers to get and I fitted them, saving who knows how much in the process.

Think I have those problems too-nine times out of ten when you put it in reverse, it slips back out again. It revs too high when idling too.:(

goldspanners

Steviem wrote: »

I think the main problem is the fact that it is a Ford

i to think this is a bit harsh,the focus is a great car,its cheap and relaible,providing you keep on top of servicing and maintaining all those little niggly faults folk complain about.
its had great reviews from most of the motoring press year in year out.

the ops car is 9 years old and has had very little attention over the past 2 or maybe more years,so is it any wonder they are having problems.
no car is without its faults but i think the focus has very little considering other vehicles in its price range. the only reason so many people have had the common faults is because they have sold so many of them.

ford dealers,like most main dealers dont want the hassle of breakdowns,especially not intermittent one,they just want the easy money servicing.
if you cant fix it yourself use an independant with a good reputation.

Reluctant_spender

Sounds like the Speed sender unit.

Mine does the same, will get it fixed soon.

Rolandtheroadie

Cutting out on a Vauxhall I had was the ERG Valve (just removed and cleaned) but checking the fault code with a paperclip and an online forum showed the fault as being the MAF Sensor (which it wasn't).

Totally unrelated I know (altho I'd imagine the Focus has these sensors/valve too). It's just that a lot of people will reply just to reply (I had a noise from the front passengers side of my car once and my tyre was flat type answer).

It's probably OBD1 compliant (as opposed to OBD2 compliant) so if you like the idea of DIY diagnosing, chech ebay for a fault code reader (mate paid £80 for an OBD2 compliant one, could save you a fortune).

My real answer is, try and get it on a computer, see what faults are logged (if any). If theres no faults found (or even before this) search yahoo groups for a forum that relates to your vehicle (any one that deals with the same engine really). I'd start with a search for Ford Focus, then Ford 1.8 (assuming it's a 1.8).

Then I'd google the fault (focus 1.8 cutting out) and see what results I got there.

Good Luck!

jeannieblue

northstar23 wrote: »

Can't beat word of mouth... too true.

Independent's have to be honest... in short they have no choice. If my local village garage rips off a customer and that word goes round the neighbourhood then they'll have no business within a month.

And the point of a warrenty... in some ways I'm not sure. People always pay to have a dealer service just to get a stamp in the book and keep the warrenty valid but I'm sure that the extra money spent on that would pay for any parts and labour in the event of a breakdown had you not kept the warrenty up to date.

They are sly things anyway, for example Ford guarentee timing belts to 100,000 miles. On the surface this sounds great, but in reality its the tensioner's or pulley's that break, taking the belt with them. And of course Ford will point out that the belt didn't actually break, thus making the warrenty as good as a chocolate fireguard.

No...... I'm fed of telling people this - you do NOT have to go to dealership for servicing whilst car is under warranty. Go to an idenpendent and have it serviced and as long as they are VAT registered, use genuine (or equivalent parts) and service it to manufacturers recommendation (ie annual and/or 10,000 miles etc.) your warranty will NOT be affected.

Second point, timing belts on all Fords vary. My Focus will differ to another Focus etc etc. You have to read your service book to see when yours should be replaced. But I personally think that 100k - other makes push them this far too, is far far too long. I wouldn't risk it.

We had an IS200 that came to us, cam belt went at 85k - Lexus got out of it somehow. Fortunately owner found us and we 'rescued' it from dealership and fixed it. Cost was close to 2k tho.

northstar23

jeannieblue wrote: »

No...... I'm fed of telling people this - you do NOT have to go to dealership for servicing whilst car is under warranty. Go to an idenpendent and have it serviced and as long as they are VAT registered, use genuine (or equivalent parts) and service it to manufacturers recommendation (ie annual and/or 10,000 miles etc.) your warranty will NOT be affected.

Technically you're correct. In reality, have a look at the following disclaimer from Ford.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/legal/faqs/warranty_faqs/-/-/3/670485#8

(About 3/4 of the way down the page)

A mate of mine works in the local Ford dealership and he was saying that if a warrenty issue comes in and the car hasn't been serviced at a dealership then they will use every trick in the book to avoid paying up. That disclaimer basically gives them huge leverage because unless servicing has been done to the exact specification and full recorded evidence of parts and the like kept then they'll disagree with it.

Hence my comment about keeping warrenty's vaild... technically wrong but in reality its a different story.

I also believe that near enough all Ford timing belts are guarenteed to 100k now... certainly the last 8 Ford's in my family have been that, ranging from Focus', Mondeo's and even a Transit. Personally I change mine at 60k down the local garage. Its a job I attempted once... never again.

hewhoisnotintheknow

theres a lot of faulty fords out there!

jeannieblue

northstar23 wrote: »

Technically you're correct. In reality, have a look at the following disclaimer from Ford.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/legal/faqs/warranty_faqs/-/-/3/670485#8

(About 3/4 of the way down the page)

A mate of mine works in the local Ford dealership and he was saying that if a warrenty issue comes in and the car hasn't been serviced at a dealership then they will use every trick in the book to avoid paying up. That disclaimer basically gives them huge leverage because unless servicing has been done to the exact specification and full recorded evidence of parts and the like kept then they'll disagree with it.

Hence my comment about keeping warrenty's vaild... technically wrong but in reality its a different story.

I also believe that near enough all Ford timing belts are guarenteed to 100k now... certainly the last 8 Ford's in my family have been that, ranging from Focus', Mondeo's and even a Transit. Personally I change mine at 60k down the local garage. Its a job I attempted once... never again.

If the car has been serviced to the requirements stated previously - and the dealership will not accept that and says the warranty is invalid, then they are breaking the law. Speak to Ford Motor Company directly.

My Ford Focus is serviced (as was my previous one) where I work - an independent Toyota/Lexus garage. Never any issue when took them back for warranty work - apart from the lack of knowledge for fixing it! :mad:

Customer Care (FMC) actually apologised to me for the hassle I had had and offered to pay for the part.

Previous Focus and current Focus cam belt due at 60k or 5 years.

We service many cars under warranty - various makes - some have had warranty issues that we have pointed out, the customer has gone back to the dealership to get problem rectified. No problem.

There is alot of unnecessary scaremongering on this forum tonight and I've only looked at three threads in depth!!

Stop forcing (or coercing) people to over spend at expensive dealerships!Remember the site you are on!

goldspanners

ford and the dealer always done my warranty work and they never serviced it,i serviced it myself, genuine filters but no stamps.