what do I need to know about the Focus

[poppa smurf]

wife wants a new car even though her micra has only done 30,000 Km's.......seen the Focus, wants one.

any problems with them (apart from Ford after sales service) that I should be aware of.

thoughts please folks.......good car or a piece of junk?

[ebv8]

they have a fiesta motor! well the base model does
but all those euro motoring shows have nothing but praise for them

[anto]

Steer clear of the auto ...there is a thread on here somewhere that is worth reading. My sisters titanium has had and continues to have problems with the gear box like many others.

[Morexbs]

My wife has a 2011 petrol automatic which we bought secondhand about 18 months ago.It has now done about 45000kms and has not given us any trouble.It is an excellent car and I'd get another one in a heartbeat.
Prior to that she had an LV diesel automatic (also secondhand) and it was so bad I got rid of it after only a few months.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by anto

Steer clear of the auto ...there is a thread on here somewhere that is worth reading. My sisters titanium has had and continues to have problems with the gear box like many others.

I'll have a look for that thread, she brought it home just a while ago, very nice little car, she had a bit of trouble seeing out the back window though.

she's also looking at the fiesta, do they suffer box dramas or do they have a different auto.

[fordomatic]

Auto is terrible, was going to buy one for the MRS until i saw the thread in the focus section last week. So glad for all the information this forum provides, saved me from having an angry MRS and we all know that is not a fun time.

[Rob 351]

We had a LW Sport auto petrol, nice car but the auto was rubbish! If it was a manual we would still have it but the whole driving experience with the auto was just that bad we had to get rid of it.

[Adamz Ghia]

Just bought one, nothing wrong with the auto. Awesome car, sharp to drive, you will not be disappointed...!

[poppa smurf]

it's funny the sales man mentioned the auto "doesn't come good until around 20,000 klm's"......something to do with the "sequential clutch".....dont know what he was trying to say.

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

it's funny the sales man mentioned the auto "doesn't come good until around 20,000 klm's"......something to do with the "sequential clutch".....dont know what he was trying to say.

Wow, how do they expect someone to buy a new car that wont drive well until 20,000km, what a joke

[mik]

It would be good to get some reports from higher mileage owners, no disrespect but 40 thousand k's is barely run in.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Wow, how do they expect someone to buy a new car that wont drive well until 20,000km, what a joke

I really don't know what he meant by that.......very surprised and dubious when he said it to tell you the truth.

the vehicle should drive perfectly from day one.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

it's funny the sales man mentioned the auto "doesn't come good until around 20,000 klm's"......something to do with the "sequential clutch".....dont know what he was trying to say.

It means it wont work properly and then at 20,000km we'll fight you all the way for warranty then eventually give in and get a new box in which might work, then you'll sell the car because you're sick of it.

All DSG gearboxes are crap, leave it to the exotics, not the every day car company Ford.

We've got new VW Transporters in at work with those DSG turds, they're for Victoria Police, might as well as walk, at freeway speeds its fine but low speed driving it doesnt know what it is doing, also big delays between selecting R/D, 5 second delay easy.

[Falcojimmy]

My best mate is a mechanic at Wignall Ford and he reckons 90% of the warranty issues they report on the Focus have something to do with the auto box. Ticking time bomb was the description if I recall! In manual guise however he reckons it is one of the best cars on the market at the moment. Good finance offers at present too which is a decent sweetener!

[DJM83]

Buy an ST.

[LeadFoot81]

My wife bought an LW2 Titanium petrol auto new last year.

Very happy with the car overall, except she too had trouble with the auto (fixed under warranty at 15,000kms with no hassles whatsoever)

Check out the thread in the Focus section re: transmissions. Apparently the wet clutch autos fitted to diesel models don't have the same problems as the dry clutch autos in the petrol versions. It also seems that as of December 2013 different clutches are being fitted on the production line (and on cars reissued under warranty) that (should) stop the problems.

It'd be hard to recommend an auto petrol model until the December onwards built models (and repaired examples) rack up some kms. Manual petrol and manual/auto diesels seem to be the way to go for now.

My only major gripe with the Focus is that for a car of its size, front cabin space is a little tight. Rear cabin space into the hatch area is fantastic though.

[unida767]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

My wife bought an LW2 Titanium petrol auto new last year.

Very happy with the car overall, except she too had trouble with the auto (fixed under warranty at 15,000kms with no hassles whatsoever)

Check out the thread in the Focus section re: transmissions. Apparently the wet clutch autos fitted to diesel models don't have the same problems as the dry clutch autos in the petrol versions. It also seems that as of December 2013 different clutches are being fitted on the production line (and on cars reissued under warranty) that (should) stop the problems.

It'd be hard to recommend an auto petrol model until the December onwards built models (and repaired examples) rack up some kms. Manual petrol and manual/auto diesels seem to be the way to go for now.

My only major gripe with the Focus is that for a car of its size, front cabin space is a little tight. Rear cabin space into the hatch area is fantastic though.

Highlighted the key fix.

I've had my 12 Ti for nearly two year no issues. Tuning helped immensely.

[Golfer]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

All DSG gearboxes are crap, leave it to the exotics, not the every day car company Ford.

Obviously has not driven the diesel Focus powershift. It is fantastic.

[marg99]

I thought the diesel had a different (wet) transmission to the petrol cars making their transmission much less prone to technological bleeding edge problems.

[Golfer]

Originally Posted by marg99

I thought the diesel had a different (wet) transmission to the petrol cars making their transmission much less prone to technological bleeding edge problems.

Yes my point exactly not all DSG transmissions are "crap

[poppa smurf]

We've decided to cancel the order on the Focus, the minister for finance want's an auto, so an auto it shall be.

had enough strife with the B.A. without buying another problem........we are now Looking at the Mazda 3.

Ford salesman at the dealership tried to lowball my wife on trade-in on her low mileage, immaculate Nissan micra with all factory extra's, amongst a few other "trick's" that they tried, ..........don't need this B.S. with an easy cash sale.

So we will take our cash down to Clare, (same mob that were fantastic with repair's to my vehicle), probably over the weekend.

thank's to all for your input,.......... very much appreciated.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Golfer

Obviously has not driven the diesel Focus powershift. It is fantastic.

I haven't because I've got a 6sp manual Diesel Focus, the one with the 3rd pedal on the left, ask Yellow Festiva how his 6sp powershift LV Focus drove.

[Golfer]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I haven't because I've got a 6sp manual Diesel Focus, the one with the 3rd pedal on the left, ask Yellow Festiva how his 6sp powershift LV Focus drove.

Same argument applies. An LV Focus is not an LW Focus. Powershift in LW Diesel is fantastic to drive.

[Nichol]

Have had my petrol Titanium Focus for about 2years now. Just clocked over 35,000km's - haven't had any issues with the transmission at all. People need to remember that it isn't the usual auto transmission style of drive.

[WILDB]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I haven't because I've got a 6sp manual Diesel Focus, the one with the 3rd pedal on the left, ask Yellow Festiva how his 6sp powershift LV Focus drove.

We've got a bunch of diesel Powershift Mondeos (same Getrag 6DCT450 transmission as the diesel Focus) in our fleet at work, some with in excess of 100k on the clock and still driving perfectly - there has never been one issue from any of them.

The problem is that people expect them to drive like a torque converter auto and try to drive them as such. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the clutch failures in the diesels I've read about on the local forums were down to driving habits, just like a manual, clutches don't wear out for no reason.

I do agree though with you on the 3 pedals though, I will be sticking to my manual Focus.

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by Nichol

Have had my petrol Titanium Focus for about 2years now. Just clocked over 35,000km's - haven't had any issues with the transmission at all. People need to remember that it isn't the usual auto transmission style of drive.

Interesting. Do you get any rattly noises when shifting from 1-2 or 3-4? Or any other time? Shuddering when accelerating or reversing?

I know the PowerShift doesn't consistently react like a regular box, and that Ford have tried to educate dealerships and customers on the quirks of twin clutch autos...but there are peoplehaving real mechanical issues with these transmissions.

Originally Posted by WILDB

We've got a bunch of diesel Powershift Mondeos (same Getrag 6DCT450 transmission as the diesel Focus) in our fleet at work, some with in excess of 100k on the clock and still driving perfectly - there has never been one issue from any of them.

The problem is that people expect them to drive like a torque converter auto and try to drive them as such. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the clutch failures in the diesels I've read about on the local forums were down to driving habits, just like a manual, clutches don't wear out for no reason.

What do you think people could be doing to these (automated) boxes thats killing them?

[WILDB]

There could be any number of factors, including but not limited to run in, full throttle takeoffs, using the accelerator to hold the car on hills (slipping the clutches) etc.

I'm talking about the 6DCT450 (wet clutch) though, the dry clutch box has been known to have a few issues, as has been well documented on the forum here.