Ford Focus (2004 – 2007) Review

• September 2004: Second generation Focus launched
• February 2005
• August 2006: Focus improved for 2007

01-01-0001:

Starting and running problems and the car reverting to limp home mode can be due to the Power Control Module cluster gateway not closing properly and draining the battery overnight. May need to be reloaded with manufacturer data to overcome a sofware error.

Estates have suffered water leaks due to non sealing of hatchback hinges.

Mysterious 'Engine System Faults' on diesel leading them to lose power and revert to limp home mode may be caused by an intercooler pipe weld fault leading to a crack in the pipe. On 1.6 TDCi DV6 the thin steel turbo to intercooler pipe can split. It cracks in two places in opposite directions emanating from the "start" and "stop" of the upper bracket weld. Fractures are of a fatigue nature resulting from vibration, the bracket being rigidly attached to the engine. By May 2010, turbo failures were becoming increasingly common on high mileage DV6 1.6 TDCi.

Problem of 1.6 and 2.0 16v diesels slipping into limp home mode put down to throttle butterflies sticking or their spindles wearing prematurely causing them to stick. The throttle position sensor identifies this and sends a message to the ECU to limit the engine to limp home mode.

Serious engine vibration, dash display "Engine Malfunction" and 'limp home' speed can be due to a fault developing in the Throttle Body Switch of both petrol and diesel engines. If this happens, stopping, switching off, then re-starting after 5 minutes usually resets it and the car is fine for the rest of the journey. Ford now admits to the problem and if reported will replace the Throttle Body Switch while the car is still under warranty.

Front windscreen rubber surround can come adrift at the top middle of the screen directly below the aerial.

Front leading edge door seals can come adrift, admitting water.

Rust appears on the back of the front wheel arches. The underseal in this area is inadequate and Ford has introduced a fix which involves a small strip of plastic that runs the length of the under sill and front wheel arch.

Screen washers washers can spring a leak and rainwater drains into spark plug orifices, causing corrosion of the plugs that leads to them becoming stuck fast in the head. Seems to be a TSB to replace the original washers with a revised design to stop water leaking onto the cylinder head. Washers need to be replaced by a later type that seat into the bonnet properly. Beware when buying a 1.6, particularly an ex Motability car. The washer fluid can drip into the spark plug channel at the top of the engine and if the engine does not regularly get hot enough to evaporate it off then the spark plugs rust so badly they fuse into their sockets and become impossible to remove, necessitating a £2,500 head off job to replace them. This fluid can also rot out the core plugs in the channel, so it's the first thing to check whn looking at a 1.6 petrol model.

End of plastic dipstick of 1.6 TDCi engine can break and drop into sump requiring removal of sump to retrieve it.

On the 1.6 4-speed auto, a sound like a relay clicking on and off repeatedly at idle or light throttle settings (at first thought to be connected with the rough idle) is explained as the Bowden cable connecting the gear shift to the gear box has an alloy junction box situated inside the car under the interior fan unit to provide free play. Re-routing the cable in the engine bay so it is no longer under tension gets rid of the noise.

Spate of PAS pump failures late 2008 - early 2009 when cars were 3 - 4 years old.

Diesel Particulate Filters of EU5 1.6 TDCi 110 and 2.0 TDCi 136 can eventually give up at around 100,000 miles and require replacement at a cost of £1,150 from a Ford dealer or £1,034 independently. 1.6 TDCi 90 doesn't have DPF.

Rear anti roll bar bushes can be prone to seizing up at 4 - 5 years old if the protective cover cracks. £30 for the part. £80 to fit.

Clutch pedal return springs tricky to fit. The part costs only £4, but labour to remove the pedal assembly to fit it costs £120.

Beware of Focus 1.6 TDCI fitted with the CF23 Ford/ZF CVT automatic transmission. Thankfully there are very few out there, but they suffer the same problems as this powertrain in the C-MAX. Basically, the box is built to take 230Nm torque, but engine develops 240Nm torque.

Dashboard cluster failures quite common by late 2010, costing owners around £450 to rectify.

Pipe union from PAS pump to rack can fail leading to leakages of PAS fluid and a gradual loss of power assistance to the steering. Can usually be fixed, but some owners have been prescribed a new PAS pump.

13-07-2011:

One report of the oil pump drive chain of a 17,500 mile 2007 2.0 TDCi failing prematurely leading to seizing of the engine.

27-07-2011:

Corrosion of some types of alloy wheels around the rims becoming a big problem at 4 years old +.

10-08-2011:

On 1.6 TDCi, reports of oil feed pipe blockages to the turbo resulting in repeated failed turbos.

18-11-2011:

Dual Mass Flywheels on diesels failing after as few as 30,000 miles.

05-12-2011:

On 4-speed automatics a sleeve can drop down the gear lever and prevent the lever being moved out of Drive. To solve this you just need to pull the sleeve up.

08-12-2011:

Timing belt failures on 5-cylinder 2.5 litre Volvo engine in Focus ST as early as 28,000 miles. Engine rebuilds cost around £6,000.

16-01-2012:

Turbo problem on 1.6 TDCi DV6 appears to be getting worse: Reader reports 1.6 TDCi at 56,000 miles: "Car lost power plus growl/whine indicating turbo trouble - drove gently 3 miles to local garage where tech confirmed - pulled inlet rubber pipe and demonstrated wear in turbo bearings. He is quite clued up and knows a lot about this problem. There is a huge amount of evidence of similar cases in the Backroom forum and others, and there is clearly a serious problem affecting this engine. The cure is not just a new turbo, but new oil pipe, pump, pick-up, etc etc. Ford dealer prices for repairs are £1,200 for parts alone. There was a Ford TSB45/2008 about this. Newer engines (2008+) have modified parts so problem does not tend to happen to the 2008 facelift cars . Apparently you can get a new turbo for £350 plus £120 for a "kit" of modified pipes/pick-up unions etc. from Transitpartsuk (International Parts Ltd) to fit next week.

19-01-2012:

DPF failures becoming worryingly common. If replenishining the Eolys fluid and a forced regeneration does not fix it, then a replacement DPF and associated bits is £1200 +. If this corresponds with the need for a new dual mass flywheel, also £,200 +, then you're in trouble. It will take a lot of fuel economy to repay a £2,500 bill that you would never have seen with a petrol engine.

09-10-2012:

Useful tip about DPF on 1.6 TDCi: "An independent garage identified that my car had a DPF and that the main dealer hadn’t refilled the concealed Eolys fluid (scheduled at the 3rd service) hence the warning lights. Despite the best efforts of the independent garage warning lights kept plaguing me until I took the car to someone specialising in engine diagnostics. Various fault codes which suggested sensors or components were out of range were resolved not by changing the sensors/components but by cleaning and remaking connections. The cache of the engine management system was cleared and then a forced regeneration cycle run. Now all the fault lights have been cleared, performance has improved as also has fuel economy and I’ve not had to replace the DPF."

11-06-2013:

Report of water collecting in the spark plug channel between the cam covers of a 1.6 petrol and eventually rotting out a core plug. This is a standard problem with under used Focus that never get hot enough to evaporate off the water that collects in the spark plug channel.

20-11-2013:

Locking mechanism inside driver's door of 2004-2008 Focus can suffer moisture ingress, leading to all for windows automatically winding down.

11-12-2013:

Some 2004-2008 Focus can suffer the same brake pressure valve fault inside the ABS/ESP module as VWG cars, best fixed by removing the module and sending it to ecutesting.com The fault shows up as the Traction Control light coming on and staying on.

14-10-2015:

Repeat failures of CVT automatic transmission of 2006 Focus 1.6TDCI after 65,000 miles and again at 79,000 miles after being repaired.

30-06-2016:

'Engine Management System' failure on dash of 40k mile 2006 Focus 1.6 petrol Ti-VCT 115. Thought to be mass airflow meter but replacing that made no difference. Garage that fitted it thought next step ECU, but unlikely to need a new ECU. Might be moisture in the connecting block. Might need a software update. May because by a fault in he throttle body switch (see above, near top)

17-07-2016:

Cure for problems with Focus diesels: Focus at about 45,000 miles had started giving problems eg 1) Impossible to start from cold in cold weather 2) At 70mph on a motorway power would drop right off to a tick over only - no throttle response and sometimes this was accompanied by a massive smoke screen billowing from the exhaust. No faults showed on my code reader and I could get going again simply by turning the ignition off then on - it was just like re-booting a computer. Changed various sensors to no avail then noticed a large multi-pin plug sitting just behind the rocker cover - held together by a 10mm bolt. Took the bolt out and pulled the plug apart and pushed it back in 2 or 3 times - result 5,000 miles of trouble free motoring. Guess that after 8 years some form of oxides had formed on the pins in the plug preventing electrical flow.

23-04-2017:

Report that welded seam between the roof panel and C pillars of 2004 - 2008 Ford Focus estates can fail, leading to mysterious ingress of water into the boot.

17-10-2017:

Report that 2005 Ford Focus estate 1.6 tdci developed a fault at 88k miles: A red warning light with an exclamation mark in the middle shows on the rev counter screen and the engine loses power. Problem turned out to be the EGR valve and a split in a intake hose.

04-04-2018:

Report of speedo drive oil seal failure on 2004 Ford Focus, symptoms as follows: " I have literally picked my car up today from a small garage am on the way home noticed that the speedo wasn't working, the engine light has come on an then mileage just went to dashes on the dash board. Also it shudders a little sometimes."

19-02-2019:

Report of failure of instrument cluster of 2015 Ford Focus diesel. Could be due to failure of the oil seal to the electronic speedo drive. Costs about £120 to replace. Specialists in instrument clusters are clusterrepairs.co.uk / cartronix.co.uk / and ecutesting.com /