Ford Focus - Focus door seals

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Mon 23 May 2022 09:05
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - craig-pd130

While on the road, I often see third-generation Focuses with a 12" strip of door seal sticking out from the bottom of the driver's door or the front passenger side door, like the door is chewing a giant liquorice bootlace.

Has anyone else noticed this? Anyone know why the door seal on this model is particularly prone to getting snagged and detached?

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Mon 23 May 2022 09:30
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Xileno

Yes I have noticed it. Poorly specified adhesive? Or maybe they're just pressed in?

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Mon 23 May 2022 09:43
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Andrew-T

Yes I have noticed it. Poorly specified adhesive? Or maybe they're just pressed in?

21st-century cars may be different, but all the weatherstrips I have wrestled with have been push-fit, with a continuous internal metal gripper 'spring'. Over time this corrodes inwards from the open ends, which are usually at the bottom of the door opening. And I suppose that area gets kicked loose as people clamber in or out.

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Mon 23 May 2022 10:16
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - bathtub tom

That's nothing compared to the number of cars I see on motorways with (I presume) underfloor panels flapping in the breeze. Surely the occupants can hear them rattling away?

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Mon 23 May 2022 11:22
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - elekie&a/c doctor
The seal on the door , not the one one the door aperture, is held on with plastic “t “ clips. What often happens is the seat belt webbing gets caught in the door when closing , so when the belt is pulled before it’s fastened, it pulls the seal off its clips .
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Mon 23 May 2022 14:57
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Richard M

The seals on the door on these models are stuck on and are a well known problem. Ford will happily sell you new seals at a price, but most people just use glue or double sided tape to stick them back on. I have done several areas on my doors.

Hope that helps

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Tue 24 May 2022 11:14
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Paulsxf

Yes, we have 2 in the household both with the same problem. Contact adhesive appears to be the permanent solution for this.

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Fri 27 May 2022 23:36
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - S40 Man

We have a Focus 1.0 turbo 125 cracking car. It's been very reliable. We did have this door seal fail. Tried double sided tape of various sorts. None worked with for long. My best solution is to get some flexible rubber tubing and stick double tape along the side and slide it into the existing rubber seal. That worked a treat.

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Sat 28 May 2022 11:35
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Steveieb

Having finally come to own a Toyota, which was taken in part exchange , as I have never been too keen on the styling , I have tackled a few small jobs myself.

The latest , with the help of Elekie Docs guidance was changing one of the door speakers. And removing the door card it brings it home about the amazing attention to detail the company puts into the simplest of things.

The way the plastic trim fits back into position with a positive click and door handles firmly anchored into place . So no rattles once back in place.

No one is going to see these things in the showroom , but maybe that’s why many Indies respect the brand and have no problem working on them !

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Thu 26 Oct 2023 00:28
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - Gillimarie
S40 Man had a fix for this. I just wanted a bit more info on exactly what he did!!
Ford want £160 to replace the seal.
So £60 roughly for the seal and £100 for labour.
Despite having an extended warranty, it isn’t covered.
I believe this is a fault with the newer cars.
Having had Fords in the family for over 50 years, this has only happened on my 2020 model and the previous 2915 model now driven by my son.
Crazy!
Thanks for any help.
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Thu 26 Oct 2023 16:32
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - geoffs

On my 2015 Ford Focus the seals were just glued onto the door.

When they came off and I was quoted a stupid price from the dealer I just glued them back on using a contact adhesive. This lasted until I sold the car in 2020.

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Thu 26 Oct 2023 17:49
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - John F

Our Mk1 Focus had about five tiny plastic grommets embedded in the black rubber strip which popped into tiny round holes along the bottom of the doors. It was worth pulling them off every so often because they concealed a metal seam over which a thin strip of sealant had been applied. A decade of slammed doors had resulted in (presumably) microcracks allowing rust to develop along the seam under the strip. If this is neglected it will rapidly (and invisibly) eat away the bottom of the door.

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Thu 5 Sep 2024 15:21
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - emmanuel1

I've noticed the same issue with the third-gen Focuses and wondered about it too. It looks like the door seal just doesn’t stay put, and it’s especially noticeable on the lower part of the door. I had a similar problem with my old car. The seals would catch and pull away, leaving a strip flapping around.

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Thu 5 Sep 2024 18:03
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - corax

I've noticed the same issue with the third-gen Focuses and wondered about it too. It looks like the door seal just doesn’t stay put, and it’s especially noticeable on the lower part of the door. I had a similar problem with my old car. The seals would catch and pull away, leaving a strip flapping around.

I've just done this job on my Focus, The seal was sticking out of the bottom of the drivers door. Cured for now with double sided tape. It looks like someone stuck the passenger door seal back on before I bought the car with some dubious looking adhesive that left the inside of the door frame stained yellow. I had to sc***e off the excess to make it look half presentable.

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Thu 5 Sep 2024 18:55
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - catsdad

I’ve stuck them back on Fords, BMWs and Audis. The modern, very thin double sided tape is ideal. A reel of it has joined my box of cable ties as a potential quick fix for a variety of minor repairs. Most recently to tape down a part of the cover on the iPad I am using now.

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Thu 5 Sep 2024 19:18
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - corax

I’ve stuck them back on Fords, BMWs and Audis. The modern, very thin double sided tape is ideal. A reel of it has joined my box of cable ties as a potential quick fix for a variety of minor repairs. Most recently to tape down a part of the cover on the iPad I am using now.

I didn't know that BMW's and Audis had the same problem. If I remember, the seals used to press on to a thin metal strip inside the doors on older cars, and it could be a rust trap.

Edited by corax on 05/09/2024 at 19:19

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Thu 5 Sep 2024 21:12
Ford Focus - Focus door seals - catsdad

The Audi and BMW belonged to neighbours so I am a bit hazy on details. From memory they were an 2009 Audi A3 and a BMW 1 from about 2016 and I put the tape on about 5 years ago. In each case a bit of trim was sticking out but I can’t recall how they were originally fixed.
There might well have been a metal strip but I know there was enough of an area to get a contact. I just cleaned the surfaces and stuck them down with the tape and they lasted a few years until sold on.

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