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2012 focus 1.6 petrol plumes of steam from driver footwell


lee barlow
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Hi all,

‘I need some advice about how to proceed with my new purchase from Evans Halshaw today.

i bought a used Ford Focus with 82 k on the clock and it seems like a great car.

wife picked it up today from the dealer and had to stop half way home with plumes of coolant steam coming from driver footwell.

the floor is soaked and the car filled up with steamy smoke.

she rang up the dealer and they told her to drive it back.

she tried but the car filled with the smoke again.

they organised a pickup and are checking the car.

i need to see them tomorrow and I wonder if I should dodge the car or not ?

not sure of my rights, trouble is the car is great and I wonder if I can get them to fix it and give me the extended warranty in order to accept it.

the things I’m concerned about are damage it could have caused if all the electrics have been bathed in steam plus where has the coolant leaked from ?

any help greatfully reiceved.

 

lee

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Most likely it's the pipework for the heating system rather than engine coolant.
The engine should be fine but the heater pipework obviously needs replacing.
You have 3 statutory legal options- they repair the car, they replace the car or you reject the car.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

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Thanks for the advise, was wondering if the engine would have suffered from lack of coolant, the car filled with steam and the footwell was really wet.

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Probably the pipe to the heater matrix, which does use the engine coolant, so as long as the engine didn't overheat it should be fine. 

Did your wife notice the temp gauge in the car? Should be under half way, but will rise if the engine does not have enough coolant. 

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Temp gauge was ok, she only drove a short distance which is lucky, just wondering what things I should ensure they check/sort before I accept the car. Worried about, car electrics regarding steam bath, possible engine overheating due to lack of coolant, cheap fix on the heating system, damage to footwell carpet.

i need to give them a hard time but really it’s not what would be found in a vehicle inspection is it. Just that all this happened taking home from the dealer for the first time which seems odd doesn’t it!

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Go with your gut feeling which from what youre saying sounds like it's telling you to walk away!!!

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Send it back...  Early Mk3's with even half that mileage are nothing but trouble.  I'll bet it's got a wet boot too...  And door seals hanging off...  And interior electrical issues...

It's a fairly common fault tbf, and I haven't heard of any electrical issues being specifically caused by it.  The carpet and sound deadening will be saturated by now though, so make sure they're dried out properly otherwise it'll smell really bad in a few days time.  You don't say which engine it is, but I'm guessing it's just the basic 1.6 Ti-VCT rather than the 1.6 EcoBoost...assuming it is the Ti-VCT, running a bit low on coolant shouldn't affect it like it would with an EcoBoost.  

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2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Send it back...  Early Mk3's with even half that mileage are nothing but trouble.  I'll bet it's got a wet boot too...  And door seals hanging off...  And interior electrical issues...

As an owner of a MK3 who’s just stuck his door seals back on for the 738262828th time, this made me chuckle with sadness 😂

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5 hours ago, AaronF said:

As an owner of a MK3 who’s just stuck his door seals back on for the 738262828th time, this made me chuckle with sadness 😂

No doubt you are not sticking them back on properly. Done correctly they will stay on. 

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2 minutes ago, iantt said:

No doubt you are not sticking them back on properly. Done correctly they will stay on. 

Ended up sticking the front ones on with some EvoStik silicone stuff in the end and that’s worked a treat for the past 6 months. Just done the rear ones 👍

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1 hour ago, AaronF said:

Ended up sticking the front ones on with some EvoStik silicone stuff in the end and that’s worked a treat for the past 6 months. Just done the rear ones 👍

Lol, why not just stick them back on with some decent bodywork double sided tape? 2 of my doors have been stuck back on with regular double sided tape and stayed put. Just make sure you thoroughly clean the area first to ensure good adhesion.

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On 1/14/2019 at 11:06 PM, lee barlow said:

Thanks for the advise, was wondering if the engine would have suffered from lack of coolant, the car filled with steam and the footwell was really wet.

It was also a reasonably common occurance on early Focus MK2s, the pipes that lead through the bulkhead and connect the heater matricx up to the engine coolant loop were jointed in the middle and the rubber o-rings that sealed the joints tended to rot (over the years).

 

There isn't really any electrical bits down in the footwell and as long as you don't have the Ecoboost 1.6 you'll probably be okay from an engine damage perspective.

 

Personally I'd just give it back, as mentioned above the early MK3s tend to lack a bit when it comes to build quality/reliability.  I don't envy you having to deal with Evans Halshaw, when I've been looking for cars online before I've never seen a company with such universally low reviews (maybe the dealer you used will break the mold). 

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On 1/15/2019 at 1:38 PM, WES180 said:

Lol, why not just stick them back on with some decent bodywork double sided tape? 2 of my doors have been stuck back on with regular double sided tape and stayed put. Just make sure you thoroughly clean the area first to ensure good adhesion.

I did initially, didn’t last too long. Whatever works I guess!

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On 1/15/2019 at 9:25 AM, TomsFocus said:

Send it back...  Early Mk3's with even half that mileage are nothing but trouble.  I'll bet it's got a wet boot too...  And door seals hanging off...  And interior electrical issues...

It's a fairly common fault tbf, and I haven't heard of any electrical issues being specifically caused by it.  The carpet and sound deadening will be saturated by now though, so make sure they're dried out properly otherwise it'll smell really bad in a few days time.  You don't say which engine it is, but I'm guessing it's just the basic 1.6 Ti-VCT rather than the 1.6 EcoBoost...assuming it is the Ti-VCT, running a bit low on coolant shouldn't affect it like it would with an EcoBoost.  

What problems? I'm looking at getting a 1.6 zetec tomorrow so it would be handy to know. 

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3 minutes ago, xcd said:

What problems? I'm looking at getting a 1.6 zetec tomorrow so it would be handy to know. 

The 1.6 Ecoboost (the turbo charged 1.6 not the regular VCT unit) has a nasty habit of catching fire.

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23 minutes ago, 1979Damian said:

The 1.6 Ecoboost (the turbo charged 1.6 not the regular VCT unit) has a nasty habit of catching fire.

Sorry, should have said, well aware of that so avoiding the ecobooms, seen a fair few of the focus and fiesta with em going cheap but decided it wasn't worth it. 

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The Mk3 is generally poorly & cheaply built tbh, rain water leaks in from various areas, wet boot being the most common issue.  Electrical issues are common, everything from the horn to the audio system is likely to break at some point.  Interior plastics are cheap and damage easily, leading to creaks and rattles.  Air con rarely works past warranty and seems impossible to find the leak let alone repair it on most.  Engine mounts are soft enough to make gearchanges jerky but hard enough to transmit vibrations right through the cabin.  The clutches are rubbish.  The list goes on tbh.  I bought a Mk3 on 42k a year ago today, biggest car mistake I made last year.  Giving Ford the benefit of the doubt (I really liked the Mk2.5 I had previously!) I bought another Mk3 towards the end of last year which was again a complete crapper.  It's possible I'm very unlucky, but looking at the forums and facebook groups suggests otherwise lol.  Of course, there are some good ones, and you will find a few owners that have no issues with them.

Edit - I've just seen your other post...  A 105ps 1.6Ti-VCT will feel horrendously slow, the 125 is bad enough!  Also, is it a Powershift (auto), if so there were loads of faults with those.  I think they were only paired with the 125ps version of the 1.6Ti-VCT though.

 

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I'm one of the lucky ones, and chose the right version of ecoboost with 5speed box, no water leaks, coolant leaks, rusty turbo pipes. Etc etc. 

I'm lioving mine even after 4 1/2 years.

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My own 2013 1.0 ECOboost Hatchback (which I own for 4,5 Years) and the 2012 1.6 ECOboost Wagon of my parents (which they own for 6 Years) have proven to be very reliable. Both vehicles are fully serviced by me. Apart from regular services and changing some parts as a preventive measure I only had the following problems:


1.0 ECOboost Hatchback:

* Broken front spring (as a result of a pothole, solved by installing a set of Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs).
* Leaking waterpump seal (solved by replacing the waterpump).
* Leaking vents behind the rear bumper (well known problem, solved by resealing the vents using polyurethane sealant).


1.6 ECOboost Wagon:

* Defective high pressure fuel pump (solved by replacing the pump and high pressure fuel lines).


Apart from this both vehicles have been absolutely trouble free.

The 1.6 ECOboost developed 2 problems but these were caused by an external cause. The vehicle developed an engine failure message (without limp mode). A few Months later the engine dropped most of the coolant at high speed at the German motorway. Both incidents were caused by a stone marden which damaged the wiring harness and degas hose in the engine bay. Fortunately both were an easy fix without any additional damage.

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