Hey Guys

I recently bought a 2010 Focus 1.6 for my girlfriend to drive after she passes her test. The handbrake appears to be  a bit on the stiff side for her, its ok for a bloke to operate but she is struggling to pull it high enough to brake the car properly. What can i lubricate to make the handbrake operation easier? Im quite handy with the spanners so i can do the task myself once i get the right info. ;) cheers

The battery died recently due to lack of use, now the radio is asking for a code, what the best way to get a code? ;)

1 hour ago, Rob1969 said:

Hey Guys

I recently bought a 2010 Focus 1.6 for my girlfriend to drive after she passes her test. The handbrake appears to be  a bit on the stiff side for her, its ok for a bloke to operate but she is struggling to pull it high enough to brake the car properly. What can i lubricate to make the handbrake operation easier? Im quite handy with the spanners so i can do the task myself once i get the right info. ;) cheers

The battery died recently due to lack of use, now the radio is asking for a code, what the best way to get a code? ;)

You can get the code of ebay for not many £££ but you'll need the serial number off the back/top of the head unit i.e. you'll need to remove the head unit from the centre console to see the sticker.

On 4/4/2019 at 1:04 PM, 1979Damian said:

You can get the code of ebay for not many £££ but you'll need the serial number off the back/top of the head unit i.e. you'll need to remove the head unit from the centre console to see the sticker.

Many thanks mate. Ill remove the radio and get the serial number. 😉

 

I was under the assumption that any main Ford dealer can supply the code (for free). Is this wrong?

37 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I was under the assumption that any main Ford dealer can supply the code (for free). Is this wrong?

They will supply but not free its about £15 ISTRC handy if you dont want to take the radio out.

5 minutes ago, pragmatix said:

They will supply but not free its about £15 ISTRC handy if you dont want to take the radio out.

mmm... I googled, 'ISTRC' as I assumed it's some hip trendy young'un speak, but all I got was International Society for Tropical Root Crops. That's not correct, is it? LOL

ISTRC- I seem to recall 

I think it's meant to be an acronym for "I seem to recall", but shouldn't have the trailing 'C' 'cos 'recall' is one word.

D@mn - Daniel beat me to it 😀

That's very mean of Ford charging at all, Mercedes do this for nothing! (I had a very elderly Merc where I needed the code, all they do is type the VIN no. into a computer!)

38 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

mmm... I googled, 'ISTRC' as I assumed it's some hip trendy young'un speak, but all I got was International Society for Tropical Root Crops. That's not correct, is it? LOL

Trendy 65 year old😂

Guys many thanks for all the helpful replies. I got an ebay code for 99p and it works a treat, problem is solved. 😉

There is a website forum you can join and post your serial number, wait a little while and someone will post the code for free, it was just easier using ebay than registering for a forum but i just thought i would mention it incase anyone wants to use the forum for a free code. 😉

3 minutes ago, Rob1969 said:

Guys many thanks for all the helpful replies. I got an ebay code for 99p and it works a treat, problem is solved. 😉

There is a website forum you can join and post your serial number, wait a little while and someone will post the code for free, it was just easier using ebay than registering for a forum but i just thought i would mention it incase anyone wants to use the forum for a free code. 😉

That's good to know. Now if you're like me, you'll slap a big strip of masking tape on top of your head unit, and write the code on in big black marker for future use. I reckon if a 'thief' has got that far, they deserve the code! They were a stupid idea in the first place and only ever caused issues for genuine owners...

Good to know that it's not the end of the world when you can't find your code, i'm bound to be asked for it in the not too distant future. I'm hoping it's on the main unit but not prepared to remove till absolutely necessary. 

Edit: We need to sort the stiff handbrake now,  any suggestions? Gym? 

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

That's good to know. Now if you're like me, you'll slap a big strip of masking tape on top of your head unit, and write the code on in big black marker for future use. I reckon if a 'thief' has got that far, they deserve the code! They were a stupid idea in the first place and only ever caused issues for genuine owners...

Yeah good idea bud, i cant imagine any thief nicking a crappy for radio but stranger things have happened. 😉

4 hours ago, mozz said:

Good to know that it's not the end of the world when you can't find your code, i'm bound to be asked for it in the not too distant future. I'm hoping it's on the main unit but not prepared to remove till absolutely necessary. 

Edit: We need to sort the stiff handbrake now,  any suggestions? Gym? 

I dont think my girlfriend will be interested in your gym suggestion lol.. I might just have to lube what areas i can, starting at the handbrake and then see if i can get oil down the cables in any way, then take the back wheels and drums off and lube the handbrake lever mechanism, its a lot of hassle though. 😞