JayKay56 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 I currently have a 2009 Ford Focus TDCI Style. The error message in the pic I have attached keeps showing up now and again, brought it for a few runs on the motorway and for about 3 days straight it didnt come on but it started again today for some reason. Any ideas what it could be? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj1611 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 It would be impossible for anyone to say what it is, for instance we had a recent problem on my sons card, engine malfunction message and the traction control light on like you have and it turns out to be faulty injectors. You would need to get a code reader on it and see if there are any codes. There is a specific one that I don't have the link for right now which works with Fords, I am sure someone will be along with a link 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 36 minutes ago, jonj1611 said: It would be impossible for anyone to say what it is, for instance we had a recent problem on my sons card, engine malfunction message and the traction control light on like you have and it turns out to be faulty injectors. You would need to get a code reader on it and see if there are any codes. There is a specific one that I don't have the link for right now which works with Fords, I am sure someone will be along with a link Yeah if it keeps coming on I will end up getting the codes. I had someone look at it but because I dont drive it much he said first of all I need to give it a bit of a lash in 4th gear that im not driving it hard enough to clear it out. Either way hopefully its nothing big. Thanks for reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdci-Peter Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 4 minutes ago, JayKay56 said: Yeah if it keeps coming on I will end up getting the codes. I had someone look at it but because I dont drive it much he said first of all I need to give it a bit of a lash in 4th gear that im not driving it hard enough to clear it out. Ignore any prat who says drive like a maniac to get rid of a message without knowing the cause. Just a week or so ago, someone on this site got diesel runaway, a potentially dangerous and very engine damaging thing, due to following similar advice! You certainly need a decent code reader, there are literally hundreds of possible causes for that message. The Ford specific system recommended above is: http://forscan.org/download.html and you will need something like: https://tunnelrat-electronics.fwscart.com/ to use it. Forscan is not the easiest system to use, but may be the most comprehensive one available for diy use. There are lots of others advertised all over the place that will help diagnose most engine problems. But if the ESP symbol on the dash is relevant, then I suspect Forscan would be the best answer, as generic code readers may well not be able to read information from the steering & ABS modules. Armed with some error codes (DTCs), you can come back here to see what they might mean. Unfortunately, although the DTCs help, they are not 100% accurate. They are usually in the right area, but can be misleading to some extent. It often needs old fashioned observation and testing to avoid spending loads of money on replacing parts that are not faulty. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 So I was at the garage today and decided to put air in my tires anyway just to see as I have the NCT on Friday, one of them at the front was only 22 PSI, now the light has gone off 🤷♂️👍😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 I would not have thought tyre pressure would cause Engine Malfunction to show. But in that picture I see the ESP light is on (which is MOT failure in UK, don't know if it is as strict in Ireland). I assume the ESP is linked to ABS - using same sensors to compare wheel speeds. If tyre pressure low, the circumference is reduced which means that wheel is revolving faster than the others in a straight line, not sure by how significant amount though. So not sure if 'Engine Malfunction' actual means Miscellaneous malfunction and it is seeing a ESP problem. But I wouldn't have thought Ford would be so stupid as to program it to say Engine Malfunction when it is not the engine. Keep your fingers crossed it stays OK now but might be temporary coincidence. Is the ESP light still on (assuming you have not turned ESP off in the menu causing the light to be on). was the car showing any problems with revving, power, hesitation, jerkiness? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 10 minutes ago, isetta said: I would not have thought tyre pressure would cause Engine Malfunction to show. But in that picture I see the ESP light is on (which is MOT failure in UK, don't know if it is as strict in Ireland). I assume the ESP is linked to ABS - using same sensors to compare wheel speeds. If tyre pressure low, the circumference is reduced which means that wheel is revolving faster than the others in a straight line, not sure by how significant amount though. So not sure if 'Engine Malfunction' actual means Miscellaneous malfunction and it is seeing a ESP problem. But I wouldn't have thought Ford would be so stupid as to program it to say Engine Malfunction when it is not the engine. Keep your fingers crossed it stays OK now but might be temporary coincidence. Is the ESP light still on (assuming you have not turned ESP off in the menu causing the light to be on). was the car showing any problems with revving, power, hesitation, jerkiness? Yeah I thought it was strange myself, I didnt think the pressure of the tyres would make the lights go off, but so far thats what im thinking as the ESP light and the Engine Malfunction Message literally came off when I left the garage. The car has been driving great, no signs of anything strange. My plan is to try and get it through the NCT on Friday without the light on so fingers crossed, after that I can get it checked properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Maybe just coincidence. If an Engine fault does not reoccur again after a set number of drive cycles then the fault light usually disappears. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr5matt Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Had a similar thing appear on my xr5 turbo... had been sat for around 10 weeks without a start... turned out it was the battery. Replaced that, fired up first time. And no bother again. Wasnt a nice sight seeing engine malfunction flash up at first though ha! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 Turns out I just have a slow puncture. Engine Malfunction seems a bit a drastic for that but thats Ford for ye 😂 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdci-Peter Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 12 hours ago, JayKay56 said: Engine Malfunction seems a bit a drastic for that but thats Ford for ye Lazy design really, it was probably the easiest solution for the software writers. In fact a slow puncture can be drastic, I think the majority of high speed blow-outs are caused by slow punctures that have not been noticed, until the tyre temperature rises on a long run by so much that the tyre will disintegrate. Leak rates can increase as the tyre heats up as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy woodbridge Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 I might be wrong. However. The engine malfunction warning I am 99% sure has nothing to do with tyre pressure. I had a slow puncture in my old focus and it never gave an engine malfunction on the dash. In fact I am sure these cars do not have tyre pressure sensors. I would wager that, that warning will come back on again. I had that warning come up twice in ownership of my last car. It was sporadic and some days it was there some it didnt. For me it was because the eolys dpf fluid was low/empty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 "For me it was because the eolys dpf fluid was low/empty." at least he wont have that problem as 1.8tdci does not have dpf. I agree they don't have have tyre pressure monitoring, but I think the suggestion here was that the tyre pressure was upsetting the ESP which was causing a problem. But, yes, i am also a bit sceptical that it was all down to the one low pressure tyre, time will tell 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 I do find it hard to believe myself as I have said in previous posts I originally thought here we go now I have a big problem, but I have two new front tyres and the engine malfunction message and ESP light not showing anymore and shes driving better than ever, so I dunno 🤷♂️😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdci-Peter Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 2 hours ago, JayKay56 said: do find it hard to believe myself The Focus Mk2a does have an optional deflation detection system based on the ABS, measuring the speed differential due to a partially deflated tyre. It could be bought as new, or in at least some cases it can be enabled using ELMConfig. This is a cruder system than the proper TPMS that uses wireless pressure sensors, but it only needed a bit of extra software. It is just possible that this is the origin of the message. However it could be just the ESP, which is programmed to detect spin, oversteer & understeer, again using the ABS wheel sensors, plus a steering wheel angle sensor and yaw sensor (giroscope). A bit about the system is here: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay56 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, Tdci-Peter said: The Focus Mk2a does have an optional deflation detection system based on the ABS, measuring the speed differential due to a partially deflated tyre. It could be bought as new, or in at least some cases it can be enabled using ELMConfig. This is a cruder system than the proper TPMS that uses wireless pressure sensors, but it only needed a bit of extra software. It is just possible that this is the origin of the message. A bit about the system is here: Brilliant, cheers for this 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 When I bought my Mk2.5 Focus it had a slow puncture...only noticed by the steering getting heavier, no warning lights at all. Once I'd got an ELM cable I activated the DDS... Pressure loss caused a 'Check tyre pressure' message, nothing else. In this particular case though, I recon the pressure loss was enough to throw out the speed readings for the ESP and as Peter mentions, the Engine Malfunction warning is used to cover quite a few different things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee_82 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 On the above linked post from 2016... I fixed itself when I replaced the two fronts as a pair, typically had a side wall puncture on the good one so replaced them both. After that no problems in the wet. I guess their must have been a size difference between them that was just enough to throw it out somehow As to your problem, I've had similar issues in the past with minor systems causing major faults. I had a number of turbo faults at one point ,some of which where resolved by fixing a stuck cruise control button. As Peter said, it's possible it's just shoddy ford programming. That or it's intermittent and just waiting for an appropriately sharp bend to knock it out again! 🙃 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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