Hi all, I have an '02 Focus with just over 80,000 miles on it.

I started having issues with the dash pod. Driving along the speedo would simply drop to zero. Performance of the car was affected, and the digital display would show horizontal lines instead of trip mileage etc. The engine management light would also illuminate. Most of the time this would all come back on, depending on how long the journey was.

Did lots of research on the internet, was advised (not on here) not to bother with the diagnostic as it was a waste of money, just get the pod changed under the discounted offer.

It went on today and had the pod replaced for £99. Went and collected the car, drove it out and the speedo wouldnt work. Went straight back in and they asked if I had the fault diagnosed or was I just going off what I heard on the internet. Obviously I had to tell them it wasnt diagnosed. The service tech took great delight then in telling me I should have had it diagnosed as it could be all sorts of things from the gearbox speed sensor, to the wiring, to a faulty earth to the ABS. I then showed him under the bonnet that it doesnt have ABS. Basically he wasnt interested. They had been paid to replace a pod and thats what they had done. Should this have been road tested after it was installed? If it was road tested they would have immediately seen the fault as the trip and odometer were both reading 0.0 and 0 respectively.

I then said I will look into it some more. On the way home the speedo started working again, but only for a few minutes till I stopped at the lights and it died again. In a 2.5 mile journey the odomoeter racked up 0.6 miles. There was however no issue with the engine management light and performance wasnt affected this time. And the trip and odometer didnt 'line out'.

Is the service tech right in that it could be one of many things here? Am I now looking at having to get the diagnostic done that I was advised not to get in the first place?

All advise greatly appreciated.

it could be the vechial speed sensor playing up,but its best to get a diaganostics done.

it could be the vechial speed sensor playing up,but its best to get a diaganostics done.

l all i can say is you had bad advice most likelty its the vss but its best to have it diagnosed before you fit it the speed drop etc is what a vss would do the dash cluster fault you were told was wrong when the dash cluster is faulty you will experience battery lights flashing intermitently for no apparent reason and all the dials would go dead also they were right in what they say you asked for a cluster thats what you got as you didnt have it diagnosed its not there issue basically its up to you to have it diagnosed correctly

Thanks for your responses.

What I cant understand its that with the pod replaced SOME of the faults havent occurred again. The electronic odometer doesnt line out any more like it used to do. And the engine management light doesnt illuminate any more.

Is there a chance that the pod AND something else was at fault?

Thanks for your responses.

What I cant understand its that with the pod replaced SOME of the faults havent occurred again. The electronic odometer doesnt line out any more like it used to do. And the engine management light doesnt illuminate any more.

Is there a chance that the pod AND something else was at fault?

because no faults were read when ou had the original fault and pod its more than possible that both were faulty in that the pod was faulty as well as whatever else