Mark 3 buying advice

[fladavid]

Hi. 

I just went to test drive a 61 plate 1.6 Ti-VCT Titanium Focus and could do with some advice.

The car has a couple of niggling issues.

Firstly the gearbox seems slightly notchy, even compared to my present 55 plate 2.0 Ghia focus, could there be an underlying issue or are they known for it? The clutch seemed perfect. 

Secondly for some reason it looks like the engine cover is missing, see photo, I assume they have one? Are they necessary or expensive to replace?

Another two items that are broken are the parcel shelf, the lug is broken on one end and the passenger sun shade has the lid missing on the mirror. Again are they expensive to replace?

Just one query about the engine output. Total car check reckons the engine is 125bhp but Parker's guide says that the two 1.6 engines available are only either 85bhp or 105bhp. Which is correct and how do I find out which one this car has?

Thanks. 

Dave. 

[robdalej]

I have a 12 reg focus s and the gearbox is smooth , no notchiness, as to the parcel shelf , Ford may be   able to build cars but they certainly can't design a parcel shelf ,mine  is the same  but you can buy metal fillers from e Bay as a new shelf is about 80  pounds, cant the seller fix your problems?

[fladavid]

Still pondering whether to buy the car yet depending on these answers tbh.

Do you have the eBay link that you mentioned?

Thanks. 

[Morty1977]

My 2018 mk3.5 doesnt have an engine cover just a rubber seal a front of bonnet

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[TomsFocus]

1.6 Ti-VCT doesn't have an engine cover. 

Parcel shelves on Mk3s are always broken, that's not a deal-breaker imo.  Sun visors don't usually break but should be cheap to replace from a breakers yard.

Parkers guide isn't particularly useful nowadays, I wouldn't rely on it for any info.  Most of these Ti-VCT's are 125bhp.  There are a few 105bhp versions but they tend to be in very basic Style spec.  Sites such as cardatachecks tell you the BHP from the reg but totalcarcheck should also be correct.

The gearbox is an IB5 on these.  It's quite an old box now and is technically 'worse' than the MTX75 box on your old 2.0 Duratec.  

[fladavid]

Thanks Tom. That's all very helpful mate. 

[TomsFocus]

19 minutes ago, fladavid said:

Thanks Tom. That's all very helpful mate. 

No worries.  If you do go for it, make sure the air conditioning works and blows ice cold from both sides.  Also check the boot floor and spare wheel well for any dampness.  Both are very common faults on the Mk3 Focus.

[fladavid]

Yes the air con was good. I looked in the boot but didn't feel the carpet other than lifting it to see if there was damage and the spare was OK. 

What causes the leak Tom?

[F0CUE]

1 hour ago, fladavid said:

Yes the air con was good. I looked in the boot but didn't feel the carpet other than lifting it to see if there was damage and the spare was OK. 

What causes the leak Tom?

It's the vents behind the bumper water gets in past the seals and the bumper has to come off and the vents seals need sealed up. 

 

[StephenFord]

37 minutes ago, F0CUE said:

It's the vents behind the bumper water gets in past the seals and the bumper has to come off and the vents seals need sealed up. 

 

I've never owned a Mk3, but the number of times I've read on here how to cure that fault, reckon I could do it blindfolded LOL 😅

[dave1987]

Agree on the parcel shelf, my 2012 mk3 had the same issue with the plastic lugs falling off. Sun visor I agree is a breakers yard job to sort.

Also check the drivers footwell for dampness near the clutch pedal to ensure the coolant hose clip there isn’t bust and leaking. A very common fault on a mk3 focus that will lead Ford to want to change the entire heater matrix at a cost of nearly a grand. I annoyingly had the pleasure of it.

Another common fault I even see on later 2017 mk3.5 cars are the door seals falling off at the bottom of the door. You can very easily glue them back on with super glue but just make sure that they haven’t fallen down and someone’s just cut them off leading to you having to buy a new rubber door seal.


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[fladavid]

Bought the car on Saturday and all seems good, the gearbox wasn't quite a notchy as I first thought, when cold it's like butter but when it warms up it gets slightly notchy mainly on 3rd gear. 

Only problem I can see is the alloy locking wheel key which looks in a bad way so I'm going to go back to the garage to get it sorted. Can anyone tell me how much Ford charge for either just the new key or the whole set with nuts? Hoping the garage can get the old ones off with the key as it is, if they can and Ford replacements are expensive I noticed GSF and Halfords do some relatively cheaply. Does anybody know if they're any good or have any recommendations?

The last owner luckily had a new cambelt and water pump done recently, does anybody know the service interval for this, miles/years?

One last thing, I don't seem to have the radio code in with all the paperwork, how do I go about getting the code?

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, fladavid said:

One last thing, I don't seem to have the radio code in with all the paperwork, how do I go about getting the code?

 

Pretty sure the Mk3 doesn't have a code. They only served to annoy the owners and never ever stopped the proper theft of a radio! LOL

[TomsFocus]

As above, no radio code on the Mk3 onwards.

Cambelt interval on the 1.6 Ti-VCT is 8 years or 100k miles.

That locking wheel nut looks a right mess lol.  If you can get a high quality picture of one of the nut shapes, McGard can supply a new key.  It takes a couple of weeks to arrive from Germany and costs about £10 iirc.

[fladavid]

It is, I have the Ford code and just went on the site and its €18 plus shipping. I have one wheel that is missing one of the locking nuts so I'm thinking would it be cheaper if I purchased a whole new set like these at GSF?

https://www.gsfcarparts.com/451aa0010?auto_apply_coupon=SHOP60&gclid=Cj0KCQjwk8b7BRCaARIsAARRTL7YXU3V2WeQKlSfwxhB_PA6l-4gVRHsf7HyidzUeiYybTp_5Wr0dm8aAt85EALw_wcB

Anybody bought non Ford ones? Are they any good?

[TomsFocus]

Ah I see, well if ones missing then yes it's probably cheaper to buy a new set.

I've never tried that type so can't comment on them.

Have previously bought a genuine used set on eBay without an issue.  Obviously checked the pictures carefully to make sure they weren't chewed. 

[fladavid]

Another problem I forgot to ask you guys about is my tailgate badge, its in a terrible state. 

I've ordered a new one but have no idea how to remove the old one as it has a raised bezel in the body around it. Does it have lugs on the back accessed from inside the tailgate or is it just stuck on with 3m tape?

[ScaniaPBman]

As far as wheel locking nuts go,have a read of this thread on the subject

It's a while since I have had contact with them but it was much easier dealing with them compared with Ford (expensive) or McGard (too much beaurocracy).

ScaniaPBman.

[jonj1611]

McGard weren't too bad, just had to email them a copy of my drivers licence, car logbook and something with my name and address on and then called them to make payment, had the key next day from Germany, for 36 euros I believe but if you don't want next day its just 18 euros

[fladavid]

Thinking of adding a Nextbase 422gw dashcam and noticed you can get a hard wire kit for it. 

Can anybody tell me which number fuse could be used, preferably a permanent live, as the dashcam has a parking collision sensor so the cam can be left in the car permanently to recored cars parking next to mine?

[jonj1611]

Think I used the interior light for the permanent live and the rear wiper for the switched live

[fladavid]

Just took back the car to the dealer this morning because the locking alloy wheel nut key was chewed up so bad it wouldn't locate into the wheel nuts. 

His mechanic disconnected the battery to weld a nut on each locking nut to be able to undo them with a normal wrench. When I got back in the car the fuel warning light was on, even though I have 98 miles distance left on the trip computer. I pulled him up about it and he said it will correct itself in a short while after a few start/stops, is this correct? In the handbook it doesn't say when the light comes on, although I can't imagine it's at 100 miles left, my older Focus it comes on at 50 miles left. 

Any ideas gents?

[TomsFocus]

The fuel light on the Mk3 is variable instead of a set distance.

It wasn't unusual for mine to come on with 90 miles to go!

Trouble is, it was on for so long I'd ignore it when it was actually getting low...

[fladavid]

Oh right lol. 

Just assumed that because it wasn't on when I drove in but was after he did the welding that might have been his fault. Obviously not then. I'll fill up tomorrow and see if it goes out. 

[mjt]

14 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Trouble is, it was on for so long I'd ignore it when it was actually getting low

There's a story about that - "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"