Vibration From Brake Pedal

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi All, 

I'm a newbie here so hopefully I'm posting in the right place! Just bought a 2020 focus st-line X and am having concerns with the steering.  Took it to Ford they said it drives lovely, my concern is when I approach a roundabout/ junction for example there appears to be a vibration felt through the brake pedal.  Also it pulls to the right quite  lot, the guy at Lookers told me this is normal and is the way it should be with the Focus electronic braking system? If anybody has any thoughts on this i would be grateful, at low speeds through town it is ok with none or little vibration.  I recently had the wheels balanced just to rule this out, thanks in advance..

I'm stuck 

[unofix]

Hi Scott and welcome to the Ford Onwers Club.

No its not normal for there to be vibration through the brake pedal and it is most certainly not normal to have the car pull to the right.

My thoughts are one or both of the front discs are Warped, possibly due hard and heavy breaking when the car was new. I have had the misfortune to deal with Lookers before and so you have my sympathy. Take the car to an idependant garage and ask them to run a Dti clock on the discs to see how true they run.

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi Unofix, 

Firstly thanks for replying its appreciated, I didn't think this was normal to be honest.  It makes the  car quite difficult to drive and handle, its only 8 months old and a Ford direct car so maybe I should take it to local dealer....thanks for the honest advice

[Tizer]

I completely agree with unofix, mine does not not pull to either side and there is no vibration, nor should there be any.  

[TrevorB]

Never heard of anything so absolute rubbish in my life. The guy at Lookers should be banned from talking to anybody about motor vehicles

It won't be wheel balance if it only does it when you brake.

Totally agree with Unofix.

The ideal/correct way is what Unofix says, get the discs checked for run out using a dti gauge - this should identify if both run out or just one

If there is only one running out you still have to fit discs in pairs, BUT, when you fit the new disc to replace the one that is running out check for run out again on this one as, if it is still running out, it is probably a distorted hub that requires replacement. 

The quick way out is to just fit a pair of genuine Ford discs and go from there. Before fitting new discs ensure hub face/flange is perfectcly clean and rust free etc

I had experience of a distorted hub on a brand new Focus ST3 - it had slight brake judder - dealer fitted new discs, ok, but came back again within 500 miles - I checked it out myself with DTI gauge and it turned out it was a distorted hub

[Dangermouse1970]

Thanks Tizer, glad I joined this forum they had.me believing this was normal, cheers good to know 

[Dangermouse1970]

Thanks Trevor, this is proving to be invaluable...thank you 

[FatHead1979]

On 4/12/2021 at 9:23 PM, Dangermouse1970 said:

Thanks Tizer, glad I joined this forum they had.me believing this was normal, cheers good to know 

Keep on at them and don't let them get away with fobbing you off again mate.

[StephenFord]

On 4/12/2021 at 7:45 PM, Dangermouse1970 said:

...the guy at Lookers told me this is normal and is the way...

 

Aahhh... the old, "they all do that Sir..." Have been hearing that BS from dealers for 40 years. They really do treat customers with such contempt. Stand your ground, explain calmly that Ford did not spend £150 Million on developing a car with a built in fault!

[TomsFocus]

Is it an MHEV?  The dealer might be referring to the regenerative braking, which you can feel, though don't think I'd call it a vibration.

If it's pulling to the right, there's definitely something wrong though.  Does it only pull under braking?  And is the steering wheel straight when driving straight ahead?

[Zemanel]

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Is it an MHEV?  The dealer might be referring to the regenerative braking, which you can feel, though don't think I'd call it a vibration.

If it's pulling to the right, there's definitely something wrong though.  Does it only pull under braking?  And is the steering wheel straight when driving straight ahead?

Do you mean it 's normal in the mhev's the rough pedal feeling when braking ?

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi all, thanks for the comments. No it pulls all the time the steering feels wayward almost vague, no real confidence in it all, defiently vibrates when braking almost shudders, quite difficult to drive. Its booked in with Ford on Wednesday so let's hope they find something.

[TomsFocus]

1 hour ago, Zemanel said:

Do you mean it 's normal in the mhev's the rough pedal feeling when braking ?

I wouldn't really call it rough either, but you can definitely feel it.  Not sure how to describe it though!

Tbh even when it's not regen braking, I don't like the brakes on the MK4.  The electronic assistance is far too much...as with everything else on the MK4, it's just pretty unpleaseant compared to the smooth refinement of the German stuff that I've become used to now.

[TomsFocus]

2 minutes ago, Dangermouse1970 said:

Hi all, thanks for the comments. No it pulls all the time the steering feels wayward almost vague, no real confidence in it all, defiently vibrates when braking almost shudders, quite difficult to drive. Its booked in with Ford on Wednesday so let's hope they find something.

If it's pulling all the time I'd suspect the wheel alignment is off.

The steering rack in the Mk4 is very short though which makes the wheel wobble about constantly in your hand over every tiny bump so that may not be helping your steering feedback.

[Alex.S]

The bottom line here is the Mk4 focus (can’t comment on smaller engine manuals) drives extremely well. Every reviewer, YouTube to owners personal reviews are testament to that. I’d say find a decent independent master tech , get the qualified opinion on it , then back to Lookers with your ammo. 
 

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi All, 

Quick (ish) update on the problems i have been having, took the car to Ford and they couldn't find anything wrong (The first time didn't even put it on the ramps) I asked them to have another look at it and they said there was no vibration and the drifting was normal to a certain extent. 

I took it to a local tyre place i have used for some years and asked them to look at the tracking as a way of eliminating faults, this has been an improvement and the vibration although still there has been minimised and the drifting is not as wild as it was.   He did mention that the tracking was out (see pictures) and that the rear wheel alignment was out but couldn't see a way to adjust this on the car.  Does anybody have any thoughts on this at all? Is this normal? As usual thanks in advance for any help or comments. 

 

[TomsFocus]

Which engine do you have?  If it's twist beam there won't be any adjustment on the rear.  If it's IRS it should be adjustable, probably concentric bolts like the older models.

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi Tom,

Thanks, 1.5 ecoboost

[TomsFocus]

24 minutes ago, Dangermouse1970 said:

Hi Tom,

Thanks, 1.5 ecoboost

Ah, that will be twist beam then.  Unless it's an estate.

[Dangermouse1970]

Not an estate Tom. 

Should i be concerned about this at all? Not looking for a definitive answer just trying to rule out anything suspicious before I take it somewhere independent to check the brakes. 

[Midgeman]

Sorry to hear of your problems and I hope you get this sorted soon I have a 2019 Focus and have to say that the Steering/Brakes and general ride is excellent just as it was in my previous two Focus models MK1 & MK3.

 I have always been sceptical about nearly new Ford Direct vehicles because the sales people will tell you they are just Ford Management vehicles but I wonder how many have been used and abused by others who are not Ford Management (just saying)

[Dangermouse1970]

Hi, thanks for the message...I hate to say it but I agree with you. I've sort of lost confidence in it but I will keep going and hopefully get a resolution even if I have go to Ford direct and raise it as an issue. Not sure where that will get me though.