Focus Mk4 St Line-X - Quality issues

[treboruk92]

Hey folks,

Wanted some input/advice here!

I purchased a new Focus back in March and I've had many minor issues with it, in particular the alloy wheels. I picked the car up and it looked like someone used a coarse cloth on the wheels as they were covered in swirls. The dealer told me "it's just how they are". Some of the spokes even had 'pits' on them and other numerous imperfections which looked like when they were manufactured, it must've been dusty as there are bumps in the finish. Basically, the wheels suck. After some persuasion, the dealer swapped them with another Focus's wheels and they honestly looked just as bad.

My door trim also had scuffs on it as if a mechanic\salesman had been rubbing his boot on my door as he got in/out of the car. I was told this was going to happen anyway so my complaint wasn't valid, basically. 

On top of all of this I've had a slew of issues with the software of the car...

• The infotainment system crashes mid drive. It becomes unresponsive and reboots itself, and then you see the Ford logo reappear.
• During phone calls via the handsfree, call quality consistently drops and I have to turn the car off and on to fix this issue.
• Randomly, the cars audio prompts sound tinny and very loud. After turning the car off and back on, it returns to normal. 
• The SOS system sometimes malfunctions with a displayed warning telling me to bring it in for a service.
• The handbrake / auto hold has failed a couple of times and I've had to run after the car and slam on the footbrake! Dealer couldn't find a fault with this.
• Notifications on the Ford Pass app about using 12% of my oil life in 2 months of ownership which I think is rather high?

These seem to be 'mostly' fixed by updates done by the dealer, except the audio prompts occasionally sounding tinny and loud, but I was told these 'updates' should've been done prior to me collecting the vehicle. The issues honestly seem to come and go. I've been actively trying to reject this vehicle because it honestly seems like a lemon to me and all previous Fords I've owned before this haven't done this, but the dealer is being...uncooperative. Has anyone else had problems with a new Focus?

Keen to hear peoples thoughts!

[Alex.S]

All your bullet points problems were common on here 2 years ago. 
One thing tho, auto hold and handbrake aren’t the same thing. I certainly wouldn’t advise stepping out the car with just auto hold on , especially on a steep hill! 

[Dark Andy]

The auto-hold issue is usually caused by the battery management system switching it off when the battery charge falls below a certain threshold. The simple fix for this is to turn the auto stop/start off each time you restart the car (unfortunately you can't turn stop/start off permanently and have to do this manually each time) as this will then help to keep the battery topped up and prevent the battery management system from switching various systems off (including auto-hold). 

[Wino]

There was/is a detailed topic regarding the Auto Hold function on here somewhere ..........🤭

[treboruk92]

12 hours ago, Alex.S said:

All your bullet points problems were common on here 2 years ago. 
One thing tho, auto hold and handbrake aren’t the same thing. I certainly wouldn’t advise stepping out the car with just auto hold on , especially on a steep hill! 

I wasn't clear lol - I definitely engaged the handbrake and got out, and the car rolled. 

[Wino]

48 minutes ago, treboruk92 said:

I wasn't clear lol - I definitely engaged the handbrake and got out, and the car rolled. 

If you have Auto Hold activated and switch the engine off and proceed to get out of the car then the Ebrake automatically comes on when you open the drivers door providing your in a manual ( cant speak for autos as it may be different).

One other thing to suggest is to leave it in gear as well.

[Guy Heaton]

A lot of us get the tinny beeps but they do go away after a restart.  I get them every now and then.  Your wheels should not be pitted though, my diamond cut stlx wheels are smooth

[treboruk92]

1 minute ago, Guy Heaton said:

A lot of us get the tinny beeps but they do go away after a restart.  I get them every now and then.  Your wheels should not be pitted though, my diamond cut stlx wheels are smooth

Yeah, I know. I was literally told "it's just their finish, they aren't diamond cut, they are machined finished, they will have imperfections". What a load of BS! These are "new" wheels, apparently.  I hate them.

[Alex.S]

1 hour ago, treboruk92 said:

I wasn't clear lol - I definitely engaged the handbrake and got out, and the car rolled. 

There’s definitely been others having the hand brake issue. Your list are very common issues with the Mk4 , I’m surprised with the age of the car that it’s not had the necessary updates already 🤔 

*edit 

just realised it’s a 21plate ! Factory should be producing motors without the earlier teething problems. Surely 

[treboruk92]

7 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

There’s definitely been others having the hand brake issue. Your list are very common issues with the Mk4 , I’m surprised with the age of the car that it’s not had the necessary updates already 🤔 

I wish I never bought it - I previously had an EcoSport ST-Line and I can honestly say I had far less issues with that car. 

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, treboruk92 said:

I wish I never bought it. 😑

Does it drive well? What engines in it? All these issues can be sorted. 🙂

[treboruk92]

It's the 155mhev. Kinda wish I paid a bit more and got a proper ST. 'tis a bit sluggish for a car of it's size in my opinion, but it does do a good job for a 1litre! 

I got most of the extras so it's impressive on the tech front and drives well - but it's just really hampered by so many niggly issues. There doesn't seem to be any quality control with these cars.

[Alex.S]

These were issues for a lot of new Mk4 owners 2 years ago. 

[StephenFord]

3 hours ago, treboruk92 said:

Yeah, I know. I was literally told "it's just their finish, they aren't diamond cut, they are machined finished, they will have imperfections". What a load of BS! These are "new" wheels, apparently.  I hate them.

 

Those wheels are atrocious! I suggest you pack them up and ship them to me, I'm not as fussy, I'll PM you my address 🤣

[treboruk92]

15 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Those wheels are atrocious! I suggest you pack them up and ship them to me, I'm not as fussy, I'll PM you my address 🤣

Haha, I am pretty fussy. I wouldn't care if they eventually got like that because of wear and tear, but they've been like this literally since day 1 which I don't think is right personally.

[VFR800]

On 7/3/2021 at 11:17 AM, treboruk92 said:

Yeah, I know. I was literally told "it's just their finish, they aren't diamond cut, they are machined finished, they will have imperfections". What a load of BS! These are "new" wheels, apparently.  I hate them.

Ask the dealer to swap them for the matt version, piano black looks awful, and will always look awful, they will show every imperfection.

[TomsFocus]

On 7/3/2021 at 11:49 AM, Alex.S said:

just realised it’s a 21plate ! Factory should be producing motors without the earlier teething problems. Surely 

I doubt many parts being fitted are from 2021 yet.  Factory closures and parts shortages etc have slowed production so much.  

 

On 7/3/2021 at 11:17 AM, treboruk92 said:

Yeah, I know. I was literally told "it's just their finish, they aren't diamond cut, they are machined finished, they will have imperfections". What a load of BS! These are "new" wheels, apparently.  I hate them.

That piano black has been cleaned with a scouring pad by the 'valetter', they don't just come like that...  If you look at the door pillar trims and the plastic 'lumps' at the top corners of the hatch, I bet they'll be in the same state...  Mine are more swirly on a 21 plate Focus than my 10 year old Golf! 😮  Reality is, car sales people don't care about niggles, from any manufacturer in my recent experience of several of them.   

[treboruk92]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I doubt many parts being fitted are from 2021 yet.  Factory closures and parts shortages etc have slowed production so much.  

 

That piano black has been cleaned with a scouring pad by the 'valetter', they don't just come like that...  If you look at the door pillar trims and the plastic 'lumps' at the top corners of the hatch, I bet they'll be in the same state...  Mine are more swirly on a 21 plate Focus than my 10 year old Golf! 😮  Reality is, car sales people don't care about niggles, from any manufacturer in my recent experience of several of them.   

They are, yes. This is why I'm trying to reject it, I don't see why I should accept a vehicle not damaged by me. I suppose the whole thing is exasperated by the problematic software. 

[TomsFocus]

3 hours ago, treboruk92 said:

They are, yes. This is why I'm trying to reject it, I don't see why I should accept a vehicle not damaged by me. I suppose the whole thing is exasperated by the problematic software. 

Trouble is, the dealerships don't see it as 'damage' as you've found.  Up until this year the newest car I could afford was 5 years old...well out of warranty and knew dealerships wouldn't care about them.  This year I've been utterly shocked by the apathetic attitude towards damage & faults on new and nearly new cars from main dealers & car selling groups (Cazoo etc). 

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Trouble is, the dealerships don't see it as 'damage' as you've found.

I don't think this 'attitude' is new. I remember vividly on my new Fiesta XR2 in 1982, I returned with a door mirror that vibrated to the extent it would make you dizzy. Got the, "...they all do that Sir...". Really?  So, I arranged a test drive of another Fiesta using a different name, and drove it right back in the forecourt, requesting the sales manager came with me. Well, what do you know, they didn't all do that! Replacement mirror duly fitted...

[treboruk92]

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

I don't think this 'attitude' is new. I remember vividly on my new Fiesta XR2 in 1982, I returned with a door mirror that vibrated to the extent it would make you dizzy. Got the, "...they all do that Sir...". Really?  So, I arranged a test drive of another Fiesta using a different name, and drove it right back in the forecourt, requesting the sales manager came with me. Well, what do you know, they didn't all do that! Replacement mirror duly fitted...

Its quite simple. If I buy new, it should be new and perform as such. No scratches or software issues. More people need to speak out and moan about this stuff otherwise they'll just keep doing it and getting away with it.

[Alex.S]

There was a bit of an uprising on here about 18 months ago..software issues on brand new mk4s. Lot of formal complaints to ford and dealerships. Ppl going to trading standards etc. I think software updates solved the vast majority of issues. We all know these cars aren’t cheap. U really should get what you paid for. 

[StephenFord]

36 minutes ago, treboruk92 said:

.. More people need to speak out and moan about this stuff otherwise they'll just keep doing it and getting away with it.

Indeed, me complaining 39 years ago certainly taught Ford dealers a thing or two 🤣🤣🤣

[Nimrodmk8]

On 7/2/2021 at 4:19 PM, treboruk92 said:

Hey folks,

Wanted some input/advice here!

I purchased a new Focus back in March and I've had many minor issues with it, in particular the alloy wheels. I picked the car up and it looked like someone used a coarse cloth on the wheels as they were covered in swirls. The dealer told me "it's just how they are". Some of the spokes even had 'pits' on them and other numerous imperfections which looked like when they were manufactured, it must've been dusty as there are bumps in the finish. Basically, the wheels suck. After some persuasion, the dealer swapped them with another Focus's wheels and they honestly looked just as bad.

My door trim also had scuffs on it as if a mechanic\salesman had been rubbing his boot on my door as he got in/out of the car. I was told this was going to happen anyway so my complaint wasn't valid, basically. 

On top of all of this I've had a slew of issues with the software of the car...

• The infotainment system crashes mid drive. It becomes unresponsive and reboots itself, and then you see the Ford logo reappear.
• During phone calls via the handsfree, call quality consistently drops and I have to turn the car off and on to fix this issue.
• Randomly, the cars audio prompts sound tinny and very loud. After turning the car off and back on, it returns to normal. 
• The SOS system sometimes malfunctions with a displayed warning telling me to bring it in for a service.
• The handbrake / auto hold has failed a couple of times and I've had to run after the car and slam on the footbrake! Dealer couldn't find a fault with this.
• Notifications on the Ford Pass app about using 12% of my Oil life in 2 months of ownership which I think is rather high?

These seem to be 'mostly' fixed by updates done by the dealer, except the audio prompts occasionally sounding tinny and loud, but I was told these 'updates' should've been done prior to me collecting the vehicle. The issues honestly seem to come and go. I've been actively trying to reject this vehicle because it honestly seems like a lemon to me and all previous Fords I've owned before this haven't done this, but the dealer is being...uncooperative. Has anyone else had problems with a new Focus?

Keen to hear peoples thoughts!

I have a 2020 Focus St-Line, sorry for all your issues, my wheels are fine, annoying rattles in the cabin appeared which seems sorted using tiny bits of foam inside the glove box and the box below the headlight switch, I do not what you mean with the door card and sill, thinking of sticking car on it when I take my car for a service, they don't seem to care, I can get in and out without scuffing them.

[Wino]

Those rattles can take some time to find. I was adamant that the HUD screen was giving me ( the car) an intermittent rattle on uneven roads to the point that I switched it off and 5 mins later it returned and found it to be the outlet blowers in the centre console that was causing it.