Hi all. I've recently had an issue with my 2011 Focus. It was losing coolant. A lot. I noticed damp in the driver's footwell and took it to my local garage. They have told me that the heater matrix is leaking and I need to take it to a main dealer. Ford main dealer of course wants £131 just for diagnostics. Before I do that, though, I wanted to research the issue and be sure the problem is not a DIY fix. By the looks of it, this is a common issue and there is plenty of community experience with similar issues. I checked by removing a panel by the footwell so I could get a good look and to me it looks like it might only be the clips. Is it possible to tell from this pic whether that is the case? Everything above that one obviously-leaking joint looks clean. Where else could I look to diagnose?

It's unlikely to be the 'clips', most common fault is a £3 'O' ring that joins the pipe to the matrix. Mine has gone twice! It is a DIY repair for some on this forum, but if you're an armchair mechanic, (like me LOL), you'll need to get a garage to fix, though I would have to dissuade you on a main Ford dealer as they are so horrendously expensive. If I had a 3rd failure, I would go for a permanent repair of cutting an inch off the end of each pipe, and rejoin with quality hose/jubilee clips doing away with that stupid seal altogether!

Thank you, StephenFord. For clarity, are the O-rings and clips what constitute that join? Or are you suggesting there is a leak elsewhere? I have seen the suggestion to cut then pipes and fit a rubber hose with jubilee clips in a few places. I'm not going to start cutting pipes, mind.

Yep, the 'O' ring is what often fails (see attached of one of my failures) If you do get a new seal, make sure it's a genuine Ford part (pretty cheap), it has a specific chamfered edge which generic seals won't have!

Gotcha! Appreciate the info. 

So anyway, local garage fixed it for about £30 more than Ford wanted just to look at it. Job done. Follow up question, though. How does one set about drying out the carpets once full of coolant. I've several desiccant dehumidifiers in there and I leave doors/windows open when the weather is fine but it's taking ages. I'm thinking a fan heater and electric dehumidifier.

18 minutes ago, JNolan said:

So anyway, local garage fixed it for about £30 more than Ford wanted just to look at it. Job done. Follow up question, though. How does one set about drying out the carpets once full of coolant. I've several desiccant dehumidifiers in there and I leave doors/windows open when the weather is fine but it's taking ages. I'm thinking a fan heater and electric dehumidifier.

Wet vac is the best solution if you have access to one.  Desiccant dehumidifiers are useless against carpets full of water, I wouldn't recommend them after trying them in my own Mk3!

Alternatively, if you have the optional flux capacitor that seems to be doing the rounds on here, just go back to mid summer to leave all the doors open for a while.   

I reckon I can borrow a wet vac - thanks. I have doors/windows open right now but at this time of year I'm watching the weather like a hawk :)

2 hours ago, JNolan said:

So anyway, local garage fixed it for about £30 more than Ford wanted just to look at it.

That's a great result!  I have an inbuilt hatred of Ford Dealers since during lockdown they quoted me £350 to repair my failed bonnet lock. Luckily, I realised that my local guy had re-opened and the job (including new lock) stood me £50!