Looking for some advice, please.  Neither Ford UK, nor the dealer have been of much assistance in finding out what is causing this issue.

When changing up from second gear to third, and third to fourth, when I release the clutch pedal after changing gear, I hear a tap from the gearbox area. But no tap from fourth to fifth and fifth to sixth. And it only happens when the engine is warm, so most of the time of course. The sound isn't loud. It's not a clunk but a tap. I've never heard it in other makes and models of car, which have silent gear changes. Changing up through those gears is just a bit tappy and rattley, as I like to describe it. I've had the car almost a year, and love driving it. The sound hasn't got any worse. The dealer dismantled the gearbox last November and found nothing.  It sounds like the noise from plates engaging or disengaging (I'm no expert). It may not be a fault, but I'd like to know what causes it.

When changing down through those gears I almost never hear a noise. If I increase the revs a little before releasing the clutch there is no tap. But normally you don't increase revs until after releasing the clutch, so it's not something I want to keep doing.

Anyone know what this is, or has experienced it themselves?

This is what my service described as "loosy differential" and it is somehow normal. It is normal only because all models has it. Stupid justification for something which is definitely "fuc*up by design".

When oil get cold - in winter, the sound disappears. 

You need to "displace" this sound from your conscious or sell the car and stay happy that it is only a little annoying. Some guys has it horrible loud. 

 

This is probably the worst quality Focus model (MK4). Number of mysterious and highly annoying sounds i absolute record. I had to!

Some example: kind of "snap" coming from behind the instrument cluster on small bumps. Service - we hear it we have no competence to fix it. I have found out, that the ventilation tunnel was moving a bit, tighted it with a cable tie to a metal body pipe. I scratched my hands and my back was in pain for a week. But I have fixed it for good!

 

 

On 6/28/2022 at 8:13 PM, piotrmod said:

This is what my service described as "loosy differential" and it is somehow normal. It is normal only because all models has it. Stupid justification for something which is definitely "fuc*up by design".

When oil get cold - in winter, the sound disappears. 

You need to "displace" this sound from your conscious or sell the car and stay happy that it is only a little annoying. Some guys has it horrible loud. 

 

This is probably the worst quality Focus model (MK4). Number of mysterious and highly annoying sounds i absolute record. I had to!

Some example: kind of "snap" coming from behind the instrument cluster on small bumps. Service - we hear it we have no competence to fix it. I have found out, that the ventilation tunnel was moving a bit, tighted it with a cable tie to a metal body pipe. I scratched my hands and my back was in pain for a week. But I have fixed it for good!

 

 

Thanks very much for your reply, piotrmod. Sorry for the delay in responding.

So a loosy differential could cause the tap noise when changing between those gears? Do you know what exactly is causing the noise, which part, in other words, what is happening to produce the tap? The tap is there when I release the clutch pedal, but also there's sometimes a faint rattle from underneath when shifting the gear stick, before releasing the clutch pedal.

I'm due to have the checked next week about some minor issue, and have arranged for a technician to sit in the car so I can try to let him hear the noise. But last time it was too noisy outside from passing traffic to let him get a good listen, and he just says either he can't hear it, or oh that's normal. Bit frustrating.

If, as you say, it's with all Mk4 vehicles, then I might be as bothered, especially because I really enjoy the car, in general.

Just thought I'd provide a brief, belated update on this. In the end I changed the vehicle for a new Focus, exactly the same model (the one with the clunk was a previously used vehicle). Long story short, the new Focus doesn't have the clunk.

My belief is that in some pre-face lift 4th gen Focuses, while not exactly a fault, the clunk was a design error. I'm not technical, but it always felt like some parts weren't working together properly and caused a clunk.

Ford dealers and Ford UK never wanted to admit this, saying the clunk "is normal", but I think this is (ahem) being economical with the truth.