Focus MK4 1.0 any issues/what are they like?

[Edgar995]

So i have been looking on Autotrader for a week so far as i'm looking to buy a new Focus and originally wanted the 1.5tdi but after changing job i would be cutting down long runs by half, i have heard about so many issues with the 1.0 engines in the Focus and Fiesta etc on the MK3, what are the 1.0 like in the newer Focus? 

For people who own a 1.0 are they decent engines? my concern would be with how heavy and big a Focus is with it only have a 1.0 would it get up to speed reasonably good? i have drove a 2020 fiesta with the 1.0 and that flew when you put your foot down but obviously its a much smaller car, also what's the fuel economy like? 

Back to before, i have noticed on Autotrader that the diesels are going literally within hours of being put up for sale yet the 1,0 are less money and are either newer or have less miles on clock but aren't selling? makes me think there is still some horrors with the 1.0 engines? for example there is currently so many 1.0 on there for good money yet nobody is buying them and only the 1.5 diesels are going from what i have seen anyway, could it be nobody wants the 1.0 with the automatic gearbox? 

[unofix]

I'm sure @Sarah46 will be more that happy to recommend the 1.0 Ecoboost (or then again maybe not).

 

[TomsFocus]

Depends how new you're looking at, the latest 1.0 EcoBoost is a very different design to the original, including a cam-chain instead of a wetbelt.  (However, the oil pump is still run by wetbelt, they haven't been out long enough to see whteher the same issues will occur.) 

The basic 1.0EB is also a bit weak for the heavy Focus, so if you can afford an MHEV, that might be a better option.

I previously owned a 125bhp Mk3 Focus and hated it, pretty much no torque after coming from a diesel!  However, I currently own a 155bhp MHEV which is totally different in terms of power, even in the heavier Mk4.  Honestly, if someone told me it was a 1.5, I wouldn't have guessed it wasn't...

Fuel economy was averaging about 45mpg, mainly around town.

(I didn't get on with the car, as noted elsewhere on the forum, but that's largely my problem, rather than the car's!)

[Sarah46]

Hi Edgar,

Like Tom says, I guess it depends how new you want to go - we ( currently ) own a 2018 1.0 Ecoboost ST Line Focus Automatic it has 50k on the clock. Without going into war and peace - DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THEM !! There is a manufactures issue with the welt belt, which means at any time, due to the amount of power the car is trying to put through the engine, it will overheat and your welt belt will shred and get into the engine ( like ours did ) and you will need to buy a new engine. Which for us was quoted by Ford at just over £7k. 

It is only since this happened that we found out that the trade actually call this engine the "ecoboom" engine due to the amount they see requiring to be replaced. If you need further convincing I highly recommend the Facebook page " Ford EcoBoost Nightmare" where you can connect with thousands of people who are having similar issues to ours ( along with the coolant pipe problem ) and who are also having to pay thousands to Ford because they will not recognise/pay out for the faults. We have owned the car for a year and it is just out of the 3yr warranty, and despite full Ford service history, they are only offering £2.2k towards a new engine. We have had to borrow the money to get it fixed - which will start on Wednesday this week, 9 weeks after it lost all power without warning on the M25. 

Needless to say, once repaired we immediately will get rid of it, and hope we can clear the Finance on it, along with my 2014 Ford Focus 1.6 Titanium Nav as I don't trust the brand, and i'm not going to trust my engine - we just can't go through this again. And after the despicable customer service we have received from Ford, I will never buy from them again (despite owning many Fords over the years) and am having great joy telling anyone who will listen to me - not to buy one either. The stress and emotional turmoil this has caused us is beyond comprehension, it truly is not worth it.

Good Luck in your search

Sarah

 

[Wino]

This one has been on Auto trader for a while but it is diesel. Its the nearest spec to ours on trader but it doesn't have the HUD screen which ours has.

Also ours has a tad higher mileage @18k. 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202162605534?atmobcid=soc3

[Edgar995]

Thanks for the replies, as for the 'ecoboom' that's what i was referring to about the horrors of the 1.0 but i was told they fixed this issue on the mk4? seems not....my point about autotrader was that the fact so many 1.5tdi's were selling within hours of being put up for sale but all the 1.0 Focus are still not selling after weeks for less money than 1.5 which kinda backed up my suspicion that the 1.0 is still prone to issues and nobody wants them, for example i was looking at a 2018 1.5tdi for £14,450 yet i could get a 1.0 with less miles on clock or a year newer for around £13,000 so it made me wonder why these 1.0 aren't selling, three of them i came across 8 days ago are still up and one even dropped price slightly. 

As for age i would be looking to get a 2018 minimum, was looking at the ST line due to how much better it looks and was amazed they even did a 1.0 for the ST but honestly i would be more than satisfied without the ST line, now that i think about it a 1.0 in a ST is kinda funny considering the looks the car gives off lol, i'm not looking to go brand new or very low miles thats why around £14,000 would be more ideal, looks like i'm gonna stick with the 1.5tdi engine instead, currently own a 2014 mk3 Focus with the powershift gearbox and the engine in it has been really good to us its just the MPG thats the issue.

[Linds]

I had a 2015 (Mk 3.5) 1.5TDi - loved it.  Did just under 100,000 miles in 5 years with no significant problems.

In 2020 I decided to buy a new (pre-Covid) Mk4 Focus ... wanted a vehicle put together by people who were more interested in the vehicle than whether they were going to catch a bug off each other!  Every time I turned the telly on I heard that car customers were increasingly shunning diesels (despite the fact they are apparently kinder to the climate) and as I was not expecting to have to do quite so many miles in the future I thought I'd try a petrol car ... so I bought a 1.0 Ecoboost 125 PS.

And again I love it ... the car has just turned two years old with 30,000 miles on the clock so I guess it's a bit too early to make any optimistic predictions (particularly bearing in mind Sarah46's v unpleasant experience with her car).  Early part of June I had to do a 1,500 mile round trip and the car was a complete delight.  So quiet compared to the diesel, which I had thought was already pretty quiet, and almost as good on fuel economy ... mpg on the dash for the 1,500 mile trip was over 50 but when doing short trips locally I still manage to get 45-50mpg.

I will say I believe the Mk3.5 was slightly better put together than the Mk4 but I'm no expert.

I did not want a mild hybrid because I don't think the technology is reliable ... at least not as built and installed by Ford in 2020!! 

Performance is imo more than adequate in a country with a national speed limit of 70mph and on faster motorways on the continent it goes brilliantly well.

[Wino]

10 hours ago, Edgar995 said:

Thanks for the replies, as for the 'ecoboom' that's what i was referring to about the horrors of the 1.0 but i was told they fixed this issue on the mk4? seems not....my point about autotrader was that the fact so many 1.5tdi's were selling within hours of being put up for sale but all the 1.0 Focus are still not selling after weeks for less money than 1.5 which kinda backed up my suspicion that the 1.0 is still prone to issues and nobody wants them, for example i was looking at a 2018 1.5tdi for £14,450 yet i could get a 1.0 with less miles on clock or a year newer for around £13,000 so it made me wonder why these 1.0 aren't selling, three of them i came across 8 days ago are still up and one even dropped price slightly. 

As for age i would be looking to get a 2018 minimum, was looking at the ST line due to how much better it looks and was amazed they even did a 1.0 for the ST but honestly i would be more than satisfied without the ST line, now that i think about it a 1.0 in a ST is kinda funny considering the looks the car gives off lol, i'm not looking to go brand new or very low miles thats why around £14,000 would be more ideal, looks like i'm gonna stick with the 1.5tdi engine instead, currently own a 2014 mk3 Focus with the powershift gearbox and the engine in it has been really good to us its just the MPG thats the issue.

The mpg isn't as good in the mk4 as the MK3. Also if you expect the stop start to work then again you will be disappointed unless you are prepared to use Forscan and alter the battery size to what it should be and alter the SOC capacity and keep it charged with a smart charger or travel 300 miles per week then it might just work as it's designed too.

Other than that it's comfy and drives very well and goes like the clappers in sport mode.

[Linds]

1 hour ago, Wino said:

The mpg isn't as good in the mk4 as the MK3. Also if you expect the stop start to work then again you will be disappointed unless you are prepared to use Forscan and alter the battery size to what it should be and alter the SOC capacity and keep it charged with a smart charger or travel 300 miles per week then it might just work as it's designed too.

Other than that it's comfy and drives very well and goes like the clappers in sport mode.

I do the 300 miles per week you refer to and can confirm the stop start has so far worked impeccably ... famous last words!

The car is indeed fun to drive in sport mode.  But one has to pay a little more for the fun.

[Tizer]

If you are looking at a Petrol Mk4 then the 1.5 is a better bet. It is not just a 1.0 with an extra cylinder, it is a completely new engine with Torque not much less than a Diesel and a lot more Horsepower. The real life Fuel consumption difference between that and the 1.0 is very small also.

I think that the 1.5 is less likely to suffer from the same problems that the 1.0 had but you should note that all the Petrol engines have a Gasoline Particulate Filter and some people with the 1.0 have had problems with it getting clogged up, probably because the only use the car for short journeys.

[TomsFocus]

8 minutes ago, Tizer said:

If you are looking at a Petrol Mk4 then the 1.5 is a better bet. It is not just a 1.0 with an extra cylinder.

The 1.5 Dragon in the Mk4 is also 3 cylinder.  The 3 pot thrum surprised me when I bought one!  

I agree it's a nicer engine than the 1.0 though.  The 155MHEV feels more powerful as it has more low down torque, but the 1.5 is considerably smoother.  

 

If rear suspension is a concern for you, that could dictate spec, year and engine size!  They stopped fitting rear suspension to pretty much all models in late 2018...just welded a lump of iron across the back end.   To get independent rear suspension you either need to buy a 1.5 EcoBoost up to late 2018, or buy a 2.0 TDCI or Vignale (with any engine) after that date.

[Linds]

I found this video an encouragement to check out the Mk4 1.0 Ecoboost.

My independent garage who have yet to fail me were complimentary about the car but (knowing my driving) warned me against thrashing it ... so i don't! 

[Nimrodmk8]

1 hour ago, Tizer said:

If you are looking at a Petrol Mk4 then the 1.5 is a better bet. It is not just a 1.0 with an extra cylinder, it is a completely new engine with Torque not much less than a Diesel and a lot more Horsepower. The real life Fuel consumption difference between that and the 1.0 is very small also.

I think that the 1.5 is less likely to suffer from the same problems that the 1.0 had but you should note that all the Petrol engines have a Gasoline Particulate Filter and some people with the 1.0 have had problems with it getting clogged up, probably because the only use the car for short journeys.

I'm happy with my EcoBoost 1.5, engine is quiet, quick enough for our rubbish roads, I am managing around 45 mile per gallon, without running Eco mode or stop/start, In my mind the 1,0 was too small for a big car and would put more strain on the engine, also I wanted an engine that was bigger than my motor bike I used to own.

[Buxty]

I’m happy with my 1.5 182hp petrol, nice amount of pulling power and even got me from Inverness to Crawley on a single tank of premium (admittedly I did slow down towards the end). Neighbour has just bought a used 2018 1.0 125hp one and even with us both in the front seats, we aren’t small chaps either mind, it had a bit of poke in sport mode. 

 

Personally as someone very much not in the car trade, I think its safe to do the oil every year to try to avoid issues.

[Tizer]

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

If rear suspension is a concern for you, that could dictate spec, year and engine size!  They stopped fitting rear suspension to pretty much all models in late 2018...just welded a lump of iron across the back end.   To get independent rear suspension you either need to buy a 1.5 EcoBoost up to late 2018, or buy a 2.0 TDCI or Vignale (with any engine) after that date.

I think the change date was early May 2019, just before mine was built🤬. 

[TomsFocus]

8 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I think the change date was early May 2019, just before mine was built🤬. 

Ah, didn't realise it was as late as that, gives used buyers a bit more chance at getting one with IRS then. 

Mine was a '68 plate, built Sept 2018, and I triple checked it had IRS before purchase.  (Just a shame the rest of the car was a total lemon!  )

[Edgar995]

I probably should of made it more clear on why i'm only mentioning the 1.5tdi engine and the 1.0 petrol, after driving manual for many years i decided to try automatic (current focus mk3 powershift) and ever since driving auto i have no reason to go back to be honest as i love it and find them much more relaxing as i only care about getting from A to B, so i decided on my next car being a 2018+ Focus i'll go with automatic too plus the gear selector looks stunning and i know a lot of people are manual fans and will list the benefits over auto but my mind is set on auto.

While scrolling on Evans Halshaw i have came across a 1.5 ecoboost petrol engine in the automatic.....news to me! on AT i was only finding either 1.5tdi or 1.0 petrol and didn't even realise they did a 1.5 ecoboost 

So i now have 3 options with the automatic gearbox then?

- 1.5 diesel 

- 1.0 petrol

- 1.5 petrol 

I am leaning towards the 1.5 ecoblue engine still but now that i know there is a 1.5l petrol i'll look into that.

[unofix]

35 minutes ago, Edgar995 said:

I am leaning towards the 1.5 ecoblue engine still but now that i know there is a 1.5l petrol i'll look into that.

I have the 2019 Focus 2.0 diesel automatic (rotary dial) and have covered 13,500 miles with out any issues. It's currently pottering around the doors (not often it gets a decent run out) and in the nice warm weather it is doing 54mpg, just driving it normally, no special miss Daisy treatment.

[Sarah46]

 

45 minutes ago, Edgar995 said:

- 1.5 diesel 

- 1.0 petrol

- 1.5 petrol 

For me it has always been diesel, it may be more expensive ( although not by much at the moment! ) but I find it more economical in the long run. Even my partner whose engine has gone is now swapping from a petrol to diesel as he found the petrol was just not worth the cost. I guess if you are just going to the shops and back it doesn't really matter - any more than that my personal choice is diesel.

[Edgar995]

Yeah i think i'm going to go with the 1.5 ecoblue engine over a petrol, current Focus is a petrol and is a nice car and been very reliable but around town etc i am lucky to get 25mpg and on longer runs i'm lucky to see 35mpg, looking at the 1.5 figures and other peoples comments the MPG seems decent and a 2.0 would just be too much for what i need.

Question about the adblue though i am guessing you can just buy big tubs of it and you just have to fill it up when it comes on dash saying its getting low? 

[Edgar995]

59 minutes ago, unofix said:

I have the 2019 Focus 2.0 diesel automatic (rotary dial) and have covered 13,500 miles with out any issues. It's currently pottering around the doors (not often it gets a decent run out) and in the nice warm weather it is doing 54mpg, just driving it normally, no special miss Daisy treatment.

What is the new 8 speed like to drive? my current car has the 6 speed powershift which is prone to quite a few issues. 

[unofix]

The gearbox is the best Ford automatic I've driven. The gear changes are nice and easy with no clucks, and for 95% of the time it's in the right gear. Sometimes while going up a long hill at 30mph it tries to change up a little too much, but since I have the paddles on the steering wheel its an easy matter to just knock it down a gear.It's also very quick to change down if you need to accelerate in a hurry to get past something.

My overall score would be 8/10 not quite as good as a new Jaguar 8 speed auto, but then it doesn't cost the same !

 

[Edgar995]

1 hour ago, unofix said:

The gearbox is the best Ford automatic I've driven. The gear changes are nice and easy with no clucks, and for 95% of the time it's in the right gear. Sometimes while going up a long hill at 30mph it tries to change up a little too much, but since I have the paddles on the steering wheel its an easy matter to just knock it down a gear.It's also very quick to change down if you need to accelerate in a hurry to get past something.

My overall score would be 8/10 not quite as good as a new Jaguar 8 speed auto, but then it doesn't cost the same !

 

Sounds a lot better than the powershift then thats for sure lol. 

[TomsFocus]

I've heard a few people complain that the shift between D & R is a bit slow with the rotary dial.  

Unlikely to be a problem for most people though.  Depends how impatient you are lol.

 

[Edgar995]

54 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I've heard a few people complain that the shift between D & R is a bit slow with the rotary dial.  

Unlikely to be a problem for most people though.  Depends how impatient you are lol.

 

Yeah i have seen that posted quite a few times but to be honest i can't see why its a massive issue to some people, most people switch to R or D while the car is moving too so that probably doesn't help.