Had this starting up issue about 6 months ago so it went into ford who did a PCM update (Under warranty) and up until the last week or so had been fine – however it has now returned and I am confused now as to what is the cause???

Basically when I start the car up the revs climb to normal idling but then drop really low and engine seems to struggle, sometimes the battery light flashes on and engine cuts out - other times it just idles really low. Its almost as if it chokes itself on fuel which could point to it beiong PCM/ECU related

Turning off and re-starting the engine seems to eliminate this problem but obviously this is not correct.

This issue doesn’t happen every time and doesn’t just seem to be when it’s started from cold start as has done it a few times now when I’ve started it after being driven. It actually stalled whilst I was driving yesterday very slowly in 2nd gear over speed bumps and when I attempted a re-start the engine....the start up issue as above happened – I had to turn off again and start again and it fired okay but not without a few annoyed people travelling behind me!!

When I went to Ford previously I also raised concerns about the vibration feeling I get when the car is idle and stationary – Revs stay at 800 RPM but I seem to get shudders through the cabin – I have read this is an issue Ford are aware of on the Focus but they have no solution to why!

Over the last few months I have sort of accepted the shuddering as not being a major problem but what concerns me now is the Starting up issue as explained above and what with my car now being out of warranty my Ford dealer may well start to find Chargeable problems especially if another PCM update is required? If this is the case I will argue that the problems were raised under warranty and not fully rectified!

This is the Ford issue I found on the internet about engine vibration at idle (TSB 042410)

http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_6050392_ford-focus-engine-problems.html

Anyone had problems of the same or can shed some light on it before I take it back to Ford again!!!!

Had this starting up issue about 6 months ago so it went into ford who did a PCM update (Under warranty) and up until the last week or so had been fine – however it has now returned and I am confused now as to what is the cause???

Basically when I start the car up the revs climb to normal idling but then drop really low and engine seems to struggle, sometimes the battery light flashes on and engine cuts out - other times it just idles really low. Its almost as if it chokes itself on fuel which could point to it beiong PCM/ECU related

Turning off and re-starting the engine seems to eliminate this problem but obviously this is not correct.

This issue doesn't happen every time and doesn't just seem to be when it's started from cold start as has done it a few times now when I've started it after being driven. It actually stalled whilst I was driving yesterday very slowly in 2nd gear over speed bumps and when I attempted a re-start the engine....the start up issue as above happened – I had to turn off again and start again and it fired okay but not without a few annoyed people travelling behind me!!

When I went to Ford previously I also raised concerns about the vibration feeling I get when the car is idle and stationary – Revs stay at 800 RPM but I seem to get shudders through the cabin – I have read this is an issue Ford are aware of on the Focus but they have no solution to why!

Over the last few months I have sort of accepted the shuddering as not being a major problem but what concerns me now is the Starting up issue as explained above and what with my car now being out of warranty my Ford dealer may well start to find Chargeable problems especially if another PCM update is required? If this is the case I will argue that the problems were raised under warranty and not fully rectified!

This is the Ford issue I found on the internet about engine vibration at idle (TSB 042410)

http://www.ehow.co.u...e-problems.html

Anyone had problems of the same or can shed some light on it before I take it back to Ford again!!!!

i would assume that the idle issue is either a collapsed vacum hose or the idle control valve replacing both of these solved my issue 2 years ago which never reoccured as for the vibration its well documented ford have no idea why yet simply raising the idle speed solves this generally its accepted the foci was designed to idle too low and this causes a slight vibration however it isnt possible to raise the idle speed so its something you have to learn to live with the only other issue can be the battery a faulty cell can cause starting issues unfortunately its a hit and miss process i replaced the icv valve first then with the car started check the engine bay for collapsed hoses ive also had the pcm update to cure the vibration which is very slight had engine mounts checked valves and clearances etc etc and had a master tech stand scratching his head telling me they know about it but have no idea why even ecu repairs havent solved it so like i said its something you have to learn to live with im afraid

Hi Artscot79,

Many thanks for the reply.

Regarding the vibrations I’ve pretty much resorted myself to the fact this is a normal symptom with the Focus. I only seem to notice the vibrations if say the car is driven short distances (i.e. lots of gear changes, accelerating, braking etc) and then come to a standstill at /junction or traffic lights - so maybe this is the engine fighting to keep the emissions down which I've read somewhere on here! can’t say I notice it much if I have driven it a distance on a dual carriageway or a motorway in 5th gear and then come to a stand still

The starting issue only seems to happen every now and then - this hadn’t occurred since the PCM update in April and it corrects its self if you turn off engine and re-start – I’ve heard these modules can get software viruses - not sure how true that is???

I love all other aspects of the car and don’t really want to get rid! it drives okay – the start up issue is just a tad annoying as I have never experienced this with other fords I have driven - maybe it’s something I will have to live with?