Focus Diesel Buying Advice?

[theduke]

Hi im new and im looking for a newish car ive settled on a focus the one im looking at is 2009 2.0 tdci titanium with 63000 miles on the clock is there anything i should need to worry about with these, ive also looked at a couple of 1.6 tdci's and a 1.8 tdci.

Im going for a diesel as i prefer the low down torque forgot and itll be used to tow a trailer and a small caravan at times

Thanks in advance :)

[salsheikh]

good choice - one major issue can be the dpf if its been driven around twon then more likely to be costly but if driven mainly motorway then you should be fine. get it removed/deleted/remapped and the car will be much better for it.

Titanium is top of the range too, good luck.

[FOCA]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I run a Mondeo and not everyone is going to agree with my perspective but here it is -

Some of the 1.6 TDCIs have DPFs (Diesel Particulate Filters) this can give trouble, and unless you are prepared to spend a bit of money on tuning, remaps, etc the 1.6 may not have enough grunt to tow a heavy caravan, or you may as well have gone for a bigger engine

so that leaves the 1.8 or 2.0

The 1.8 is tough and reliable, but a bit rattly/ unrefined it has a bit more grunt than the 1.6

The 2.0L is torquy and powerful, but not as tough and can cost more to repair if it goes wrong but is more refined than the 1.8,

With a remap the 2.0 can be made very fast (170+hp) and towing the van may be "effortless" the 1.8 and 2.0L would make good tow cars, in my opinion, and great all-round cars with a good balance of performance, economy etc

[theduke]

ok great thanks think ill stick with the 2.0 then and get a remap and dpf removed later on are then any gearbox clutch dmf issues etc with them?

[FOCA]

ok great thanks think ill stick with the 2.0 then and get a remap and dpf removed later on are then any gearbox clutch dmf issues etc with them?

Well, towing can be hard on the DMF, (Dual Mass Flywheel) but its probably about the same as most other modern cars

There are techniques for protecting the DMF, like keeping the revs above about 2k when accelerating/ going uphill etc when towing and often keeping it out of top

Its the 1.6L with the DPF (not the 1.8 or 2.0) on the earlier Focuses, i don't have exact dates if/when they brought out DPFs (but im sure someone else on here does!)

[jeebowhite]

DPF's where introduced on the MK2 / MK2.5 cars so from around 2004 onwards. This was predominantly the 1.6 litre engines, some 2.0 I believe did have them, but check the number plate against etis.ford.com and see if its "EURO IV Compliant". If its not, you probably dont have a DPF.

The cDPF was introduced in later 2009 so if you have any DPF it will be the horrible one, but to fair, a DPF removal and decent remap will see you with no issues :)

[theduke]

Thanks all for your replies its much appreciated but it turned out to be a lemon so i walked away hpi clear but the front bumper didnt have the chrome strip on it so i decided against it didnt feel right

in brighter news ive almost found another albeit a perv not a derv only going to tow a couple times of year and diesels dont seem as reliable these days with all the higher power engine trickery going on lol

one question tho is this connector meant to be colour coded its behind the headlamp and the same on both sides??

[jeebowhite]

dont believe so, they tend to be a boring colour, grey or black usually.

[artscot79]

mines the same colour as the car as well and nope no respray all depends on the factory

[theduke]

In that case im gonna buy it later hopefully :D

[damadgeruk]

I'm on my fourth Focus estate diesel, presently an ex-plod '58 1.6TDCi 90BHP which I use to tow a folding camper weighing roughly 1050Kg. I wouldn't want to pull anything heavier (not that one can due to the kerb weight of the car and the 85% ratio suggestion).

I've had virtually no mechanical issues with any (most owned upto 130K miles). I'm sure the 110BHP 1.6 TDCi will be good for towing, the 90 needs a bit more stirring of the gearbox than I like.

Anyone had success with 'chipping' the 90?