Hi,

I recently 'upgraded' our trusty year 2000 Focus Estate 1.6 Auto for a newer model .. a 58 plate 1.6 Petrol Auto Estate (32K miles).

Whilst the new car is indeed a more pleasurable drive, I do find it less 'sporty' than the old one .. but as I use it for running about town, I'm happy to accept the improved fuel economy :) over acceleration.

The only niggle I have is that the car 'vibrates' when idling/stationary (both in neutral and in drive).

I can feel this through the steering wheel, which is annoying .. and can 'see' the vibration in the side mirror(s).

Problem is that, as far as I can tell, it is not possible to adjust the idle speed ... everything is now in the hands of the engine management system (EMS) .. but I'm convinced just a small increase would improve matters, as when I switch on the airco, the expected increase in RPM (though hardly measurable on the rev counter) seems to the reduce the vibration problem (though this may be just coincidence).

I believe the idle speed is set by the EMS based on inputs from various sensors.

Does anyone know which sensors exactly ? .. so I can check they are okay .. or have any other ideas of things I can check which may be causing the idle speed to be slightly too low ?

I've had the plugs out .. which look okay (and all 4 look similar).

The car starts and drives fine. I've checked fault codes with my basic OBDII reader and none come up.

TIA

has the car had a different torque mount fitted? i upgraded to a vibratechnics one and it was horrible - the whole car shaked like crazy, soon changed back to a ford one and its fine now. about £40 from ford new.

Thanks .. I'm not aware of any changes of mounts .. but as the car came from a 'Fred in the Shed' dealer, who knows. Nothing mentioned in the service history.

I've read elsewhere that when the car is idling, the 'clever' control module is forever trying to find the lowest emissions position, by constantly tweaking the engine settings to a point where the engine is almost stalling .. in other words, the vibration is 'normal' .. but could be made worse inside the cabin, if the engine mount rubbers are indeed a bit too 'hard'.

It also seems the Mk2 Focus (being heavier perhaps) is rather gutless compared to the equivalent Mk1 .. which is indeed my feeling too.

I have a 1.8 petrol titanium 2008 and have the exact same issue since my engine was replaced under ford warranty in 2010. I have read various posts on this and they all seem to point to it being the ECU fluctuating the revs to keep the emissions low! have you put the car into diagnostics mode via the dash sweep test? Doing this you can view the revs digitally and you will see they are constantly fluctuating between 700-750rpm.

I was quite alarmed when I first got my car back after engine replaced as don't recall having the idle/vibration issue prior to this. Maybe it could be an engine mount issue? Car drives all okay and has no stored fault codes etc, so have kinda just put this issueto bed! your right about the aircon, obviously the revs climb when activated and the idle/vibration does feel less. Also I notice when the outside temps are low i.e winter driving my rev counter sits higher and don't notice the vibration much.

the 1.6 is quite pokey sadly you got an auto and all autos are sluggish it sounds a bit worse than normal you shouldnt see the mirror vibrate try some engine cleaner such as http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORTE-PETROL-ENGINE-TREATMENT-RECOMMENDED-BY-SAAB-/251139557344?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a791587e0

which is what ford use in the car now that with a £10 worth of optimax may well help also if youre using supermarket fuel it may be worse