Ford Focus Mk1 Common Problems Thread

[Morgie]

Iv had a Mk1 1.8 Zetec petrol from new the faults iv had have been varied but nothing costing the earth .

1) Exhaust system a pain and most money spent. every part of it except Cat

2) Central Locking a real nightmare if it starts playing up .

3)Brake flexi pipes front and main brake lines

4) HANDBRAKE always been a pain cables stretch over time also snap and rear drum/s stick/ seize / squeal.

5)Ball joints/wishbones

6)Drop Links on rear and front

7) Springs snapping also not sitting in cup correctly at end point.

8) PCV system hoses collapse or split.and valve itself sticks open/shut

9) Battery's chews them up and spits them out

10) Rear crankseal leaks due to PCV valve adding pressure to crankcase.

11) PUT THE CORRECT oil IN 5W.30 FULLY SYNTHETIC NOTHING ELSE ZETECS DONT LIKE ANYTHING ELSE.

12) Clutch pedal position sensor top of pedal box. Cheap as chips.

If I think of more will post .

[adamgn02fhp]

Gear lever return springs usually between the 1st 2nd and the 3rd 4th gears and thermostat housings common to crack on 1.6 and 2.0

[ians'focus]

52 plate 1.8tdci.ghia Estate.had it 9 months now,did a bit on it when I first got it bought, cambelt kit,oil and all filters,front/rear discs and pads and a full set of crap tyres as i dont do many miles due to health issues and it needed rubber :-),done 6000 in it,it's now showing 103k and delighted is the word,still amazed at the mpg,lovely for long trips................Oh, and straight through test 6 months in :-) not had that for years..

1. seeing above post .. only downtime i've had was when investigating a small coolant leak, thermostat housing had cracked,3 day wait for the part at local ford dealer,seems a common problem.

2. mines an estate and as previously mentioned,the harness on the rear door into the roof gets brittle and breaks/shorts..I soldered in a new section of wires and wrapped them well,all works for now.

3. Drivers armrest stuck in up position, quite common,i just obtained a replacement easy job,just dont lean on the armrest to reach in the back,stuff like that snaps the pawl inside.

[superv8monkey]

Going by the problems on my mk1 1.6, the front heated windscreen not working fully is quite common (i believe due to the wiper motors damaging the connection)

The central locking only half works, unless it's a warm day, and the dashboard boot button doesn't work most of the time

[vmondude]

Hey guys just arrived here at FOC the other day after getting my first Focus! Its a Mk1.5 1.8 Zetec MP3 (53 plate). I fell in love with it straight away on the first drive home and its very near immaculate!
It's really good to read this guide though for things to look out for, so good work.

Only thing I've noticed so far is that the temp and fuel gauges went back to half after switch off a few times. But it just turned out the battery was low from sitting on the lot, plus the terminals were really gunked up. So I cleaned up and vaselined them and its fine now.

Apparently that's a common sign of either a faulty dial pod or worn out battery though?

[vinnyvangough]

Glow plugs on the TDCi fail making the car hard to start in colder weather. Once warm it's fine.

[Stu9]

Y'know....reading all that, it's a bl00dy wonder we have them, they sound like heaps of sh1.t

[biggs]

I have a mk1 1999 2.0 zetec with 158.000 miles , it still goes well and puts the boy racers in there place. The only grumble i have is that the windscreen mists up quickley and the blower sounds like a rocket taking off .

[vmondude]

Didn't the '99 focus models have the heated windscreen? I know my 97 mondeo did.

I've always loved that about fords, heated screens are brilliant, blowers are always a pain.

Ooh that's another fault to check on the Focus, the electric screens connections are close to the wiper arms under the black trim above the the bonnet. They often get damaged by moisture and pollen filter swaps etc.

So if they don't work check and clean those

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[ZetecMike]

Hey guys. I didn't wanna start another thread when this is basically what we are looking for.

I've read all the above but wondered whether you could cast your eye over this link:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201405094056790/sort/atcustom/postcode/s366be/radius/20/make/FORD/model/focus/price-from/500/price-to/2000/page/1/usedcars

It's for my brother who's looking for a decent car for a few years.

This is a good price and says 36k genuine on the clock but in a way, it seems too good to be true. Can you offer any advice?

On the car or even on the garage if you've bought off them.

Cheers,

Mike

[artscot79]

if he wants a decent car for a few years dont buy a ford get a japanese or korean car

[Guest]

My 2003-53 Focus TDCI(115) is cutting out when idling from cold

[leeingrove]

Having read all the threads there must be something unique with my mk1 Focus Zetec year 2000 X reg, 38,000 miles, no rust anywhere, immaculate in and out, air con working as does heated screen, enginge clean as a wistle, elec windows all spot on.

Has only one problem and that is low idle speed which causes it to stall more often than not, unless car has a full tank petrol?

Just never wash a car with Daz soap powder....

[Guest]

Mine was cutting out but that was due to the dual mass flywheel

[vmondude]

Oh don't get me wrong, I just got my 53 plate 1.8 MP3 with 88k miles on it and apart from one spot of rust at the bottom of the door and a twitchy throttle sensor (I think), it's otherwise immaculate inside and out and both these issues are easy to fix.

Any car is as good as its been treated at the end of the day.

So to those looking to purchase - just make sure you examine it hard and careful before you buy.

MK1/1.5 are getting to be old cars now, not to say they are no longer superb, but the last thing you want is to get stuck with a 'dog' as it could be a total money pit!

Find a good one though and you'll love it and spoil it like a child ;)

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[gerhas]

I have a 2003 1.4 it suffers from a loud knocking from the rear on uneven/bumpy roads. the garage cannot find the problem. they have disconnected each shock in turn and driven the car. every other likely source has been discounted. any ideas anyone. the knocking is getting louder with each passing week

[artscot79]

go to a decent garage never heard so much rubbish they disconnected the shock and drove it it will be the rear upper bushes or the rear anti roll bar links needing replaced or a broken spring or the heat shield all are easy to check i can assure you they didnt go through the hassle of diconnecting the shocks nor would any garage let alone drive with a dangerous car due to the shock being undone theyre ripping you off mate

[leeingrove]

Gerhas take arts advice though don't think they are ripping you off more like they haven't got a clue what they are doing. Also might sound silly but have you checked the exhaust pipe bracket? It holds the back part before the silencer

[gerhas]

Hi All Thanks for your interesting replies. However, I I probably did not explain very well in my post, but my garage had the car for 3 hours, they checked the anti roll links, both okay, could not find any problem with the exhaust or handbrake system, thoroughly tried to find a fault with the shocks. then as a last resort, disconnected each shock in turn and took car for short drive to eliminate which shock was at fault. Knocking was still there. They did not charge me, because they could not find the fault. as I see it, if they missed the problem, only an expensive, changing parts, elimination process is left. But would welcome further thoughts

[artscot79]

knocking from the rear can only come from springs shock mounts or the bushes or anti roll bar links thats it

[karlos1987]

I've got a focus mk2.5 and my rear end was knocking. Turned out to be the anti roll bar drop links. They was cheap so probably your best first option.

Sent from my C5303 using Ford OC mobile app

[theredfox]

just read this thread are all these problems common to c-max 03-10 as most of the parts are common between models

paul

[Peggy1999]

Hi all,

I have a Ford Focus Mk 1 (1999). The engine seems reliable and most of the work I have done is on the chassis (usual stuff like ball joints) . The only thing I would say about the engine is that when its idle it makes a revving noise like its not ticking over properly, which people comment on. Its really quite loud and happens more often than not.

I notice on here people mentioning 'uneven running' when idle. Does this sounds like the problem I am having and if so how do I fix it?

Any advice?

Thanks, Roz :)

[artscot79]

Yes its a problem it sounds like the idle control valve needs replaced but it could also be an air leak from a split throttle hose faulty pcv valve ide have it looked at as in very cold weather it may decide not to start or it may try to run away ie youre beaking to slow down and wuthout warning it surges forward

[aaronmaher47]

Hey guys 1st post ever here :) I'm having some issues with my mk1 2001. It was Idling poor and had no power, turns out timing was out 3 teeth. Had new belt and pulley and got them to put replacement ICV on too (used) anyway it's much better, so quick and starts first time now. But it still idles rough.

It took about 30 miles for the revs to find their place after ICV change but my lights flicker and you can feel it judder like being on a big old diesel bus.

Also when I picked it up from garage I checked for codes and there was a misfire on cylinder 2. Swapped that plug to cylinder 1 to see if the code moves but it hasn't yet (been about 2 days) it really feels like it's misfiring but I can tell with the performance That it isn't.

The guy at the garage also said he couldn't find any vacuum leaks.

I'm out of ideas now I'm worried it's something serious like injectors, valve damage or maybe head gasket on its way.

It's had new coil new plugs and new leads in the past 2 months.

Sorry for mega long 1st post.