I need a new stowage compartment/dash lid for my Focus Ghia as part of the catch has snapped off, meaning it randomly pops up whilst driving and I can't close it!

I can't find one anywhere, and refuse to pay dealer prices!

Does anyone have a spare or know where I can get one at a reasonable price?

Most people who have that problem (which is basically everyone with one of those compartments) end up either sticking the compartment shut or fitting an alternative replacement catch. Paper wedged in the lower part of the catch also seems to work as a temporary fix. As well as the cost and time, replacing the unit or lid is likely to result in the same problem again further down the line, as they are so prone to breaking.

I'm not sure if this would help but how about a strip of Velcro.

To find one you have to be quite Lucky. These dashboard compartments lids are rarely offered second hand. Because the storage compartment was only available on the Ghia/Titanium versions of the Focus MK2/MK2.5 there are not much scrapped car which have the storage compartment. Another thing is that most scrapyards will sell the complete storage compartment instead of only the lid. Because of its rarity a complete storage compartment which is in mint condition will cost quite a lot of money.

I retrofitted the storage compartment on top of the dashboard about 2 years ago. I was Lucky to find a complete storage compartment in mint condition for little money at a local scrap yard. Until now I did not have any problems with the latch of the lid.

I read on a Russian forum that the problem of the broken latch may be caused by the relative strong spring of the lid. this spring puts a lot of tension on the latch which causes it to break eventually. As a precaution I reduced the spring tension by modifying the spring.

In my opinion there are a few possibilities to solve the problem.

1. Glue the lid shut. For many people who do not use the compartment this is the easiest solution.

2. Buy a new lid from Ford. Despite Ford asks a lot of money for a new lid this may still be cheaper than a complete storage compartment from a scrapyard.

3. Make a new (preferably metal) latch yourself. I found a nice example of this on the Russian forum.

These pictures are from the Russian forum. The complete topic can be found on the following website: http://ffclub.ru/topic/77957/jump_800/#comments. I use the Google Chrome webbrowser to automatically translate Russian websites to English.

Thanks guys!

Chris and Wilco, you are spot on there.

Pretty much every breakers I have contacted either don't have any Ghia's/Titanium's in for breaking, or if they do, the lid won't shut.

Trying to find just the lid that has a intact catch is very difficult, and as you say are rarely up for sale.

The catch in mine is still there, but a tiny piece has broke off of the tip, obviously enough for it to not catch correctly.

The previous owner had wedged a small piece of paper in the gap, but I've actually glued it shut now as I got so fed up with it, but as I hate something not working correctly in my car, I want to try and replace it.

Top marks for the link, that is genius! I'm going to have to work out how I can fabricate a similar part.