Ford Focus 2011 5Dr: Door Latch Alignment Issue

[Kal139]

Hi,

I have a Ford Focus 2011 titanium 5dr, it's an ex Motability car recently purchased from an auction.

I have a problem with the Front passenger door. The door catch seems to be slightly miss-aligned with the horizontal bracket on the door column (hope I've described it right!). So that when I close the door it catches and doesn't close smoothly like all the other doors ie I have to force it a bit. I guess to fix the problem I just need to loosen the screws of the bracket attached to the door column and move it up or down till it's aligned properly. It all sounds straight forward but can anyone tell me if there is anything I need to watch out for when loosening the screws ie is there anything that's actually inside the door column that may fall off and I'm left with the headache of trying to retrieve it!

Any helpful tips would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Kal

[jeebowhite]

Hi Kal,

That is certainlly one option, although I would suggest that you should also check the door hinges for alignment, its possible if its had the door removed or altered in any way that the hinges have not been put back on straight.

This is only likely to be worth reviewing if you can see that the catch is clearly straight, otherwise, if it is not, then definately start there.

[troy45]

The nuts for the door striker are on a contained panel within the b-pillar so nothing will fall off if you loosen the bolts, the striker may be tight to move though so have a plastic mallet or similar to hand.

As for moving the striker, make sure you match mark it's position before you move it as it may also move inboard/outboard at the same time.

Plus you need to look at the styling lines where the front and rear doors meet up as this is going to change if you move the striker position. May find that you get the striker better aligned but then the door set is out. Could be that from the factory they got the visual alignment right but at the expense of the striker clashing slightly with the door. Plus you've got any potential variation in how the rear door was also set as this also affects the styling line.

[Kal139]

Hi... that's actually a good point, it might be the door hinges though I'm hoping it's just the bracket that needs to be moved slightly up or down. I did an HPI check before I bought the car and the report came back clean (ie no write off etc). Mind you for a three year old it hasn't been looked after very well, lots of minor dents plus scratches, and has high mileage... though that was reflected in how much I paid for it!

[Kal139]

Troy45... Many thanks for the helpful pointers, I'm feeling maybe I should just take the car into a local garage, hopefully it shouldn't cost too much to have the door adjusted?

[jeebowhite]

fingers crossed, but just because there is no HPI on it, doesnt mean it didnt have an accident!

I know of someone on DLA and gets a motability car, he had a figh with a car, he overtook, didnt move over in time and wiped out the side of his car when he confronted another. Long story short, he paid for the damage and had the car put back out of his own pocket so not to affect insurance and also cars value.

Its possible the scenario is similar here.

[Kal139]

I have to say that thought crossed my mind too.

I bought a motobility car years back from a Perrys garage, that had low mileage and was in mint condition for a three year old, but I paid too much for it!... I picked this one up for a pretty good price but have ended up with a host of niggling problems!... once I've sorted them all out I should be a happy focus owner :)

Anyway after reading your guide I've ordered my OBDII scanners... a bluetooth version for my android phone... as well as... a standalone one!... probably didn't need both but they weren't that expensive, hopefully they should help me diagnose any hidden problems with the car.

[jeebowhite]

Good Result!

Yeah these code scanners are really good, they are pretty inexpensive, the bluetooth one is a good guide, and offers some good portable information, whereas the others such as handhelds or USB access devices are much better and more flexible as they can do so much more.I have the bluetooth, an F Super scanner, and two modified ELM Cables to access my car!

[troy45]

Good Result!

Yeah these code scanners are really good, they are pretty inexpensive, the bluetooth one is a good guide, and offers some good portable information, whereas the others such as handhelds or USB access devices are much better and more flexible as they can do so much more.I have the bluetooth, an F Super scanner, and two modified ELM Cables to access my car!

I've got the modified ELM cable for my Focus, is there much more you do with the F Super scanner that the ELM can't?