Thanks for the post Sobel, it is useful to know other people are noticing it.

Not exactly a good advert for Ford, if people seeing/hearing their brand new cars think they sound rattley.

The noise is coming out from around the flexipipe, sounds loudest roughly between where the sideskirts start from outside the car.

Is it possibly something hitting the subframe? could be the pipe or pipes were made a few MM too long and doesn't fit properly.

From what I have been told it is to do with the turbo and exhaust assembly.

It doesn't sound like anything is hitting something else on the outside, as it is too easily repeated. It is not at all random, I can make it do it on queue.

I think it is a faulty design, something rattling that shouldn't, or it should but the design of the exhaust is causing it to resonate and become a whole lot louder than it should be.

I heard a twang from the engine a few months ago and I swear that it has been louder ever since. How long until something actually breaks?

The exhausts on all ecoboosts have brackets on the cats and downpipes, almost bolted onto the bulkheads and Chassis, I think it's to do with theft prevention, not seen it before on other cars, I'd hate to change an exhaust on one of these things and sod decatting one, would take all day. it could even be one of these brackets has failed, something like that would generate a pretty constant and persistent noise

They are bit of a pig to get a decent look at too.

The cat has already been replaced...

on such a new car

I have a resonance sound on my Mk3 1.6 Ecoboost, had it in many time's with Ford trying to track it down, the sound is similar place turbo/exhaust, mine is like a single tone, from 2300rpm to 2800rpm, then it goes, I hear it every day, never changes.

But I will be watching this with interest Alex, for when my new one arrives.

Does it rattle like in my vid?

Can you hear it while driving?

Its not a rattle as such, it's a "tone", I can only hear it under driving conditions, I have also seen other 1.6 Ecoboost post's reporting the same noise. Ford reported it as a high resonance vibration, and added to my file, with a note saying they will honour any problem that arises from it now it's out of warranty.

Strange, just hoping they do actually sort this.

I can't see how rattling to this extent is acceptable...

Very true Alex, i'm always switched on to car noise, I can tell if something is not right, my noise has never changed since I had it.

Alex around the area of the rattle, if you got a broom handle and pushed against it, do you think it would stop?, meaning could the sound be coming from bad fixings or vibration through a fixing?, or do you think it's internal.

I haven't been under it to see, but my dealer couldn't find anything loose, Ford seems to think it is internal.

I heard a twang from the engine about 3 or 4 months ago and I'm sure it has been louder since. The rattle has been there since new, but I have a feeling I couldn't hear it while driving until that twang...

So, Ford CRC (Customer Relationship Centre) has now had all the details and correspondence from my dealer and have raised it internally, waiting for feedback from technical/engineering.

I also tried getting the engine nice and warm (turned off stop-start), drove it around for 15 mins, left it running while waiting 5mins to pick some stuff up. So it had a good 15 mins of running while fully warmed up, to see if it made any noticeable difference to the rattle.

It didn't. So mine is definitely not temperature or cold start related, it is constant and will rattle on queue. So much so, I could probably make it do a tune, haha.

Next update from Ford CRC is Friday, unless they come back with anything in the meanwhile...

Apparently it takes two weeks, to be fed the same information.

The noise is design intent, just monitor and let them know if it gets worse.

It already is worse! How technical can say it sounds normal when they have never been to listen is beyond me. My dealer has no other 1.5 to compare to, so has there hands tied in being able to argue the case.

I popped it past a local independent mechanic at lunch and he confirmed there is no way it should sound like that. Sounded like heatshield or cat cage rattling.

Next step is to find another 1.5 Focus I can listen to, which hopefully will not sound this bad. Very appalled in Ford at the moment though...

Sure it's normal, it's normal because they are all sounding like that.

I'd challenge them to prove what is making the noise, be it broken or what. it's not a normal sound at all. if they cannot say it's X component that makes that noise and yes it is supposed to and did in testing then frankly it's abnormal.

so ford say its designed to sound like a bag of spanners..... the sound is awfull

so ford say its designed to sound like a bag of spanners..... the sound is awfull

So they seem to want to say.

I have asked them to clarify exactly what has been designed to rattle, as Matt suggested.

I'll be speaking to the dealer tomorrow to see about getting another 1.5 in (or where I can go to compare that has one), and how we can go forward.

Someone from Romania with the same issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXlD8Zjats

This is how it should sound:

You would've thought that Ford would be taking this seriously considering that could be anything that's making the noise, with potential for lots of damage if it does go pop.

Take it to Watchdog or go to the newspapers, that way you might actually get somewhere. In all honesty I personally think that an engineer should be sent from Dunton to take a look at your engine.

I was expecting at the very least for them to send an engineer out after going through CRC.

I'm going to try and listen to some other 1.5 ecoboosts this weekend. Hopefully they will not be like mine and that will give me the ammo to ask for a resolution.

I wonder if it's the heatshield circled in red... It looks like that is at the back nearest the firewall so might be a pig to get to.

Found and listened to another 1.5 ecoboost today. It still had a rattle but it was more like, just fluttering around 1400rpm, as the boost kicks in.

Still doesn't sound particularly good, but it was noticeably better than mine, despite theirs being cold and mine hot. Mine will rattle all the way back down the rev range when you lift off, this new one I saw only did it a bit around 1400rpm.

I think something definitely happened to mine a few months ago when I heard a twang and has been worse since.

Still doesn't detract from the fact they shouldn't really rattle at all.

I will soon be in a position to let you know if it's on my new one Alex, and you will be able to listen at the Ford Fair