Hello,

New ford focus owner here just looking for some advice before i take my car back to the garage for a problem as im not great with all things mechanical and dont really want end up paying for something it isnt or might not be. I know its difficult to tell by what i writehere  but wondering if anyone with a mk3 has had a similar issueand if so what was the outcome I have a 2011 1.6 petrol zetec focus mk3 which is having a problem of cutting out/stalling when idle. The idle seems ok when the car is first started and it has never cut out straight away although it seems abit low to me (750ish) though i have never owned a ford before to compare. When driving the car it will intermittantly stall when i am either stuck in slow moving traffic (low revs/stopping and going) or even parked up with engine still running for a few minutes it will cut out. The revs will bounce between say 800 and down to like 300 and after a couple of seconds and abit of a shake the car cuts out. Starts back up fine everytime but getting to be an absolute annoyance now. There are no warning lights or any codes stored either and it drives like a dream when going at speed.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

Maybe idle control valve

 

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Thanks for the suggestion. After it happening again when sat on drive this morning i thought id ring my RAC breakdown cover to see if they would attend. They came out ran a full diagnostic which said it was fine. Said the engine sounded fine. Fault didnt happen as it was sat there. Guy said hes 99% sure its the fuel pump not working properly/on its way out?

Has the fuel filter been changed?

Im not sure ive only had the car a few weeks. Serviced not to long ago but imagine it was just oil and filter change. Does the petrol mk3 have a fuel filter that can be changed? I read somewhere it is a lifetime filter built into the tank?

you right it as no fuel filter plus i dont think it as a idle control valve its controlled by the ecu that is if its drive by wire

After more research it appears there is no fuel filter or idle control valve on my mk3. Do you think the fuel pump suggestion by RAC guy is plausable? How would this only affect the car at idle? occasionley it does seem to struggle slightly if you floor it in second gear sometimes.. Booked into garage on tuesday morning. Im just worried about going through the million and one fixes only to find its the last one they try that fixes it after ive spent fortunes. How would they diagnose the exact fault?

i wouldn't think its a fuel pump as it would be doing all the time ie through the rev rage not just at idle also i wouldn't think it some type vacuum leek as this would be the same dose it not give any codes at all 

pcm update at ford dealer will probably fix your issue, seem to remember there was an update for this issue a few years ago.

mines same car and has started doing this, i am going apply pcm update to my car this week so ill let you know if it fixes the issue

41 minutes ago, Victory said:

mines same car and has started doing this, i am going apply pcm update to my car this week so ill let you know if it fixes the issue

are you doing the update your self 

Just now, jackdor said:

are you doing the update your self 

that's the plan, have so far done ipc update that has worked! so PCM next week

where do you get the updates from i need to do this on mine 

1 minute ago, jackdor said:

where do you get the updates from i need to do this on mine 

Im using ford ids and VCM II, same thing the dealers use

ok i only have access to elmconfig

Sorry, what is a pcm update? Is this something a local garage can do or do i have to go to Ford? Wouldnt this mean it would have been happening for the full life of the car? Its covered 71k surely someone would have tried to have the problem fixed it had 2 previous owners. Victory can you please let me know how you get on? Thanks.

check this thread out from last year, same problem car did 30k when it developed.. mine is 80k just started doing it too.. all software on car is as built never updated. PCM (powertrain control module) is basically a part of your cars computer system, there are various modules that control different things , sometimes they need a software update to fix bugs and fixes.. we both have a 6 year old car! they have bound to fixed a few since ours was built!

Ford may do it for you for a fee.. 

 

ive updated my ecoboost pcm 4 times since oct 2014, and there is another one been available for last 6 months.

18 minutes ago, Victory said:

check this thread out from last year, same problem car did 30k when it developed.. mine is 80k just started doing it too.. all software on car is as built never updated. PCM (powertrain control module) is basically a part of your cars computer system, there are various modules that control different things , sometimes they need a software update to fix bugs and fixes.. we both have a 6 year old car! they have bound to fixed a few since ours was built!

Ford may do it for you for a fee.. 

 

Thanks. I will give Ford a ring and see what they say. Im presuming its not cheap? How long does it take?

id say about 1hr.. am not sure on price am afraid my locals refuse to do it but others have had ford do it

Update, had it in local garage today. Apparently re-calibrated throttle body and replaced spark plugs. Seemed better when first picked up gave it a good run and then symptoms appeared again. The idle juddering 750-300 but catching itself several times and then eventually after an hours mixed driving of stops and starts its doin the idle judder and cutting out again. Guess ive bought a bad one. Im going to mention this "pcm update" to them tomorrow and see what they say. Absolutley sick now like i can deal with car problems but this is so frustrating at the minute probably why the previous owner got rid of the car. Could contaminated fuel cause it maybe? 

On 28/04/2017 at 10:06 PM, Victory said:

id say about 1hr.. am not sure on price am afraid my locals refuse to do it but others have had ford do it

Went back to the garage i bought it from they are booking it into Ford at their cost so hopefully it gets sorted. Did you have any luck with your update?

did update on tuesday and so far its like driving a different car.. MPG is up and car feels very smooth and quiet. 

no more stalling issues car is idling nicely at 900rpm .. def feeling a difference in it. was this others opinion of the update on the 1.6 125?

fixed the ones i did.

I had my fuel pump replaced recently under warranty by dealer.

The first sign it was failing was I'd been on motorway for an hour or so, and the car had been surging/losing power slightly, as I stopped at the junction, could hear the pump whining.

Next day it took several attempts to start as if it had run out of fuel. It did start, and ran perfectly until it went in for replacement.

When I got it back, they had uploaded new software and does run a lot better with better mpg.

My car is 2 years old and 19k, Focus 1.6 petrol.