Ford Focus clutch broken

Lemon Law in SA..., I wish.... If you stay in the USA then maybe, but you wont get it right in SA. There is a reason why that Article says "Dollars"

I recently took my car to another dealer for its next service and they gave me the best service and help ever. Not that my previous dealer didn't, but the new one is closer to home. Barlow World were great and I will be taking my car back there again, which will be tomorrow actually since my Oil diaphragm blew earlier today, But I know it will be fixed with no problems.
 
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Well my focus is booked in today. I also mentioned the shocks and the rust marks in the boot.
They gave me a fiesta as a courtesy car. I had to sign something for the car and it stated that any accidents and I have to pay the access of R10 000! wow, thats not courtesy like!

Anyhow, the fiesta drives nicely. Easier to drive and more responsive than the focus.
Also the fuel economy according to the on board computer is very impressive. Ill test that in real conditions today when I have to drive to Hermanus.

But going back to clutch/gearbox, the fiesta is MUCH lighter on the clutch, and the gears slip into place, unlike my focus! It takes very little effort to change gears with the fiesta, unlike my car.

But the ride comfort is not the same, as is to be expected.

Well off to Hermies I go, just hope some @sshole does not ding the car because then Ill be broke for the next 2 months!!
 
Kalvaer said:
Any news yet? I took my car in on monday and even though it wasn't scheduled, Its ready for collection
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Nope, car is still in. thanks for the concern though.

Remember, Ford (all car dealerships for that matter) dont do gearboxes, they outsource that work. So it might be a few days. Also, they need to replace the shocks, and investigate the 2 rust marks I pointed out to them in the boot.

The Fiesta is fun to drive though, saving money on fuel (went to hermanus monday, then saldanha yesterday)
 
it seems you are having a bit of a rough time with your ford, but i reckon the plonker before u raped the car. And it seems that whilst the dealership is not the greatest, at least ur not paying for anything directly. There is always someone out there who has had a bad experience with a certain type of car...so to say ur not happy with the ford focus is a bit unfair. Ur just not happy with Your focus or the idiot u bought it from.

As for the fiesta, it does actually go well, the tdci is very torquey!!! I am quite fond of em.
 
kevinswan007 said:
Nope, car is still in. thanks for the concern though.

Remember, Ford (all car dealerships for that matter) dont do gearboxes, they outsource that work. So it might be a few days. Also, they need to replace the shocks, and investigate the 2 rust marks I pointed out to them in the boot.
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They did my gearbox 2 years ago, But that was a full replacement.

My car had serious issues when I first got it, but my dealer was very helpful and sorted it all out for me. Also had my shocks replaced last week and barloworld sorted all that with HO as well.

We had a messup with my service though as they did it too early and HO wouldn't accept it. Didn't bug me though so I just paid for the service portion, as at least now I know the car is good for the holiday season
 
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My car is still on at Ford, no word from them today!?

Dont get me wrong, the Ford Focus is a good car, mine is just riddles with problems.

Im driving the fiesta now, and I just got 730km on a tank of fuel!?!?!?
Ford focus range on 1 tank? 450km!! (fill up to fill up - 45litres)

Something aint right there.
 
It's easy... power-to-weight is better in the fiesta... although I'm managing a 640km in my focus st lol... but I'm special... lol
 
It's stories like Kevinswan's that sheds some light on why Ford's/Mazda's depreciate so much...
 
EXACT same thing happened with my Ford Fiesta. Was busy driving, stepped on the clutch and *snap*. :(
 
EvoBunny said:
It's easy... power-to-weight is better in the fiesta... although I'm managing a 640km in my focus st lol... but I'm special... lol
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No seriously, how do you get such good fuel economy? The best I ever got with my focus was 600km's on a tank, and that was driving 100km/h non stop on the N1 (from Beaufort West)
 
Got a Ford Focus 2.0l myself. The clutch on it has given up twice. 1st time at 12 000km and 2nd time was at 45 000km. Car was under warranty but Ford insisted it was driver fault...even though i don't ride the clutch. Spent months and months with lawyers and such but ended up having to fork out R12k per clutch. So that's an extra R24k onto the car...it would be pointless selling it now, besides Fords being useless at resale.

Bumped into a former Ford mechanic and he reckoned the new Focus's clutch is a marie biscuit and Ford HO knows it...but won't admit it.
 
HypoThesis said:
Got a Ford Focus 2.0l myself. The clutch on it has given up twice. 1st time at 12 000km and 2nd time was at 45 000km. Car was under warranty but Ford insisted it was driver fault...even though i don't ride the clutch. Spent months and months with lawyers and such but ended up having to fork out R12k per clutch. So that's an extra R24k onto the car...it would be pointless selling it now, besides Fords being useless at resale.

Bumped into a former Ford mechanic and he reckoned the new Focus's clutch is a marie biscuit and Ford HO knows it...but won't admit it.
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R12 000 for a new clutch?? Couldnt they just replace the cable, or whatever went faulty?
 
kevinswan007 said:
R12 000 for a new clutch?? Couldnt they just replace the cable, or whatever went faulty?
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Yes, wow. That is quite a lot! I only spent R1 000 when my Ford Fiesta's clutch also gave in.

But then again, I used my friendly backyard mechanic to do it and not the dealer.
 
HypoThesis said:
Got a Ford Focus 2.0l myself. The clutch on it has given up twice. 1st time at 12 000km and 2nd time was at 45 000km. Car was under warranty but Ford insisted it was driver fault...even though i don't ride the clutch. Spent months and months with lawyers and such but ended up having to fork out R12k per clutch. So that's an extra R24k onto the car...it would be pointless selling it now, besides Fords being useless at resale.

Bumped into a former Ford mechanic and he reckoned the new Focus's clutch is a marie biscuit and Ford HO knows it...but won't admit it.
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What exactly was replaced on the clutch? The whole thing, or just a few parts?
 
kevinswan007 said:
R12 000 for a new clutch?? Couldnt they just replace the cable, or whatever went faulty?
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Like many other cars (Golf 5, Mondeo, et al.), it has a dual-mass flywheel which usually needs replacing when the clutch is done (it can't be skimmed). The flywheel costs about 8K. Clutch is 2-3K, and labour is a lot too.
 
kevinswan007 said:
What exactly was replaced on the clutch? The whole thing, or just a few parts?
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They replaced the whole thing. Like Claymore says above, these new 'fancy' cars are designed in such a way that you have to replace the entire thing for it to work properly...trust me, I spoke to half the world about it.

I could have gone to a corner mechanic but that would have killed the rest of the warranty on the car...and Ford would have screwed me over on any other claims in future.

Moral of the story? Buying a car that costs more than R200k means you have to deal with other costs that come with that.

I just changed the two front tyres...used the recommended brand and make suggested by Ford...they wanted R5000 just for the two front tyres.:eek::eek:
 
Bought a brand new ford focus last year ................. worst buy ever, car constantly misfires at high speeds, very heavy - slow in 1st and 2nd gears. Cheap car seat's - creaky. Every now and then engines sounds off. Wont make the same mistake again.

F - Fix
O - Or
R - Repair
D - Daily
 
Pynet said:
Bought a brand new ford focus last year ................. worst buy ever, car constantly misfires at high speeds, very heavy - slow in 1st and 2nd gears. Cheap car seat's - creaky. Every now and then engines sounds off. Wont make the same mistake again.
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Bought a brand new Ford Focus two years ago..............best buy ever, car never misfires at any speeds. Very nice car seats - not a single creak. The engine runs like a sewing machine. I'll definitely buy another Ford.

YMMV.
 
StrongTurd said:
Bought a brand new Ford Focus two years ago..............best buy ever, car never misfires at any speeds. Very nice car seats - not a single creak. The engine runs like a sewing machine. I'll definitely buy another Ford.
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I've had two Mondeos, both bought second hand. Both have been extremely reliable, cost very little in maintenance, and have served me well.

(I can't say the same about a 1990 Sapphire I had - not reliable at all!)

Pynet said:
Bought a brand new ford focus last year ................. worst buy ever, car constantly misfires at high speeds, very heavy - slow in 1st and 2nd gears. Cheap car seat's - creaky. Every now and then engines sounds off. Wont make the same mistake again.
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Sounds like you have an issue there somewhere - maybe something silly like spark plug or ignition lead. Dealer should have picked it up, but some of the Ford dealers are terrible (Eagle Ford, I'm looking at you).
 
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