r/FordFocus

So I have been experimenting with my 2014 SE hatchback to try and mitigate the shudder and general transmission weirdness on this car. I’ve had it since October 2024, and ran exclusively 91 in it for the first 10 months or so of it’s time in my care.

I knew the car had flex fuel capability but always thought it was just 85 octane garbage gas until I researched it and learned it really should be called “105 Race Corn”. Since about August of last year, I switched to exclusively filling up with E85, and the results were very surprising. The car seems to really like sipping corn juice, as the low end torque and overall stability of the car as a whole immediately improved on the drive home from the station.

As far as I know, the 2.0l Duratec in these things has a compression ratio of like 12.0:1, which historically absolutely cannot be run on 87, which the owners manual states is just fine for this car. My thinking is that Ford tried very hard to make this thing as financially appealing as possible and implemented timing changes and knock sensors to allow it to run on cheaper gas and to allow them to say it gets 31mpg average, but at the cost of component durability.

However, I also believe that most of that was corporate meddling and it caused many of the transmission issues we see today in the car. I’d be willing to bet that a vast majority of the DPS6’s that have issues are being run on 87 and driven like a normal automatic.

The DPS6 is a very complex piece of machinery and requires very stable voltage and data from all other systems to work properly. When you run 87 and go to shift, many times the engine may sense micro-knock, pull timing just a tiny little bit, and all of the sudden the DPS6 is making a shift with bad data and shudders to correct. Once I switched to E85 and made sure a new battery was installed, the shuddering went away almost entirely. Theres still some weird days where it will act up a little bit, but now the vast majority of the issues I encounter are user-error (bad gas input etc) or possibly electrical (I haven’t done the ground mod).

TLDR; To mitigate the shudder, I wholly believe that if you have the ability to run E85 in your DPS6 equipped Focus, you should do so because I think thats how ford really designed this car to operate. Also make sure you keep very up to date with your battery, oil changes (every 3k seems to be best for this engine) and possibly try the ground mod (although I’m still not convinced it’s not placebo). Also NEVER EVER creep on the brakes (letting off the brake lightly to coast forward) as it causes the clutch to slip nonstop. The rule for this car is: you are either going, or stopping, zero in-between (when possible). I think you will see a great improvement in the drive-feel just as I did.

Hello guys! This is my 2010 focus mk2.5 1.6 zetec S. Im 22 yo and this is my first car, really happy with it. I have received a lot of compliments on my car, but there are some people that say it isnt anything special and they would rather get a base model 25 yo BMW or an mk5/6 golf. Am i the only one that thinks it looks phenomenal for its price range and age? Or am i just biased because it's my car? 😅

I replaced the clutch and forks on my wife's 2013 focus as well as the rear main seal since it started seeping oil. Though the oil leak was not the issue with the clutch. It was slipping bad and throwing a check engine light. Shifts great again after component replacement.

New DRL grill inserts along with new SUPER bright led fog lights👀🤟also have added fast fco4 wheels,K&N cold air intake,rev9 hyperstreet coilovers,tesla style screen,RS airbox,and sequential mirror turn signals...im probably missing a few more things but it is what it is

Help support my petition to get GM to manufacture the Chevrolet Sonic again. View my petition on the attached link.

Bought it from an old man at 156k. Done transmission fluid every 50k. Done oil every 3k with Pennzoil UP. Replaced radiator, steering rack and module, full longtube header exhaust with cat delete and o2 tune. This is a DCT also. So am I a unicorn?

I recently purchased a 2018 Ford Focus ST-Line Ecoboost. While driving, the engine management light started flashing amber. A mechanic diagnosed misfires in cylinders 1 and 3.

He replaced all the coil packs, which initially turned off the light. However, it reappeared after driving the car again. Following this, the mechanic also replaced all the spark plugs, but the light remains on solid.

I have put my car back on the diagnostics and this is the code that has came up (See image)

What's the best step to take from now?

I’ve had this car for a week and driving It is so much fun. The difference in noise isolation is massive. Plus heated seats, heated mirrors and a sunroof. Impressive for an economy car from 2004.

You may already know this, but I discovered it after two years of driving my Focus. With dual-zone AC, the right knob controls the right side of the temperature, and the left one controls the left. But if you hold the AUTO button for a few seconds, the driver's knob controls both settings. Moving the passenger's knob makes them work separately again. It's a small change, but it's still a joy to discover something new 😃

Hi everyone. Just wanted to chime in with some pictures of my beautiful ST Line that will probably be getting a new engine soon.

The turbo's rattling, scratch marks in the cylinders, oil pump belt needs replacing soon and now cylinder 1 stopped igniting alltogether. Apparently it was "constantly low on oil" according to my mechanic. Had it since 2022 and it already had the transmission and the upper half of the engine block replaced before I bought it. Since then I had a full oil change every 20k km at a certified Ford workshop and topped it off myself every now and then. Now I have no idea what's causing all these issues and my local mechanic said the engine is dead or dying because the cylinder walls are all scratched up. So since it's cheaper to get the engine replaced than to buy a new car that I would be close to as happy with as this one, a new engine it is.

Just felt like sharing and would love to get some insight from you guys (and gals) or maybe just some kind words.

(Edit: Engine is the 1.0 EcoBoost, 125HP)

I'm considering purchasing a barely driven 2013 Ford Focus SE 4D Hatchback that was owned by an elderly person who rarely used it. Only ~9K miles! Is this a good investment for a bridge car for myself? Only planning on driving it for 1-2 years until I can get my credit back up to finance a newer car.

Give me the good, bad and the ugly! I've only ever driven Ford Escapes so I know there is lore, haha.

First post here so sorry about any potential formatting issues

I just bought this Ford Focus Mk3 Titanium with the 1.6L Ti VCT and a 5 speed manual, what do you guys think?

It has some issues like a distinct fuel smell when the engine is running so I will have to sort that before driving this any further but man I fell in love with this, if you guys have any comments or advice for a first time Focus owner please let me know

I'm back again with my '10 Ford focus. Figured I would clean the engine bay and it went swimmingly. Made sure to protect the important parts ECM, fuses, alternator. And ofc removed the battery. When I got everything back together it started and ran just fine. But on the drive it lost control of the throttle body. If anyone could help with the wiring to see if it's either a wire issue or just need a new throttle body.

In the mean time I have done a fair bit of work on the car since last post. Looking mighty fine, just installed the OEM spoiler and "painting" it rn. I say that but I'm using spray on rubber as it's easily removable. I have also done the same with the rocker panels and it's looks real clean. I'll post pictures once I figure this throttle body out.

I have a 2017 Ford Focus Turnier and noticed something strange with the coolant temperature.

Once the engine reaches normal operating temperature (around 90°C), everything seems fine at first. But during highway driving, as soon as I turn on the A/C — regardless of whether it’s set to heating or cooling — the coolant temperature drops from about 90°C down to around 75°C.

Without the A/C, the temperature usually stays normal.

The car doesn’t overheat, it actually gets cooler when the climate control is on. I’m wondering what could cause this.

Has anyone experienced this on a Ford Focus before?