2008 Ford Focus - known issues/common faults?

Cherry Blossom

Hi guys,

I'm considering buying a 08 focus and just wondering if anyone can advise me of any common faults with them or things to look out for that might cause a problem in future. It's 1.6 diesel version.

Thanks in advance.

shietpilot

Make sure it has been regularly serviced, look for service history. Those 1.6 diesel engines take a lack of servicing very badly.

biko

It's a really popular model.
Do you do the mileage to warrant a diesel?

bazz26

A Hyundai i30 or Kia Ceed diesel would be alot less risky purchase imo.

EIREDriver

+1 for the Kia Ceed or i30. Recently bought an i30 1.6 myself. Was looking at the Focus too but I heard too many worrying problems.

i30s and Ceeds don't have timing belts either so that's one less servicing cost.

Cherry Blossom

I don't do a huge amount of miles but have had a few diesels now. Maybe I'm wrong but I imagine diesel to be more economical for bigger engines. The smallest I had was 1.4 and I just couldn't cope with stopping at junctions and driving off again in it so I only kept it a few months.

I'm on a budget and a good car has come up. Regularly serviced, full test. It has more miles on the clock than I would like but I don't really want to go any older due to the insurance restrictions on older cars. I nearly always buy Japanese but I wouldn't get something as well maintained for what I want to spend.

EIREDriver

Also due to the onset of recession in 2008, there's not as much Irish used cars available on the market. From experience of looking for a used motor around 08-10, an awful lot of the cars now on the market are imported from UK.

Make sure to have a Cartell report done, full service history etc.

bazz26

If your not doing the miles then why bother with a diesel at all?

Also if your used to Japanese reliability then the 1.6 diesel in the Focus potentially puts you at the other end of the reliability spectrum. Unnecessary risk given your not really going to benefit from it through your mileage imo.

biko

www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100
On an average they come in 10th

Reviews from drivers
www.carsurvey.org/reviews/ford/focus/2008/single-page/

1eg0a3xv7b82of

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm considering buying a 08 focus and just wondering if anyone can advise me of any common faults with them or things to look out for that might cause a problem in future. It's 1.6 diesel version.

Thanks in advance.

had one very good car, you cant go far wrong with ford, toyota, opel or vw.
good economy.
if you are doing high mileage go for a ford or toyota.

Cherry Blossom

biko wrote: »

www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100

The little number under the heading 'Reliability Index', what is that measuring or referring to do you know?

biko

It's their own indexing value.

This is the explanation

The UK Reliability index takes into account all factors of a repair, the cost of the parts and the frequency of failures - The Average of all cars is 100 which means that if the figure for the car you are looking at has a higher than average index (118) it indicates that that car is less reliable than the average, if however there is a lower than average index (60) the reliability is better.

Separately to this figure you can also look at the average cost of repairs for a particular make or model, a car with a good reliability index and a high average cost would imply that the frequency of failure is low, however when it does fail the bill will be a lot more than the average. Toyota, for example, has a high average cost of repair but quite a good index rating - which means that the car fails infrequently but when it does you will be in for a larger than average bill. Overall however, Toyota is a very strong make of car to buy.

Cherry Blossom

I have a plan 'A' and plan 'B' for the next 12 months. Plan 'A' involves not doing very many miles. Plan 'B' involves a lot more miles.

I'd be happy with a petrol car, there just aren't very many for sale at the minute and I want to get something fairly soon.

Royale with Cheese

I've a 2005 1.4 petrol and the power steering pump went on mine. There is a common fault with the pipe that connects the pump to the fluid and this eventually causes the pump to fail meaning a new pump and pipe. You can preempt this by just replacing the pipe before it destroys the pump and both need replacing.

Ford eventually fixed the issue, so might not be a problem on 08 onwards but worth looking into.

Cherry Blossom

Thanks biko, I didn't see that but that's what I thought at first but the numbers don't get higher as you go down the list. They are a bit higgledy piggledy. Surely the car that ranks no.1 should have the lowest value with the values increasing going down the list?

I've had three Toyotas. I wanted an Auris, but ...

jlm29

I had a 08 focus, 1.6l diesel. I loved it, but it was the most costly car I've ever owned in terms of repairs. The dpf went in it, and I was doing a LOT of miles- so regeneration/cleaning shouldn't have been an issue. I was told it's a common enough problem in them- particularly in the ones imported from the uk- I dont know if this is right or wrong. I wouldn't consider it if you're doing low mileage- I wouldn't buy any diesel car if you're not doing high miles though!

Cherry Blossom

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I've a 2005 1.4 petrol and the power steering pump went on mine. There is a common fault with the pipe that connects the pump to the fluid and this eventually causes the pump to fail meaning a new pump and pipe. You can preempt this by just replacing the pipe before it destroys the pump and both need replacing.

Ford eventually fixed the issue, so might not be a problem on 08 onwards but worth looking into.

A few people have told me there are issues with 03 - 06 models but have good reports on slightly newer ones.

judgefoozle

I had a 1.6d 2007 Focus - great mpg and had normal servicing costs until the instrument cluster went. Seems it's a common fault from what I read online at the time.

Replacement costs were around the 800euro mark - and that was not from a trade garage/main dealer: that would have been close to 1300 if I remember right.

Was high miles - around 175km - when it went. The worrying thing was, the instrument cluster came from a breaker, who's miles were 60km. The guy changing it asked did I want to keep the low mileage on it (thanks, but no thanks) but there could be a risk of this for second hand models, so check the service history/mileage records.

I wouldn't buy a Focus secondhand privately after that experience, but I would from a dealer with proper warranty. Hope this is some help. All cars have a flaws though - don't rule it out, the car served me very well over the 2/3 years and 100km+ that I had it.

bazz26

What about a hybrid like a Prius? Will offer you the best of both worlds - ultra reliability especially on short trips while still offering good fuel economy on longer trips:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Prius/1.5-T3/8062769609314183259/

Cherry Blossom

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've bought one since I last posted. I bought it from a mechanic has new timing kit, tyres and brakes and long nct and the mileage is good. I think it was a fair deal for both of us.

shietpilot

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I've a 2005 1.4 petrol and the power steering pump went on mine. There is a common fault with the pipe that connects the pump to the fluid and this eventually causes the pump to fail meaning a new pump and pipe. You can preempt this by just replacing the pipe before it destroys the pump and both need replacing.

Ford eventually fixed the issue, so might not be a problem on 08 onwards but worth looking into.

The diesel mk2 Focus and the petrols 1.8 and bigger all have electric power steering which doesn't have that problem

quietsailor

I had a 2005 1.6 diesel (160K)and my wife still has a 2005 1.4 petrol(175K). Both are good cars and were / reliable (I've since changed to a Alfa 159)

Some problems that have popped up recently on my wifes car are the bonnet lock jamming and then causing the plastic connector between the lock and key barrelled to snap. Pig of a job to open the bonnet if your unlucky - you may have to break the grill to get in there to open the bonnet to replace the lock and connector. Google "2005 focus bonnet lock" to read more. Grease the lock and barrell with silicone grease NOT WD40 and you should fix this one - if the lock gets stiff and feels dirty replace it as its cheap on eBay and is easy to replace.

Second common problem that's affecting her focus is the boot lock. there is an electric switch (the one you use to manually open the boot) and then its connected to a solenoid that moves the lock itself. Apparently water gets in past the number plate and damages the switch or solenoid. I haven't replace these parts yet so I cant comment on prices yet.

One thing I liked about our 2 cars was that I can work on them myself easily and as they are so common there is a huge wealth of information on the web

quietsailor

I forgot to say although both were 2005 they are the newer shape Mark 2 I think