January 2009
Our 2007 Focus Zetec 1.6 VCT-ti is on 20000 miles and due its second service, so as good a time as any to reflect on its time with us so far.
Still hugely impressed with its all-round competence, it just does all things well and some brilliantly. In particular I like:
The smooth, quiet and torquey 1.6 engine. Allow the revs to climb to about 3500 and the valve timing changes ? you can feel the extra surge. Great for overtaking.
Great gearchange and clutch, brilliant steering and handling. A driver?s treat. But it achieves this by still offering a good supple ride.
Comfortable seats with a good range of adjustments.
Well assembled ? no rattles or squeaks.
Quickclear screen ? great in the recent frosty weather.
Economical from 36mpg to 44mpg. Closer to 36mpg in the recent cold weather.
Completely stress free. Gives no grief, just gets on with the job.
Dislikes:
Handbrake set up for LHD ? and it needs a good yank to apply it.
Aircon automatically comes on when you put the fan on. That really irritates me.
No dimmer for dashboard lights.
Tyre noise a bit high but much better with Goodyear Excellence tyres I?ve just put on.
Reliability
Nothing at all has gone wrong.
No rattles from the trim.
I am not used to this Japanese level of reliability from a non-Japanese car. However I am worried I might lose my skills at winning an argument when I think back to some of the confrontations I have had with dealerships of ?other makes?.
I have noticed that MK2 Focuses are dropping to about £4000 on Autotrader (private ads). That represents a seriously good car for peanuts.
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i'll start one off..
apologies to those of you that might have seen this before as I might have mentioned it in the 'other place'
..aged 16, learning to do my own maintenance on my 'fizzy', undid the back wheel to tighten the chain etc..but... didn't do it up properly, totally forgot
following morning off to work in the holiday job, pouring with rain, whilst doing a right turn to enter a dual carriageway slip road, the back wheel suddenly moved and locked itself against the frame.. which meant obviously an enormous rear wheel skid. Being inexperienced i did what you're not supposed to do...and.. put my feet down. As i was wearing wellies, all that happened was I did a gentle and graceful 180 degree 'U' turn, before stopping.. and not even falling off
the following driver stopped and laughed his head off stating he'd never seen anything like it...which to be fair, neither have I. Read more
1965 - out for a night in Bishops Stortford , (from Chelmsford, but only because one of the groups father had a pub there), about 8 of us, the transport consisting of a Standard Vanguard and a scooter.
On the return journey at after midnight, the car ran out of petrol. When stopped by a friendly plod, the car was attached to the scooter by a makeshift tow rope. If he had waited until an uphill gradient, he would have seen us all get out and push. Friendly word, (probably lucky it was pre-breathalyser, although we could all stand upright), and he allowed the convoy on its way, with a warning to be careful.
He could not work out if was legal, but did point out we should really have a 'on tow' sign!
p
Hi, just driving up the road in my berlingo when suddenly- no drive. the gearstick feels normal but when you let go of the clutch nothing happens. Any ideas what might be causing this? Read more
HI
Welcome to the Bikers' Caff - same rules apply as the other rooms - try to keep it bike related - the sort of conversation that you will hear in any real Bike Caff anywhere in the UK - the tables have oilcloth on them the tea comes in proper mugs and the sugar in those odd glass pourers and there are framed photos of Mike Halewood on the wall as well as the latest Hondas.
Sit down and tell us your biking tales - exageration allowed !
PU. Read more
Colleague at work has a Focus on which the speedo was intermittent and has now failed. No speed indication nor trip and overall mileage recording. Might this be a connection to be checked? Can the speedo be replaced as a unit or is it part of a very expensive instrument 'cluster' which has to be replaced as one large, multi-funcltion unit
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I have also had this problem both speedo and tacho would drop to zero then jump back to correct settings,also all lights would stay on then it would reset itself, gradually got worse untill it packed up,i stripped the clocks down which is pretty easy,the back comes off by removing two screws,before you pull the hands off the dials turn them too thier anticlockwise stop and mark thier position so you can ensure correct refitting,i used meths and an old toothbrush to clean the corrosion off the board,then gently wiped with a soft cloth,this fix has been working for a couple weeks and the clocks are perfect
The move involves all Yaris models built in 2006 and 2007 and is part of a global recall involving 1.3 million cars across the world.
Car owners are being told to bring their vehicles in after the problem was identified on a component known as a "seat belt pretensioner" which locks the belt in place.
But it was discovered that this part could heat up and set a foam insulating pad alight, running the risk of a fire in a high-speed head-on crash. Read more
I have noticed that the number of cars for sale on Autotrader has decreased in the last 4 months from around the 390,000 mark to around 320,000. Is this due to less people buying new ones and hanging on to their old cars, so less p/x's or private sales to me made? Or is this just typical for this time of year? Read more
Going past Chester zoo the other day I saw a sign that read (and I may get this slightly wrong);
Police
Aircraft regulation enforcement.
So what do they want me to do with that particular piece of information? Not taxi my Cessna down the dual carriageway maybe?
JH Read more
I don't know whether it applies in this instance, but I'm sure that I read in the papers recently that the makers/operators of UAV's were looking to initiate trials of their aircraft for traffic enforcement agencies.
Hi,
I've been having electrical problems with my KA 2004. On accelaration the headlights glow brighter and on decelaration the headlights dim.
I took it to my local mechanic who tested the alternator and recommended changing it as the regulator was broken and was charging the system at 19.2v.
I have now had alternator changed and the problem still persists.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
R.
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I suppose that the regulator is integral with alternator. Is the new alternator charging at 19.2 volts ?
I suspect a duff battery.
I'm looking for a replacement for my 2004 Honda CRV petrol and like the new Mazda 6. Mazda like several other manufactures ( new Honda Accord, new Toyota Avensis ) appear to be generally limiting their higher spec models to diesel engines only presumably to satisfy Company car drivers. I understand that the new Mazda 2.2 diesel is a closed DPF system. What is a closed DPF system and will it be better for longativity? Read more
I believe it's just Mazda terminology for a self-managing system that doesn't use an additive.
In the FAQs up at the top of the page there are some technical bulletins from VW and Vauxhall which explain how latest generation DPF systems work (or at least, are SUPPOSED to work).
Most cars these days use a catalyst-coated DPF matrix which traps the exhaust soot and "cokes" it when the exhaust gas temperature is high enough (usually when the engine is fully warm and is running at 2,000ish rpm for a period of time). The ECU can trigger this process by injecting extra diesel, which ignites in the hot DPF.
Unlike earlier systems in Peugeots / Citroens, these systems do not require a special additive.
Browse
Oh yes ! Everytime I get in our S60 after my wife has been driving I have to turn it down from retina burnout to subtle backlight.