I've recently bought (from a dealer) a 53 plate Focus Tdci estate but find the brakes fairly soft and not all that sharp/efficient. Previous car was a 306hdi and the brakes on this were lovely and solid and were really good. The Focus brakes just seem to be a bit poor really in comparison.
Have other owners found this? Can it be improved? On the Pug I found that certain makes of brake pads with different compounds varied in feel and efficiency, the Focus has Ford pads fitted front & rear (rear discs on this car) and I'm debating about changing them. I have bled the brakes & the fluid is clean with no air bubbles.
thanks
chris
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/02/2008 at 00:15
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Im not a fan of Ford brake pads, but in fairness most Focus' Ive tested have had good brakes, and dont remember rading many complaints about them. But for exampkle the Ka has poor brakes and its often recommended to change pad brand to Ferodo/Mintex/Delphi etc.
So, is it a pressure fault (air in fluid, poor pressure etc) , a pad fault (material not creating enough friction; does it make a difference when its hot or cold etc?), or pedal travel fault (caliper not moving freely maybe) .
Its very subjective to compare brakes of 1 car to another for analysis of a problem, although I understand it to describe braking performance. So it would help if you could provide any more info or comments.
Are the brakes poor when first used and get better, or vice versa, or makes no difference? Does the abs cut in if you press the brakes firmly enough? Does the car dip when brakes are used hard but it feels like it takes too long to stop? Have the brakes been changed that you know of? Does it use brake fluid? Do any of the wheels get unusually warm compared to the others? Do you get any smells from the brakes? Can you induce a skid?
Any other comments that may be relevant?
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Thanks for reply.
Brakes just feel like the pedal itself isn't solid when you press it, more gradual. It is a bit better than when I bought it which would be explained if the dealer put new pads in & they've now worn in.
The brakes feel ok but not quite as good as I'd think for a modern car - if you need to brake hard from speed I could say it feels like its taking too long to stop, ie. it doesn't feel like if you really brake hard that its making the effort to stop if you see what I mean. I don't actually think it would skid if I braked very hard, it just wouldn't feel like its trying to stop any faster!
No fluid used, ABS works as designed as far as I can tell, I don't think any of the wheels are getting particularly warm compared to the others - haven't smelt anything. I have notice a bit of a noise from the back occaisonally - like you would get if there was a stone caught somewhere, but this is when braking not a stone caught in the tyre. I need to investigate that anyway. Don't think its air in system - a colleague at work who also has a Focus described his brakes as 'soft' as well and I have checked with a bleeding kit and the fluid was. v.clean & air bubble free.
Might be worth changing the pads - if it makes no difference I've at least got spare pads for next time....
thanks
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I've driven my colleagues 306 HDi and the brakes are a lot sharper than my Focus C-Max 1.8 TDCi, but personally I prefer the C-Max brakes because the 306's are just too harsh. There's no subtlety in them. I imagine the C-Max brakes are very similar to the focus due to the shared platform.
My car has braking assist which kicks in when you really brake hard, and in those circumstances the car does stop very quickly. I would have thought your focus does too? Have you tried an emergency stop?
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You may have just got so used to the other car so much, give it time i prefer my vx to the wifes ford.
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Probably the best 1st step would be to take car to an mot station and ask them for a brake test and report?
They would identify if brakes are working as they should or if there are problems, or weak performance etc.
Then consider changing pads if there are no problems, or cure any problems raised and then report back?
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Just another thought too. Re read your reply. Could be a servo problem?
After running the engine, turn it off. Press the brake pedal repeatedly (firmly) about 10 times. Hold the pedal down and start the engine. wait a few seconds and then press pedal with engine running. Do this a few times if need be to confirm you get same results?
Report back with findings?
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After countless years as a brake fitter in a past life I have found that several makes of new cars today fail to live up to what I was used to and are quite disappointing / disconcerting regarding brake pedal ?feel?. I currently have a seriously good Honda Accord which had a poor brake feel when new but I soon changed the front pads to a superior brand and although this will not improve the actual feel of the pedal it certainly improved the stopping distance by providing more reassuring bite in relation to the amount of pressure applied.
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Having driven it some distance today with 5 people and luggage I'm reasonably convinced that a change of brake pads might benefit. I had the same issue on the previous car when a garage changed the pads and it really didn't feel as good as it previous had so I changed them back to my normal brand and this did the trick.
I don't think there is anything functionally wrong with the braking system as such - Ravenger has confirmed probably the difference between the two cars but I much preferred the feel of the 306 brakes - you have confidence when you press them & you know you're gonna stop! They do have feel but you have to get used to them. Not sure about the braking assist I've had to brake pretty hard on occaison and not really noticed.
I think changing the pads will prove two things - one to prove or not whether a change of pad material will help, which personally I think it will & secondly to confirm that the calipers are all moving properly and are not seized. I'm afraid I have a bit of an issue with garages and I don't always quite trust them to do the job well - probably to do with charging and it not being their car! Apologies to Jim! So I'll be doing them myself as usual and I'll try and report back.
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Ok I've now replaced the pads with the normal Unipart jobs I've always used and been happy with.
Two things here - the back ones were Motorcraft which is the same brand as the set I changed on the previous car as I thought they were rubbish!
Secondly - I couldnt' believe the size of the rear pads - they're the size of a couple of postage stamps! No wonder the brakes are rubbish - I know that most of the braking is done by the front but the rear brakes do help quite a lot and even with new pads which are now bedded in, they brakes are better, but still I would say inadequate for the speed the car can potentially reach. With tiddly pads like that on the back its hardly suprising its not all that good.
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motorcraft is ford original parts they are the one's designed for
that particular vehicle.you say they are rubbish but have you stood on them?
does the ABS come in if so they are fine what is M O T readings? try changing
fluid might of boiled at some point and lost its effiency
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Motorcraft is not a manufacturer;the actual pads/linings in the box could have been made by any of several makers.
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As i said before I am not a fan of Ford brake pads. Not surprised you feel a difference.
But I also agree try changing brake fluid. Focus brakes, set up properly, are good brakes imo & ime.
ttfn
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Hmm, might be worth a try...watch this space...
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Ooookay. I have now bled the brakes through with Halford's best dot 5.1 fluid (actually I have no idea what Halfords brake fluid is like, reasonably quality I hope). Although I mentioned in an earlier message that I did previously bleed some fluid through on each of the calipers and found no air, when I bled it through fully this time, one of the rear calipers did have some air in it, hurrah! So much for dealer servicing then!
As a result the brakes do feel more solid and definately work better. Still not as good as my previous car but that's just wishful thinking. They are now much more of an adequate standard, so thanks to all for thoughts and advice...
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