Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem

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Tue 4 Mar 2008 18:53
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - Dodge49
About 12 months ago my car started to knock at the front nearside when going over rough surfaces. This was cured by replacing the anti-roll bar bushes but returned about 3 months ago. The garage who did the initial repair changed some other bushes (not sure which) but the problem still persisted and they suspected the anti-roll bar needed changing. I mentioned this to another mechanic i know who thought the roll bar wearing was unlikely and maybe the bushes had not been set up right. He had a look and could not see any wear on the bar so changed the bushes again but with little improvement so only charged me for the bushes, a few pounds. I intend to take it back to him but would appreciate some advice to other causes of this problem.

Also, this morning while i cleared the ice from the car it locked itself with the keys in the ignition. Luckily my wife had not left for work and i could get back into the house for the spare keys (house keys with car keys). On other occasions, also cold mornings i suspect it may have locked or unlocked itself before.
Thanks
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Tue 4 Mar 2008 23:01
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - MikeTorque
Was the engine running at the time when the ctl-locking lock all the doors ? This shouldn't happen once the doors have been opened and the engine started. It sounds like it's gone into anti-hijack mode ! There could be a problem with the key switch sending out an auto-lock signal or the central locking system, does this happen often or is it an intermittent problem ?

A tip - always keep your house keys separate from your car key, at least you can get into your house if the car key gets locked inside the car or whatever reason.
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Thu 6 Mar 2008 19:29
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - Dodge49
Thank you Mike, yes the car was running at the time and the first thing i did was take my house key off the car keys. This does seem to be intermittent problem. When i unlocked it yesterday and opened the back door and closed it the central locking clicked a couple of times on its own. Also, I suspect there have been occasions it has unlocked itself, when i have locked it and left the car only to return and find it unlocked. This problem has only started the over the last few months so could it be the cold causing the problem?
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Wed 5 Mar 2008 17:23
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - AndyT
There's a drop link rod with ball joint ends, on each side of the Focus, at the front. I was getting knocks/rattles when driving over smallish bumps, and it was these ball joints which were worn out. Quite common I believe, and easily fixed, costing about £30 approx for the parts.
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Thu 6 Mar 2008 19:18
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - Dodge49
Thanks AndyT i will ask the mechanic to look at the ball joint ends.

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Thu 6 Mar 2008 22:38
2001 1.6lx Front nearside knock & ctl-lock problem - MikeTorque
The double clicking sounds like the double deadlocking is being activated somehow, the possibly caused is a malfunction in the central locking unit but it's not an easy one to catch as it's an intermittent problem. The garage most likely will change the unit concerned to see if that fixes the problem. Worth asking the garage what they reckon and get a quote and then make a decision.
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