Hi,
As mentioned before on DP's earlier topic,we have recently bought the above,mainly for my wifes use.I think its a great car apart from the seats,which I find are very hard and become uncomfortable on a long journey.
For any Focus owners please,is there any mods available for these seats?
Also it has been sounding rather "whirry" the last couple of weeks and my usual garage tells me it needs a new power steering pump.It has only done 9000 miles!...Is this a common problem also pls?
Cheers
Phil.
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I think that with Focuses, you have to make sure that you are comparing like with like as there were so many 'variations on a theme'.
I was always led to believe that LX seats were less supportive and comfortable than a Zetec, but then I read in another thread, that someone strongly dislikes their Zetec seats.
Mrs W's 52reg 'Chic' is based on a Zetec (afaik) and has leather, 'sports?' seats. I've got a chronic 'bad back' but a 550mile day trip, swapping driver/passenger with my son - and the seats felt fine. What's more, they're heated - and so are wonderful in present conditions. The 'heated' aspect can take a bit of getting used to, as for the first few uses, you may think that you've wet yourself ;-)
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I'm delighted someone else has pointed out how small and uncomfortable the seats are on the 1.6 Zetec - ours is a 57 plate. There's no thigh support, which puts a strain on my leg when driving long distances (no cruise control on this model) and no matter how I configure the seat, it just will not fit my back. In fact the whole driving position is poor, as is the dash with its mish-mash of analogue, LCD and dot-matrix displays.
At first glance it all looks good, so is it another triumph of Ford marketing over substance?
Edited by BigJohnD on 14/01/2010 at 16:34
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PS pumps are a common failure item on the Focus, but usually at a much higher mileage. I think youve been a bit unlucky.
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Yeah, our 2005 Focus II 1.6 LX petrol was also 'a bit whirry' and then developed into full blown whiney screechy mode. Turned out that a pipe supplying the power steering was leaking fluid (peeing out apparently when the system was under load). Cost £200 to fix and apparently quite a common problem on the Focus.
The seats on our LX are pretty good actually even for my fat backside. Well padded (the seats the seats!) and supportive although admittedly I haven't done a long journey in it (swmbo's runabout) yet.
Edited by Webmaster on 15/01/2010 at 01:01
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The power steering pump is the only mechanical failure my dad's mk1 focus 1.6 zetec has ever had, funny that the same has happened on your much newer 1.6 zetec!
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Hi all,
Thanks everybody for your comments,its interesting that some people have major issues with these seats,like me,and some none.
I have always had trouble with so called "drivers knot",which is like cramp in my left leg after approx 1-2 hours driving.
The only car I have had that was as bad as this was a Mk11 Clio,with leather recaro type seats,which creased me!
The best I have had is my current Avensis auto,which I get no problems with,even if I drive it all day.
Workshop Tech....Is the PS pump job an expensive item please?...Its a 03 plate car.
Thanks again....Phil.
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Wasn't it Hugh Grant who described something similar as "Golf ball". Funny how different cars fit different people.
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Workshop Tech....Is the PS pump job an expensive item please?...Its a 03 plate car.
Workshop Tech will be able to give a better answer probably, but on my dad's mk1 focus, it cost £400 to replace the power steering pump, I believe it was an engine out job, so most of the cost was labour.
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PS pump on the 1.6 is fairly easy, you are looking at about 1 hour labour. New part from Ford is not cheap (couple £100's) but aftermarket and rebuilt pumps are available for a lot less, which may be more appropriate on a 2003 car.
They often leak around the union where the pipe goes into the pump, so check there for leaks.
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I don't like the side bolsters of the Zetec seats because (from experience of other cars) the way they press on the side of the thighs would give me bursitis.
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What about the head restraints? I find mine unbearable, the angle is all wrong and I find myself tilting my head forward all the time or else letting my head almost rest back on it to face a constant thump-thump-thump on every single journey. Non-adjustable head restraints are an unforgiveable sin - penny-pinching again -IMHO, when the seats and steering wheel have such an excellent range of adjustment. A Vectra I had previously had almost perfect head restraints, and the issue of possible whiplash injury was solved with an inexpensive and efficient mechanism within the seat which would shove the restraint forward only under heavy loading (i.e. rear end shunt).
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What about the head restraints? I find mine unbearable the angle is all wrong and I find myself tilting my head forward all the time or else letting my head almost rest back on it to face a constant thump-thump-thump on every single journey.
I got round this by tilting the backrest a little further back.
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I must agree. I used a 1.6 Focus for a few days and found the seat too flat and lacking in under thigh support. The mondeo is much better.
I think you get different seats in different models though, so check before making a final decision.
Replacement seat are possible but expensive.
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Yes, we use ours for short journeys and if you sit with one's rump well back in the seat it pokes you in the coccyx. [remembering to use polite language here...]
Also, the ancillary drive belt sometimes wheezes and chuffs a bit - it's not a bearing cos when sprayed with water from an old bath cleaner sprayer [good diagnostic test] the noise virtually disappears.
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Really puzzled by this thread - I think the seats in my MkI Focus Zetec are absolutely fine. In fact, they fit me like a glove and I really prefer them to seats in our other car, which is a 2009 A6. Probably goes to show that we are not all the same size/shape and you can't please everybody.
My daughter has a MkII Focus Zetec, and I think it's seats are fine too, though I prefer my MkI.
BTW, the Focus was serviced at Rapid Fit this week and they offered to replace the PS pump, which has a slight leak, for £320. The offer was politely refused - I'm hoping a slightly leaky PS pump might out-last the rest of the car.....
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Designers of car seats do have a tough job - as dieselfitter said, we are not all the same size/shape.
I think the front seats in the Mk1 Zetec are very comfortable, even on long journeys. But the rear seats are another story - fine for a short journey, not so great for anything more than that.
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Couldn't possibly comment on the rear seats, JC. I've had the Focus nearly 9 years and I don't think I've ever sat in the back!
Edited by dieselfitter on 16/01/2010 at 20:27
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I owned a Mrk 1 Focus 1.6 Zetec auto for 2 years and the seats were just fine for me 6ft and wifey 5ft 2ins.
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My Mk 1 Zetec seats are firm but comfortable even on a long run. My only complaint is the lumbar/seat height/seat tilt adjustments are not independent. The seatback is fixed and to get the lumbar support right I need to tilt the back of the squab down. I would prefer the whole seat higher but that is not possible without losing comfort.
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