28th Mar 2001, 01:02

Similar set of problems with our 2.0 Ghia. Namely, over revving (up to 3000 RPM in neutral), noisy engine when pushed, less than the indicted fuel economy, noisy 5th gear. Dealer - no help whatsoever.

Apart from that, we look forward to returning the car when the Options agreement expires.

16th Jun 2001, 03:44

I have a 'w' reg focus ghia. It too had the problem of revving up on its own, and took me through a red light. Fords acknowledged the problem but did not tell me what caused it. but it is now cured. Does anyone have a whine from their focus gearbox on overrun from fifty down to forty? Mine does. it has had a replacement box but this does it as well. Do they all?.

18th Jun 2001, 01:25

See message 8 Feb 2001 10:51... my problem was rectified soon after I put this message on.. car is now OK, but I have also noticed this noise on overrun in 5th gear. My car is still under Ford Direct warranty, so I will be taking it back to have the gearbox checked out, but it does sound like this is an inherent noise of this gearbox.

I've also I had rear end noises over bumps. Dealer cured the problem by taking off the rear shocks, greasing bushes and re-torqued them. They said this has cured this fault on Focus's.

Also turn the traction control off and you'll find throttle response is a bit better... any more problems will be posted!!!

28th Jul 2001, 15:48

Ford have a great car in the Focus which, sadly, is let down by the lamentable service that seems to be the norm from Ford dealers.

I have to have a Ford as a company car and in the past 5 years I have only found one good dealer for servicing; unfortunately it is not local to me.

31st Jul 2001, 07:26

I have a Focus with the MTX75 gearbox.

The original - silent - gearbox was replaced, along with the clutch and the selector mechanism, at only 11,000 on my Ford Direct 1999 Ghia TDdi.

The new one has been noisy from the moment it was fitted. The garage and 3 other Ford dealers have said that it is `within tolerance' and that others are noisier! The noise is like someone machining metal and is audible all the time, but most of all in third gear. It gets worse with increased load and is noisier now than when it was fitted 8 months ago. Even at 80 mph with the diesel banging away, it is audible.

When changing gear, there is a loud clunk from the gearbox when the clutch is engaged, especially when driving stop/start and uphill. Sounds like serious backlash. Dealer says it's not unusual and that a less mechanically minded person would be oblivious which, my passengers have proven, is false.

Fords "Customer Relationship Centre" in Glasgow (our only point of contact other than the dealer) have said that, unless a dealer states that the gearbox is faulty, they will not replace it, or even investigate it further. They also informed me that the 2 fully independent opinions from local gearbox specialists were worth nothing, since they and the Ford Motor Company in general will listen only to their dealers.

Gearchange is also poor with it sometimes being difficult to go from 3rd to 2nd and from 3rd to 4th. The clutch has been changed again to try and alleviate this problem to no avail.

I have written to Ford UK boss Ian McAllister in desparation, to explain my dissatisfaction, but have had no reply.

Any comments welcome.

14th Sep 2001, 03:39

See comment 8 Feb 2001... now have problems with fuel gauge/fuel computer, either reads full or empty... anyone else had the same problem?

16th Oct 2001, 20:10

The brake doesn't seem to hold. I've had it roll out of my driveway twice. Relative low grade. Anyone else have that problem?

8th Nov 2002, 03:39

I am having a gearbox problem with my 3 year old Ford Focus.

Every so often I loose 2nd 4th and reverse gear. My car has been it to the for repair shop, but they say they cannot find a problem. They say I may have an intermittent fault within the gear box.

11th Apr 2003, 09:17

All very depressing reading. I swapped an old Astra for a new Punto last year, and it too has been nothing, but trouble. Was contemplating buying a 2nd hand Focus this summer as desperate to get out of the Punto, but after reading these reviews I'm having doubts about that also.

I blame the whole industry - all the manufacturers & motoring journalist's hype about new cars. Journalists in particular, who get a few days jolly at the manufacturer's expense, then write a good review about a crap car! Now, I am coming to the conclusion that new cars are no better than those made 10 yrs ago - a retired engineer who lives near me buys up 10 yr old MOT failure Rovers, does them up, and flogs them with a yrs MOT for around £500-600 (£100-200 profit for him). He swears by older cars and I'm coming round to his way of thinking. My next 'new' car might be a 10 yr old 'banger'.

23rd Aug 2003, 08:50

I have a Focus with automatic transmission and Zetec engine.

As soon as it reaches 3800 RPM (approx) the engine hunts and looses power, it does the same thing in first second and kickdown, the problem appears when the engine is hot.

This is a potential safety problem, when you go to pass and kickdown the engine looses power.

Any ideas?

28th Jul 2004, 01:58

We have recently bought a 4 year old Focus, which is also experiencing the 'revving on its own' problem. There is also a problem with the reverse gear, it crunches into place. The garage has replaced the clutch, but this hasn't fixed the problems. Has anyone experienced the reverse gear problem?

20th Jun 2009, 11:52

Dear Sir /madam my mum has a Ford Focus and every now and then from cold the gearbox does not engage gear for a few moments. When it does the speedo does not work. Any ideas? I am a marine engineer and would like to help my 80 year mum that drives better than me.

Regards Mike.