Focus Focus Diesel 2005+

TheCoolWay

Anyone know anything about the Focus Focus Diesel 2005+? Seriously considering one... mainly due to ridiculous prices and rarity of golf diesels (the ones up to 03, 04)

The middle inch

I have a 2005 LX 110 bhp with 282k km on it. I have had it since new and overall am very satisfied with it.
I do about 80% motorway driving and average about 62mpg. Back before the motorway network was what it is now I was getting up to 1100km on a 45litre tank but with motorway driving that comes down to about 920km on average.

The snags i have had are as follows:
Alternator required replacement at 190k km
EGR valve was replaced at 271k kmfollowing loss of power and engine light.
Boot door opening switch around 250km.

Service intervals are 20000km, timing belt on my varient is 240k km but these vary amongst different versions. A web search for the Ford ETIS websearch will let you enter reg/chassis no and will generate the applicable service schedule for that car. I have always had it serviced by the main dealer at home for what i felt to be a fair price ( regular service 110 to 170 dependind on findings and whether fuel filter, pollen filter etc was due). I work in Dublin and when the alternator went i found the manhour rate much higher in Dublin main dealers making services a lot more expensive..

A known issue on cars with this engine ( similar engine on 307, 407, Mazda 3, Citroen c3, V50 & S40) is the Diesel Particulate Filter. The seem to work fine on cars that have frequent long spins but the self cleaning function won't operate anywhere near as well when used for more short slow drives. I have heard of clutches going on them also but i have not had this experience.

In summary it has been a cheap car to run and is nice to drive. I have been lucky with mine but spending so much time on good roads definitely helps. There are plenty rough examples out there. Clean genuine cars are there too but might take a bit of finding. I'm no mechanic but i hope this is of some use to you.

bazz26

There were 3 different diesel engines in that model Focus:

1.6 TDCi (90bhp) no DPF
1.6 TDCi (110bhp) DPF
1.8 TDCi (115bhp) no DPF

The 1.6 TDCi is a joint venture between Ford and Peugeot/Citroen, it is a good engine but can break your heart if hasn't been maintained properly especially around the use of the correct grade of oil and frequent changes. The 110bhp version is generally only found in the top spec Irish Ghia or Titanium models, most of the LX or Zetec models had the 90bhp version.

The 1.8 TDCi is an updated version of Ford's own engine dating back to the Sierra, tends to be more tolerable to lack of maintenance than the 1.6 TDCi but they can suffer alot from flywheel failure and don't have as smooth power delivery as the 1.6.

I owned a 2005 Focus 1.6 TDCi Ghia for 2 years and in that time it never gave me any problems but it was serviced every 15k km and had a FFSH.

mullingar

A dyno'd remapped 06 110hp here (now 130).

The list of my faults in the last 4 years:
DPF blocked up (now deleted)
EGR siezed, released and cleaned out 2 years ago, still perfect.
Alternator died.

The biggest fault with this engine is neglect of servicing. If its serviced right, its a very reliable motor.

TheCoolWay

You're all top people! Leaning towards one of these or passat/mondeo. Most days I will be driving short distances but occasionally may have to drive home the weekends (150 miles) or motorway miles for the odd meeting etc.