Ford Focus ... Ist and Reverse gears too close

mattser

I have a year old Focus hatch 1.6 Diesel. I have had a few scares with !st and reverse, hitting one rather than the other. They seem too close for safety in my view. Anyone else have this problem ?

Squidgy Black

Is reverse not below 5th on the focus?

Also usually when reverse is beside 1st there's a lever or a button you have to press or pull on the stick to shift into reverse.

biko

Which model is it? Year?

Does gear lever have the ring you lift up?

bazz26

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

Is reverse not below 5th on the focus?

Also usually when reverse is beside 1st there's a lever or a button you have to press or pull on the stick to shift into reverse.

They have been 6 speed for a number of years now so reverse has to be relocated to the left of 1st gear. Usually there is an extra knack at selecting reverse to prevent accidentally shifting from a forward gear. Any 6 speed manual car I've ever driven, I've never had any problems selecting reverse by accident.

mattser

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

Is reverse not below 5th on the focus?

Also usually when reverse is beside 1st there's a lever or a button you have to press or pull on the stick to shift into reverse.

Reverse is left and up of 1st. There is a ring, but when you'rein a real hurry to get out of a situation it's easy to engage the wrong one.

For example... exiting from my driveway onto a straight fast road is quite blind. As you inch out, you may have to reverse rather quickly. It has happened twice and frightened the life out of me. I am an experienced driver.

Cuddlesworth

mattser wrote: »

Reverse is left and up of 1st. There is a ring, but when you'rein a real hurry to get out of a situation it's easy to engage the wrong one.

For example... exiting from my driveway onto a straight fast road is quite blind. As you inch out, you may have to reverse rather quickly. It has happened twice and frightened the life out of me. I am an experienced driver.

Reverse into your driveway, not out.

biko

Posters above are right, it's illegal and dangerous to reverse onto a main route from a driveway (it actually carries penalty points).

How long have you had car? Maybe you just need more practise with the gearing?

Squidgy Black

I think he means that when he inches out, forwards, sometimes he has to reverse back into the driveway because of oncoming traffic.

Atomic Pineapple

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

I think he means that when he inches out, forwards, sometimes he has to reverse back into the driveway because of oncoming traffic.

That's what I got from the post too.

Cuddlesworth

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

I think he means that when he inches out, forwards, sometimes he has to reverse back into the driveway because of oncoming traffic.

True, I'm just too jaded at this point by the majority of drivers that don't.

Would increasing visibility help? Cutting back hedges or installing one of those round mirrors.

slimjimmc

biko wrote: »

Posters above are right, it's illegal and dangerous to reverse onto a main route from a driveway (it actually carries penalty points).

How long have you had car? Maybe you just need more practise with the gearing?

Reversing onto a public road from a driveway can be done legally and safely.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1997/en/si/0182.html#zzsi182y1997a12

(3) A driver shall not reverse from a place adjacent to a public road onto a public road save where it is clear to the driver that to so reverse would not endanger other traffic or pedestrians.

biko

Yeah there is a pretty big If there, and anyway it's clear that this case doesn't apply to OP as his view is very much obstructed.

This is about the points.

Failure to obey requirements regarding reversing of vehicles, e.g. reversing from minor road onto main road

http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Licensed%20Drivers/Penalty%20Points%20Chart1.pdf

I suppose it's only illegal if not done with due care and attention.

Del2005

mattser wrote: »

Reverse is left and up of 1st. There is a ring, but when you'rein a real hurry to get out of a situation it's easy to engage the wrong one.

For example... exiting from my driveway onto a straight fast road is quite blind. As you inch out, you may have to reverse rather quickly. It has happened twice and frightened the life out of me. I am an experienced driver.

You need to practice changing from reverse to 1st when it's quite so you can develop muscle memory. Guessing you are only doing it in a mild panic every few days so you aren't used to the gearbox for that change and missing the gears, doesn't matter how long you've been driving as you've only had this car a short time.

mattser

biko wrote: »

Posters above are right, it's illegal and dangerous to reverse onto a main route from a driveway (it actually carries penalty points).

How long have you had car? Maybe you just need more practise with the gearing?

Bought car new early 2014. Driving over 40 years. I drive out of driveway, by the way, not reverse.

Under normal driving conditions it's not a problem...another situation is when I'm reversing from a car parking spot, see something coming and instead of getting 1st, get reverse again.

Tight situations where you need to move quicky usually.

Knine

I have a 2014 Focus Estate. I can't understand how you could be confusing the two, even in a hurry I have never done that. You just need to get used to it.

jimgoose

I had the opposite problem with a 1995 Mk. I Mondeo that I bought way back in the year 2000. This had a lift-ring on the lever that enabled reverse (top of the right beside first) to be selected, with which I was hitherto unversed. Imagine my embarrassment when it transpired shortly after leaving Dennehy's in Cork that I had no idea how to put the thing into reverse, and had to drive straight back there for clarification. :pac::pac::pac:

Many manual Ford 'boxes, such as my mother's 2009 Fiesta and my 1999 S-Type, have eschewed the lift-ring in favour of stronger springage between first and reverse. The 2010 BMW 5-series is the same. I've noticed that this does bother some people, who would probably prefer the lift-ring.

SteelyDanJalapeno

I don't get the problem?

Surely the gear stick doesn't engage reverse the exact same way it engages 1st? you need to do something different?

freshpopcorn

Is this your first time experiencing a gear box like this. It's just something you've to get used to.

MarkAnthony

Sounds like a classic case of less speed more haste I'm afraid OP.

Skylinehead

bazz26 wrote: »

They have been 6 speed for a number of years now so reverse has to be relocated to the left of 1st gear.

Doesn't have to be there, my Civic has 6 speeds and reverse is still bottom right with a "normal" selector.

Cuddlesworth

mattser wrote: »

Bought car new early 2014. Driving over 40 years. I drive out of driveway, by the way, not reverse.

Under normal driving conditions it's not a problem...another situation is when I'm reversing from a car parking spot, see something coming and instead of getting 1st, get reverse again.

Tight situations where you need to move quicky usually.

I can understand the situation, but others have pointed out its quite hard to do in that specific car. If the above is correct and your over 60 years old, perhaps its your reaction time/motor skills and not the car.

Its your house, so look into increasing your visibility exiting the driveway. Recessing the surrounding wall/hedge back 3-4 feet in depth and up to 6 feet either side can make a huge difference in visible distance.

mattser

Thanks for all of the above. Guess I'll just have to work harder at it.

Otherwise, the car is grand. A dream on the pocket compared to the guzzler I had before.