My Focus - LS LX hatch

[prydey]

i've now officially joined the focus ranks. my first experience was a few months back when i bought one for my mother in law and then my wife liked it so she wanted one.

not much to see. just standard at the minute. given that its the wife's car it'll probably stay that way although i can't help myself. it will probably get alloy/chrome scuff plates and it could do with lowering but like i said, it is the wife's.

here's a couple of pics. just got it delivered from mt gambier to adelaide so gave it a bath straight away, but then put it in carport before taking pics. not that it matters. i think we've all seen a focus hatch before






whilst it looks a lot more finished off with the full centre console, it doesn't really have much storage. i guess thats what the glovebox is for. manual is so much better than the auto (mother in law's is auto).

only real issue is it has a rattle inside the drivers side rear door trim. obviously its been off at some point or something is broken in there or both. maybe someone could give me some tips on pulling the trim off. couldn't be bothered trying to get it fixed under warranty, thats if it would even be covered.

its only done 59000km too. cost me 12k delivered and on road. car only was $11150 or something. i think thats a bargain. esp for a lx. others might not agree but it was by far the cheapest on the net for the km and model. noticed it has airbags in front seats too. bonus.

[XR5-Boy]

Looks great! Welcome to the focus family

Also, check out the B pillar at the top above the seat belt adjuster. If it says 'airbag' then you have curtain airbags too ;)

[DJM83]

Welcome to the fold mate im sure you will enjoy the focus they are a great car

[leakey]

Welcome to the Focus ranks Prydey!

Great colour you have there too. No bias on my part.....

Mate, here's a how to I did that is relevant to your model. Its for the rear doors,
but I applied the same logic to the fronts. All goes together the same.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11295236

My how to stopped at taking the handles and trim off. After that, you need to remove
the inner metal door panel to get inside the doors.

Best of luck with it all. Cheers, Leakey

[prydey]

thanks for that link leakey. newer cars seem to get easier to pull apart in some ways. i reckon the rattle in mine could well be a broken part somewhere and possible something to do with the inner grab handle as it doesn't feel 'fixed' to the door at the top. will have a look tomorrow.

another issue the wife just mentioned. apparently the heater is on all the time. she couldn't get anything other than hot air to come out. could this just be a vacuum line off somewhere or a linkage? i'll be taking it to work tonight so i might suss it out a bit more.

[prydey]

rattle was an easy fix in the end. got bored on night shift so wandered out to the carpark and had a bit more of a suss. sounded like it was near/in the grab handle so i pried off the outer cover and there was the bolt that is meant to hold it on, just sitting in there rattling around. didn't have any tools on me so when i got home i did it up and put cover back on. problem solvered.

the only other obvious thing now is the heater is on all the time. i think i'll see if i can get it fixed under warranty before i start pulling it apart myself. obviously a vacuum hose or linkage off in the dash somewhere i'd say.

[leakey]

Haha, classic SA member give away - "problem Solvered". I remember those ads. (lived in Adelaide up until my early 20's)

Good score on the loose bolt. Heater does sound like loose hose.

In the foot wells, you will see a couple of plastic snap in covers about 10c piece size
on the centre console. Pop them and I think you need a TORX to remove. That allows
you to take the side of the console off. You might be able to see in there
up to the heater controls and the core itself. Have a chiropracter's number
on hand though....

PS - pull cover out a little at loose end, then pull forward towards front of car
to get panels off.

[prydey]

it looks like the cable that controls the thermostat has detached itself somehow from the control knob. tried to figure out how to remove the radio surround piece but it seems like the radio needs to come out for that. i don't have the tools so i rang the dealer and they will cover it. considering they are 5hrs away in mt gambier they are happy for me to take to where i normally go, which is wayne phillis ford at reynella. might look at getting the removal tools for future use. i believe they are available off ebay.

[leakey]

Try Ebay UK. cheap as, usually about AUD$6 inc. postage back to Oz.

[prydey]

had it diagnosed down at wayne phillis ford reynella today (great bunch of guys) and it is a kinked cable. even when reattached to the control knob it just pops out again after a couple of uses. nothing is free or cheap though. $220! $80 just for the cable.

another thing, filled it up this morning and the fuel cap is busted. oh the joys. mind you i'm not the sort of person who gets annoyed by these little things. these things happen. it doesn't change my opinion of the car or the brand.

i'll turn this thread back to a positive soon with some pics of some stainless/chrome scuff plates. might even lower it a tad. ours seems to sit quite high in the rear compared to others i've seen. maybe its an LX thing. other ones i have seen seem to sit the same whereas mother in law's CL sits much nicer (even feels less floaty on the road) so maybe they softened up the suspension on the lx. i mentioned it off hand to the missus and she didn't oppose it so thats good enugh for a green light.

[prydey]

a little bit of personalisation.







need to chase up some floor mats and lugs to hold them in place next.