2013 Ford Focus

TiGeo

$50 site donor 2024
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
7,733
Location
VA
I’ve posted about my 2 VW station wagons quite a bit here on BITOG but we have 5 vehicle in our house and this is my former daily. Got it new in ’13 and gave it to my then 16 yo son in 2018 with ~100K on the clock. An oddball, this was a loaded mid-trim SE with a stick….tough to find. So leather/appearance package (17” wheels and thank goodness rear disc brakes), winter package, sunroof. The DCT trans was a nightmare on these so decided to shift my own gears again on this one and glad I did it – has been 100% reliable for 8 years/113K miles.

I’ve done some upgrades to it namely a custom ECU tune to get a bit more drivability out of it – improved throttle response, decreased rev hang during shifts, and a bit more power via optimizing for 93 octane. Has a Focus RS air box lid with a K&N filter, Ford Racing axle back exhaust, a rear lower motor mount insert to remove some of the engine movement during shifting, and an upgraded head unit to get Apple Car Play. The suspension has been upgraded with Koni Sport dampers, Eibach Pro-Kit springs, and a larger 25mm rear sway bar. Handles like a go-kart now with acceptable daily comfort.

Maintenance has been oil changes every ~5K on average since new. First 100K was at the dealer as I bought a pre-paid maintenance package so that was MC filters and MC syn blend 5W20. Now I’m using Supertech oil with the MC filter for a sub-$20 oil change once a year. We did the manual trans gear oil (which is actually the same as the dual-clutch trans fluid) this year as well. Should get him out into the world post-college. He wants to turbo it....

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Looks like a well-maintained vehicle. I miss having a little hot hatch. A turbocharger is always fun. However, a lot of work needs to go into it to make it a reliable turbo engine.

On an unrelated note, I was looking to hoard some Quaker State Euro 5W-40, and it seems that it's sold out everywhere. I wonder if SOPUS didn't just decide to make a flash sale of their remaining Shell Helix stock. I mean, I think it's Shell Helix in those 5W-40 jugs. What do you think?
 
I test drove a 2016 focus with the 1.0 ecoboost and a 6 speed manual. I want to say that transmission came out of a fiesta ST but that could be wrong. Either way it shifted awesome, that 1.0 felt great due to the low end torque.

I think it's safe to say the only way you want to buy a 2013-2018 focus with the 2.0 is with the 5 speed.
 
I test drove a 2016 focus with the 1.0 ecoboost and a 6 speed manual. I want to say that transmission came out of a fiesta ST but that could be wrong. Either way it shifted awesome, that 1.0 felt great due to the low end torque.

I think it's safe to say the only way you want to buy a 2013-2018 focus with the 2.0 is with the 5 speed.
Agreed - the MX75 5-spd is bullet-proof and the best way to drive/own this car. In my VW? The DSG (VW's dual clutch) is the way....
 
Looks like a well-maintained vehicle. I miss having a little hot hatch. A turbocharger is always fun. However, a lot of work needs to go into it to make it a reliable turbo engine.

On an unrelated note, I was looking to hoard some Quaker State Euro 5W-40, and it seems that it's sold out everywhere. I wonder if SOPUS didn't just decide to make a flash sale of their remaining Shell Helix stock. I mean, I think it's Shell Helix in those 5W-40 jugs. What do you think?
The long thread in the Euro forum about this oil seems to indicate that. They ahve plenty at my local Walmarts but not on sale yet - still ~$19/5 qt jug. Some have reported it for $10. I tried it in my Sportwagen and VOA showed it is barely a 40W so I'm skipping it in my turbo VW but will get some for my Atlas if the price goes down enough.
 
Our 14 has the same configuration as yours, including the same options. Is all stock still though and just hit 40,000 miles. Love driving the little bugger. with my son going back to college in 2 weeks, I’ll be driving this to work once a week. I’ll grab a pic and share it later today…. This vehicle has been 100% trouble free. Yours looks great by the way…
 
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Had a 2012 2.0 DCT for a short bit. Too bad that trans is such a POS, because when it works right, it works well, IMO. 2.0 5-speed is a great way to go. Too bad the DCT tarnished this car's image.
 
Our 14 has the same configuration as yours, including the same options. Is all stock still though and just hit 40,000 miles. Love driving the little bugger. with my son going back to college in 2 weeks, I’ll be driving this to work once a week. I’ll grab a pic and share it later today…. This vehicle has been 100% trouble free. Yours looks great by the way…
Nice! I have been doing the same - driving it a bit when my son is out of town this week....forgot how fun it was! The tune is v. good (Tom @ Focuspower) BTW if you want to do something to give it a bit more go/fun. When he goes away to College in August my 17 yo and I will be driving it regularly to keep it sorted.
 
Had a 2012 2.0 DCT for a short bit. Too bad that trans is such a POS, because when it works right, it works well, IMO. 2.0 5-speed is a great way to go. Too bad the DCT tarnished this car's image.
I love the dual-clutch in my VW, it's the best transmission I've ever owned auto or otherwise. I agree, that trans killed these cars....the "Power $hit"...ahahah

I also truly believe that part of the issue was that your average person doesn't understand that while it shifts itself, it's not really an auto in the sense of having a torque converter and planetary gears. You don't drive it the same way and I think that is also at the root of it.
 
The long thread in the Euro forum about this oil seems to indicate that. They ahve plenty at my local Walmarts but not on sale yet - still ~$19/5 qt jug. Some have reported it for $10. I tried it in my Sportwagen and VOA showed it is barely a 40W so I'm skipping it in my turbo VW but will get some for my Atlas if the price goes down enough.
It's off the Walmart website and the only one available at my local WM is the older API SN PLUS... They have 5 jugs of them. They actually had API SP at two Walmarts in my area and it's sold out. I don't need to run it in a Turbocharged engine. Well, Amazon has Castrol EDGE 0W-40 for $49.99 for a 3 pack / 5-quart jugs.:)
 
We bought a 2015 Focus for my wife's 800 - 1,000 mile per week commutes. A very good car; a tight body structure, decent power, reasonably quiet, good looking, etc.

But even with her driving being 95% highway that DCT trans was a total POS. Trans was great for the first 20K, but then it slowly got worse and worse until it became unsafe to drive. The transmission is the reason you see few of them on the road anymore. A nice car doomed to a premature boneyard death because of that POS Getrag transmission.

Scott

PS It's the same thing with the MB W203 chassis. Very few of the W203 2.5 and 3.5 liter/7 speed autos are left on the road because of faulty cam gears and "conductor plate" and valve body failures in the trans. Another nice car prematurely doomed to the boneyard.

PSS And that MB of ours, it also dragged the right front brake at times. When Car and Driver tested this vehicle when new I remember they made a comment about how the brakes seemed to drag. Strange the things a person remembers. MB dealer was always "No Trouble Found", even though the right front rotor was blue and the right front wheel black with brake dust. I rebuilt the caliper on my own. Seemed okay internally, but who knows. No help. I finally pulled the fuse for the ABS and the problem was solved!! Car was out of warranty by that time so we drove it without ABS until we finally rid ourselves of that thing. I spent $3500 to fix the trans and quickly traded it in for $6500 on our E90. That MB was one of the few cars I ended up truly hating.
 
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On an unrelated note, I was looking to hoard some Quaker State Euro 5W-40, and it seems that it's sold out everywhere. I wonder if SOPUS didn't just decide to make a flash sale of their remaining Shell Helix stock. I mean, I think it's Shell Helix in those 5W-40 jugs. What do you think?
I'm pretty sure it is, If I recall correctly the spec sheets between QS Euro and PP Euro 5W40 are identical, so it appears to be rebadge PPE/SHU
 
I love the dual-clutch in my VW, it's the best transmission I've ever owned auto or otherwise. I agree, that trans killed these cars....the "Power $hit"...ahahah

I also truly believe that part of the issue was that your average person doesn't understand that while it shifts itself, it's not really an auto in the sense of having a torque converter and planetary gears. You don't drive it the same way and I think that is also at the root of it.

I’ve driven manuals all my life and, having endured the torments of the Focus DCT, I can assure you this isn’t the root of the problem. The enduring issue with the DCT is that is has a dry clutch that would eventually become contaminated with gearbox oil. When this happens I challenge any driver to get a successful launch without car-shuddering chatter. Plus, even it remained dry, the clutch glazed easily.

Ford tried a number of fixes, including assigning its chief engineer to fix the problem. None really worked.
 
I’ve driven manuals all my life and, having endured the torments of the Focus DCT, I can assure you this isn’t the root of the problem. The enduring issue with the DCT is that is has a dry clutch that would eventually become contaminated with gearbox oil. When this happens I challenge any driver to get a successful launch without car-shuddering chatter. Plus, even it remained dry, the clutch glazed easily.

Ford tried a number of fixes, including assigning its chief engineer to fix the problem. None really worked.
Well, why couldn't they just use a regular slushbox like the Koreans and Japanese manufacturers do? I suppose that's why Hyundai went to a wet clutch when they overhauled their own DCT design. It would scare me to own anything with a DCT in it. I had mostly manuals all my life until it became hard to buy a decent new vehicle with a manual in it. The Hyundai automatics aren't great and feel bland, but they're decently reliable.
 
IIRC the euro model DCT Focus had the exact same trans, just with a "wet clutch" design which seemed to alleviate any issues that the North American models had.
 
Well, why couldn't they just use a regular slushbox like the Koreans and Japanese manufacturers do? I suppose that's why Hyundai went to a wet clutch when they overhauled their own DCT design. It would scare me to own anything with a DCT in it. I had mostly manuals all my life until it became hard to buy a decent new vehicle with a manual in it. The Hyundai automatics aren't great and feel bland, but they're decently reliable.
The VW DSG (direct shift gearbox - their name for their DCT) is bullet-proof. I have beaten the ever living $hit out mine in my Sportwagen including track time, drag racing, and hundreds of launches. Works perfect/shifts like butter.
 
IIRC the euro model DCT Focus had the exact same trans, just with a "wet clutch" design which seemed to alleviate any issues that the North American models had.

As actually a completely different gearbox (with a wet clutch) given the torque Diesel engines produce. The NA Focus gearbox was made by Getrag in Mexico. Ironically, Getrag is sorta what had to be done with oil-soaked clutches.
 
Well, why couldn't they just use a regular slushbox like the Koreans and Japanese manufacturers do? I suppose that's why Hyundai went to a wet clutch when they overhauled their own DCT design. It would scare me to own anything with a DCT in it. I had mostly manuals all my life until it became hard to buy a decent new vehicle with a manual in it. The Hyundai automatics aren't great and feel bland, but they're decently reliable.

Yup, they could have done just that. And retrofitted the poor specimens out there.
 
I like it! Any guesses on what the power upgrades added in terms of hp? Getting rid of the rev hang is worthwhile alone anyways. I have a urethane rear mount in my wagon too which is nice for autocross and minimizing wheel hop. I almost got your car when I bought the latest Focus wagon, its quite an upgrade in body quality but maybe a bit less torque to weight ratio at lower rpms, or just feels that way since the vvt adds so much up top. When my oldest gets the wagon the 2013-18 Focus's will be on the replacement options list!
 
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