ford focus hard start

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Originally Posted By: ram_man
Everyone the problem was found. It was a bad temp sensor. And they are replacing motor mounts since the car has a vibration has had it for atleast 30,000 miles. They guys said the focus mounts are junk.


yes, the motor mounts on them are a known problem point. On the older ones (not sure if that's the case with a 2011) the passenger-side mount was a fluid filled type that the fluid would eventually degrade or disappear in, which greatly reduced its functionality and led to the driver feeling a great deal of vibration. They are relatively cheap and easy to replace though, as I did the one on our 2000.

So the ECT had gone south? Your scanner should have picked that up
wink.gif


Good to hear it is fixed though.
 
Originally Posted By: kyxtremetuber
Throttle body was probably dirty and stuck for a second is just get some carb cleaner and clean it I bet that's what the dealer does that's what we would do at work


+1. I have had that same problem on my 2007. About every 1 1/2 years I pull the air intake off and use throtle plate cleaner to clean the are around the throtle plate. All engines should have this done. It's caused from oil fumes collecting in the upper parts of the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Everyone the problem was found. It was a bad temp sensor. And they are replacing motor mounts since the car has a vibration has had it for atleast 30,000 miles. They guys said the focus mounts are junk.


yes, the motor mounts on them are a known problem point. On the older ones (not sure if that's the case with a 2011) the passenger-side mount was a fluid filled type that the fluid would eventually degrade or disappear in, which greatly reduced its functionality and led to the driver feeling a great deal of vibration. They are relatively cheap and easy to replace though, as I did the one on our 2000.

So the ECT had gone south? Your scanner should have picked that up
wink.gif


Good to hear it is fixed though.



There scanner didn't pick it up either it never threw a code or had freeze frame data stored. He didn't say how he found it though.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Everyone the problem was found. It was a bad temp sensor. And they are replacing motor mounts since the car has a vibration has had it for atleast 30,000 miles. They guys said the focus mounts are junk.


yes, the motor mounts on them are a known problem point. On the older ones (not sure if that's the case with a 2011) the passenger-side mount was a fluid filled type that the fluid would eventually degrade or disappear in, which greatly reduced its functionality and led to the driver feeling a great deal of vibration. They are relatively cheap and easy to replace though, as I did the one on our 2000.

So the ECT had gone south? Your scanner should have picked that up
wink.gif


Good to hear it is fixed though.



There scanner didn't pick it up either it never threw a code or had freeze frame data stored. He didn't say how he found it though.


When it was exhibiting the problem, it would show up under live data as out to lunch. It may not set a code, but the values being read would be obviously wrong.

So for example, if I had all of the relevant parameters on the screen like bat voltage, ACT, ECT, TPS...etc and the car was acting up, the ECT probably would have shown like -40C or something. If it was out of range it should have thrown a code, so we have to assume that it wasn't out of range, just way off.
 
Probably nothing wrong with the Focus. Only start the car about once a week or less....then DRIVE it about 30 minutes or more. Sounds like you just dumped way too much fuel into the engine. Why would you PUMP the throttle? Never good to do that with fuel injection.....at least from what limited knowledge I have. I know that I have started cars when cold just to move them for the purpose of parking them in a spot to wash them......then I shut it down. When I start the vehicle again after washing it, it nearly always runs rough or sputters a bit from such a short run cycle. I always take it out for a spin to make sure things are COMPLETELY warmed up before putting the car away.
I think it's obvious that what you are doing IS the cause for the hard starting.
 
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Originally Posted By: andrewg
Probably nothing wrong with the Focus. Only start the car about once a week or less....then DRIVE it about 30 minutes or more. Sounds like you just dumped way too much fuel into the engine. Why would you PUMP the throttle? Never good to do that with fuel injection.....at least from what limited knowledge I have. I know that I have started cars when cold just to move them for the purpose of parking them in a spot to wash them......then I shut it down. When I start the vehicle again after washing it, it nearly always runs rough or sputters a bit from such a short run cycle. I always take it out for a spin to make sure things are COMPLETELY warmed up before putting the car away.
I think it's obvious that what you are doing IS the cause for the hard starting.


Sounds obvious that you didnt read the thread
wink.gif


An issue was found.

Mr_man wasnt doing any favors by starting and running like that, but there was at least one faulty item. Why it only showed up then is interesting. Perhaps Mrs. _man (the mother) just ignored it?
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Probably nothing wrong with the Focus. Only start the car about once a week or less....then DRIVE it about 30 minutes or more. Sounds like you just dumped way too much fuel into the engine. Why would you PUMP the throttle? Never good to do that with fuel injection.....at least from what limited knowledge I have. I know that I have started cars when cold just to move them for the purpose of parking them in a spot to wash them......then I shut it down. When I start the vehicle again after washing it, it nearly always runs rough or sputters a bit from such a short run cycle. I always take it out for a spin to make sure things are COMPLETELY warmed up before putting the car away.
I think it's obvious that what you are doing IS the cause for the hard starting.


Sounds obvious that you didnt read the thread
wink.gif


An issue was found.

Mr_man wasnt doing any favors by starting and running like that, but there was at least one faulty item. Why it only showed up then is interesting. Perhaps Mrs. _man (the mother) just ignored it?

You are correct! I got bored before I finished the second page and blurted out a response. Oh well....life goes on.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
So what I get from this is that the faulty sensor was causing a very low temp reading and that caused the ECU to add too much fuel essentially flooding the engine. Does this sound correct?


That's what I'm taking away from it.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Everyone the problem was found. It was a bad temp sensor. And they are replacing motor mounts since the car has a vibration has had it for atleast 30,000 miles. They guys said the focus mounts are junk.


yes, the motor mounts on them are a known problem point. On the older ones (not sure if that's the case with a 2011) the passenger-side mount was a fluid filled type that the fluid would eventually degrade or disappear in, which greatly reduced its functionality and led to the driver feeling a great deal of vibration. They are relatively cheap and easy to replace though, as I did the one on our 2000.

So the ECT had gone south? Your scanner should have picked that up
wink.gif


Good to hear it is fixed though.



There scanner didn't pick it up either it never threw a code or had freeze frame data stored. He didn't say how he found it though.


When it was exhibiting the problem, it would show up under live data as out to lunch. It may not set a code, but the values being read would be obviously wrong.

So for example, if I had all of the relevant parameters on the screen like bat voltage, ACT, ECT, TPS...etc and the car was acting up, the ECT probably would have shown like -40C or something. If it was out of range it should have thrown a code, so we have to assume that it wasn't out of range, just way off.

It probably would have but I didn't have the scanner hooked up when it happened I did hook it up on the drive to the dealer and it was all good of course. Least it was a simple issue.
 
Gee that's funny since 2011 duratech focii dont have a ECT.

Post up a copy of the work order so I can laugh at the ford dealer.


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


In the spirit of the thread, you could be making it up, LOL!
grin.gif


Seriously though, it could also be something as stupid as water in the tank. "Warranty will cover it", as ranger noted, is a rather bold statement considering they have no idea what the "issue" is yet. Would they cover draining the tank and replacing the fuel filter if somebody peed in your mom's gas tank?
21.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
Gee that's funny since 2011 duratech focii dont have a ECT.

Post up a copy of the work order so I can laugh at the ford dealer.


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


In the spirit of the thread, you could be making it up, LOL!
grin.gif


Seriously though, it could also be something as stupid as water in the tank. "Warranty will cover it", as ranger noted, is a rather bold statement considering they have no idea what the "issue" is yet. Would they cover draining the tank and replacing the fuel filter if somebody peed in your mom's gas tank?
21.gif



its a 2010 focus and it most certainly does have a temp sensor. Check your facts.
 
Why? Ill have it tomorrow but why? Why cant you believe what I said and rest easy? Feel like i am on trial on here.
 
Why would 2011 Focus won't have ECT? Or is it integrated into thermostat? Knowing Ford and how they decided to make the air cleaner as lifetime component, they may have indeed removed the ECT but I would be still surprised.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Mr_man wasnt doing any favors by starting and running like that, but there was at least one faulty item. Why it only showed up then is interesting. Perhaps Mrs. _man (the mother) just ignored it?


My guess is the interesting "care" regimen uncovered an issue that probably wasn't significant enough to be noticed otherwise, at least by an uncaring operator (Mrs._man). The combination of short runs, pumping the gas, and the out of range temp sensor caused a flood condition that otherwise would not have shown up.

Lots of people run around with temp sensors out of range enough to throw a code for thousands of miles...I have seen them. Usually the car will still start, run, and drive okay and the issue may not even be noticeable from a drivability standpoint, at least for the majority who don't give a flip. This was the right combination of issue and operation to cause a no-start.

OP would be wise to get the battery tested for free at a parts store to see if there is also an issue there. It shouldn't go dead sitting for a week.

Good thing they took care of the motor mounts...Foci are notorious for those. Every time a Focus would come in the shop I worked at with a complaint of "why my cah be runnin' bad?," it was the motor mount at the front and/or torque strut at the rear. Both go out with alarming frequency...one going out probably wrecks the other one pretty quick.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Mr_man wasnt doing any favors by starting and running like that, but there was at least one faulty item. Why it only showed up then is interesting. Perhaps Mrs. _man (the mother) just ignored it?


My guess is the interesting "care" regimen uncovered an issue that probably wasn't significant enough to be noticed otherwise, at least by an uncaring operator (Mrs._man). The combination of short runs, pumping the gas, and the out of range temp sensor caused a flood condition that otherwise would not have shown up.

Lots of people run around with temp sensors out of range enough to throw a code for thousands of miles...I have seen them. Usually the car will still start, run, and drive okay and the issue may not even be noticeable from a drivability standpoint, at least for the majority who don't give a flip. This was the right combination of issue and operation to cause a no-start.

OP would be wise to get the battery tested for free at a parts store to see if there is also an issue there. It shouldn't go dead sitting for a week.

Good thing they took care of the motor mounts...Foci are notorious for those. Every time a Focus would come in the shop I worked at with a complaint of "why my cah be runnin' bad?," it was the motor mount at the front and/or torque strut at the rear. Both go out with alarming frequency...one going out probably wrecks the other one pretty quick.


any recommendations on the junk mounts? Any replacement parts that last longer? Its the top right one this time
 
I should have said top instead of front...that's the hydraulic one. Some are sold as an "insert," others as complete units.

The only suggestion I have is to replace both that one and the torque strut at the rear/bottom at the same time. When one is worn out, it beats the other one up and wears it out quickly too.

I don't know what, if any brands last the longest. The OEM ones weren't very good to begin with, so I don't think there's a real advantage to sticking with OEM. We just used Anchor or whatever the parts store had and didn't have any comebacks from them. I don't think any of them will be a permanent fix though...it's probably an every 5 year or so thing for many of these cars.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I should have said top instead of front...that's the hydraulic one. Some are sold as an "insert," others as complete units.

The only suggestion I have is to replace both that one and the torque strut at the rear/bottom at the same time. When one is worn out, it beats the other one up and wears it out quickly too.

I don't know what, if any brands last the longest. The OEM ones weren't very good to begin with, so I don't think there's a real advantage to sticking with OEM. We just used Anchor or whatever the parts store had and didn't have any comebacks from them. I don't think any of them will be a permanent fix though...it's probably an every 5 year or so thing for many of these cars.


thats sad though seems like several fwd cars are like that. My saturn doesn't have strong mounts either. But atleast theyre cheap! Focus was 120 for the part.
 
Aftermarket is way cheaper than that, but I am not surprised that OEM would be that much for the whole top mount assembly. Good thing the warranty ate the cost.

FWD vehicles do seem to be much harder on mounts than RWD. I don't know the exact science/mechanics behind that, but I guess there are just more rotational forces when a FWD takes off from a dead stop. My truck has all original mounts, as did my old Explorer, and my other RWD pickup.
 
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