The Ford Focus of Death, Episode I: The Brown Trouser Moment

Ricochet J · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:12

Bit of Background

I love my Focus the same way you love your BMW, Audi or what ever you drive. It's not the best car in the world, and it's not my first car. It has its faults but I still love it.

It's getting old now being 9 years old. A few things need changing here and there which I happily change.

BUT, today I realised that my speedometer sensor needs replacing. Not a big deal, right? It is when speedometer looses power at 50 mph in the middle lane and causes an engine cut out and power steering loss! :eek:

The Event

So I come off the Greenman roundabout slip road in Leytonstone onto the A12 where it becomes 50mph. So far everything is fine. So I'm in the left lane and a driver in front of me is doing 40 so a quick look later the middle lane is free to use to overtake the driver and then I can head back into the left lane.

As I begin to overtake and I'm in the middle lane the speedometer rapidly falls from a 50mph reading to 0mph! :eek:

So I press the gas some more but it's not going anywhere. The engine has cut out! :eek:

The power steering has also cut out! :eek:

I'm slowing down...FAST! :eek:

The guy who I was overtaking has now undertaken me on the left, I can't however go behind him onto the hard shoulder because there is another car behind him. There are also cars to my right and a big lorry approaching behind me! :eek:

Quick reaction hazards on.
I had no where to go and in a matter of seconds I was at 20 mph whilst everyone was zooming past 50mph, and the lorry behind me was closing in!

Whilst all this is going on I get out of gear into neutral and then into gear again. It will clutch but it will not rev! So as soon as the left lane is clear I do a quick check and gently ease the car into the left lane. But guess what? No hard shoulder or anywhere to break down in! :eek:

So I've come to a stop on the left lane of the A12. Hazards on and cars swerving around me. I switched the engine on, off and then on. Hey presto! Speedometer is back up, power steering is online and the engine is running!

I quickly get out of hazards, take the next exit and park up to assess the situation.

Conclusions

:eek:

<- That was my face during the whole event. It was my first real brown pants moment I will never forget.

Conscript · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:21

Christ. Ive heard of this common issue causing engine cut outs; I had the same problem not long after I bought my Focus, luckily the worst I got was a lack of speedo/tachomter. And the dealer I bought it from changed the part under warranty. Get it fixed pronto fella, you might not be so lucky next time

Ricochet J · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:33

Yeh I'm ordering the part and axle stands tomarrow. It should be done by me as soon as I get the parts!

Janesy B · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:35

I've heard of the speedo cutting out but not the engine! Might wanna get the codes read just to make sure nothing else is amiss.

Ricochet J · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:36

Yeh the speedos are known to cut out but sometimes the engine cuts out aswell. But I think I'll take your advice onboard and get the codes too!

BigglesPiP · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:52

How did the power steering not work, is it electronic, or were you not decelerating in gear?

I suspect both the speedo failure and engine failure, will have been caused by an electronic failure somewhere other than the speedometer.

Iraklis F.C. · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:54

what? a tachometer failure caused all this?! this is the first time i am hearing something like this...

Ricochet J · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:55

Steering was very heavy at cut out so I'm assuming it does work but wasn't active since the engine cut out.
It's a common problem apparantly caused by a £25 part near the transmission.

Janesy B · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:56

Well seeing as the pump is belt driven, no engine means power no power steering.

Iraklis F.C. · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:58

so if for any reason power fails we have no steering at all? that is a very dangerous and stupid design imho..

Hxc · 30 Jul 2009 at 23:59

Mum had this same problem on her Tigra, it also caused an engine cut out once or twice until she got it sorted (a PITA as it was within the auto gearbox or something).

I had my first pull over on the motorway moment yesterday too... bonnet came unsprung and was only held down by a little push in clip on one side. It was almost a brown trouser moment...had it have gone up..smashed screen, possibly dented roof and 0 visability at 75 in the outside lane of a dual carriage way..

BigglesPiP · 31 Jul 2009 at 00:00

Janesy B said:
Well seeing as the pump is belt driven, no engine means power no power steering.

If the car is in gear, and the clutch is engaged, then the engine turns, and the power steering pump turns, and the engine generates intake manifold vacuum, and so the power assisted steering and brakes continue to work just fine.

If the OP was free-wheeling after the engine cut out (why?), then that's another story, but user error, not bad design.

"andy" · 31 Jul 2009 at 00:02

works vectra lost full power when i was doing 70 on busy but fast moving motorway. was definitely a WTF moment.

was terrifying going from cruising along effortlessly to rolling through traffic to the hard shoulder with no indicators no lights and 'dodgy' power steering. was the alternator on that though IIRC

sorn21 · 31 Jul 2009 at 00:53

This has happened to me a couple times. It's frightnening!

I have a focus also, and it's mainly approaching roundabouts which this happens.

My speedo never cuts out, but you can notice the rev's dropping below idling point which is then followed by cutting out. Quick reset fixes, but it's rather unnerving!

Django x2 · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:08

I'd rather loose power than have your throttle jam open like it did in my oooold car

Matt82 · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:17

Janesy B said:
Well seeing as the pump is belt driven, no engine means power no power steering.

but when it cut out, it sounds like he was still in gear so the engine would have been still turning over. should have got off the road fast... that was dangerous, youll kill someone driving a car like that

Matt82 · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:17

Lucero said:
I'd rather loose power than have your throttle jam open like it did in my oooold car

clutch on the floor solves that issue

Django x2 · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:22

in an auto??

although the car in question was a manual

Zip · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:32

Lucero said:
in an auto??

although the car in question was a manual

Wack it into neutral?

Also surly if the power steering cuts out (nver had it happen) then it just makes the steering heavyer to drive but not impossible? Or is there soemthing that really ****s witht he steering so its reall;y really heavy much more then a non power steering car in the first place?

I drive a car with no power steering all the time

jpmonkey69 · 31 Jul 2009 at 08:45

Zip said:
Wack it into neutral?

Also surly if the power steering cuts out (nver had it happen) then it just makes the steering heavyer to drive but not impossible? Or is there soemthing that really ****s witht he steering so its reall;y really heavy much more then a non power steering car in the first place?

I drive a car with no power steering all the time

When the alternator in my ST went, the steering was seriously heavy... much much heavier than a non-power steering car.