As for battery type and refilling/changing battery in the event of a breakdown or failure, I have yet to find out from my service advisor. Perhaps tomorrow i'll give him a call.

Just a short update. Acceleration is getting smoother with less jerk. Some minor rattling sound somewhere on the steering wheel when the vehicle is going over bad roads. The steering wheel has too many sticks and stuff on it.

Suspension transmits some of the noises into the cabin when going over irregularities on bad roads. The soundproofing mainly in road noise is not particularly impressive, only when compared to quieter vehicles such as the higher range Nissans or Mercedes Benz.

Though the bad news stop there. Handling in steering feel continues to impress, and special mention on the Sony stereo system. For the first time I had experienced such rich and wonderful sound from a stock car stereo system. 3-dimensional sound with full bass in comparison to the flat 2-dimensional sound with tinny weak bass on most vehicles in the similar class or price range. The sound quality of the stereo system in the Focus is stellar.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 16 2013, 09:37 PM

About 2hrs. My problem is probably an odd one. Some owners posted that they left car unlock overnight and still able to start the engine.

I just took a photo of the battery, without the plastic cover....



....sorry about the dust .....

Since there appears to be no place to top up the battery water, I would think this is a maintenance-free battery. I would however fully agree that the placement and mounting of the battery is most un-user-friendly; you cannot even see the "health check" indicator as it appears to be on the other side, requiring the battery to be almost completely removed before you can see it!

What la wei.....

For those who wanna replace the battery yourselves - check this vid !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcMapd-Z3Lg

bro.. i believe SC can;t do much of this as i think its more of the design. anyway, after trying out few methods... found the culprit which letting the noise in when cruising. when you close your door... sitting inside your car.. look at the area around the door frame. you will notice the gap exists for a size of your pointing finger along the frame. It is actually tight with the original rubber seal but some how the wind slips through (not sure if the rubber got damaged/uneven). I used the small D shape rubber with 3m tapes to provide a complete block of the gap and guess what the noise is reduced so much. i still hear a little which i believe with another few trial and error on the placing that can be reduced further as well. i will post some pictures later to be exact.

This post has been edited by thanish: Oct 17 2013, 02:29 PM

Thanks for the update. WOuld appreciate if you can share some pictures once you are done with it.

I don't really travel above 110km/h too much these days as most of the driving is in the city. When on the highways, I usually will stick to the highway code, so just a slight wind noise at 110km/h which is not an issue. It's just at higher speeds of say 130km/h and above then the wind speed will be quite loud. I will highlight this wind noise issue when my next appointment is due(still a very long time), though I agree that there may be nothing much that can be done. If the Sime Darby guys are helpful, at least they will look at the matter on hand before brushing it off.

I think both of us are equally fussy people when it comes to noise levels. Right now in the Focus it's only the wind noise and suspension/road noise that are spoiling the comfort in the ride a bit. Not that it's bad. For normal sane people it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps our expectations are higher. I can still live with the noise levels(wind and road) in the Focus, though I can't help but feel that the Focus would be a much nicer vehicle to be in if the wind noise and road noise can be reduced further.

Although the suspension is excellent in soaking up the bumps and irregularities on bad roads producing a stable and solid ride, the noise it produces, the thud sound when going over unevenness in the roads or yellow strips etc. all these noises are more prominent with the Focus than in other quieter vehicles. I wonder if more silent tyres with softer rubber compound would help soak up the sound from bad roads or the suspension.

Having said that, if the radio is switched on and the music is playing in the cabin at moderate volume levels, we will not hear the wind and road noises so much anymore. I guess I am too free, or perhaps purposely looking for trouble having to switch off the stereo and strain my ears to detect all the sound in the cabin.

will do... agree.. on the suspension. especially the front sometimes the noise u mention. also... maybe something that i feel like a little knock. i will check that when my service i think should be in december. definitely a quieter tire is on the list when this sets of tyres worns out.. sometimes i just like to drive without the stereo in our focus as it gives some nice feel.. that's when i get annoyed with the tiny noises. so somehow i want to get rid of those noise as best possible i can.

Having expressed some of my thoughts on the weaknesses of the Focus(not really negatives but more to higher expectations or perhaps fussiness), I still think the Ford Focus Titanium is to me, one of the best choices if one is looking at a sedan vehicle up to RM130k. It has a good balanced mix of comfort, ride and handling and the elegant looks to boot, though subjective.

If looking for more comfort and space at the rear seat, then we would be looking at the Accord or Teana range, different category. In the same category, the Civic, Sylphy and Altis has lost the edge, and although new Altis and Sylphy are interesting and should be more comfortable than the Focus, it is likely that driving dynamics and features will not match up to the Focus. The Koreans, the Cerato and Elantra, no confidence. The French, similarly doubts on reliability on the mechanical aspects of the vehicle and after sales-service of Nasim which I suspect are worse than Ford/Sime Darby.

In the end, it is still Focus that ticks most of the boxes(for me). Reliability and after-sales service are yet to be seen. Will see if there is a reason to stick with Ford in the long-run. Other manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Audi seem to be a stretch though they do not particularly interest me, but the Lexus is looking real good, my dream car. Oh, the brown leather interior is just so classy. Next time - in my dreams.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 17 2013, 05:16 PM

Yes, similarly I prefer to drive without the stereo on too. Even if the stereo is on, the volume will be on the low side. Most of the time the stereo is switched off as I have a knack of looking for other sound(looking for trouble for myself :-))

Yes, a knocking sound from the suspension when going over unnevennes in the road, a sharp knock or thud. In other vehicles the sound is more subdued, more of a soft muffled thud rather than a louder knock or sharp thud sound. Personally I am guessing it is normal in the Focus, but similarly I will check with the service centre and see if it's something that is faulty, or anything that can be done to the suspension to make it quieter. If there is nothing that can be done and it's normal, then I can live with it. Just wanted to be sure it's not a defect.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 17 2013, 05:18 PM

Just spoke with my service advisor and apparently the battery is maintenance-free. If the vehicle cannot be started, either battery low or battery kaput, the best idea is to call Ford and they will send their guys to jump-start the vehicle. Then we may choose to drive to the service centre from there. If the vehicle cannot be started with jump-start then arrangement will be made to tow the vehicle to the service centre.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 17 2013, 05:28 PM

A TSB related to suspension noises at low speeds, will bring it up during my 10k service as well.

TSB 13-09-09

Good job. I wonder where you found the bulletin. Guess the suspension of the Focus can be quieter. A good thing.

My SA just confirm that the battery is MF so one less item to worry about. But agree that the positioning of the battery makes it complicated to change it ourselves.

I am getting my car next week so can't wait to experience the driving dynamics. Have been driving local and Japanese cars all my driving life so this is my first experience with a Conti. Hopefully will have good ownership experience with this Focus.

Hope you will enjoy it. The handling and light precise steering just makes the Focus a fun car to drive. If you have gone with the Sport model, the handling will be a notch higher(than the Titanium sedan).

Anyone know what's is this? Under front seat

That is your aircon for rear passenger

But i prefer last gen focus aircon system,, they got rear aircon blower at below center arm rest,, just like accord and camry,, i will trade my auto park for proper aircon for rear passenger

Bad luck hit again...was caught in massive jam at puchong ldp just now due to the fallen crane near kinrara. While crawling, a message prompt on the odometer saying transmission overheating and stop for 6 minutes. The engine temperature is normal and there is no place for me to pull over so I just try to shift to N every time the car came to a half (before message prompt, is always on D with constant braking). Somehow I manage to continue without any weird gear changes or engine sound..googled and couldnt get a convincing answer. must prepare a list of questions during service time...if anyone here going for service soon, mind ask the service advisor n share it here...sigh

finally I've place my booking today

choowh, try using S mode next time you stuck in traffic jam, I read from other forum saying this DCT overheating issue was due to the frequently change of gear between 1-2-1 when stuck in heavy traffic, using S mode could reduce the gear changing because the characteristic of S mode will drag till higher RPM before it actually change gear.

I'm thinking of spraying or powder coating the rims to a darker colour...matte black or gunmetal gray. Quite sure the warranty will not void. Anybody did this already?

Funny you still can drive the car although the message indicator was showing "Transmission Overheating". In the Owner's Manual page 92, the message is supposed to be "Transmission overheating stop safely". Are you getting this same message, or you are getting "Transmission overheating and stop for 6 minutes" ?

In the Manual, when you received the "Transmission overheating stop safely" message, it was mentioned as follows:-

The transmission is too hot. In these extreme conditions the tranmission will disengage drive in order to prevent damage due to overheating. You will not be able to drive until the transmission has cooled. Select N(NEUTRAL) or P(PARK) and apply the foot brake and parking brake until the transmission has cooled and the message disappears from the display.

In this sense I am surprised you can still drive the vehicle even though you received the message on your display.

Anyway I appreciate your experience. Pretty scary to have the vehicle getting stuck in a traffic jam. Anybody encountered this before with the Focus when stuck in traffic jams?

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 20 2013, 11:31 AM