Thanks for the response. Yes, the road up Genting Higlands is definitely steep, so a good place to test the performance of the Focus. Will try D first, then halfway up the journey switch to S and see the difference myself. I can predict the S mode to be more suitable in these driving conditions since at a steep gradient the rpms will need to be constantly high enough to maintain a reasonable speed or acceleration power.

Looks like on the 7th and 14th the rooms are fully booked. Will see how it goes.

screen will go off, meaning I've to plug off the fuse while it's power ON?

I've check it yesterday, and found the fuse 7.5, it's impossible to take out with bare hand, I'll try again tonight with a plyer

This post has been edited by 304125: Nov 28 2013, 09:56 AM

Usually the year end discount will be much better, for 2014 make, rough guess about 3-4k cash rebates?

You don't need to turn it on. The screen is always on the moment you open your doors, no? It'll have a blue background with the time there.

according to this article in the New York Times, the transmission suffers from too early upshifts in order to keep fuel efficiency high, keeping engine speed low, thus resulting in the jerks some have mentioned here. I wonder if the latest firmware update has resolved this issue. Can anyone confirm?

The article also contends that in Sport-mode, the transmission automatically downshifts when tapping on the brakes. Has anyone experienced this?

In s mode, Yes it downshifts the moment u hit the brake slightly.. I find it very useful..

Yes, it DOES downshift in S Mode, so much so, if you drive aggressively enough, if you hit the brakes hard, it can even downshift with the RPM hitting close to 5k rpms.
First time it happen to me, i was like "WTF had just happen!!", but nowadays, it puts a smile on my face ...

wouldn't that be a problem when driving downhill? I drive a manual now, and would never think to downshift every time I hit the brakes, that would just make the car jerk backwards awfully wouldn't it?

what about jerking/grinding at low speeds and when shifting from R to D? Do you experience that?

The sudden high rev when you hit the brakes at high speed is due to rev-hanging + open clutch, nothing to do with downshift

If it's due to downshift, you will feel a jerk when the RPM shoots up.

This post has been edited by dares: Nov 30 2013, 02:13 AM

I just test drove it today. I was under the impression that the downshift happens instantaneously, but in fact it is quite a smooth transition that happens only when the car has slowed down enough to sensibly shift in to the gear which makes a whole lot more sense. So one can actually think of S-Mode as manual on the way up, and D on the way down.

I can also confirm that there is no jerking/grinding of the sort that's been going around the forums especially concerning the early American models. Looks like the latest TSBs have been effective in addressing the problem, which is very reassuring. This implies that it is purely a software issue, not a hardware issue. Having said that, I did experience some ever so slight vibrations on the downshift from 3 to 2 and again from 2 to 1, which is understandable given that it really is a manual at heart. Sure, it's no DSG, but definitely something I can live with nonetheless, especially when taking in to account the difference in price. The drawbacks are very minimal when put up against the DSG.

One unexpected "glitch" I did experience was the vibration during idle. It took me a while to realize that that was due to the idle revs not being tuned high enough. Again, just like the initial software programming, this was no doubt meant as a fuel saving measure and easily rectifiable (albeit at the expense of greater fuel consumption)

For me at least, it now all comes down to fuel consumption. Is any one getting figures in the mid to high teens at all? Less than 10 seems quite appalling.

This post has been edited by kl98: Nov 30 2013, 04:23 PM

hi guys,

im planning to sell my ori rims fofo s+ including the tyres and upgrade to another rims.

how much can i get for it normally? thanks!

got my car back after the reservice, they reprogram n retune. Am still testing it, sound gone and less jerking on 10-40km/h. Will update again soon.

Craving, how did u know that they reprogram n retune? Did they put any remark in your service record?

Thanks ya, hopefully everthing's gonna be fine for you.

engineer n service center lady told me. Will check if software ver has changed.

anyone knows if our Focus 2013 Sport+/Titanium+ models SYNC supports AppLink features?

Yes, the downshift is quite a smooth transition in Sports mode as there is little or no jerk when the driver applies the brakes to slow down the vehicle. In S-mode, the revs or rpms are kept higher for a more sporty drive, so if you tap on the brakes the vehicle may not downshift as quick as in D mode, so at lower speeds the rpms are higher. If you drive aggresively in S-mode fast and furious stye, such as the vehicle already at high speeds and you slam on the brakes hard, then the abrupt change in speed may cause the rpms to shoot up high(in S-mode) since in Sports mode the gear changes happen or operate at higher speeds than in D. The high rpms when tapping (hard) on the brakes in S-mode will cause a "jerky" feel when compared to D since in D the downshift is at lower speeds, at lower rpms.

So in summary, there won't be any problems driving downhill or in any driving conditions when the vehicle is in S-mode. It's just when you drive aggressively, abrupt changes in the speeds when you slam on the brakes, then you will experience higher rpms at lower speeds which will cause the vehicle to have a less smoother transition than in D, which is normal. In more sporty driving conditions, higher rpms are ideal for quicker or instant acceleration at any point of time, so a less smooth/slightly jerky drive due to the gear upshifts/downshifts at higher speeds is experienced in Sports mode.

Yes, no jerking or grinding sound in my vehicle so far. As for your unexpected glitch in the vibration during idle, I don't experience it either, but I have to say the Focus is not as quiet as the Nissan Sylphy when it's idling in N at the traffic lights. There is a *very slight* engine vibration in the Focus when the vehicle is in N at traffic lights whereas the Nissan Sylphy is dead quiet and no vibration at all. The difference in idling vibrations is minimal but appreciable.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Dec 1 2013, 10:28 AM

Yesterday I let my friend test drive the Focus in the city. Even in city drives he was impressed by the power and acceleration of the Focus. He said it behaves like a rocket when he stepped on the pedal to overtake vehicles. Oh well, no surprise there. :-)

No more jerks. Just slight grind noise on low gears. R to d no issues at all.

I went up to Cameron yesterday and D mode is all it need.. the gears shifts smoothly and delivers enough power while keeping rpm low. Only used s mode when twice when needed to takeover quickly before a narrow bend. I did tried using s mode for 10 minutes during climb but preferred D as it felt smoother. Fuel consumption reset at the start of climb to top finished at 11l/100km. No hard push.. light footed mostly 70‰. The car balance and handling was superb. The steering control is spot on.

This post has been edited by thanish: Dec 1 2013, 10:30 PM