Well, since the "official" labels all say months, and since your warranty is for years (5, right?) I guess there's no harm in waiting a couple of weeks.

I had a similar problem, as well as another... SYNC would pair up with my phone for calls perfectly, but would not work with Bluetooth Audio; I could not get music to play from the media player over the car's sound system.

After combing through some forums, the solution was to hard-reset SYNC by unplugging the appropriate fuse. The fuse is in the passenger compartment fuse panel underneath the glovebox (the manual shows the procedure to access it) BUT you will also need to get the fuse extraction clip which is in the main Power Distribution Box in the engine compartment (unless you have one from another car). The fuse is in the second column from the left, third fuse from the top. Unplug it, wait a few seconds, then push it back in.

Be prepared for a physically uncomfortable time, as the fusebox is *not* easy to access...

Just to confirm these functions also work on the non-Plus versions (except of course there is no sunroof to open/close).

Does anyone know how to switch on/off the ambient lighting, other than through the menu on the instrument panel?

Or we can simply remove the car battery! How come I never thought of that?

Anyway, I think I figured out what happened...there's a setting for Auto lighting right next to the Ambient lighting setting on the instrument panel menu. With it on, the Ambient lighting does not come on in the morning, but comes on once it's dark (dunno where the sensor is).

Must have been one of the most fun 10k you've had (it will be mine!).

IMHO the reverse response after changing gear from Neutral its very 'lembab'; it takes nearly 1/2 a second to engage, by which time you could be rolling forwards over a meter! Furthermore, the torque when not pressing the gas is very weak. Once you touch the accelerator, the power is there (eventually).

On....mine is a non-Plus. However, interestingly, even with my model there is an Auto setting on the instrument panel AND the Ambient lighting does not come on in the daytime. Do this points to a separate sensor than the one that controls the main headlight beams on the Plus version.

This car is full of fun surprises!

Yo @aneip

Welcome to the Fofo MK3 club! Doubtless your days & nights will be filled with joyful hours of exceptional driving experiences.

Your FC is fantastic... from your description you don't seem to have to drive in the city very much.... that's really a blessing, as while our car has great FC while it is moving at decent speeds, it does suffer if you are stuck in bumper-to-bumper crawls.

Thanks SO MUCH for highlighting the error in the owner's manual re: the cigar(ette) lighter fuse. I confirm that our manual does indeed tag it as being in the engine bay fuse compartment, AND that Fuse 61 in the passenger-side fuse compartment is marked as 'unused'.

I would invite you join us at the Ford Focus MK3 Owners Group, where we share experiences and suggestions (and sometimes heartbreak stories) about our great ride.

Putting ins something this drastic would definitely require some heavy rewiring, and the common understanding is that any cutting of wires would void the warranty. However, honestly no one *really* knows what will void it and what won't...

Umm... if you don't mind me making a small comment: why a DVD player? The Focus is really a driving enthusiast's car. I wouldn't want anything to distract me from the sheer driving pleasure this car gives, in addition to the crazy danger of watching videos while driving. As for the other passengers, they will probably enjoy watching movies on their tablet much better...

Lastly... ummm.... who uses DVDs anymore?

According to Wikipedia on Torque Vectoring, the only cars with Torque Vectoring are:

- Audi's quattro with Sport Differential
- BMW's xDrive with Dynamic Performance Control
- Honda's SH-AWD
- Mitsubishi's Active Yaw Control
- Nissan Juke
- Saab's XWD
- Ford on several models....including ours!!!

Hmm... just to state what you probably already know, but the Focus already comes with Bluetooth and can read off your phone's phonebook, which you can navigate/control via voice control.

The main deficiency IMHO is the lack of a built-in GPS. However, when it comes to navigation, I am a little snobbish.... once you use a Garmin all others just don't swing it. Lately the newest viable option is Google Turn-by-Turn Navigation which just became available officially in Malaysia about a month ago.... however, it still doesn't have voice control like the Garmin.

If you have a large screen smartphone, an alternative would be a decent phone holder... this would make your phone into everything the car lacks. This setup is more appealing to me as the flexibility of additional apps that can be installed at any time far outweighs an all-in-one dashboard infotainment system. For example, what is really grabbing my attention is to install a Bluetooth ODBII dongle and link it with Torque Pro, which will give me real-time data about the car's performance and any errors, plus recording all technical details of any trip... a serious car geek's dream!

Yes with the SYNC (though I think they screwed it up.... any smartphone has a better interface)
No with the colour touch screen (once again, your phone can probably outshine this functionality 10x)
Yes with the audio system by Sony (but 9 speakers... no sub)
Yes with the Dual-zone auto temperature control
No with the Nav system... all that Sirius blah blah and HD radio dun work here anyways.

For me the only feature I use consistently is the Bluetooth link, as a handsfree for calls and to use the car's sound system to power whatever media I can play from my phone. I like being able to answer calls & change volume via toggles directly on the steering wheel.

broom all you want... vacuum also can.



I have decided not to treat this car with kid gloves... way too much potential for fun. After all, got good 5 year warranty to depend on.... hantam kau kau especially early part to see if anything falls off.... better now than 3 months before warranty expires.

IMHO....

Hi thanish,

Welcome to the MK3 club! You are in for a treat... re-learning the sheer joy of driving.

I think a lot of Fofo owners have opted for one type of tint or another... there's quite a lot good choices, depending on your preference and budget. Personally, I chose Huper Optik Sech60 front & back, with C50 4 mil sides for my Titanium.... very satisfied even after two months.

As for the tips, where to begin?

A suggestion: you may consider joining the Ford Focus MK3 - Malaysia Owners Group on Facebook; you get to trade stories & questions about our favourite ride!!

3M makes some very good tints... however, to note that this package is with their mid-range Ceramic 75...according to 3M's website, this model gives you 40% TSER, which is OK but not to be confused with leading-edge products.

Have you tried Bluetooth Audio?

I had a weird "feature" with this... whenever the car paired with my phone, the music player would autoplay... most of the time. I eventually installed a different music player app that allowed me to switch off Bluetooth control, so now it doesn't autoplay. However, this solution is not ideal, as the steering wheel toggles which allows you to change songs (forward & backward only) of course no longer works.

I googled and found that there are some people who encounter the same problem, with no real solution.

I hates the closed source nature of SYNC... can't fix!

Please refer to this detailed technical review by Edmunds.com. Since the Focus is a global car with effectively identical specs around the world, you can pretty much take these numbers as gospel.

The 0-60mph is 8.7 sec.

I don't think Ford per se does the tinting... it is a service offered by the agency/SA; sometimes as part of their discount/promo package. As such, you really need to get the details of the tint they are offering (brand, type, darkness) and decide if it meets your requirements and/or whether you can get a better deal.

In my case, I chose to do it myself; my SA did not provide it for free but got me a discount. However, even with the discount the deal was a bit too expensive and the specs weren't as good as I could get outside.

You are right in that if the SA does it they take the responsibility if the car is messed up. That is why if you choose to get it done yourself, make sure it is done by a reputable tint shop; don't decide purely by the lowest cost. However I think if you DO choose a good shop, the chances of mess-ups is negligible.

However in terms of convenience, I would disagree with you, in light that the inconvenience is a mere half-day, while if you DON'T get what you want, you will have to stare at it EVERY DAY you drive your car!

I got some cheap coil mats from the local carpet shop and spent an hour crawling on my hands and knees to custom cut them to fit ... and what I tried to do is to totally cover every inch of the original carpeting (which I agree is a dirt magnet; my wife's Sentra uses the exact same material and same colour and now looks HORRIBLE). It looks OK but since the coil mats are the lowest possible quality (RM15 a piece la...) I don't think they will last. If they break down, I will try the same approach but with better material.

Fully agree with the back number plate... actually it looks like it's installed about one inch too low, as there are two indents that can be partially seen above the plate on the bodywork. I guess we can just place some foam double sided tape to stop the rattle when closing the boot. *sigh!*

My biggest pet peeve? No auto-lock after a certain speed! With the insane crime rate in Malaysia (don't ask our former Home Minister... he'll say it's all 'perception'.... idiot), we really need to lock the doors... whatlawei.... cars half our price also has this feature.

Second pet peeve? SYNC... the software is sooo finicky and I can't stand the fact it is closed source ... noone except the manufacturers can fix or enhance it! In this day and age, this is unacceptable. eg. Why do I have to power on my radio if I want to voice dial a call history number?

Air-con on Auto mode always cycles up to the max setting a while before throttling down to the required level... even in the cool evenings. At the max level, sounds like a jet engine... also, takes longer to cool down compared to Jap cars.

It's a bit weird I can't just push up the gear shift to Neutral without pressing the button; with our DCT it is always recommended to "free" the gear to prevent overheating... so one extra finger movement... (OK-lah I'm lazy)

There are other minor inconveniences but overall... still a driver's dream car...

In our country, we almost need to have a barbed-wire fence around the car!

The funny thing is, reading the US forums, there *is* such a feature... but the instructions to switch it on/off do not work. Furthermore, it is evident the prerequisites are all there... the speed sensor is there to beep at you if you don't put on the safety belt, the locking mechanism is obviously there to allow you to lock the car.

If it is really for safety, let the consumer choose la....