Hi there sifus,

Good day.
Wanna ask, are there any Ford specialty shop that can repair my Ford Focus 2012 door latch?

I have bought mine to official Ford service center but the spare parts has been otw for 2 months+ and it is driving me crazy.

Thanks!
Kiva

Try contact FordExcellant Auto in Subang Jaya

Much thanks, just got it replaced today at Ford Excellent and all works well.

Sent my Focus mk3 to Al-Isra near Lotus Ampang for service earlier this week. Few aspects I like about this service centre compared to Bengkel Excellent Auto;

1. Fast appointment. Book today, can send car tomorrow. Unlike Bengkel Excellent Auto, need to wait at least 1 week or longer.
2. Service quite fast, 2 to 3 hours
3. Reasonable charge.

Only one disadvantage I can think of. Shoplot has limited space. Only one lifting machine available inside the workshop due to space which can only serve one vehicle. Unlike other workshops in open space where there are more lifting machines 3 or more to serve several cars simultaneously. My car is only lifted a bit using the handheld lifter with the long bar. The same lifter used when replacing tyres.

Battery power was checked and found to be low so it was replaced together with spark plugs. The low battery was said to be one of the potential reasons of the failure of steering rack. Not too sure if that's true. Also, was told that it is recommended to reprogram the car after the battery was replaced to ensure all systems are working optimally to prevent any issues to the vehicle. I had changed the battery twice previously (call to Century battery assist hotline) without sending the car for reprogramming. Perhaps that may have affected the car's electronics that caused the premature failure of the steering rack. A point worth taking note.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Jan 15 2023, 11:20 AM

I asked about the Focus mk3.5 with Ecoboost 1.5 turbo engine since I earlier had interest in getting a used one. The boss Azhar shared more interesting stories about the car compared to the boss of Bengkel Excellent Auto. I wouldn't elaborate too much here but will just say that the mk3 2.0 is a more practical and worthwhile long-term option if one intends to keep it for a long time. Needles to say, the plan for a used mk3.5 is now dropped for good. 😊

So what’s the interesting story actually? U say until like that now I’m interested to listen 😂

Design defect of the engine block which contains the cylinder where it will crack with time. The boss of the workshop Azhar used to work in a Ford service centre for several years before joining Al-Isra. According to him, 5 out of 5 customers who use the Focus 1.5 Ecoboost will report on the same problem, and it is always the engine block of cylinder no. 2 which shows the crack everytime but not the other 3 cylinder blocks.

The representative of Ford Thailand who came to investigate didn't have a clue on the problem and no troubleshooting solutions were offered to overcome the issue. The cracked engine block will be replaced within warranty period. After 5 years, it's all on your own after the warranty period expires. The boss informed he didn't dare to touch the car (owning it) because of this cylinder block issue. He also suggested that because of this engine block issue of the car, the 2nd hand value will plummet with time after the problem is more widespread and known to others. People would be less inclined to consider the car after knowing about it.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Jan 17 2023, 08:18 AM

Actually ford already come up with improved version of short block which they already remove coolant slit in between piston cavity. This coolant slit design cause the material in between cavity really thin and prone to crack. Unfortunately, there is no recall happen. But i do know that some of user already replace with new version block (under warranty), wont face the same issue anymore.

For current mk3.5 user, what we can do is just monitor coolant lever regularly.

The rating 5 out of 5 customer seems doubted. As i know, there are lot of mk3.5 user out there wont have this defect yet.
One of my close mate, already reach mileage 16xk km, without any coolant loss issue.

Design failure is one thing and another also I believe is depends on how we drive our car as well.
I am myself already reach 12xk km. So far so good and of course, i always monitor my coolant closely.

Thanks for information. Good to know that you didn't experience any issue with the vehicle yet (touch wood) after reaching 120,000 km. Yes, I agree that the symptoms with the engine may be closely related with driving style. Premature failure may be experienced earlier with fast and furious driving style.

The 5 out of 5 comment was actually referring to all customers who brought the car to the service centre where the car showed cracked engine block for cylinder no. 2. Meaning, a consistent pattern of the crack which happened at cylinder number 2 and not 1, 3 or 4. From your post, it appears that not all owners have experienced the issue with the cracked engine block yet. Nevertheless, the consistent pattern of failure where some owners have experienced with the mk3.5 ecoboost engine may suggest that the design of the engine block may have been a compromise and not too durable, perhaps more prone to cracking with aggressive driving habits.

Do you have any idea how many years of warranty is provided for this cracking of the engine block? For the mk3, normal warranty period is 3 years but for "design flaw" components such as the dual clutch, if my memory doesn't fail me a longer warranty of up to 8 years was provided. For the TCM the warranty is up to 10 years and defective door latch was replaced under goodwill for free irrespective of age of car (not sure If ford Sime Darby still continue replacing door latches for free though).

May I ask if the Focus mk3.5 have issues with the door latch whereby the door will fail to lock when you try to close it? The mk3 has this door latch issue where it will fail at around 8 years +/-.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Jan 28 2023, 03:17 PM

Hello guys! Owner of 2013 Ford Focus Titanium here. Was wondering what type of car battery do you guys recommend for replacement? The original one from SC is quite pricey. Thanks!

I had always gone with Century batteries DIN66L. Marathoner Max is the one to go for. The other Motolite battery is cheaper but not sure on the performance. The Marathoner Max costs about RM400.

if the workshop business is good their appointment will be drag eventually, my appointment toke quite long too, anyway Bengkel Excellent is nearer to my place
I went to a few workshops before for continental car repair, not easy to find 1 with totally worry-free, usually i have time for it to repair & no rushing
the steering rack is bullshit if u ask me

Thanks for that! Will check it out

Yes that's true. Business is too good, too many customers until have to book 2 or 3 weeks in advance. The Bengkel Excellent Auto is further away from my place compared to Al-Isra so I've picked the latter for servicing now, apart from the long booking time.

How is the FoMoCo battery?

Sorry, I'm not sure what is FoMoCo battery. Is it the original Motorcraft battery of the Ford Focus installed in new Ford Focus cars? If yes, I replaced it long time ago. Had been using Century batteries all this while. The last one is still going strong after more than 2 years but I replaced it at the workshop after it was tested to be low in strength. Not sure if it's recommended to replace when it's tested to be low in strength or wait until it's completely dead.

By the way, to anyone who is using Focus Sport +, what is the important main differences between the Plus and non-plus other than the sun roof, Auto park and active stop(auto brake)? Is the auto brake particularly useful or it gives more inconvenience during crawling traffic? I'm seriously considering a used Focus Sport mk3 in appropriate time.

i use watever din66l battery available, i think best to replace the battery once you feel weak starting engine, whenever below 12v it show some weird signs on the electronic things ..

for plus, sunroof is good for me, i open it once a while, rear light led stripe look good, auto brake helped a bit but activated when approaching fast at higher speed bump .. hid projector lights look good
love the auto side parking maybe because i used it a lot lol pretty precise parking

Hi guys,
Anyone here has experience install Fofo MK3.5 high beam bulbs? I bought philips ultinon 9000pro H1. But noticed quite hard to install. Any idea?

Would like to ask if anyone has replaced the shock absorber and strut of the Focus mk3 with original spec. If yes, how much is the price for the replacement of all front and rear, and at which workshop?

The last time I asked Bengkel Excellent Auto about 2 years ago, they don't have the stock suspension of the Ford Focus mk3. They have the Monroe OESpectrum M-RTECH2 instead apart from Bilstein B6/B8.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Feb 21 2023, 08:50 AM

Last week went to have a look and test drive of a used Ford Focus Sport. The vehicle was owned by an actual owner. Vehicle was described as having minor scratches when I spoke to the owner on the phone. However when viewing the actual car at his house, it not only has scratches all over the car but deep dents at few areas which include one at the top roof pillar above the windscreen. Left without test driving as interest was gone.