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Hatchbacks Ford Focus 2008 Ford Focus
93 messages, Last post on May 25, 2009 at 6:09 AM
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At 664 miles I got a check engine light. Dealer said it was a "transmission range sensor out of range" (Code P1702-00-68) and performed " PCM recalibration with new level software". Since then my gas mileage has dropped about 10%. My computer had been quite consistent. I reset it with each trip. Outings with consistent 32-34mpg are now 27-29mpg. Dealer tells me it takes 10K miles to get reliable computer estimates of fuel economy. My readings were quite consistent...and still are, just 10% lower, since the software adjustment. Dealer further states the adjustment could have nothing to do with gas mileage...is this just an unfortunate concidence? That Corolla I passed over to buy American is looking better and better, Disgusted
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Replying to: carlt1 (Apr 07, 2008 7:00 am) Have you been relying on the car's computer to calculate the fuel economy this entire time, or have you double checked the trip meter (miles driven) divided by the amount of gas purchased using an outside source (like a calculator or pencil and paper)? The reason I ask is that sometimes the car's computer is artificially optimistic about mileage. Double check the readings and see what you get - good luck! If you still have problems, go see a different dealer and explain the problem (maybe some other part was not connected properly after the first work was done). |
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Can the 08 Focus be any uglier??? What is happening with Ford? Why can't they build nice looking cars?
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Replying to: tomanyt (Apr 22, 2008 5:38 am) http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-verve-sedan-concept/498251/full/ http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/FordVerveNAConcept/1000475343 http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ford/2009-ford-fiesta-ar52487/picture232437-0.html http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/FordVerveNAConcept/1000475351 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/front_website/gallery.php?id=257253 http://newsletter.autoexpress.co.uk/c/1d5M5cEDLpRmgTVA "Ford of Europe" can, but "Ford" can't!  & even its Mazda twin ain't quite as pretty: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2008-mazda2-sedan/498073/ http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2008-mazda2-sedan/498065/ |
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I ran into a guy who CHOSE an 08 Focus over a new Honda Civic AND a new Corolla! It does happen folks.. His reason was value. Like optioned the Focus was thousands less.. 
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As a new 08 Focus SE sedan owner with a M5, I'm looking for some additional information regarding the platform and drivetrain. I slowly (okay, very slooowly) made the decision to purchase this model after seeing all the bashing about the styling, cheapness, no improved powerplant, fake fender vent, too high a belt line, cost cutting gone wild, wall-to-wall crappy hard plastic, etc. So I tested all the competing models...and it came down to the Mazda3 and the Civic. With the options that I wanted (speed control, ABS) the Civic was $18,500 and the Mazda3 was a little less. And then my nationalistic pride kicked in...memories of 9/11, American jobs disappearing, foreclosures galore, Europeans bashing the ugly, wasteful, war mongering Americans, inflation spiraling out of control, fuel closing in on $4./gal. and I thought isn't there anything American out there that I can accept? So I researched a bunch of web sites and decided to rely on edmunds. That lead me to try a Ford. Over a few weeks, I visited dealerships and drove probably 8 vehicles (Autos/5 speeds/ S's/SES's)...and found that although my expectations were very low, the model is respectable in it's class. It is what it is... a simple $16,000 compact that is very light weight, quiet, comfortable, reliable, with a slippery 5 speed, very fuel efficient (I've had only 3 days and getting 31mph in city driving (no highway yet) and extremely inexpensive (I bought at $400. over invoice (THX edmonds!) with $2500. in rebates and 0.0% financing...making our investment about $13,200. So....I'm hearing bits and pieces about German platform, Mazda engineered 16 valve 2.0 engine and my paperwork says the tranny was built in Germany. What gives? My vehicle was built at the Wayne plant and all the panel seams are tight and line up even, no squeaks, or leaking windows, no rattles, no pre-rusted engine parts or other parts falling off or fluids leaking all over the place. With a nice color combination of Vista Blue on Charcoal, I'm trying to figure out... am I missing something here or is everyone else missing it? Granted, the instrument cluster looks like it was designed for a 16 year old and the seats could use better side bolsters... but it seems like a great little car that looks a little (uh, sorry) European from the back! So tell me folks, what is the lineage of the drivetrain? I love the power of the 2.0 (yes, it's a little unrefined), the handling and the slippery 5 speed reminds me of my 80' Toyota Celica. Can anyone provide more information? And can running a thicker oil like 10-30 take away the engine harshness? InFocus
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Replying to: infocus (May 04, 2008 1:37 pm) But you might want to wait till the break-in is over. Otherwise the Prolong is so slippery that you might never finish your break in! By the way, I remember only the auto tranny in the Focus is made by Mazda. So it makes sense that the manual tranny is made in Germany, where the original Focus came from!  Mazda kept its trade secret -- variable valve timing -- to themselves. So the Ford version doesn't have it, & thus trailing behind the Mazda3 2.0 all these years in mpg.
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Replying to: creakid1 (May 04, 2008 3:32 pm)
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Replying to: highmiler650 (May 05, 2008 8:51 am) Then the Z-max, a newer engine additive, came out. I compared the engine/fuel additives & found out that the Prolong improves mpg more than the Z-max. I could hear the engine smoothness improved in my '98 Corolla 1.8 LE when using the Prolong engine additive. But my '05 Focus 2.3 ST has a loud factory exhaust, so I could not hear the difference after adding Prolong.
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Replying to: creakid1 (May 05, 2008 4:20 pm) http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/09/prolong.shtm |
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