2012 Ford Focus Titanium

[geraintthomas]

Podie said:

PFL cars do have the Fiesta radio which (to quote EVO) "appears to have been arranged with all the precision of an unguarded sneeze" but you do get used to it

I'd highly recommend.a genuine Ford boot liner. They're not cheap, but they are brilliant. Perfect fit, decent lip to stop any spillages and easy to hose down - a real useful thing on a daily driver - we have them in the Fiesta and Focus. Can't recall if these have a single boot light or not? A guy on one of the Focus forums makes a loom (work of art to be fair) which allows for a second lamp to be slotted into the hole on the passenger side, giving plenty of light. I went for LED panels from Autobeam in the RS and makes a huge difference on a dark morning / evening.

A set of chromed indicator bulbs does wonders for cleaning up the lines.

Good tip on the boot liner, will look into that. There's already a second bulb in the Titanium so the boot is lit from both sides - I've placed some LED bulbs in the housings which match the interior as they're LED from the factory too, so it's a little better.

With the indicator bulbs, I've bought Cree LED bulbs for cars in the past and have installed resistors on the wires so the car doesn't think a bulb is missing, and they're brilliant. As bright as standard bulbs (for as long as they're Cree). I need to look into it with this one, probably when I retrofit the projector headlights.

Smitters said:

However, now I can't unsee an angry robot with a gaping red mouth. Also intimidated...

I can kind of see it... I also don't want to as I won't see anything else!


Car is booked into the garage for next Tuesday for them to change the track rod ends under warranty. I'm going to dip the front brake discs into a white vinegar bath to remove the surface rust as they're quite wobbly under braking due to standing on the forecourt. I'll paint the calipers with silver hammerite at the same time too, as well as the rear drums in black hammerite.

[geraintthomas]

Ordered somestuff to sort out some minor niggles with the car.

RimBlades in Silver - £30. I had the wheels on the Porsche refurbished/powdercoated, but this car is a daily that I'll be doing a lot of miles in, and could possible get curbed again easily. These just hide the curb marks and just stick on. They're silver and wouldn't be that bad on the current wheels, so I'll try them out. Honestly I don't know what the previous owner did or where they took the car, but even the tyres have chunks missing out of the protective rim. The alloys are curbed all over, every one of them. If these don't work or don't look good I'll refurbish them myself.

Frozen White touch up paint (£6). To touch up a small scuff mark on the front bumper, as well as a little bit of paint missing on the corner of a rear panel. Should only need the tiniest amount.

Genuine mats (£25). These will be quite nice with the Focus badge on them.

Black Hammerite 'smooth' paint (£11). For the rear drums. I already have silver for the front calipers and the hub carriers behind the discs.

OBD2 to USB (£11) for the Focccus app, primarily to change the drive-off auto-lock function, and also to enable HID's when I get round to retrofitting the projectors.

Wing mirror indicator covers (£10 for the pair). One's cracked, the other is yellow and whilst I could polish that up, they were very cheap so decided to change them both.

Front fog lamp (£17) as the O/S is cracked with water leaking inside of it. Pre-owned to match the condition of the other, and no need to replace both with new ones.

Some items are coming from China so will take a while (indicator covers and OBD2 to USB lead) but the others should be here this week.

[geraintthomas]

The RimBlades came today. I can't believe that it costs £30 for these. It's a complete ripoff, but there's none that are cheaper that I can find anywhere. Still, if they work then they work.

They give IPA cleaner, and also an adhesion primer that sets, then you apply the rimblade to the wheel, then leave it for 1-3 days before driving over 40mph. It also says it helps to warm the wheel a little and not to do it on a damp/cold day. Reviews say that for people who follow the instructions, they last a very long time. Some people just stick them on and complain when they fly off. Either way, it's definitely worth a try.

This is all they are:





I tried to find something online that's similar/cheaper, but to no avail.

The wheels are knackered, presumably a rally driver was the last owner?!



And a test position



These cover all of the curbing nicely! If they stay on then it's a winner. It'll also stop the wheel from being curbed if I do touch a curb. The weather's looking to improve on the weekend so I'll be doing them then.

I also cannot wait to coat the rear drums in black hammerite. They look horrible!

[Cambs_Stuart]

Following with interest. My daily drive/family taxi probably will get replaced in the next 12 months so I'm looking for something cost efficient, less than 8 years old and pleasant to drive. This seems to tick a lot of those boxes.

[geraintthomas]

Cambs_Stuart said:

Following with interest. My daily drive/family taxi probably will get replaced in the next 12 months so I'm looking for something cost efficient, less than 8 years old and pleasant to drive. This seems to tick a lot of those boxes.

So far I thoroughly recommend it. I can't believe how comfortable, quiet, and cheap it is to drive. And with all of these extras for the money I've paid? It's a no brainier. Parts aware very cheap if you ever want to fix it up too. For instance, replacement discs and pads for the front are £40.

Genuine mats came today! They're lovely.









Also the parcel shelf was broken. I assume this is common looking at its design. The edges have cracked and bent, so the shelf falls constantly.



I've got two stiff rubber washers, which surprisingly fit perfectly. 12mm if anyone wants to know,





The plan was to glue them to the outside of the shelf, creating a wider shelf for the posts to sit in so that it can't fall, and also for them to be more secure rather than wobble around,







Job done, shelf is now secure and no chance of falling as I had to bend the edges a little for them to fit onto the posts. As they should! Poor design from Ford there.

Whilst I was there, I changed the boot lamps to white (though they look blue here) to match the interior LED's. Not sure if the interior LED's are part of the titanium package or if they're standard across all mk3's but they look great, so these are my best attempt to match them.

Photos were before I fixed the shelf:





More to follow

[geraintthomas]

Smiljan said:

I'm sure with your past car history this Focus now has a good home and will be kept in tip top condition.

Just out of interest which diagnostic tool did you use to clear all the codes?

Sorry I totally missed this, It's an Autotel diagnostic too, can't remember the model but it's on amazon for £89.99.

[super7]

V6todayEVmanana said:

geraintthomas said:

....
- Parking sensors
- Adaptive cruise control with lane assist
- Traffic sign recognition system
- Sat nav
- BLIS (blind spot) system
- Privacy glass
- Keyless start and entry
- Crash detection
- Auto wipers, headlights, dimming mirrors
- Titanium handling package
...

That’s some impressive kit for a 2012 Focus. Adaptive cruise, crash and traffic sign detection in particular.

I was impressed my 2012 Giulietta had cruise and auto wipers.

What does the handling package offer? Guessing it’s more comfort than speed

If you go up one more level to the Titanium X you also get

- Bi-Xenon headlights with the added gizmo to light up corners as you turn
- Automatic headlight full-beam (doesn't work very well.... a bit slow too dip!!)
- Parking assist to parallel park (except it kerbs the 18" alloys!!)
- Part leather interior
- Calls emergency services if you ding it too heavily
- Heated seats
- Electric driver seat
- Multi zone aircon

I got mine back in 2013 and did 90k in it, without 1 issue. My son bought it from me once he passed his test at 18, 2 yrs ago, and is still using it now. The only thing that has failed is the Sony media bit. Got another of ebay for £100 and replaced it myself, all good!!. Absolutely cracking car!!

[geraintthomas]

super7 said:

If you go up one more level to the Titanium X you also get

- Bi-Xenon headlights with the added gizmo to light up corners as you turn
- Automatic headlight full-beam (doesn't work very well.... a bit slow too dip!!)
- Parking assist to parallel park (except it kerbs the 18" alloys!!)
- Part leather interior
- Calls emergency services if you ding it too heavily
- Heated seats
- Electric driver seat
- Multi zone aircon

I got mine back in 2013 and did 90k in it, without 1 issue. My son bought it from me once he passed his test at 18, 2 yrs ago, and is still using it now. The only thing that has failed is the Sony media bit. Got another of ebay for £100 and replaced it myself, all good!!. Absolutely cracking car!!

I was going to view a Titanium X but the price for it was higher and it had no record of a timing belt changed, so I went for this one. Looked lovely though!

Mine also has the auto full beam and the multi zone climate control, so may well have been added to mine as an option. It seems to have every extra I can think of!

I've emailed Ford asking for help to decipher the options on the car but no reply yet.

[finlo]

I can't believe they're persevering with drum brakes in the 21st century!

[VR99]

Where did you source the "genuine" mats out of interest? Mine are knackered and could do with a change. I like how the small changes you are making here and there will make a decent cumulative improvement overall. Price aside, are the rimblades worth it for the visual enhancement?

[geraintthomas]

finlo said:

I can't believe they're persevering with drum brakes in the 21st century!

I know, was quite surprised myself. They perform well though.

VR99 said:

Where did you source the "genuine" mats out of interest? Mine are knackered and could do with a change. I like how the small changes you are making here and there will make a decent cumulative improvement overall. Price aside, are the rimblades worth it for the visual enhancement?

Thank you. eBay through a certified Ford dealer. Just give eBay a search and it's the first £25 ones that pop up. They came in the actual ford bag too and look fantastic.

Rim blades... if you want that contrast look (such as a Porsche Spyder edge silver look) then it helps hugely, but otherwise they'd just be for hiding the curb marks. Once on it'll look better with a nice smooth edge as opposed to chunks missing out of the alloys. I'll be fitting them Monday most likely as I'm busy this weekend, but very much looking forward to fitting them.

The boot bulbs I installed earlier look lovely at night. Ideally I'd like them a little warmer and less blue, but they'll do for the time being. It's hard to tell when buying lights because sellers just throw the 'k' colour temperature around without testing. I want 5000k bulbs but the last time I bought some they were practically purple. It's just luck of the draw.



One thing I do love about the car is the rear LED lights. Should be on all of the mk3's.

[carlove]

I'm really surprised and even more impressed that a 2012 Focus has adaptive cruise & lane keep assist. I think you'd be lucky to find a 2012 7 Series with those.
I had a lift in a colleague's 2011 Focus Titanium one night, I was really impressed by the ambient lighting in that car.
Really nice car you've got there, and seems a good find with all that kit (I'm struggling to find one like it on Autotrader)

[Chrispee]

Following with interest. I bought a 61 plate Ti- X Estate with the 1.6 Ecoboost at the end of last year and so far have been very impressed. Looks great with 18" alloys like yours. Haven't dared try the park assist yet, and find the DAB radio a bit crap for reception but as a general runaround that i can throw the bike in the back of I like it. Seeing as it sits outside costing me just tax and insurance vs my leased Cupra that went back just before lockdown I can't complain! No adaptive cruise though, and i didnt know about the automatic high beam dip, will have to try that out!

[geraintthomas]

carlove said:

I'm really surprised and even more impressed that a 2012 Focus has adaptive cruise & lane keep assist. I think you'd be lucky to find a 2012 7 Series with those.
I had a lift in a colleague's 2011 Focus Titanium one night, I was really impressed by the ambient lighting in that car.
Really nice car you've got there, and seems a good find with all that kit (I'm struggling to find one like it on Autotrader)

My father has a 2012 Skoda VRS Mk3 with those features, so I assumed it was quite well implemented then, unless it was rather new? It's fantastic though. I normally have the lane assist to vibrate the steering wheel if I wander out of the lane rather than correct me, but even that is fantastic.

There's a white Titanium X Focus up towards York area for under £4,000, looks to have more features than mine.

Chrispee said:

Following with interest. I bought a 61 plate Ti- X Estate with the 1.6 Ecoboost at the end of last year and so far have been very impressed. Looks great with 18" alloys like yours. Haven't dared try the park assist yet, and find the DAB radio a bit crap for reception but as a general runaround that i can throw the bike in the back of I like it. Seeing as it sits outside costing me just tax and insurance vs my leased Cupra that went back just before lockdown I can't complain! No adaptive cruise though, and i didnt know about the automatic high beam dip, will have to try that out!

Lovely! Glad it's the 1.6 and not the 1.0. Not that there's anything wrong performance wise, but I've heard the timing belts are hugely expensive to replace due to needing special tools which garages don't use and aren't trained for.

The automatic high beam works off one of the cameras behind the mirror, so it could be the same as the adaptive cruise as that does scan cars in front to follow and to engage the brakes if need be, so it's probably the same one that looks for cars to enable/disable the high beam. Could be wrong though. Either way it's a setting in 'Driver Assist'.


Checked the boot this morning and no water leaks of any kind - the sealant did the job! Just need to get the faint smell of damp out of the carpets in there now.

[super7]

geraintthomas said:

carlove said:

I'm really surprised and even more impressed that a 2012 Focus has adaptive cruise & lane keep assist. I think you'd be lucky to find a 2012 7 Series with those.
I had a lift in a colleague's 2011 Focus Titanium one night, I was really impressed by the ambient lighting in that car.
Really nice car you've got there, and seems a good find with all that kit (I'm struggling to find one like it on Autotrader)

My father has a 2012 Skoda VRS Mk3 with those features, so I assumed it was quite well implemented then, unless it was rather new? It's fantastic though. I normally have the lane assist to vibrate the steering wheel if I wander out of the lane rather than correct me, but even that is fantastic.

There's a white Titanium X Focus up towards York area for under £4,000, looks to have more features than mine.

Chrispee said:

Following with interest. I bought a 61 plate Ti- X Estate with the 1.6 Ecoboost at the end of last year and so far have been very impressed. Looks great with 18" alloys like yours. Haven't dared try the park assist yet, and find the DAB radio a bit crap for reception but as a general runaround that i can throw the bike in the back of I like it. Seeing as it sits outside costing me just tax and insurance vs my leased Cupra that went back just before lockdown I can't complain! No adaptive cruise though, and i didnt know about the automatic high beam dip, will have to try that out!

Lovely! Glad it's the 1.6 and not the 1.0. Not that there's anything wrong performance wise, but I've heard the timing belts are hugely expensive to replace due to needing special tools which garages don't use and aren't trained for.

The automatic high beam works off one of the cameras behind the mirror, so it could be the same as the adaptive cruise as that does scan cars in front to follow and to engage the brakes if need be, so it's probably the same one that looks for cars to enable/disable the high beam. Could be wrong though. Either way it's a setting in 'Driver Assist'.


Checked the boot this morning and no water leaks of any kind - the sealant did the job! Just need to get the faint smell of damp out of the carpets in there now.

My son has done the boot sealant job..... it's a common issue.....

The automatic headlights does use the camera's behind the mirror. The implementation is a bit crudeand it get's confused very easily with reflections of sign posts as it's looking for two lights that move together, like any other cars headlights do. It becomes irritating after a while with all the false dips and it's not as fast as your hand.

I also forgot to mention the little mechanism in the door that fire's out a plastic cover over the door edge to stop you chipping it against a wall.... very cool!!

My son's might be up for sale soon, although some minger in a sainburys let their trolley smash into the side of it, without leaving a note. He took the wing off and bashed most of it out!!

[geraintthomas]

super7 said:

My son has done the boot sealant job..... it's a common issue.....

The automatic headlights does use the camera's behind the mirror. The implementation is a bit crudeand it get's confused very easily with reflections of sign posts as it's looking for two lights that move together, like any other cars headlights do. It becomes irritating after a while with all the false dips and it's not as fast as your hand.

I also forgot to mention the little mechanism in the door that fire's out a plastic cover over the door edge to stop you chipping it against a wall.... very cool!!

My son's might be up for sale soon, although some minger in a sainburys let their trolley smash into the side of it, without leaving a note. He took the wing off and bashed most of it out!!

That's one thing mine hasn't got, the plastic door edge protector. Would be nice to retrofit it!

[geraintthomas]

The £9 wing mirror indicator replacements came today.

Horrible cracked original lamp:



Shiny new one



Bit of a difference



Installed. Much better



The other was quite dull and yellow too



Replacement looks far nicer



Right. I've just tried to use FoCCCus with the ELM327 cable. I connected to the car, made a backup but when it was making the backup the car went nuts. Engine fault, brake fault, etc etc. Suddenly stopped and went back to normal. I tried to write the 'auto lock' when driving off onto the car, and the same thing happened. An error occured and it didn't upload, so I've stopped there. Absolutely s**t myself, so I'm super uncomfortable using it. Was that meant to happen?! I'd need to do this if I'm to fit HID's in projectors in the future. What am I doing wrong?

[Podie]

geraintthomas] said:

Right. I've just tried to use FoCCCus with the ELM327 cable. I connected to the car, made a backup but when it was making the backup the car went nuts. Engine fault, brake fault, etc etc. Suddenly stopped and went back to normal. I tried to write the 'auto lock' when driving off onto the car, and the same thing happened. An error occured and it didn't upload, so I've stopped there. Absolutely s**t myself, so I'm super uncomfortable using it. Was that meant to happen?! I'd need to do this if I'm to fit HID's in projectors in the future. What am I doing wrong?

That doesn't sound happy. Where did you get your adaptor from?

Did you set the com port and set the port speed to auto?

[geraintthomas]

Podie said:

That doesn't sound happy. Where did you get your adaptor from?

Did you set the com port and set the port speed to auto?

eBay from China. Didn't think it had to be anything special... recommend any?

[Shadow R1]

I use forscan, on the mk2.

The elm cable, from memory (got mine ages ago) they have different chips inside.
Some work great others don't work at all or do odd things as in your case.

It might be an idea to get a recommendation, from someone who have brought one recently that works.