2012 Ford Focus Titanium
Discussion
Hi everyone,
You might know me from my 2003 Porsche Boxster S thread, which is my pride and joy:
(Thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... )
For a very cheap daily car, I used to own (up until Monday) a VERY bog standard MK6 1.4 TDCi Fiesta Finesse. I.e. the very basic you can get, featuring wind up windows. But it only cost me £500, costs £30 a year tax, does 75mpg, and I've driven it from Cardiff to Winchester and back once (sometimes twice) a week whilst my girlfriend was in University there for almost two years, and it's been utterly flawless. I've made sure it's mechanically sound in the time I've used it. It's a perfect cheap runabout, but I fancied something a little nicer to drive every day. Something with more features to make the daily drive easier.
Which leads to now. To replace the Fiesta, I've bought this:
It's a 2012 Focus Titanium in white, with a 1.6 TDCi (115bhp) engine.
What a beautiful car.
Some of the options are:
- 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
And lots of other bits and bobs that are too much to mention.
The point of this car is to be a comfortably daily, to have a car that's as economical, comfortable and nice to drive as possible. Considering my weekend car is a 3.2 straight-6 Porsche, a diesel Mk3 Focus Titanium made sense as it's the polar opposite of that car, being a 5 door, lots of space, lots of driving aids, comfy, quiet and economical. Everything that the Porsche isn't!
It had a few problems to start with. I got to the dealer and the car was dead, so they jump started it and it had a huge amount of electrical errors. These all went away on the test drive, but a few didn't. The stop/start, BLIS and parking sensors didn't work, as well as a couple of other electrical gremlins. The dealer said they'd get an auto-electrician to look at it and will fix it for free of course, but I looked into it myself to save them the hassle.
I put them all down to a bad battery as this was the reading:
11.8v. Ouch! I replaced it Thursday and cleared the module codes with a more advanced diagnostic tool, and they all work perfectly now. Everything was battery related, so that was a relief.
Only a few mechanical things to sort. There's a break wobble from the front left as the disc has a coating of surface rust from sitting on the forecourt. I'll see if it goes away, if not I'll throw some new discs/pads on. The other issue is that the track rod ends are seized and I cannot adjust the track, so I'll be putting new track rod ends on. No biggie, cheap to do too. The dealer has said they'd cover the cost.
I've got a few plans with it though, including upgrading the headlights to bi-xenon (doing the projector install myself), DRL's for the front, and possibly a Zetec S kit all round so that it looks as good as it drives. Not that it doesn't already look good.
So that's about it for the Focus! I'll keep you all updated with the plans. Next up though is to tidy the wheels up as they're badly curbed. I can't be bothered to take them off and spray them as it's a daily, so I've ordered some rim blades in silver just to hide them. I'll see how they hold up.
You might know me from my 2003 Porsche Boxster S thread, which is my pride and joy:
(Thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... )
For a very cheap daily car, I used to own (up until Monday) a VERY bog standard MK6 1.4 TDCi Fiesta Finesse. I.e. the very basic you can get, featuring wind up windows. But it only cost me £500, costs £30 a year tax, does 75mpg, and I've driven it from Cardiff to Winchester and back once (sometimes twice) a week whilst my girlfriend was in University there for almost two years, and it's been utterly flawless. I've made sure it's mechanically sound in the time I've used it. It's a perfect cheap runabout, but I fancied something a little nicer to drive every day. Something with more features to make the daily drive easier.
Which leads to now. To replace the Fiesta, I've bought this:
It's a 2012 Focus Titanium in white, with a 1.6 TDCi (115bhp) engine.
What a beautiful car.
Some of the options are:
- 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
And lots of other bits and bobs that are too much to mention.
The point of this car is to be a comfortably daily, to have a car that's as economical, comfortable and nice to drive as possible. Considering my weekend car is a 3.2 straight-6 Porsche, a diesel Mk3 Focus Titanium made sense as it's the polar opposite of that car, being a 5 door, lots of space, lots of driving aids, comfy, quiet and economical. Everything that the Porsche isn't!
It had a few problems to start with. I got to the dealer and the car was dead, so they jump started it and it had a huge amount of electrical errors. These all went away on the test drive, but a few didn't. The stop/start, BLIS and parking sensors didn't work, as well as a couple of other electrical gremlins. The dealer said they'd get an auto-electrician to look at it and will fix it for free of course, but I looked into it myself to save them the hassle.
I put them all down to a bad battery as this was the reading:
11.8v. Ouch! I replaced it Thursday and cleared the module codes with a more advanced diagnostic tool, and they all work perfectly now. Everything was battery related, so that was a relief.
Only a few mechanical things to sort. There's a break wobble from the front left as the disc has a coating of surface rust from sitting on the forecourt. I'll see if it goes away, if not I'll throw some new discs/pads on. The other issue is that the track rod ends are seized and I cannot adjust the track, so I'll be putting new track rod ends on. No biggie, cheap to do too. The dealer has said they'd cover the cost.
I've got a few plans with it though, including upgrading the headlights to bi-xenon (doing the projector install myself), DRL's for the front, and possibly a Zetec S kit all round so that it looks as good as it drives. Not that it doesn't already look good.
So that's about it for the Focus! I'll keep you all updated with the plans. Next up though is to tidy the wheels up as they're badly curbed. I can't be bothered to take them off and spray them as it's a daily, so I've ordered some rim blades in silver just to hide them. I'll see how they hold up.
Edited by geraintthomas on Saturday 4th July 20:14
ZX10R NIN said:
For a car with 136k on that looks clean I've always liked Focus's they're good cars.
That's the point, mileage rarely reflects condition. I can get that looking better than a car with 20,000 on it.First time I've owned one. I drove my girlfriends Dad's Focus Mk1, and instantly realised how lovely they were.
Today's job was to fix the boot leak. This is hugely common on the Mk3 Focus. The vents that let fresh air into the boot are poorly sealed and water gets inside. Simple fix, remove the vents, seal and replace.
First off, bumper off. Surprisingly easy; two bolts beneath the rear lights, three screws in each wheel arch, and two plastic clips underneath. The bumper simply comes away.
Here's a video showing the amount of water that was getting in. Unbelievable!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQb5GYubxcM
I cleaned the surrounding area and applied some sealant
Then re-installed the vents
Afterwards I put a little more sealant on top, then smoothed it with my thumb so it's nice and clean, with no chance of gaps. Though I did forget to take a photo of this!
Next up, track rod ends. I'll see if I can get the garage to change my track rod ends in the coming week so that I can finally adjust the tracking. Not that I can't change them myself, but apparently they're covering it on warranty. Plus they're going to have to be cut off, so I'd rather the safety of knowing that it'll be done properly.
First off, bumper off. Surprisingly easy; two bolts beneath the rear lights, three screws in each wheel arch, and two plastic clips underneath. The bumper simply comes away.
Here's a video showing the amount of water that was getting in. Unbelievable!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQb5GYubxcM
I cleaned the surrounding area and applied some sealant
Then re-installed the vents
Afterwards I put a little more sealant on top, then smoothed it with my thumb so it's nice and clean, with no chance of gaps. Though I did forget to take a photo of this!
Next up, track rod ends. I'll see if I can get the garage to change my track rod ends in the coming week so that I can finally adjust the tracking. Not that I can't change them myself, but apparently they're covering it on warranty. Plus they're going to have to be cut off, so I'd rather the safety of knowing that it'll be done properly.
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.- 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
...
I was impressed my 2012 Giulietta had cruise and auto wipers.
What does the handling package offer? Guessing it’s more comfort than speed
Shadow R1 said:
Surprisingly clean under the bumper, nice job. 
Thanks! There'll be a point where I go nuts with the cleaning. But it is not this day...V6todayEVmanana said:
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
Believe it or not it's the other way round - it's sport tuned suspension with the 18" alloys. I wouldn't call the suspension sporty at all, but there's little body roll. Nothing like a mk1 Focus to drive though, they're fantastic.I was impressed my 2012 Giulietta had cruise and auto wipers.
What does the handling package offer? Guessing it’s more comfort than speed
I drive an MK1 but really like this shape too. Admittedly not usually a fan of white cars but this carries it off v well and as already mentioned surprised at just how much bang for buck you get in the Titanium spec. Is this version of the focus known for more electrical gremlins than previous models (e.g: MK1/2?)
Resto157 said:
I’ve just bought the 1.6 petrol (150) titanium x version. Great car for the daily .Ticks all the boxes and is actually a really nice drive. I was surprised how loaded up they are.
I'd have totally gone for the petrol had I not already have the Boxster as they're smooth as silk. The Titanium X's front parking sensors and DRL's are a very nice touch indeed.Smitters said:
In for this one - I love the cockpit - it looks well space-age lit up like that.
Was quite intimidating at first now now it's lovely! Quite well designed too.VR99 said:
I drive an MK1 but really like this shape too. Admittedly not usually a fan of white cars but this carries it off v well and as already mentioned surprised at just how much bang for buck you get in the Titanium spec. Is this version of the focus known for more electrical gremlins than previous models (e.g: MK1/2?)
I think so... wouldn't be surprised with the amount of errors I had when I bought it. It's an insane bang for buck! Trying to think what £3,500 would have got you 10 years ago. Now it gets you a car that can literally drive itself.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.
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.
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