2003 2.0 Ford Focus - Lumpy Idle but drives fine
Discussion
I'm looking for some technical support following a number of very frustrating garage visits.
We have owned this vehicle for a few years and my partner has used it as her daily drive (less than 5,000 miles a year) but it has never really ticked over correctly. The easiest way of describing it is a chugging which can be resolved by raising the RPM from around 800 to 1000. The rev counter doesn't flutter and it never sounds like it is going to cut out. It just....chugs!
In addition to this the engine warning light is always on.
The strange thing is that when you start it form cold, there is no issue at all. It idles perfectly. Only when you get up to operating temperature does the fault appear. The car goes through the rev range fine and there is no hesitation of laziness.
The first visit to a garage came up with the error reading coil 1 (misfire) so the guy recommended a replacement. I opted for a non genuine part and the problem remained. I was then advised to change plugs and leads which I did to no avail. The old parts were put back on.
Off to the next garage and I was told that it needed a new injector. Over £100 later it still does the same thing. So to my knowledge (assuming the garages have carried out all the work they say they have) its had:
Plugs
Leads
Coil 1
Injector
It sounds to me like an idle control valve issue or is it possible that the timing is out?
I've been told it has had a head-gasket test and all is well. It never uses any oil.
Any words of wisdom would be very much appreciated. We are no longer using the car and I have made it my personal project to get this running right again before it's sold on.
We have owned this vehicle for a few years and my partner has used it as her daily drive (less than 5,000 miles a year) but it has never really ticked over correctly. The easiest way of describing it is a chugging which can be resolved by raising the RPM from around 800 to 1000. The rev counter doesn't flutter and it never sounds like it is going to cut out. It just....chugs!
In addition to this the engine warning light is always on.
The strange thing is that when you start it form cold, there is no issue at all. It idles perfectly. Only when you get up to operating temperature does the fault appear. The car goes through the rev range fine and there is no hesitation of laziness.
The first visit to a garage came up with the error reading coil 1 (misfire) so the guy recommended a replacement. I opted for a non genuine part and the problem remained. I was then advised to change plugs and leads which I did to no avail. The old parts were put back on.
Off to the next garage and I was told that it needed a new injector. Over £100 later it still does the same thing. So to my knowledge (assuming the garages have carried out all the work they say they have) its had:
Plugs
Leads
Coil 1
Injector
It sounds to me like an idle control valve issue or is it possible that the timing is out?
I've been told it has had a head-gasket test and all is well. It never uses any oil.
Any words of wisdom would be very much appreciated. We are no longer using the car and I have made it my personal project to get this running right again before it's sold on.
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