2012 Focus SEL Strut Bearing Fail

[NoImpactNoIdea]

I've had the front left strut bearing replaced twice because of grinding. Within 3 days of each repair the problem appears again. I have approximately 850 miles on my vehicle.Unfortunately, I am goimg to make another appointment (3rd) for the same problem. I believe I have a lemon and will pursue a remedy under my state lemon law after my 3rd warranty replacement. I really like my car, it is a shame Ford can't resolve a known defect in their engineering.

[sleepyboy]

Welcome to the forum

I moved your thread to the MK3 area sorry to hear about the troubles you've been having. Hopefully they will fix for sure this time.

[NoImpactNoIdea]

Thank you. I have read that this may be a known problem. Anyone else heard the same?

[sleepyboy]

It's popped up on here a couple of times before. I forget what the fix was, I wanna say they used mazda3 or mazdaspeed3 strut bearings but I could be wrong. Most get it fixed under the warranty. You can try searching for it using the search function, surly something should pop up.

[suss6052]

There is no Mazda specific strut bearing for the Mazda 3, only the exact same motorcraft bearing repackaged as a Mazda part number in a secondary bag for more money than the original motorcraft part. Some of the reported fixes included swapping for the ST front struts and top mounts with new motorcraft strut bearings or modifying a set of koni yellows from a Mazda 3. Some people also have quite foci without going to such extremes.

[dyn085]

Originally Posted by suss6052

There is no Mazda specific strut bearing for the Mazda 3, only the exact same motorcraft bearing repackaged as a Mazda part number in a secondary bag for more money than the original motorcraft part. Some of the reported fixes included swapping for the ST front struts and top mounts with new motorcraft strut bearings or modifying a set of koni yellows from a Mazda 3. Some people also have quite foci without going to such extremes.

^^^This. While not all cars have the issue, quite a few of us do (myself included). Ford has a TSB for it (what you are getting done), but very few have actually had the noise disappear for good afterwards.

While we shouldn't have to go to such extremes, the fixes outlined above have been what the really frustrated people have gotten to work. Check out the 2012 Titanium Front Strut Low Speed Noise (Clunk/Rattle) thread for more information...

[Zillon]

Welcome to owning a 2012+ Focus.

Unfortunately, it seems the strut bearing issues (both the clunk and the grind) are inherent with the platform...

I was the one to use ST front struts, ST strut mounts, new bearings, I used a prolific amount of white lithium grease on all contact points, and I altered the torque specs a bit. I also have Eibach Pro Kit springs installed, and I paired the ST struts with Koni Yellow rear dampers for the Mazdaspeed3. I don't recommend going this way unless you are after a very firm ride (I prefer it, myself). It's a performance-enhancing fix (so far).

My front suspension has loosened up a bit after the initial install, but the clunk is basically gone.