Strange front end high/low wobble/humming sound

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by ruthrj

Ford Customer Service called again today to give me an update. They are still no closer to determining the source of the car's hum.........
He said that the next course of action will involve a Ford Field Service Tech stopping by to drive the car and hear the hum for himself..........

Hello again ruthrj,

Thank you for your patience as the dealer and Customer Service Manager continue to work on resolving your concern. In the meantime, let me know if I can be of further assistance on my end.

Thanks,

Noemi

[ruthrj]

Don't know why the FF system stopped sending me e-mail updates on this thread lately, sorry I missed your replies jimmyt. Thanks for throwing all of that info in one spot, I'm going to print that out now. I've read through all this before but I think this is much better having it all in one spot.

The Ford Field Service Engineer is going to stop by the dealership tomorrow so I got call today from the service dealer asking me to bring the car in. I dropped it off tonight because I can't make it in tomorrow morning before work. Wish I had seen all these posts condensed here, I'd have printed it out and brought it in earlier this evening.

While I'm here, I'll mention another symptom I found last night with the car. When going 55 mph while the hum is going, I found that bearing left at this speed increases speed of the hum/vibration (instead of hum..... hum..... hum....., it becomes hum..hum..hum..hum..hum..). Bearing right decreases the speed of the hum/vibration. Sounds like an issue on the drivers side, because bearing left makes the wheels on the drivers side of the car spin slightly faster than those on the passenger side, and vice versa for bearing right. I haven't gone this fast on a curvy highway yet, so it was fun to notice it.

Fingers crossed for an intelligent FSE!

[jimmyt]

Originally Posted by ruthrj

Don't know why the FF system stopped sending me e-mail updates on this thread lately, sorry I missed your replies jimmyt. Thanks for throwing all of that info in one spot, I'm going to print that out now. I've read through all this before but I think this is much better having it all in one spot.

The Ford Field Service Engineer is going to stop by the dealership tomorrow so I got call today from the service dealer asking me to bring the car in. I dropped it off tonight because I can't make it in tomorrow morning before work. Wish I had seen all these posts condensed here, I'd have printed it out and brought it in earlier this evening.

While I'm here, I'll mention another symptom I found last night with the car. When going 55 mph while the hum is going, I found that bearing left at this speed increases speed of the hum/vibration (instead of hum..... hum..... hum....., it becomes hum..hum..hum..hum..hum..). Bearing right decreases the speed of the hum/vibration. Sounds like an issue on the drivers side, because bearing left makes the wheels on the drivers side of the car spin slightly faster than those on the passenger side, and vice versa for bearing right. I haven't gone this fast on a curvy highway yet, so it was fun to notice it.

Fingers crossed for an intelligent FSE!

Fingers crossed for you too!! Ours remains quiet, with no noise. Keep us in the loop.

[ruthrj]

The Ford Field Service Engineer confirms the hum/vibration at speeds between 45 to 60 mph. He heard it before the service manager did when they drove it today. They also drove another Focus with the same options to confirm that other Foci don't hum or vibrate. He took some fluids from my vehicle and the other one to test. I'm guessing he just wanted to see if there were any metal fragments in my transmission fluid.

The FSE is going to bring his findings to a "Focus Group". The service manager doesn't know if that group is local or in Michigan. The FSE will get back in touch with the service manager, and will them know what needs to be done to get my car fixed.

On my way to pick the car back up again.

[jimmyt]

Originally Posted by ruthrj

The Ford Field Service Engineer confirms the hum/vibration at speeds between 45 to 60 mph. He heard it before the service manager did when they drove it today. They also drove another Focus with the same options to confirm that other Foci don't hum or vibrate. He took some fluids from my vehicle and the other one to test. I'm guessing he just wanted to see if there were any metal fragments in my transmission fluid.

The FSE is going to bring his findings to a "Focus Group". The service manager doesn't know if that group is local or in Michigan. The FSE will get back in touch with the service manager, and will them know what needs to be done to get my car fixed.

On my way to pick the car back up again.

The FSE is covering the bases. That is good, it is still the wheel bearings.

[ruthrj]

Got a call from the service dealer today. They told me that a "set of wheel bearings" arrived so whenever I can bring the car in they're ready to install them. Made my appointment for Thursday, and they said it should be done the same day.

I didn't bother to ask which wheel bearings were going to be replaced as I was rushed for time so I'll ask Wednesday night when I drop the car off. Took less than a month to get this figured out thank god. Keep your fingers crossed, hopefully the correct bearings get replaced! Talk to you all later Thursday night when the job is complete!

[ruthrj]

No dice on getting the car back tonight, oh well. They are replacing both front wheel bearings. I don't know how they didn't get it done earlier today but it won't be finished until tomorrow. The service manager wanted to drive it himself tomorrow morning, so I'm out a car another day.

[ruthrj]

Got my car back. HUM IS GONE!

The employees at the service dealer were glad to see me gone, that's apparent. I asked where to pick up my car,they pointed me to the cashier, and they didn't say another word as I left. As if it were my fault that the wheel bearings in the car were bad. If by any chance you live in the central Florida area, don't ever bring your car to Ford of Clermont. I've been holding back the name long enough!

Thank you all so much for your help. If it weren't for you focus fanatic users and for Ford Customer Service, I never would have gotten my car fixed or regained my sanity after each visit to that shop. Hope you all have a great weekend, and I hope these new bearings hold up better than the original set!

[5jschiavones]

I have the same humming rotational noise but mine is at 35 mph - been back to the shop 4 times for same thing. They cannot find anything wrong. I have driven with at least 4 people so they can hear the noise.. First one said definitely rotational noise but found nothing. The next three said that they have to struggle to hear it. Bull>>>>. It is loud and clear. Last time in they changed out the driver's front wheel bearing. Did nothing. Still there. I have contacted Ford about this and will be calling everyone back Monday to tell them still has noise. I picked my car up when it was raining, so I did not hear the noise until it was dry out next day. I'm angry because they can't seem to find the problem. They too are sick of seeing me and I am very sick of seeing them too! They have tried to tell me it is normal but the 4 other focus' I drive do not make this noise.

Originally Posted by Beepster

Welcome in the club,I got this problem since I bought the car in June.And to give you an update,engineers have apparently found the source of the problem a few weeks ago and it would be some bad bearings.The "new" bearings are apparently available but dealerships are waiting for the new TSB before ordering the parts to fix this issue.

The message was suppose to be out this week but again I was told to wait.After 19 weeks,me being pis.. off is an understatement.

[5jschiavones]

I have the same humming rotational noise but mine is at 35 mph - been back to the shop 4 times for same thing. They cannot find anything wrong. I have driven with at least 4 people so they can hear the noise.. First one said definitely rotational noise but found nothing. The next three said that they have to struggle to hear it. Bull>>>>. It is loud and clear. Last time in they changed out the driver's front wheel bearing. Did nothing. Still there. I have contacted Ford about this and will be calling everyone back Monday to tell them still has noise. I picked my car up when it was raining, so I did not hear the noise until it was dry out next day. I'm angry because they can't seem to find the problem. They too are sick of seeing me and I am very sick of seeing them too! They have tried to tell me it is normal but the 4 other focus' I drive do not make this noise.