One Year Later - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[flyboyike]

I used to be based at JFK for about four years. Back then I had a ZX3. I wouldn't have gone near Bay Ridge Ford with it.

[Phokus]

I don't get stuck in stop and go too often so my mileage is in the 29+ range usually 32s or so
However on my "commute" to work it's .5 miles from my house and in the winter time it makes my mileage go down the crapper to like 23-25

[Some Guy From NY]

Originally Posted by flyboyike

I used to be based at JFK for about four years. Back then I had a ZX3. I wouldn't have gone near Bay Ridge Ford with it.

I had brought my other Ford's there before for oil changes/recall work and was always treated professionally and respectfully without any issue until this disaster with the Focus.

I know better now.

[Some Guy From NY]

Originally Posted by gsxrboy

I have to say that this post was well written, I enjoyed reading it.

So far, it seems the car is solid, the issue here is incompetent mechanics who cannot fix the issue, they are simply patching the problem. An alignment is not a fix for issues like these, most people believe if the car is not driving properly, do an alignment. If you request an alignment, that is what you are going to get. I would get either the steering replaced or take it to a dealership that actually knows what they are doing.

My car has been solid from day one, I recently updated the MFT to 3.5.1 and it has been excellent.

I am glad you enjoyed reading it, it is a long saga unfortunately.

No one is willing to touch the steering rack since it has already been replaced-Especially since it "drives normal" now. I will NOT go back to Bay Ridge Ford (the ones who installed it) AGAIN.



fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on me.

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Some Guy From NY

Thanks Cory, I sent a reply...

Some Guy From NY,

I appreciate the heads up; I’ve made sure they’ll call the right phone number.

Originally Posted by Uptcv1

Well you need a tried-true dealer... Ask here for a reccomendation from other members that had succesfull rack replacements within NY metro... Hopefully you find one that will diagnose, replace, install correctly!...

Working with the dealer is the best way to fix a concern, Uptcv1.

Originally Posted by gsxrboy

...My car has been solid from day one, I recently updated the MFT to 3.5.1 and it has been excellent.

Originally Posted by Phokus

I don't get stuck in stop and go too often so my mileage is in the 29+ range usually 32s or so...

gsxrboy & Phokus,

This is what I love to see!

Cory

[Touring05]

how many miles do you have and what is the build date?

[Some Guy From NY]

Originally Posted by Touring05

how many miles do you have and what is the build date?

~10,700 miles and I believe it was built 12/6/2011

[hotleadsingerguy]

Originally Posted by kam327

I see this once in a while on here and other forums. People claiming to get only a few more mpg with their Focus than their old V6 or V8 4WD SUV under the same driving conditions. It's exceedingly hard (for me) to understand how that could be. Especially since my own experience with my last 4 cars on the same commute is that I got at or moderately above the EPA combined rating with all of them. I do think that modern cars are becoming tuned more and more just to maximize the EPA ratings for marketing purposes, at the expense of all-low or -high speed operation. But still...

It's the truth.

My average on the Focus for the first 6-7 months before they applied the transmission TSB was around 31.5MPG driving very conservatively. Driving the same way in my 2005 Cobalt (stick, bought in college) I averaged 32.5MPG. After the TSB? I averaged 27.5MPG driving the *exact* same way, over the exact same routes. My commute didn't change, neither did my social life. It's been pretty much the same since I bought the car (we have other cars used for other purposes).

Traded in the car and got a 2013 Accord Sport 6MT. I drive with ECON mode off at all times and, driving on the same routes, I average 30MPG. It's a bigger car with a bigger engine...and it gets better gas mileage.

The best part? While I used to drive the Focus like a granny I drive this thing like I normally drive...a bit heavier on the accel than I should. Even with that note, I still get 2-3MPG better. It's ridiculous.

EDIT: Oh, and it's not *just* electric steering that is the problem. My Accord Sport has all-electric steering and it has no troubles at all. It drives exactly how I'd expect it to.

The problem is that Ford now went the cheap route in their product. Kia and Hyundai do it in almost all of their cars (which is how they make a great profit selling cars for 1/3 less than the competition), and now Ford has followed suite. Ford used a *ton* of cheap parts in the new Focus, and it shows.

[mmmfloorpie]

Originally Posted by Strix

Maybe the world would be better off if Ford had taken a government bailout and been forced to close several hundred dealerships.

Because it sounds like a lot of them shouldn't be in business. They are damaging customer's cars and Ford's reputation and they don't seem to care.

That's pretty offensive.

What about the thousands of people employed by those hundreds of dealerships that you say should have been closed?

[flyboyike]

Originally Posted by mmmfloorpie

What about the thousands of people employed by those hundreds of dealerships that you say should have been closed?

I don't know about in Canada, but in the US Ford did close quite a few struggling dealerships even without a government bailout.