Focus Fanatics Forum banner

What neat tricks and tips have you've found since owning?

727K views 1K replies 388 participants last post by  antbarlow76 
#1 ·
Just wondering what features, tips and tricks people have found since owning?

For me I found the hidden menu to be neat. Holding trip/reset down while starting car shows the menu. Holding again for 5 seconds returns you to normal operation.

Salesman didn't know that the SE has a line in for mp3 players. Inside glovebox on top.
 
#1,327 ·
The seat bottoms hinge at the front of the seat. The seat cushion has to be pulled up HARD. (especially the first time) The seat bottoms DO stick up against the backs of the front seats.. They do not vanish..
Reach down between the seat back and bottom. Grab the seat bottom and PULL UP. it will come loose from the clip holding it down.
Once you 'get it' it is easier to do.
The two parts 2/5 and 3/5 of the seat bottom are separate. The 3/5 is on the driver side. The 2/5 is the passenger side.
And you can do just one side if you want. Like have a passeger in back AND carry something long.. nice.

If the front seats are too far back, it may be hard to fold the backs of the rear (as the bottom cushions pressing against the bask of the front seats block the rear seat backs from getting past.. (move the front seat forward a bit to get the backs down, then you can move the front seats back some again)

The folding rear seats are really handy. So understanding how they move lets you take full advantage of the space.
 
#1,328 ·
I've got leather seats in my hatch, and have to be careful when I fold the seats flat. The child seat anchors press against the seat back when it's folded down, and left permanent dents in the seat. If I fold them down, I try to out them back up right after I'm done, our a stuff a towel in there to protect the leather from getting a worse mark on it.
 
#1,333 ·
It should also be mentioned then, that running fogs and high beams is also illegal North America Wide, according to FMVSS 108...

Not to mention, its kind of a silly idea anyways, as the bounce-back from the high beams cancels out the advantages of the fog lights...
 
#1,337 ·
So, why not get an inexpensive set of driving lights? They are designed to throw a longer beam than even your high beams while still throwing a decently wide beam pattern...
FWIW, ive looked into auxiliary lighting, and the fact marketing people are LAZY and use "driving" and "fog" lights interchangeably irritates the figurative poop out of me...

Edit: quick googlysearch turned up this, courtesy of KC HiLites:
http://www.kchilites.com/knowledgeb...ference-between-the-types-of-light-patterns-/
 
#1,341 ·
I found that after shutting off the car, if you tap the highbeam stalk it'll cut the lights off. I bumped it accidentally trying to get my fat butt out of the car lol
 
#1,346 ·
I'm unsure what I did, but my lights turn off when I turn the car off. They used to stay on for a few seconds, which was very handy.
I monkeyed with various settings and on/off buttons (the one near the dome lights) because I fear the damn lights are not turning off automatically after xx minutes when I leave my doors open so they dry (the backside). My battery ran down more than once to the point that it would not start w/o charging it!
 
#1,343 ·
back up camera

Probably is listed somewhere, but new to me. My backup cameras "lines and distance" boxes disappeared from the display yesterday morning but the camera still was working. First thought was oh boy take it to the dealer with a problem. After going shopping and went to put the items in the hatch, lol, the hatch was unlatched. No dash warning (open doors etc) on the display but after I got back in the camera is fine. Just another "safety" feature. Happy New Year to all, and hope all your "MODS" come true !!!
 
#1,344 ·
i've been holding the right arrow on the wheel to ffwd thru stuff on usb (podcast intros and whatnot).

also my wife discovered that 'replay' mode in Sirius caches the broadcast and you can rewind it. this mode switches the fwd/back buttons on the steering wheel to ffwd/rewind instead of changing stations.
 
#1,345 ·
Whew, read many older posts but have a ways to go.

One thing I accidentally noticed the other day about the oh-so-annoying cup holders is that if you have thick paper (various coupons in my case) in them, the "cup" (metal Thermos in my case) slid out a lot easier (much less friction). The Thermos stayed in the holder just fine though. The paper/cardboard might also help protect disposable cups in that the rubber won't be touching/grabbing the cup.

Can't wait to try the radio trick listed above - I disliked that there seemed to be no way to "seek" from the steering wheel controls, so I never use them.

The upper 4-way control on the steering wheel brings up the menu which I really hate - very cumbersome and we shouldn't be reading the darn menu while driving! I didn't notice until recently that the lower control (the one with volume) goes through the presets. Maybe I'll use it, but the 0-9 buttons near the radio work well and are not far away...

There is no "scan" function that I am aware of though - seems most radios lack scan nowadays (younger people on here probably never even heard of "scan"!!!).
 
#1,384 ·
I noticed it on the very early time owning my car, but it only does it in big cities, like in Calgary it works, but in Banff (small city up to the mountains) it doesnt. Unfortunatelly, it doesnt do it on highways. I didnt try it with A5 map though which is WAY more detailed than A4.
 
#1,360 ·
May I ask, did you buy it as an investment, or did you buy it to drive and enjoy it?

Im just curious, because if you enjoy driving it and don't intend to sell any time in the reasonably near future, why worry about the depreciation? And if you bought it as an investment, why a focus? Why not something thats been proven to hold its value over time.
 
#1,359 ·
Depreciation's a little on the high side, but not out of line for a high optioned car.

How much of a discount did you get when purchasing?

For quick numbers I checked Blue Book for my area, assuming 30,000 mi. & no extras. Trade value was 14k + with Private sale at 16k, so looking at trade value you're correct.

Figured at common depreciation/yr. for high optioned types, I got 15,800 for your numbers - matching the "value" of 16k to sell it yourself.

30% off the first year & 20% off the second isn't out of line, even if some do better in particular circumstances.

It's also timed for max depreciation right now - first year models are all being traded including "fleet" cars, the new version has just been introduced, it's Winter, & fuel is at a long term low price so "small" cars aren't in demand.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top