IMPORTANT: ALL MK3 Focus Owners, I could use your input.

[Zillon]

Thanks for the feedback, fellas.

[Bogey]

thing i dont get mine has a production date of 06/12, what with the intermitent installation at the factory? wouldnt it be a part youd think they wouldnt forget? sorry bashing is done i have quite i bit of problems with my focus. not a negative analitical personal, just things...

[Zillon]

Originally Posted by Bogey

thing i dont get mine has a production date of 06/12, what with the intermitent installation at the factory? wouldnt it be a part youd think they wouldnt forget? sorry bashing is done i have quite i bit of problems with my focus. not a negative analitical personal, just things...

Going off of the survey results, which can only be used for mere speculation, here's what I've noticed:

It's also looking like the first 3-4 months of 2012 Focus production (January-April) seem to have the reinforced strut tower brace, until sometime in May of 2011, which is when Ford started installing braces without the reinforcements.

The reinforced towers weren't added back into production until sometime in August for the 2013 models, at least that's what it seems.

Being that your car was produced between 05/11 and 08/12, it fits into the range where the reinforced strut towers went missing from production. As to why the reinforcements were left out, that's anyone's guess until Ford tells us exactly what is going on. And that's not something I'd bet on them doing.

Again, this is all from the survey results I have so far, so nothing is exact.

[Lipshurt]

check this out
this has a pretty good chance of being the fix. my clunk is really loose sounding when its cold like 55 degrees or so.

here is a link to the photo.
https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A3G4TcsmG4Iw9m
if someone can post that pic directly into a forum post go ahead and rip it please.
the credit card is .025 thick.
I tried a shim .015 which was too thin, and .035 is too thick.
thats a lot of space. I have said a few times that the frequency of my rattle would indicate that loose parts must be about .010 apart to make that kind of sound.
we will see tomorrow, as my other cars are blocking me in the garage right now:)

[Merrigan]

Originally Posted by Lipshurt

check this out
this has a pretty good chance of being the fix. my clunk is really loose sounding when its cold like 55 degrees or so.

here is a link to the photo.
https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A3G4TcsmG4Iw9m
if someone can post that pic directly into a forum post go ahead and rip it please.
the credit card is .025 thick.
I tried a shim .015 which was too thin, and .035 is too thick.
thats a lot of space. I have said a few times that the frequency of my rattle would indicate that loose parts must be about .010 apart to make that kind of sound.
we will see tomorrow, as my other cars are blocking me in the garage right now:)

Someone give this man a medal. Or at least a $10 gift card!

That said I'm sure you could get some plate cut to fit for a more permanent solution.

Sent from your mom's house.

[Zillon]

Let me know what you've found, Lipshurt.

Here's an updated breakdown of the survey results as of 9AM this morning.

34 total responses.

Of those 34:
19 said yes to clunking symptoms
15 said no

Of the 19 that said yes, 18 have no extra reinforcement plates on their strut tower brace. Only 1 has the extra plates.

Of these 19, here's the breakdown by trim:
- 2 SE
- 7 SE w/Sport
- 1 SEL
- 3 SEL w/Premium
- 3 Titanium
- 2 Titanium w/Handling
- 1 ST

Of the 16 that said yes, breakdown by year:
- 16 are 2012 Foci
- 1 is an 8/12 build 2013 Focus that doesn't have the plates (built on 8/8/12, to be precise)
- 1 is an 8/12 build 2013 Focus ST that doesn't have the plates (built on 8/14/12)

Of the 15 that said no
- 7 have the extra plates, and 8 don't.
- 7 are 2013s, 8 are 2012s

It's a little muddier for those who don't have a clunk. However, nearly all that have the clunk, save for one person, are missing the extra reinforcement on their strut tower.

[PratoN]

Originally Posted by Zillon

However, nearly all that have the clunk, save for one person, are missing the extra reinforcement on their strut tower.

I assume that's referring to me - in which case, my clunk is pretty much non-existent... maybe I should have said "No".

I think you're on to something! It's probably that plate (or lack thereof) causing this issue.

[easirois]

filled out survey yesterday. Thanks!

[FordCustomerService]

Hey folks!

For those of you who do have the clunk, please reach out to me via PM so I can get your cases documented and escalated. Zillon is doing some great work here, but it'll be helpful if I have documented cases to back up his data. If you haven't already reached out to me, please send me a PM with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name.

Those of you who have already reached out to me, thank you. I have your information and will contact you if I need anything else.

Thanks!
Crystal

[Zillon]

Originally Posted by PratoN

I assume that's referring to me - in which case, my clunk is pretty much non-existent... maybe I should have said "No".

I think you're on to something! It's probably that plate (or lack thereof) causing this issue.

You've checked your coolant overflow bottle to make sure that isn't the clunk, right? An ST owner (with the reinforcement plates) just eliminated a clunk he was dealing with by putting a wad of foam under the coolant overflow tank as a test.

Let me know what you find out, I could go back and change your response to reflect your findings.