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09 focus cruise control installation

23K views 43 replies 12 participants last post by  Ihaveafocus 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello every1, im new to the forum. I just bought an 09 ford focus SE with a 5 speed manual. unfortunately my car did not come with cruise control. I really would like to add it and i have done alot of looking on the forum before i posted this. I see three options, Go with an aftermarket part(here is the link http://www.thecruisecontrolstore.com/250-1840-2008-2011-ford-focus-complete-rostra-cruise-control-kit/ Has any one tried this option for any focus? I would love your feed back on this on how easy the installation was and how well it functions. Option 2 i see is to have the dealership install a new wheel with the cruise control buttons on it and reprogram the cpu of the car. I would love to do this option but ive already called three dealerships around where i live(southern california) and they all say its not even possible to outfit a factory cruise control kit on the car and reprogram it( eventhough ive read tons of posts that say they have had this done). Has anyone in southern California done this and know a competent dealership that will do this for me? the last option i see is buying the steering wheel part myself and putting it in and having them just do the programming. I dont mind this option either but as i said earlier i have not been able to find a dealership to do this, they all seem to think they cant go into the ids and go and enable the cruise control. i appreciate in advance any feedback or suggestions!
 
#2 ·
Definitely try and go with an OEM wheel with cruise control buttons on it. When I was looking at an SE at another dealership before settling on my SES the salesman even offered to upgrade the wheel to one with cruise control and program it for me and that wasn't even at a Ford dealership. Keep looking and you'll be able to find someone that will do it for you.
 
#6 ·
Yup yup, actually just went down and got a part from
Them, talked to them about it, and they said it was impossible since it didn't come with the car with it from the factory, I tried to explain to them that, that wasn't true but they didn't listen. I've tried most of the local ones
 
#7 ·
Print out the below information and hand it to a dealer and see what they say:
For anyone interested in doing this mod: make sure you stress that the settings are changed in Programmable Parameters. I cannot express that with enough importance. Plug in IDS -> Start New Session -> Tool Box -> PCM -> Programmable Parameters -> Speed Control -> Enable.

I watched him click through the IDS, and it began to program without any issues.

I THINK he was attempting to view DTS errors the first time, or actually trying to reprogram the entire BCM rather than going into Programmable Paremeters. I honestly do not know where he went the first time since I didn't seem him try to reprogram anything. However, I can tell you that the second time worked flawlessly.

After the program, I took it for a quick test drive. The cruise control works 100% PERFECT!


I will stress it one last time: for anyone doing this mod, make certain you express to the dealer multiple times: they need to go into Programmable Parameters to make the changes. After that, it is a cake walk!

Good luck to anyone else interested in this mod!
 
#11 ·
I have the steering wheel puller and I plan to do that part myself now, buying the wheel tomorrow actually so should be able to report next week or so if it worked, my only problem was the re programming. Hopefully I can convince the dealership this time, I think I will, and the beer idea is good but I'm 20 -_- lol
 
#17 ·
20?,......Doh!!!!!!! so much for the beer idea!
This could also be why they are blowing you off!, they think some young kid that thinks hes a know it all and we will show him otherwise!!!!.... Guess all you can do is try and disarm their attitude with a neutral but assertive demeanor, show them the procedure and let them know that this is another easy revenue stream for them and see if you can get them motivated that way!?

After all money talks!, when the chips are down the bull is empty! [rofl] [driving]
 
#13 ·
Both dealerships I walked into looked at me like I was crazy and stupid -_- but this time I'm getting the reprogram if I gotta do it myself, just ordered the steering wheel with the buttons! 275 with free shipping on ebay. I checked the part on fords website and it was ~350, good deal I thought
 
#19 ·
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS drag your parent into a dealership with you. They always refuse to do basic things for us "younger" people because we're apparently "stupid and don't know what we're talking about".

My local dealership hates me because I pitched a fit when they tried to pull shit on me when my car was clearly under warranty (sunroof stopped working and my power steering pump got hungry for o-rings).
 
#20 ·
Well installed my cruise control wheel yesterday and went down to the dealership today to get the cruise control activated, unlike the first time i came prepared with paper work this time, i brought them two different things(a special service message and a step by step instruction on how to do it, i highly recommend this) I printed out this
20341 2008 FOCUS DEALER INSTALLED CRUISE CONTROL
SOME EARLY 2008 FOCUS VEHICLES WERE UNABLE TO HAVE SPEED CONTROL INSTALLED FROM THE FACTORY WHEN CERTAIN OTHER VEHICLE OPTIONS WERE ORDERED DUE TO EARLY ORDERING GUIDE REQUIREMENTS. CURRENTLY NO DEALER INSTALLED SPEED CONTROL KIT IS AVAILABLE DUE TO MULTIPLE STEERING WHEEL AND VEHICLE CONTENT CONFIGURATIONS. (((THE ADDITION OF SPEED CONTROL REQUIRES THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL (3600), WHICH INCLUDES THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROL SWITCHES (9C888) TO MATCH THE REST OF THE VEHICLES EQUIPMENT CONTENT. IN ADDITION, IT ALSO REQUIRES THE USE OF IDS UNDER THE ‘PROGRAMMABLE PARAMETERS’ SELECTION TO ENABLE SPEED CONTROL.))) NOTE: THIS IS NOT A WARRANTABLE MODIFICATION OR REPAIR. CLAIMS RELATED TO THIS MODIFICATION ARE SUBJECT TO WARRANTY CHARGEBACK.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 7/15/2008
(((Plug in IDS -> Start New Session -> Tool Box -> PCM -> Programmable Parameters -> Speed Control -> Enable)))
everything i triple parenthesized i highlighted for them. I explained that i already installed the wheel myself(since they refused to do so last time) and all i needed them to do was activate the cruise. Took them about an hour since they were busy and it cost me 100$(alittle more than what other people paid for it but i was happy to pay it) and bam it WORKS! so excited, and looking forward to new mods, thanks to everyone who helped out
 
#22 ·
Dealerships hate informed customers.

Way to go!
 
#24 ·
What's really sad is they charged him $100 for clicking a mouse a couple times...
 
#25 ·
It seems like most people paid around 80~ for it, I wasn't really upset with the price, I have had enough problems convincing them to just do it, the mechanics at the dealerships just really don't think outside the box, they only do what they are told and refuse to listen to any other reasoning really, hence why I brought the special service message in( and step by step instructions). I just haven't had many good experiences with dealerships in general
 
#26 ·
That's because they all (okay, not all, just 99.9% of them) suck.
 
#27 ·
I'm going to the dealer tomorrow to have mine activated. Hoping they don't charge me too much. I talked to a service adviser a while back about doing it and he seemed fine with it, so hopefully he will be there when I go. The process is actually in the Ford factory manual for the Focus, so they can't act like it is impossible.
 
#31 ·
I know it's been a while for this thread but I just thought I'd share. I pulled a steering wheel with audio controls and cruise controls from a wrecked 09 Focus and installed it in my 09 Focus. The audio buttons didn't work so I went back and took the stereo as well and it all works flawlessly. I took it to the dealer to have the cruise activated and a lot of arguing trying to tell the guy it can be done, he was able to get it working. So now I have steering wheel audio controls and cruise. She's like a whole new machine. I was polite but firm and it all worked out in the end. He wasn't happy that I showed him up, but I really wanted cruise control. So it can be done.
 
#32 ·
I know this threat is very old but I wanted to share my experience with this mod. I have a 2009 Focus S that I bought pretty cheap because it has no extras; 5-speed manual, crank windows, ect. I use this car to go pretty much everywhere and I was getting annoyed with it not having cruise control. I started researching and came to the three option conclusion that others had. I could either do an aftermarket kit myself ($300), have a dealership install a new steering wheel and activate (?$$) or buy a button and do it myself ($48 rockauto).

I decided to do it myself and I bought the button. Meanwhile I researched to see if it was possible to reconfigure the PCM with an ELMconfig adapter and Forscan. I couldn't find anything from anyone that talked about programming it yourself so I figured after the button was installed I would give it a shot.

As for the button install I wanted to go as cheap as possible so I hacked away at the stock steering wheel to make a spot for the new stock button. It took about two hours and some filling in with hot glue to give myself a backing and I had the spot looking descent enough. I put everything back together and started working on programming.

Using Forscan I was able to get into all the modules and see everything (PCM, FDIM, IC, ect.) but for whatever reason Ford made the PCM software different. After back and forth emails to Forscan I figured out that my PCM was not getting modified in my garage.

I reluctantly called my local dealership and to my surprise, after everything I had read on this thread, he had no problem scheduling an appointment for me. When I brought the car in he gave me the "I'm not gonna make you any promises" spiel. He was skeptical because it is a 5-speed, so he wasn't sure if it had all the hardware the system needed. I was worried that he was gonna charge me a shop hour for nothing but I let him try and sure enough it worked like a charm. I didn't stand over his shoulder when he was using the IDS but he seemed to know exactly what to do. I made sure to mention "Programmable Parameters" though.

The best part about it all was the dealership guy only charged a half hour so it came out to $42 for the service. So overall in parts and "labor" I'm in under a $100, not bad for factory cruise control add. However I may buy a new steering wheel later on if I can get one for cheap. Anyways I know this is a long reply but I wanted to testify for those that may want some extra info and that this mod does still work.
 

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#33 ·
I did a wheel swap and got cruise enabled on my standard(everything), Non-Sync '11 S

The dealer said that the stereo controls on the wheel couldn't be done. They said their tech tried for 'hours' and said that because it's a Non-Sync stereo, it probably doesn't even have the wiring/connections for it.

Well I'm here to tell you, after 2 hours of messing with the first line of the ACM on Forscan, that I have working SWC buttons. Such a great feeling, let me tell ya! I

had thought about upgrading the stereo but this is a commuter with a ton of miles already, really not worth a ton to justify putting more money into it.

If you have Forscan and want me to let you know what to do, send me a DM
 
#44 ·
I just bought an 09 Focus and want to add cruise control. I talked to at least 5 Ford dealers today asking if they could reprogram the computer if I swap the steering wheel. They all told me they couldn't or wouldn't do it. Does anyone know of a dealer in Minnesota that would do this for me? Or would any non dealer shop be able to do it? Otherwise I'm going to get an aftermarket cruise control.
 
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