hello, i've been on this forum for awhile and I finally sold my truck so im in a better position to buy a focus. Through the months ive been reading all about the 2.0 duratec motor getting to know what mods to do first and what their little quarks are. Today i searched my local auto trader to find a 2004 svt focus with low miles and decently priced. I know you have to run 91 octane gas, and the TC hinders ones launch, but is there any special quarks i should watch out for while test driving this car?
New to the SVT world
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one more question, are the svt engines just as reliable as the 2.0 duratec's? I see alot of people selling their svts on here, and that's a little discouraging. This car will be my only transportation, so reliability is number one, performance comes second.
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Of quirks, our cars have plenty. The best thing you'd have going for you is that the 2004 models seem to tend to be more reliable than the 02 and 03 models.
There was a good post I personally read back when I was browsing here to decide if I wanted to buy my 04 SVT (I did, and have yet to regret it), I'm having trouble finding it tho. It was a huge thread of things people both liked and disliked about the cars, which showed up both reliability issues and other quirks or oversights.
To give you the short list, if you hear a rattling noise from the engine bay when you let up on the clutch at a stop, you need a new clutch and flywheel, which may or may not be covered under warranty.
DSI, the dual stage intake runners, switch over at 5000rpm. Under heavy throttle you should be able to hear the transition in the engine/exhaust tone. If you dont, and if the engine feels sluggish at low engine speeds, the cable that actuates the DSI motor is probably broken, which is kind of a pain to replace.
There havent many problems with the Getrag 6 speed that I've heard of, its operation is stiff, this is normal.
Another big gripe is the factory ECU software, the 2004 came with ZED0, which was better than both RLA6 and YRF0. I've never driven an earlier year, but apparently it was bad. If you want a fair measure of the car's performance, dont drive it hard until the engine oil temp needle (far right) is horizontal. By then the car will be up to temp, and mine has never run right cold, aftermarket tune or not.
I cant think of any other major mechanical faults you could look out for. Apparently a leanout in cylinder 3 burns a hole in that piston from time to time, but its been a while since I heard of that happening to anyone.
Enjoy the drive, post back with your reactions.
There was a good post I personally read back when I was browsing here to decide if I wanted to buy my 04 SVT (I did, and have yet to regret it), I'm having trouble finding it tho. It was a huge thread of things people both liked and disliked about the cars, which showed up both reliability issues and other quirks or oversights.
To give you the short list, if you hear a rattling noise from the engine bay when you let up on the clutch at a stop, you need a new clutch and flywheel, which may or may not be covered under warranty.
DSI, the dual stage intake runners, switch over at 5000rpm. Under heavy throttle you should be able to hear the transition in the engine/exhaust tone. If you dont, and if the engine feels sluggish at low engine speeds, the cable that actuates the DSI motor is probably broken, which is kind of a pain to replace.
There havent many problems with the Getrag 6 speed that I've heard of, its operation is stiff, this is normal.
Another big gripe is the factory ECU software, the 2004 came with ZED0, which was better than both RLA6 and YRF0. I've never driven an earlier year, but apparently it was bad. If you want a fair measure of the car's performance, dont drive it hard until the engine oil temp needle (far right) is horizontal. By then the car will be up to temp, and mine has never run right cold, aftermarket tune or not.
I cant think of any other major mechanical faults you could look out for. Apparently a leanout in cylinder 3 burns a hole in that piston from time to time, but its been a while since I heard of that happening to anyone.
Enjoy the drive, post back with your reactions.
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1,490 Posts
So far no real gripes from my 04...there were a couple issues for me that have been taken car of under warranty...power steering pump and rack went bad on mine...but other than that engine and drivetrain have been great....oh...when i had the rack replaced i also had them do the clutch TSB on it at the same time just to be safe....my best friend has an 04 also...only thing he's had done to his is the clutch TSB...other than that the 04's are great 
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i haven't had any issues, my clutch and flywheel makes a shit load of noise don't know if it's the stg4 clutch and light weight flywheel or not. for some reason the interoir color is coming off and i can see blue in the air vents and on the cup holder. the tc isn't a issue you can pull the fuse on that one. i'm not going to lie i drive my car rather hard.. and no issue yet not like in my other cars. my a/c did manage to need to be recharged at 17k and the stupid air bag cover was becoming all deformed and worped on me. both were covered under warranty!!!
^^^^ and not to sound like noob but what is EAP?
^^^^ and not to sound like noob but what is EAP?
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1,490 Posts
EAP = European Appearance Package....the ones with the dark argent 15 spoke rims and recaro interiors.
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lol...why are we bastards?
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Nobody is mad lol...i had my dealer find mine for me...told them only way i was buyin a car is if tey got exactly what i wanted
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Most of the EAP goodies I could take or leave, but I would kill (literally, not figurativly) for a pair of those Recaros.... [hatchet]
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I paid 18k with 56 miles on it and yes...the recaro's and hid's are basically the only reason i got an SVT over a WRX...but sometimes i do regret it....i do miss turbo and AWD....sorry to thread jack here...lol
and yes...the recaro's and hid's are basically the only reason i got an SVT over a WRX...but sometimes i do regret it....i do miss turbo and AWD....sorry to thread jack here...lol
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First off, glad to see you're thinking about gettin an SVT. Believe me, you won't regret it [99bajakid said:
] As far as reliability, I drive mine every day to and from class at college and back and forth from home to college on the weekends and haven't had a bit of trouble with mine. Of course when I first bought it, it had it's quirks with the old tune but I got the new flash update to keep me satisfied until I got my Hypnotic tune. After that it's been smooth sailing. I've put 24k miles on mine in a year and 4 months and it's been no trouble at all.
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EAP rocks and on top of that mine is comp orange the only color to stay true to the SVT.
I've had no problems with mine other than the switch for the TC/ABS having to be replaced(under warranty). Just a side note, my Recaros are protected by a pack of aids infested poodels...so come at me
I've had no problems with mine other than the switch for the TC/ABS having to be replaced(under warranty). Just a side note, my Recaros are protected by a pack of aids infested poodels...so come at me
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1,147 Posts
SVT Robzor said:
I bought my SVT new in Aug 03' ...This happened to me at about 20,000miles, along with a heat shield coming off the exhaust... but both were replaced under warranty.. (which will be up in another 3500 miles... hmmmm maybe I should extend) Other than that,...its been GREAT! [thumb]
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5,390 Posts
i did the exact same thing. said i wanted an orange one or i'm not buying one. they did a search for every ford dealerships within 1000 miles and found just 1 left in another state.focusedintentions said:
i paid the same price but mine was new [focusedintentions said:I paid 18k with 56 miles on it
~] it only had a couple hundred miles from them driving it to me from another state.check ebay right now. a comp. orange was totaled and t-boned. they have the the recaros ont there(minus the passenger sided airbag in seat which blew) they are about $300 at the moment with a day left. they come with both front seats and rear passenger seats. mill_cars is the name to search for. he's got the tranny, motor and a few other odd/ends from it too.svt_gEEk said:Agreed, I would literally kill for those recaros! [
you will have your quarks with it but you will not regret it. it'll still be covered under the factory 3 year/36k mile warrenty, but the '04s also come with the extended 5 year/100k mile powertrain warrenty. if you get it with a decent amount of miles on it, chances are the previous owner had already dealed with any problems that might've came up. only problems i've had was the ingnition coil had to be replaced along with sparkplugs and my heat sheild is rattling like mad(free trip to dealer soon).
ok i think i'm done now lol
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