Brakes in general on the Focus are problems just waiting to happen and they will. I have owned this same car from 2000 miles so more or less from new, bought from main dealer { as if that makes a difference }. Anyway, only 1 week after getting my car I noticed the brakes were fierce and making a weird squeak when pressing the pedal. I tried to be gentle but always ended up braking way to hard, handed into the dealer and they said they put insulation padding in pedal box and the noise was gone, 1 day later back again. Then I get a call from dealer saying they finally located the problem, it's the whole pedal box assembly, this will cost £400 UK about $700. Which I replied, are you on drugs, it's under warranty still but warranty would not cover this. He then said leave it with me, I will make a call. Ended up Ford paid the whole thing as a goodwill gesture, yeh right.
Calipers seizing, have had to replace both due to jamming on and burning pads and discs with the heat generated. You can try firstly stripping the caliper and giving a good clean wire brush to remove and rust /dust from the guide pins and the straight rails the pads slide in and out on. These surfaces should be greased with copper high temp grease too but not too much, sometimes this will work for a while, month or two, so I just replace them, saves doing the job twice.
Handbrake a bitch too, it will stretch overtime then snap usually the short sections going to the drum first. Then it's not balanced so you get all types of problems one after the other. Take it from me, bite the bullet and replace the whole cable at once front to back. Cost in UK 2014 £70 parts only FORD OEM $120 .
Flexi hoses always going to be a problem, I've lost count how many I've replaced now but are inexpensive, under $10 a side. They may look OK but can collapse in on themselves.
I don't always use Ford parts but always an OEM from a good after market company, only buy cheap eBay parts at your expense. Seems a good idea at the time but I know but they won't last .
Brakes in general on the Focus are problems just waiting to happen and they will. I have owned this same car from 2000 miles so more or less from new, bought from main dealer { as if that makes a difference }. Anyway, only 1 week after getting my car I noticed the brakes were fierce and making a weird squeak when pressing the pedal. I tried to be gentle but always ended up braking way to hard, handed into the dealer and they said they put insulation padding in pedal box and the noise was gone, 1 day later back again. Then I get a call from dealer saying they finally located the problem, it's the whole pedal box assembly, this will cost £400 UK about $700. Which I replied, are you on drugs, it's under warranty still but warranty would not cover this. He then said leave it with me, I will make a call. Ended up Ford paid the whole thing as a goodwill gesture, yeh right.
Calipers seizing, have had to replace both due to jamming on and burning pads and discs with the heat generated. You can try firstly stripping the caliper and giving a good clean wire brush to remove and rust /dust from the guide pins and the straight rails the pads slide in and out on. These surfaces should be greased with copper high temp grease too but not too much, sometimes this will work for a while, month or two, so I just replace them, saves doing the job twice.
Handbrake a bitch too, it will stretch overtime then snap usually the short sections going to the drum first. Then it's not balanced so you get all types of problems one after the other. Take it from me, bite the bullet and replace the whole cable at once front to back. Cost in UK 2014 £70 parts only FORD OEM $120 .
Flexi hoses always going to be a problem, I've lost count how many I've replaced now but are inexpensive, under $10 a side. They may look OK but can collapse in on themselves.
I don't always use Ford parts but always an OEM from a good after market company, only buy cheap eBay parts at your expense. Seems a good idea at the time but I know but they won't last .
- queens corgie, Dundee, Angus, Scotland