2014 Ford Focus owners..**Update**.
 

Looking at getting a first car for my youngest daughter (17). I have been pretty set on another Toyota Yaris as we have had great luck with them, but I have a line on a 2014 Focus SE hatchback, 77K km and a decent price. Reading reviews, looks pretty good for value, build quality, fuel economy, and has 5 star safety rating which is big for me.

Anybody have one (or similar year) with real world experience, good or bad? Appreciate any comments.

Lot of people do not like the way dsg transmission drive. Will not last as long as Toyota

My 18-year-old son bought a 2015 just recently, and it was a rebuild.

There have been a few hiccups (because of the rebuild), but overall super happy with it. Great on gas, peppy but not dangerously so, and good value. We paid I think $6,500 and it had less than 60,000. Again, a rebuild, and we did have to fix a few minor things after buying it.

It's a great little first car.

By 'rebuild', do you mean a car that was written off by insurance...?

Yes. Is that the wrong word for it?

I’ve got a 2011 that I use as my back and forth to work car, just rolled 200,000 Km and runs like a top, other than a oil change every 10,000 km I’ve never had to touch it.. very nice little commuter cars..

Jim...

Probably more accurate to call it a salvage, but I knew what you meant. Rebuild is probably more commonly used for engine/power train.... appreciate your replies. TC

On small cars - I'm always leaning toward Honda and Toyota but if the deal saves you a few grand, maybe it's worth a roll of the dice.

For the same money, I'm looking at a toyota that is 4 years older with 40 or 50 thousand more km.....

It's a first car for a 17 year old, a 2014 will still have some warranty on power train. I've had good luck with Toyotas, but also had good luck with Ford for my work vehicles....will be taking it for a drive on Wednesday when my girl has a day off from work. She has saved up $5K working at Macdonald's....I thought the money was in the bank, and she hands me a cottage cheese container tonight stuffed full of $20s.....:lol:

She is excited about a first car!

I would avoid Ford Focus models like the plague. My spouse's started randomly dying leaving her stranded in Calgary once. Dealer said the computer needed an update and was good to go, stranded her again. Finally had a new one put in under warranty and now the transmission is acting up.

Run away and don't look back.

As with any ford - best to look for something else.

Are you actual owners....? Or just Ford haters?

You should google Ford powershift transmission.

Here's a sample.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...rshift-owners/

I don't own one, but they have been in the news.

Thanks. Read lots of reviews and forums, pros and cons. Seems like most vehicles. If you have a good one, 5 stars, if it gives you trouble, 1 star....hard to discern what is average or to be expected.

Stay away. Fords dual clutch transmission is horrible . You tube autoexperttv power sh%t transmission. The trans cannot handle creeping forward at a light . And is easily confused in its shifting. Australia is taking ford to court in a class action lawsuit.

Xlnt car
 

Me, I had a 2012 Ford Focus SE.

Bought it as dealer's year-old customer service car. Excellent runner, very reliable, steady handler on road, and quite good - ahem - off road as well, driving to gopher shooting grounds. Good lights, good luggage space, nice sound system (phone connection port is in the glove box).

Transmission (6 speed auto) worked fine the whole time. That tranny one of the main things people complain about, not sure why?

Kind of on the quick side, too! And this with the standard engine. Reaches 170 km/h quite fast, or so I'm told, ahem. Lordy does it get through the mountains fast!

As for problems, they were a few.
- broken fog light, not complex to replace, but sure took a lot of fiddling time to get in there
- on the rear shelf, by the back window, the cloth kind of fell apart. A Ford kit to fix same exists, $27 and it was fixed, took a little while
- filters are many, and while they work well, they sure are a bugger to change!!! What with packing all that stuff in a compact space, well it gets tight. Changing the interior air filter is a contortionist's dream/nightmare.

The only reason I sold it was I decided to go to an electric hybrid vehicle, a 2017 Ford C-Max, which is a great choice but a whole 'nother story.

I have no complaints whatever about the Focus - good car, I'd say.

TargetRick

Have had issues with them but Ford has also extended the warranty on them as a result. That article fails to mention that. Covers the clutch on one and the TCM on another . I'm not sure how long the coverage is for. Get the VIN and ask a dealer about it to find out the correct details of coverage.

I'm not a fan of this design. It was an attempt to get better gas mileage. Basically an electronic controlled manual trans. In theory more efficient than a true auto trans but real world very little difference. All about CAFE ratings.

Fords not the only one to use this dual clutch transmission design. Not the only manufacturer that has had problems with them. European and Japanese vehicles were using them as well and many are going away from them . More so with shift quality than actual dependability. Still functioning but give harsh or shudder shifts at times.

I hate ford for that car I bought for my granddaughter as a gift brand new,7 times in one year it broke down over this clutch tranny deal,that seal never held up.I was out of town for almost the whole year working and my wife didn't want to get me going so they thought that it would get fixed right.

I got home and ford called to say the part was in and then it all came out,tons of warranty added to the drive train and this and that plus 20 of the same cars were waiting for the same part. I drove it back to the dealership and purchased a new ford escape for her.

I have a ford truck.my wife drives a ford expedition ,so it has nothing to do with hating ford.

I'd say the focus is a spot on example of *why* ford couldn't make it in the car game. In other words - why they don't sell *any* cars anymore.

They couldnt get it right. Trucks make more money, anyways...

x2

Transmissions are a TOTAL disaster...:scared:

Actually Rebuilt is the correct term, some say Rebuild, but the correct title is Rebuilt.
Salvage is the title when it is not allowed to be driven, still not repaired yet. Rebuilt is the title when its passed inspection and now allowed back on the road.

As for the Ford Focus, I hate the Transmissions ford puts in their SUVs and the engines in their trucks. But I actually can't hate on any of the Focuses we used to deal with, they never had engine/tranny problems. And we dealt with about a hundred over the years. But their suspension system does suck, rattles when its time to be changed and doesn't take much to wear out the parts.

It's not going to be as reliable as your Toyota but the price will be a lot cheaper.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/ford...ar-behind.html

Cars aren't selling as well. Haven't for a while. A small SUV can be just as efficient.

Times change and so does the needs of consumers. Try and find a 2wd truck on a lot. 25 years ago would have been easy. Nobody wants one nowadays.

I'd personally rather sit higher up in a vehicle and most people prefer that. Much easier to get in and out of.

Ford is still selling cars and may change strategies again. If nobody is buying them in the market then why produce them?

I once had a 79' Chevette that was a piece of crap, therefore all Chevy's must be garbage.

Everyone has something they hate because of something that happened to them directly. My mother had a dentist crack her jawbone while pulling a tooth when she was a kid, she now hates going to a dentist.

I work with a courier company and have had many drivers using Focus's? Fosusses? Focaii? The cars would put on an average of 200kms a day 5 days a week in city stop and go traffic without issue. No more problems than any other vehicle.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if the price was right. Look in the parking lot at a shopping mall and you'll see them all over the place, most being high mileage.

Ford did not stop selling cars because of the Focus or any specific car. The profit margin is higher on trucks, it's as simple as that.

I work on all makes and models of cars/trucks and probably the vehicle I see the most if the F150. Not because they're any worse than anything else, there's just more of them out there.
At least with a car like a Focus, the parts are easy to find and inexpensive. Plus they're pretty easy to work on. Meaning that even when they do need repairs it won't cost you a fortune.

As ubiased opinion as I can give, it to skip it and buy a Toyota or Honda.

I have bought many small cars and the civics, accords (older ones before they became bloated) corollas etc were all pretty good, needing normal routine maintenance. The fact I tried to buy manual trans probably helped a lot though.

The people I know who owned a focus said they were OK, but always seemed to need more repairs than my junk, and after 300k it started to pile up while i drove mine to 400k before ditching them.

You may have great luck with it, but I would bet money that the Yaris will give less issues over the ownership period.

If that were the case, it makes it quite difficult to explain why Ford is still selling cars in Europe for example, were the Focus and Fiesta sell very well.

I have a 2014 F150 (nothing to do with the Ford Focus) with the 5.0L V8 and in the 4 years I have had it. It has never been to a shop. In any model you will get good and bad, so take your chances.

Appreciate all the input.

Ii think their post answers that for itself...

On a side note I bought a 08 brand new in red deer, sister and brother law bought an 05 in Manitoba and both of us drove them into the ground. Great little economic car. Definitely go for a stick shift though it adds a bit more pep in my opinion. The worst problem I had with my focus was the pirellie tires kept separating. I could get low 40 mpgs if I didn’t drive like a jerk. I have a few more good friends on their 3rd focus now and they have no complaints. If I was looking for a first car for my kids I would have no issues whatsoever with a focus.