Focus Fuel Pump Issue

[freakray]

Has anyone heard anything on this?
Apparently the Focus has a problematic fuel pump, which I found out to my suprise yesterday....not to mention horror....

I had been seeing occasional drops in fuel pressure on the ZX3, so I checked the line pressure in my friends shop, it showed the fuel pump was not maintaining constant pressure.

I contacted my Ford dealer and they said I would need to replace the fuel pump soon, and then went on to explain that this is not an uncommon issue and Ford are aware of it but have not seen fit to issue a recall yet? WTF?? They know they have bad fuel pumps and yet won't issue a recall?

I thought I would post this here and see if anyone else can testify to this, since I plan on taking on Ford on this one!

Please don't bother posting if you can't post an answer or something constructive, I don't care who likes Ford and who doesn't, I want to see if anyone else has experienced this.

Thanks.

[letemsmoke]

What are the symptoms? I've got a problem with something that feels like a hesitation around 2,000 RPM. Especially in 4th gear. It only occurs with constant speed and goes away if I speed up or slow down. I actually came to this forum to see if anyone knows what could be the problem. I also feel an occasional light "thud" while idling.

[freakray]

Originally posted by letemsmoke
What are the symptoms? I've got a problem with something that feels like a hesitation around 2,000 RPM. Especially in 4th gear. It only occurs with constant speed and goes away if I speed up or slow down. I actually came to this forum to see if anyone knows what could be the problem. I also feel an occasional light "thud" while idling.

Those are the early symptoms.....similar to a dirty fuel line or getting some dirty fuel through the engine, but it will slowly get worse over the next month.
I started getting this about a month ago and just thought I had some bad fuel, but it got worse and worse so I was about to get my fuel filter changed, except it was too late by then.
If you leave it, you will find that anything below 2000rpm and your engine will just want to die on you.....
I recommend you take the car to a garage and get it checked, the one thing is a fluctuating fuel line pressure as well.....

This has really left a bitter taste in my mouth, driving a 2001 model and already having the fuel pump die is a joke, I have started shopping for another car, of a different make.

Ray

[letemsmoke]

Thanks for the warning. I will get it checked out soon. Do you know how much a fuel pump goes for?

[Jay!]

Originally posted by freakray
I contacted my Ford dealer and they said I would need to replace the fuel pump soon, and then went on to explain that this is not an uncommon issue and Ford are aware of it but have not seen fit to issue a recall yet? WTF?? They know they have bad fuel pumps and yet won't issue a recall?

You reminded me of a quote from one of my favorite movies:

http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0137523
Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?
Narrator: You wouldn't believe.
Business woman on plane: Which car company do you work for?
Narrator: A major one.

Too bad it seems true... Be careful!

[freakray]

Originally posted by letemsmoke
Thanks for the warning. I will get it checked out soon. Do you know how much a fuel pump goes for?

The fuel pump cost $242 and the fuel filter cost $16.
The labor will drive it up too, as they have to remove the whole gas tank to replace the pump.
My total came to $440 all done.

I hope this saves you the annoyance and inconvenience I had.

Ray

[freakray]

Originally posted by jay@af


Too bad it seems true... Be careful!

Thanks Jay, really good news

It is ironic that a similar thing happened to my friend in his BMW 316i, except he saved the wreck and only trashed the rear axle assmebly and obviously tires.....BMW replaced it all.....

Ray

[CougarSVT]

They do have inline fuel pumps! Much better than stock. Are you boosted or modded in any way?

[freakray]

Originally posted by CougarSVT
They do have inline fuel pumps! Much better than stock. Are you boosted or modded in any way?

Don't intend on having the Focus long enough to warrant any mods myself, the car is not worth keeping....already!!

[laurel]

My Ford Focus is only 1 year old and already replacing a fuel pump, which I've been told is not under warranty because of 'environmental' conditions, namely dirty fuel. There should be no reason to replace fuel pumps on such a new car!! Ford dealership gave me a quote of $750 charge for replacing the fuel pump, parts and labour. I'm wondering if this is going to be an annual cost and if so, my feeling is.....time to get rid of it!!!

[freakray]

Originally posted by laurel
My Ford Focus is only 1 year old and already replacing a fuel pump, which I've been told is not under warranty because of 'environmental' conditions, namely dirty fuel. There should be no reason to replace fuel pumps on such a new car!! Ford dealership gave me a quote of $750 charge for replacing the fuel pump, parts and labour. I'm wondering if this is going to be an annual cost and if so, my feeling is.....time to get rid of it!!!

2 things, the Ford Dealer I went to (State College Ford) admitted that the Focus fuel pump is problematic.

$750 That's twice what it cost me to replace mine!!

If you can afford to get rid of the car, get rid of it, it will only cost you more in the long run.

[Matthew Thomas]

I just replaced the fuel pump on my son's 2001 Ford Focus, 44,000 miles. I've researched the problem with these pumps and from viewing the pump I pulled out of his Focus, its clear the problem is the contamination from fuels clogging up the pickup strainers to the pump, there for straining the pump and causing it to fail. The relay usually kicks it off, but over time the heat and strain put on the pump will cause it to fail. There are two strainers on the pump, the sock is clearly the item clogging. Wether this is from bad fuels or the filtering property of the sock is unknown.
I went to auto dismanterler and purchased a used pump for $59. with 90 day warranty. It too had a severely contaminated pickup sock on it. I cleaned it and installed the pump. The Vehicle works great now and my son has returned my Ford explorer to me...in one piece.
The pump on the Ford Focus is the same basic pump installed on 80% of ALL vehicles onthe road. Being a ASE technician, its it only my opinon that the problem might be with the cheap fuels being used, or the pickup sock on the pump. Majority of the fuel tanks I've pulled over the years, there is no contamination and these vehicles had 100,000+ miles on them, except for this Focus. Good luck!!

[laurel]

Thanks for the responses to my fuel pump problem. Because I took issue with the fact that it was an evironmental problem, the dealership covered the fuel pump and labour under warranty. This does not change my opinion that there is something wrong with the design of the fuel pump in Ford Focuses and I therefore I expect to have to deal with the same problem in a year. This makes me feel that I should get rid of the car now before it happens again and I end up paying the bill!

[Matthew Thomas]

Unfortunatly my son's Focus is not under warranty. But from the design of the fuel pump pickup assembly, its definitly poor design, allowing for sediments to collect near the pump. But the basic pump is identicle to most others for exception of the pickup. 100% of the pump & sending unit housing is plastic. Those little pumps run forever, but when they start adding things to it and degrading the material, thats when it all goes down hill. Best car built by ford for dependability was Escort and thier Ranger 4 cylinder p/up. My 2000 Exploerer 4x4 with V-8 is awsome, but will give it all up including the wife and dog for that Cobra!!

[laurel]

According to the dealership, the fuel pump wasn't supposed to be covered by my warranty. I just made it very clear to them when they told me this that I was very displeased with the way I was being treated and that I would trade the car off on a different car as soon as possible. They are hoping to sell me a Mustang so I think this made the difference in their decision to cover the fuel pump. What are the ratings on Mustangs? I imagine the same fuel pump design is in this car as well???? I owned one 10 years ago and was quite pleased with it.