Ford - Focus :: 2003 - Vibrating And Struggling When Pressed The Gas
Jul 6, 2012
I drive a 2003 Focus ZX5. Over the last year, it's run pretty well, but one problem I encountered was that it would not start (occasionally) if I drove in traffic for a while and the engine was warm (not overheated). I mentioned this to my mechanic when the serpentine belt was replaced several months ago, but he was not able to repeat the problem and diagnose it. A couple days ago, the car started to run terribly (vibrating) and struggling when I pressed the gas. I took it to the nearest mechanic (not my normal mechanic) and had the spark plugs and ignition coil replaced. It seems to have alleviated the problem. So . . . a couple questions:
Was the engine's difficulty starting related to the spark plugs?
On a separate note, the mechanic I just saw advised that some of the vibrations (for instance, in idle) could be resolved with new motor and transmission mounts, which is not cheap. Is it worth it?
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A little background on my truck: Its a 2003 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab with a 3.3L V6 2wd, RWD AUTO. 78,000 miles. (yeah, I live in CO, so having this truck here doesn't really make sense when described through text, but with tire chains, and 200lbs in the bed it does better than most 4x4's if you know how to drive rwd! )
Anyways, I drove up to Aspen, CO and back from Colorado Springs (~575 miles roundtrip) for my rugby game and man did my truck have a hard time getting up the mountain passes. The speed limit in some places was 75 mph but I struggled to make it to 65 with the pedal floored-i think the grades were about 7% so not that much really for CO. I also noticed that my truck had trouble shifting into the right gear in my opinion.
I would be in 5th, and it felt like it would shift down to third and rev really high rather than shifting into 4th? My shifter knob has a button to turn off Overdrive, but i just didnt remember to turn it off and try driving like that, but would turning off OD make it up these mountain passes? If i can find some way to drive my truck up to Aspen without all the hastle (and embarassment) of not being able to go the speed limit, I would be so happy-that way I wouldn't have to drive our passat up there.
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Long story short, when going up hill or any incline for the matter it feels like it's struggling and lugging, blowing carbon everywhere. It's an automatic so I yeah can downshift sometimes but even turning overdrive off doesn't work in a lot situations. My EGTs are way too high and I'm not about to tow my project car to OKC unless I get this figured out. I live around Salt Lake City so towing can be hard up surrounding passes. Just cruising to park city at 70mph on I80 up a pretty good incline my EGTs were 1,000. Just driving around the city, some hills I see 700-800 when I'm going 35mph.
At stop lights I'm seeing 400 at idle. My probe on the pyro is going bad starting to flutter but even if I fix that I'm still having issues up hills. Boost is good, up-pipes don't appear to be leaking but fuel pressure is a little low @56 and I know it's not the fpr because I just messed with that yesterday, put a new poppet and oring in, I haven't checked the fuel pump yet or dropped the tank either. If it is in fact fuel pressure related, does it make sense for me to see smoke coming out, wouldn't that indicate too much fuel? I'm lost, it's driving unloaded like I'm pulling an anchor.
Regardless of which spring I put in the frx I get 56psi, even with the black one I may see 58psi but even with 58psi it was still lugging it's butt off up hills and making that terrible drone sound like F you down shift me now.
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Ozzy is a 2003 Hyundai Accent with an automatic transmission. Over the last 2 year he has been having a lot of problems with his transmission. The first thing that was done was to replace his transmission fluid. Unfortunately the chuckle head that replaced his transmission fluid put the wrong kind in and he had to have a whole new transmission installed. And now only about a year later Ozzy is having transmission problems yet again. What is happening is that it feels like the car is struggling to shift gears and then once in gear it will suddenly accelerate.
Also, the idle races even when your foot is not on the gas pedal and yes, the check engine light is on. So, I have a couple of questions. First how much longer can she keep driving it like this before the engine falls out somewhere on the 405? Secondly how much is it going to cost to repair Ozzy? Also her driving the car when it is behaving this way is really dangerous, right? Because it felt pretty scary today when I was sitting in the passenger's seat and we were doing 75 on the freeway and Ozzy was shaking and making all sorts a noise. And lastly, she needs a new mechanic right, there is no way she should keep going to these guys that put the wrong fluid in and then replaced her transmission, right?
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My driveline has been vibrating for some time now. I changed out the rear u-joints with no improvement. I found the spline to be sloppy. I think I need a new driveshaft.
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I was pulling out of my driveway (it's quite steep) in 4x4, turned onto the road and heard a clunk.
I then took it out of 4x4 and continued on. I noticed it was vibrating more than usual. I turned out of a friends driveway (not in 4x4) after that and thought I heard another clunk. The vibrations seemed to get a lot worse after that.
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2003 Ford F150 XLT - Truck hesitates (or bucks) as the throttle is pressed. Not from a stop though. It starts / runs fine, but no matter how how fast, what gear, hot or cold, it feels like the fuel cuts out for 1/2 second. Also it is not a specific point in the throttle motion. It does it when it is halfway, 3/4 or fully depressed, but is not consistent. It does happen more frequently now than two weeks ago. I am not getting a check engine light.
4.6L V8, 5 Speed Manual 4x4, 74000 mi
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Why my 03 focus zx5 will stall in reverse. I have had the tranny serviced. I can drive it and then let it sit for about an hour and then try to reverse in it and it dies. I have change the mac, tps, iac sensors. I am at a loss for why this is happening. I also changed the pvc hose that runs from the back of the motor to the pvc valve.
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I have a 2003 ford focus wagon, automatic transmission, 140,000 miles. The battery light has been going on and off for 5 months, and the car has shut down several times. I've had the following replaced/repaired:
Spark plugs replaced. Two days later, car died.
Battery replaced. Two days later car died.
Alternator replaced. 4 days later car died on a vacation trip. Before it died, the battery light came on when I had to accelerate, and also when going down hills. Frequency increased and power shut off several times. If I waited 10-15 minutes, it would start up again. Finally would not start up - completely dead. Computer diagnostics first said the alternator was bad. Then, while still hooked up to computer, the bad alternator indicator disappeared and the alternator reported no problems. Technician ran the car for a few hours every day for a week and took it for test drives but light never came on.
When I got back from vacation, the new alternator was replaced with a ford alternator - the theory was that some 2003 ford focus computer chips have trouble recognizing alternators that aren't ford's.
All was good for about 4 months. Then battery light started going on and off again - sometimes 20-30 times in 40 minutes, sometimes only 5-6 times in that time span. Computer diagnostics found nothing - light never came on.
Car was vibrating. Had engine mounts replaced 4 days ago, hoping the electrical problem was caused by something vibrating against something else that connected to the alternator, and if the vibrations stopped, the battery light would stay off. First 35 miles - no battery light! Then it started coming on again, but not as much as before the engine mounts were replaced.
Battery light seems to only come on now:
1) Every time I start up and begin driving and I think the car shifts to higher gears;
2) whenever I go up hills - it has also come on a couple of times when going down a hill (just like before, when the alternator was replaced);
3) when I accelerate beyond 55 mpg.
I can get the light to go off if
1) I floor the gas pedal;
2) I pump the brakes;
3) I put the car in park.
Mechanics are stumped. I love my car, but every time I drive it now, I worry the entire time about the battery light and about the power shutting off.
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t's a '00 extended cab swb 4.6L with 4r70w trans. I have a Hotchkis TVS 2/4 kit on it. It's been lowered 3 years now and I've never had any real issue. But I started noticing a small vibration through the floor so I took my driveshaft out to be balanced and new U joints installed. Ever since then I've had an audible "hum" from the rear whenever I go over 75mph. It only does this under load (hill, etc) and I don't hear anything until then. The driveline shop told me it was my pinion angle and I've tried shims with only slight improvement. I'll replace the driveshaft after I do a motor and trans swap down the line, but it's out of the budget for now.
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I have an '03 Ford Explorer (V8) and recently had a rebuilt engine installed (at 135,000 miles). As soon as I got the car back, the engine whined and it's getting louder. The whine starts immediately but it louder when the accelerator is pressed. The sound reminds me of a car with bad power steering, but it's so much louder and doesn't correlate to turning the wheel, but pressing the gas pedal.
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I have this 03 3.0 flex fuel that as of lately (2 months) has developed a whistle when throttle is pressed half way or more.... not sure what or where its coming from..
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1997 2.3 5 Speed. My poor truck is having a hard time shifting into gears. I have bled the master off the truck with the correct method, bled it on the truck with the hose on the slave method while pushing the pedal and multiple times with no bubbles coming out at all, no leaks, etc.
Here's the breakdown -
- Clutch, slave cylinder and shifter bushings replaced about 3 years ago (everything has less than 7000 miles on it)
- While driving and pushing in the clutch, it clearly disengages, although quite a ways down.
- Only shifts hard while running. If I sit with it off with the clutch in, I can shift through all the gears with no effort whatsoever. At times while driving, it gets so hard to shift that it may become dangerous.
- Only things I haven't replaced are the master cylinder and the flywheel.
Should I just assume a bad master and just replace it? It's the original with 188,200 miles on it.
Forgot to mention there are times that when I am at a standstill trying to go into reverse, it grinds like the transmission is still engaged.
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I have a problem with turning my key. It will not turn at all. I have taken the upper and lower part of the cover off to expose the switch and removed one screw from the ignition housing, but the internal part of the ignition switch will not come out. How do I completely remove this ignition switch. I have already removed the negative battery cable. It seems this is a continual problem with focuses. Oh, do I need a releasing tool to release the ignition switch.
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I have recently replaced a set of new tires (Michelin X-Radial DT) on my Ford Focus 2003. Immediately, I could feel a slight sound like a rub that causes a dull squeak as if I am carrying a load in the car when I am turning and at different times when the road surface is undulating. At other times the car runs very smoothly.
I am okay with it if this is not going to hurt the car in the long run. Another inconvenience I am having is a squeaking sound that comes from the right rear wheel when I brake (sometimes). I was told that it's the brake dusts since the brakes are o.k. How can I get rid of that squeak when braking?
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I have a 2003 Ford Focus Sedan with 75K miles, bought used from a Ford dealership 3-4 yrs ago with 45K miles.
I spent Saturday driving around doing errands. Late in the day, it wouldn't start up again. This was after about 20 minutes of sitting in a parking lot right after a 10-mile drive. It would turn/crank but not actually turn over. Eventually, I had a tow driver come out, who also gave it a try, and then it made an awful clunking-grinding-crunching sound after a couple seconds of trying to turn. Towed to the local mechanics.
They did some compression tests and tell me that a spark plug is "smashed." They say only a major engine problem could smash a spark plug and recommend just replacing the engine. The alternative would be to take apart the engine to figure out exactly what's wrong, at a labor cost of $800-1,000, but they say there would be a good chance that whatever they find out wouldn't be fixable anyway.
Recent history: oil change about 6 wks ago, no history of oil problems, regular oil changes (at least since I bought it).
Recent problems:
(1) About 2-3 times in the past few months (including Saturday morning the day this happened), my car would sometimes take a bit more turning over to actually start. Those episodes would feel like it was "barely" starting, and then the car would kind of gentle buck for the first 20-30 seconds of driving, then be totally normal and start right up again afterward.
(2) For the past year or so, the speedometer and odometer would intermittently go to zero, usually after a sudden speed or lane change or big cranking of the wheel (e.g., reversing out of a parking spot)...this would last a mile or two then randomly come right back on.
(3) The weekend before my engine wouldn't start, my check-engine light came on while driving on the highway.
This happened to occur during one of those brief zero-speedometer episodes. I took it to the shop, they said it was a sensor issue, and it took nearly $500 to repair.
So....questions:
(1) any of the above history related to current engine problem? My shop says probably not, but I'm not sure what to believe.
(2) Recommend taking the engine apart at this point to diagnose the problem, or just replace the thing?
(3) If replace, get used or refurbished? (Shop recommends latter b/c they say history with used is totally unknown)
(4) Tow it to a different shop for the second opinion? (5) Or, just give up on the car totally and get a new car? I have minimal knowledge of mechanics.
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I have a 2003 Ford Focus ZTS with a ZTec 4-cylinder motor, 5-speed manual transmission, @145K miles (one owner). I had the fuel pump replaced in October 2012. For the past couple of months I have had intermittent engine surges when the car is under load, and it is most prevalent when undergoing heavy acceleration or when going uphill. The engine idles smoothly at about 800-1000 rpm. The problem seems most prevalent when I have more than 1/2 tank of fuel in the vehicle.
I have noticed that when the car is in cruise control mode and surges occur the accelerator pedal depresses as if the engine is trying to get more fuel. Spark plugs, Timing belt, tensioner, and water pump were changed approximately 30K miles ago. Alternator replaced @10K miles ago. No visible leaks around the head or valve covers. Vehicle is driven mostly highway miles in low dust environments. Engine light normally doesn't come on, but today the surges were worse than normal and the engine light came on several times over approximately 1 minute interval. Then the surges stopped and the engine light went out and did not come back on.
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Why my truck shake/ vibrates only at high speeds above 65mph. Once I drop below 65 is smooth as can be.
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2001 F-150 4.2L automatic, 189k mikes. Gas pedal would do weird knocking/vibrating. It would do it at idle & under acceleration. Gas pedal would knock & sometimes slightly move or kick back at you. Felt like someone was lightly hitting it with a small hammer. Well there is not much to the gas pedal assembly; pedal, throttle cable & mounting bolts/plate. Looking under hood, a bracket from drivers side of motor was pushing back against firewall, which was pushing into gas pedal mounting bolts. I grabbed the bracket & it came off motor. Nothing else attached to bracket. Looks like it rusted off and was pinned between motor & firewall. Well, this fixed the gas pedal problems. But now i wonder what the bracket is & whats it suppose to hold??
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I have a really weird issue with my 2003 Ford Focus. Manual transmission, just over 50,000 miles. I've been noticing a stumble or hesitation (like the engine is cutting out) at steady speed, but ONLY when it is snowy out, more if it's windy as well. I don't recall that this happens if it's rainy or foggy. All maintenance is performed as specified, to include air filter changes.
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My son drives a 2003 Ford Focus with 183,000 miles on it. At random times when he starts the car, the engine runs very rough at idle speed but when he drives away, it runs fine until he slows for a stop sign/turn, etc. and the engine is at idle speed again. When this happens, the engine runs so roughly, that he loses vacuum to the brakes and his brakes stiffen dangerously. The car may not do this at all for a couple of weeks of driving, and when it doesn't do it, it runs beautifully.
Also, it only runs like this if it does it from start-up; it never idles roughly in the middle of a drive in which the car started normally. I have changed the spark plugs and wires, PCV valve, fuel filter, and air filter, but it still goes through this about once a week. I bought the car used just a few months ago and it had just had the valve cover gasket changed because the valve cover was leaking.
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