Ford - Focus :: 2003 - Tires Make Car Squeak?
Jan 15, 2012
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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My 04 Focus squeaks like an old mattress when negotiating uneven ground while turning. Quiet on speed bumps, rain also quiets it, then it comes back after a few hours. (Brief) search on internet indicates no lube necessary, not making sound that would indicate boot problem.
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I own a 2010 Ford Focus (compact sedan) and had to purchase a set of new tires. I went to a retail chain store that I've never been to before. The salesman suggests a set of 195/60R15 Trazanos. I drive home on a side street about 5 minutes away. Seems fine. The next morning I enter the expressway and there is a slight curve to right when entering, the car begins to feel like it's sliding almost like on ice (yet it's 75 degrees out). I begin to accelerate, my car begins to sway and slide. It felt like I was fishtailing all over the place. It scared me enough to pull of the expressway.
I immediately go to the place that I purchased them. They look at them and tell me that I should have had "H" rated tires put on it. He says my previous tires had a thicker side wall. So, they put a different set of "higher end" tires (195/60R15 Toyo Extensas) for the same price. I make the guy go out on the expressway with me to test it and it seems ok, but I didn't get to try it on a curve at that point. On my way home, I still feel a slight slide on curves, but not like before. It's windy today, so I will take it back out on the expressway tomorrow. I know nothing about tires, so they could be feeding me a line of b.s. Can it really take up to 500 miles for the tires to be "broken in"? My car drove perfectly fine before I had these tires put on.
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I recently picked up a new 2015 Lexus IS 250, AWD with the F Sports package. I'm about to hit 3K miles on the car, and love it so far - only issue is I noticed recently that the front suspension seems to make a squeak when going over bumps at lower speeds (i.e. a parking lot, etc).
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I recently (1.5 months ago) had my clutch replaced because my clutch pivot ball was making noise and with 70000 miles on the clutch, the mechanic suggested replacing the entire thing. The clutch works beautifully, except that just recently my clutch pedal has started to make a squeak/ creak noise. It's not very loud, although it seems louder when it's particularly hot and muggy. It sounds like it is coming from the pedal and it makes the noise regardless of whether the car is on or off. What might be causing this?
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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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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 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 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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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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Plain and simple. 97 F150 with factory radio and cd changer. Just wanna know what wire to cut on the factory harness to make the radio not dim when I turn on the headlights. Or is there more to it than that?
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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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IAC issues? 2003 Ford Focus LX 2.0 ... Over the last week or so, my car has occasionally started very roughly. It stumbles and is very rough. After about 20 or so seconds, it smooths and drives fine.
Also, I've noticed in the last few weeks that there is a noticeable drop in power when I turn on the blower, even with the AC off. Not a loss as where it stalls, but still very noticeable. Then I've also noticed that when I'm at a long light, or other times I start it and it doesn't stumble/start rough, that it will sort of feel as if someone is slowly pushing down on the accelerator and releasing, and this can go on for a while. Not dramatically, but definitely noticeable.
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I have a 2003 Ford Focus ZX5 automatic with 143k miles on it. Recently I've run into a problem with the speedometer and RPM gauges dropping down to 0, no reading. It is an intermittent problem and has no logical connection to any of the other functions of the vehicle (it can happen while the car is idling, in motion, upon startup, etc etc.) Everything else on the instrument cluster works perfectly fine, (odometer still reads correctly and works, gas gauge is fine, etc). I'm thinking maybe it is an electrical issue since the car seems to be in fine working condition other than that, even when it drops out. The gauges won't start reading again until I start the car up...and sometimes that is not a guarantee. I use this vehicle to commute locally 4 days a week and I've already put a lot of money into new components for the vehicle.
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I have a 99 f150 2wd v6 4.2 liter engine. Im going to sum up what happened and what I've done so far. One morning truck wouldnt start. Wouldn't crank, turn over, or even make a click click noise. I tried jumping it just to be sure but it didnt do anything. Battery is fine, interior lamps, displays, and radio all work fine.
I took the starter off, had it tested, it was bad so i got a new one. Still had the same problem. Finally, i got underneath the trunk and bridged the positive and negative on the starter solenoid and it fired right up. So the starter is not the problem.
Next I looked into the starter relay, if I bridged the positive and negative on the starter relay it fires right up just like the starter. But since that is only bypassing the starter relay, it didnt tell me whether the starter relay was good or bad. So I got a new starter relay and it worked! It started with the key with no problem 3 times! I thought the problem was fixed but when i tried to start it an hour later, nothing... Same problem as before.
I checked all my fuses, none were blown.
I'm under the assumption that either something leading to the starter relay is making the starter relay go bad OR there isn't enough power going to the starter relay. Maybe something in the ignition, even though my accessories are all still working.
It is the only vehicle I have to and from work. For now I am getting by with bridging positive and negative on the starter relay to start it but that is only a temporary fix.
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how do make interior lights cut off when the door is shut instead of the delay
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Ok I just bought a used 2003 Ford Focus from a dealership which I am financing and after the second day driving the check engine light came on. Once I saw that I took it back to the dealer and he told me the sensor was very sensitive and because I didn't close the gas tank tightly the light came on. I didn't feel satisfied with this answer so I took the car for a diagnostic. They informed me that the car had a gasket leak. I then took the car back to the dealership and told them what I had been informed and the mechanic told me that it wasn't a big deal, nothing for me to worry about. Now I don't know much about cars and I have been doing a little research of my own and a gasket leak seems to be a big problem.
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my 2000 focus se, 2.0L SPI, with 82k began to recently run rough at idle then progressed to stalling at longer lengths of idle. The condition starts once the engine warms after 2-5 minutes. I 1st tried gas treatment. I replaced the ignition coil as suggested in the other threads, but it has not improved the problem. I had the fuel pump recall-replaced 2 years ago. I would guess that a bad fuel pump would exhibit loss of power at all engine speeds? Before I proceed to replace plug wires and plugs.
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I purchased a used 2003 Echo last week. The all season tires are on 15 inch rims. I would like to buy snow tires for this car. The question is - snow tires on 15 in rims or snow tires on 14 in rims? I understand that 15 inch rims was an option selected on the original purchase. Without this option, the car would have had 14 inch rims.
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