Ford - Focus :: 2004 - Won't Start Intermittently
Oct 7, 2012
Occasionally my 2004 Ford Focus will not start. I put in the keys and turn them. The lights and radio fire up and there is a click, but the engine won't turn over. To resolve this, I remove the key, open the hood, loosen the battery cable on the positive terminal, wiggle the cable around, and then tighten it back down. I then go back in the car and turn the key. The engine starts. Is there a bad connection somewhere? Should I replace the battery cable?
Long version of the problem: I've been having these problems intermittently for almost a year now. After the first or second time I had the car towed to a local shop. They couldn't figure out what the problem was because the car was starting just fine at the shop. The mechanic said that some of the cables might have shifted around in the towing process. So I tossed an adjustable wrench in the glove box in preparation for the next time. The next day, it happened again. Through some quick trial and error, I narrowed down the problem to be the positive battery cable (or something that's connected to it).
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My 2004 Ford Focus Hatchback has 152,000 miles on it. At the end of last year the engine started dying/stalling as soon as I started it - I would have to keep my foot on the gas to keep the engine going. I took it to the dealer and they put in a WHOLE NEW THROTTLE BODY. They also told me I needed a new battery and updated the car's software. Total $700. About a week to 10 days later, the car started doing the dying out after starting thing again - intermittently - didn't matter if the engine was hot or cold, fuel high or low, weather rainy, cold or clear and warm.
This morning I worked for 20 minutes to keep the engine going, made sure the engine was warm, and it STILL stalled out. I called in for a tow, called the dealer and said I'd be coming in, went back out to the car ... and it started right up without stalling. Drove it to the dealer and they've now told me they can't find anything at all wrong with the car. They are keeping it overnight to see if they can duplicate the stalling tomorrow morning. Any thoughts? The new throttle body cost me about $500 in December. (Don't know if it matters, but the defroster fan was super loud this morning, but once the engine was able to idle, the loudness disappeared ...). It's been a great car, but maybe it's time to start looking.
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I've replaced the fuel pump, relay, drive module, and the filter. The fuel pump still refuses to switch on when I go to start the vehicle.
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I have a '10 Focus SE I got used about three months ago. I updated the Sync software to the then-current version. I connect my iPhone for both phone and music via Bluetooth.
Every now and then, with no pattern I can determine, when I get into the car and turn it on, the music system immediately plays the FM radio instead of connecting to my phone and playing the music where it left off when I last got out of the car.
I am turning Bluetooth on on the iPhone before I get in the car, and I'm turning it off after I turn off the car and exit it, so it's not a matter of BT from the phone not being available.
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I bought my girlfriend a 2000 Ford Focus with 150k Miles on it to drive for the summer in Oregon. The car is physically in great condition with no noticeable leaks on it. After a week or so of driving, my girlfriend complained that a couple of times she would be driving the car and while going up a hill "nothing would happen" sometimes when she punched the accelerator. I asked her if the engine revolutions were going up and if the engine made a "vroom" sound (to try to see if the transmission was slipping) and she said it did not.
On a long trip driving from Seattle to Portland, she was driving again and we were climbing a long hill and she suddenly complained that "nothing was happening" when she punched the accelerator. She panicked and pulled off to the side of the road quickly. There was no shaking or vibration. I did not hear the engine wind up when this happened... so I am assuming the tach was not going up when she depressed the gas pedal. I opened the hood and looked inside and seeing nothing obvious, I switched to the drivers' side. No codes were thrown. I drove the car up the rest of the hill and to a flat area and we let the car cool off for a few minutes. I drove the car for the next 75 miles to Portland without event. When we got to her grandparents house, I changed the spark plugs (which were pretty fouled up), and changed the fuel filter (which actually looked pretty new.) and it seemed to satisfy her for awhile. Being that I havent experienced the issue, I just assumed she is not used to driving a small hatchback with a fairly wimpy engine.
In the meantime I had the entire front end redone, control arms, etc and alignment because she had had a slight shake...which is unrelated here but i figured I'd mention it. So, the other night she calls me on the side of the road, slightly shaken. Her latest incident was as such: at the bottom of an on-ramp to the highway, she punched the accelerator and "nothing happened" when she hit the pedal. This time the check engine light briefly came on, and the "OIL" light came on. She was able to pull off to the side of the road somehow and then pull to an exit. She turned the car off and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Here's the weird part: She started it up and claims she put it in "Drive" and pressed the gas pedal and nothing happened and the car actually started creeping backwards. She hit the brake and turned the car off. She started the car and drove away 5 minutes later without incident and drove it 20 minutes home. She said her gas was very low when this happened, close to the gas light coming on.
She took the car to a reliable mechanic in seattle the next day, and they said there was no issues and they thought the car was actually in great shape. Unfortunately no codes were logged and no codes have been logged at all! My only other weird observation about the car is that the tach seems to fall kind of quickly after acceleration... almost comically compared to my volkswagen 1.8 which has a gentle rise and fall to it. It kind of bounces up and down but the ride is smooth. Random, but i figured i'd mention it
Should she just make sure to keep the gas level above low/empty?Should a fuel pressure check be on the docket? The previous owner claimed the timing belt only had 25k on it, but he could have been lying.
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I have 2006 Ford Focus that was recently in a small rear end crash. The airbags went off. The only damage was a front bumper and hood and plastic grill. The computer had to be reset by Ford dealer for the airbag. Since the accident the front brakes intermittently apply, not enough to slam the car to a stop, but enough to slow it down and limit acceleration. We have replaced the rotors, calipers and front brake lines. Problem still exists. Ford says the computer shows nothing (duh) and my mechanic of 20 years doesn't know what else to do.
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I have a 2006 Ford Expedition with 95,000 miles that has a crank but intermittent no start problem. When it does happen, it will eventually start after one to two tries. I don't have to wait to start it again and I don't have any problems while it is running. Two or three times in the past two months it will sputter out and die (even though I am pressing the gas pedal) right after starting. I'll crank it again and it starts just fine. I have no problems while driving at freeway speeds or around town.
I never had any check engine lights come on so I replaced the battery and the fuel filter. I finally got two codes and replaced the fuel pump driver module and the fuel rail pressure sensor. The codes went off after replacing these two parts. I can hear my fuel pump turn on every time I start the vehicle. I have even taken the entire fuse panel apart to check Relay 303 which is soldered into the circuit board. It is fine and so is every other fuse in the panel.
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One morning after parking and turning the car off, I tried to restart and it just made a sad attempt. A few minutes later it started, but still seemed to take too long. I took it to the dealer and they said the Alternator needed to be replaced, so they replaced it with a rebuilt alternator (without asking me if i wanted rebuilt or new). Anyway.. when i picked it up it still seems to start a bit slower than normal, but they said that is typical for hondas. A couple of weeks later, I picked up my car from the airport after it sat there for 2 nights. It started slowly but surely. I stopped at store, and then it would not start at all. Barely made any sound at all. no cranking... So i had to have it jump started by a tow truck service.I took it back to Honda and they said everything check out ok, and cannot find any issue.I am afraid to get stranded again. Do I need to buy a new car? This one only has 70k miles !
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Our Prius has a funny quirk, one that we can live with because it only does it occasionally, but is still quite annoying when it happens. Sometimes, when the car is started, it does not turn on the electronics correctly. Most of the stuff still works, like the radio, GPS, etc. But when it does this, the only light that shows on the console is the check engine light (which is on for some coolant sensor that we don't need to fix right now) is the only thing lit. Nothing else, including the gas gauge and odo and MPH gauge, lights up. On the Consumption screen, it also does not register miles driven, avg MPG, and does not track anything. The energy screen works fine, although it does not show current MPG, as if it doesn't really know the car's all the way on.
Only totally random stuff makes it stop, such as driving a short distance, turning the lights on, entering maintenance mode, or restarting it. (This problem usually prevents the car from shutting down, also, which can be quite annoying.) Fortunately this doesn't seem to affect the car negatively in any was other than not knowing how fast you're going. Dealer didn't pick anything out reading codes, and it doesn't do it all the time (although short starts, such as turning on to roll down windows, usually seem to cause it.)
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I've got a 2005 with almost 300,000 miles and just recently the A/C blower has intermittently failed to start up. However, if I give the console a smack on the driver's side of the nav screen the unit usually starts up.
Now, I am assuming it is the start of an electric motor failure in the A/C Blower unit, however, the blower is apparently located under the passenger side glove box. So I am wondering if that is whee the blower is why does smaking the driver side of the nav screen start up the motor?
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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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After two repair shops telling me there is nothing wrong with my car, I'm at a loss. My car is in great condition except when it decides not to start. On hot days, if I am doing several errands I need to worry about if my car will work after the first stop. After driving for a bit, when I turn off my car and return a short while later it will not start. The car will attempt to turn over and the battery works just fine, it just won't start. Also, another issue I think is related and connected to this is that on car trips lasting more than 15 minutes, the air conditioning will stop working. The air will blow but the cool 'conditioning' aspect will fail and I will be stuck with hot air blowing at me. The catch to this is that after waiting 2 hours for a tow, the driver was able to start my car on the first try, thus making the tow unnecessary. Obviously my car is not 'perfect' like the repair shops are telling me....
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I have a 2005 Ford Focus ZX4. It is a stick. For the past month it has been having trouble starting, the example I will turn the key and it will try to start up, but doesn't. Then it will start but it is weak, sputtering, not wanting to really start, but I give it a little gas and it is fine. The last time it happened, It started after about 8 tries. I was driving a little ways and all of a sudden the radio/cd player quit working flashing a message that said low battery. Then all the lights in the car started to dim out. The headlights started dimming out too.
I did make it home, turned it off and when I tried to start it again all I heard was a click, click, click noise. It is at the shop now. I thought for sure it was the alternator, but they said the alternator is testing fine and once they 'recharged' the battery it is fine too. They drove it around for about a half an hour and they said it was running fine. What the what? They said they did have the problem getting it to start that I did, but only once. Now they aren't sure what the problem is. I don't want to get ripped off! I also don't want to have to fix something that isn't broken. I
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My 2006 focus just turned 100,000 miles. Last few months as it started to get cold outside its had issues with not "holding" a start. It seems to make all the normal sounds but won't continue to run. It is progressively getting worse, ie: more frequent and takes more tries to get it started. Yesterday I tried repeatedly and it wouldn't start until I gave it a LOT of gas-this is the worst its been. Previously it would either eventually start after repeated tries or with a little gas. Even on unseasonably warm days its happening now. Both autozone and tireman say the battery (2yrs old), alternator, and starter check out fine.
After lots of online reading here's what I've tried/paid attention to in hopes of narrowing it down.
-Changed spark plugs
-Fuel injector cleaner
-Spare key
-Don't notice security light flashing when it happens or any other random electrical issues
-No strange idle fluctuations
Once its running its fine and seems to start ok for next couple tries even at cold start. Trying to narrow down from IAC valve, PCV valve, throttle position sensor, wiring, ignition switch, fuel pump, etc. Can computer codes read even without warning lights? I have noticed for quite some time that idle has a slightly rougher sound (nothing obvious) but this seems to comes from muffler end and its been in for standard service and never been mentioned as an issue...? Its never stalled at idle or sounded like it was close to stalling/strictly issue with getting it going. I'm trying to determine if its logical that repeated attempts or giving it gas build up more fuel pressure? Or more logical that lots of gas is pushing open something thats clogged up?
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I have a 2001 Ford Focus, lately on occasion, not all the time when I turn the key nothing happens, the car doesn't start. I then turn the key back and forth a few time and turn the wheel a few times and then it start and runs fine and I may not have this happen again for a few weeks or it may happen the next day.
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My daughter's 2004 Saturn Ion3 has had problems starting up for three weeks. Battery was replaced as was the crank shaft sensor. Mechanics cannot make it NOT start so they can't diagnose any more. My daughter goes out in the morning, the car won't start, it just makes a spinning noise, then waits 15 min and sometimes it will start. Sometimes turning the key again right away will cause it to make NO noise at all. What else could be wrong?
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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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My wife has a 01 ford focus zx3 3 door automatic wont start she was driving and it lost power and shut down I replaced the plugs, wires, pcv hose and pcv valve, coil, fuel pump good 40psi, compression 150 to 180, even drop the converter still wont start could the injectors play a role.....
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Daughter has 2012 focus, when starts up has loud squealing noise , then short time it quits until start up again. someone told her needed pulley bearings needed greased? if this is true how difficult is this to do and what is it?
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I have a 2004 Ford Focus with 120,000 miles on it. In the past 8 months I have had to replace both rear brake lights twice and both of the head lights. I also had my mechanic replace one break light in addition to the ones I did. On one occasion some one told my wife her break light was out at a traffic light. When I got home and checked the light was working. The only other electrical problem I have noticed is that the emergency break light goes on now and then and also the check engine light. If this is a wiring or electrical problem is it something that will be able to be fix or even found? Also is it going to cost more than it is worth for an older car?
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Around 100k miles, my 2004 prius started failing to light the right headlight. It only happened every now and then, perhaps 5-10% of the time. It seems to fail more often in cold weather. I can always get it to light by turning headlights off and on a 2-4 times.
That seemed to work, but I still get intermittent failures where the right HID doesn't start sometimes. The left always works reliably.
Obviously replacing the ballast should solve this, but that is expensive and I wonder if perhaps there is some connection that has developed a high resistance that could be solved by reseating.
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