Ford - Focus :: 2009 - Serious Vibration At Idle
Oct 4, 2011
I have a 2009 Ford Focus SE with about 55K miles on it. I took it in last week complaining of a serious vibration at idle. They told me about this "service shield" that Ford recommended in a Tech bulletin TSB 08-24-9. The part was installed but I still have a vibration. They said all the motor mounts look good. I am really at a loss here, it is still vibrating. Someone recommended putting premium gas in. I love everything else about this car but this vibration at idle.
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I have a 2008 focus and at about 15000 miles started having a slight vibration at idle. Its idling at about 700rpm is that normal? It more annoying than anything. Took it to Ford and they just say its normal. What the problem could be? Should I replace the plugs?
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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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5.0L ... I'm having one of those moments, you know after you do a mod to your truck and all of a sudden you notice something about your truck that could have been there all along but now you notice it as something new? Ok earlier in the week I had my exhaust resonator removed and replaced with a straight-pipe by a reputable exhaust shop. IMO the work looks to be pretty good for what it is.
That said I have always been nervous about getting exhaust work on any vehicle because it always seems like tampering with or removing the OEM plumbing for aftermarket or custom work tends to develop a vibration at some point.
So here is what I've noticed over the last couple days, when driving my truck it is extremely smooth, almost like glass. When I come to a complete stop say at a traffic light about 1-2 seconds after making the complete stop I feel this slight harmonic vibration in the steering wheel. For those of you that have an iphone it would be like having your phone bolted to the steering shaft somewhere and it on constant vibration if that makes sense.
Just to prove it only happens when I'm sitting still and idling in (D)rive I sat in my driveway with the truck idling, set the park brake and released the brake pedal holding the truck in place in (D)rive with the parking brake. No vibration, smooth as glass engine idle, as soon as I put my foot back on the brake pedal the vibration comes back. It's as if the extra draw of applying the brakes puts an extra load on some sort of accesory drive or componant under the hood and the result is this harmonic vibration.
Just so everyone knows, the vibration is very noticeable to me because I drive the truck daily, most people wouldn't pick it out if I didn't tell them first. Case in point if my wife drives the truck she can't feel it unless I tell her what to look for. There are going to be some of you that just say my truck doesn't do this and has had a smooth idle for XX,XXX miles I believe you but let me know now that I have explained exactly what to look for. Like I said for all I know it's done this since day one.
I have a feeling that the straight pipe might have been welded in slightly longer than the oem section that was removed thus putting more tention on the exhaust and engine if that makes sense, the end result being a slight vibration?? I know that manufactures put these little rubber bushings along the exhaust system on cars/ truck to absorb harmonic vibrations and for all I know my resonator might have been designed to balance out harmonic vibes in the exhaust system as well as quiet down the exhaust.
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So I have a 2007 focus. It develops a front vibration between the speeds of 50 and 65...where it starts to even out a little. I would like to think of this as an alignment problem (i guess we should be checking on the alignment more often) this occurs after about a year of new tires. we are about to purchase new tires for the car again, and i dont want to end up buying new tires every other year for the car.
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My wife's 2009 Corolla S has 107,000 miles. Early on it developed a low idle and vibration while stopped at a light. It was idling about 600 rpm after it warmed up. It never stalled but occasionally vibrated. After doing some research I found some were having success cleaning the throttle body and throttle plate. I did that along with changing the spark plugs. At that time I disconnected the battery to reset the computer. She has put about 2,000 miles on it since then and it never idles below 800 rpm. The vibration hasn't been back either.
I believe it was the throttle body/ plate cleaning and disconnecting the battery that resets the computer that fixed it. The plugs still looked good at 105 K miles, but I had new ones so I put them in. I bought a can of Berryman b12 choke & carb cleaner and sprayed a little on the throttle body and plate and then sprayed some on a rag and wiped down the body and plate. It was quite dirty.
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Basically when the car is in D and when i am stopped with the brakes pressed on at a stop sign or a red light, the car starts vibrating and i can see the the rpm going down and then receiving back up and going down again something when the car is in R. its a 2009 toyota corolla le 90k miles. when the headlights are on, the rpm stays high so the car does not vibrate or anything. other than this the car runs perfectly fine.
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Problem: Vibration together with a noise that sounds abrasive and destructive. Mechanics have failed me.
It feels like driving over the intense short rumble strips that are meant to tell you when a wheel is outside the traffic lane. I feel and hear it in any gear, whether I am moving or not, but hardly at all in Park or Neutral, and hardly at all when cruising at high speeds. It is worst on the first drive of the day - much less on subsequent drives, even if the engine has been allowed to cool fully.
History: When this began, less than 600 miles ago, I had the transmission checked, where I had warranty coverage.
Found: No transmission trouble but a broken engine mount.
I had the engine mount replaced (and two gaskets replaced because they had started to leak), together with Virginia's mandated annual inspection - passed.
Vibration lessened but continued and started to worsen. Within 3 days the engine stalled in traffic and THE NEXT DAY the "check engine" light came on. I went back to the same place. The ignition coil and spark plugs were replaced. Power returned, and no stalling or warning light, but the vibration persisted.
One mechanic baffled: "What do you expect with 101K mileage and 16 valves?" - But this came up too fast to be ordinary wear and tear. What should I do?
2.0L Zetec E engine.
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I think I resolved the idle issue on my 2009 Corolla S with 82,500 miles and Automatic Transmission.
Symptoms:
Idled at between 600 and 800 rpms
Annoying vibration in drive and reverse, no vibration in park or neutral
On hard stops, the engine felt like it was going to die
Turning on the a/c would cause the idle to increase to 1000 rpms and the vibration would go away.
At 82,500 miles, I cleaned the throttle body which was extremely dirty.
Process:
Disconnect the positive battery cable
Remove the top of the air box and flex duct going to the throttle body
Disconnect the two coolant lines going to the throttle body, make sure and have a few old bolts to plug the lines so you do not lose too much coolant
Remove the electrical connector to the throttle body
Remove the vacumn line to the valve cover
Remove 2 bolts and 2 nuts (10mm) securing the throttle body to the intake.
The throttle body does not have a gasket, it is an o-ring which should be fine.
Once you have the throttle body off of the engine, clean it thoroughly with Chemtool throttle body cleaner.
The inside of the throttle body and throttle plate should look like shiny milled aluminum. when done.
Spray chemtool into the two ports where the antifreeze lines were connected. If possible use compressed air to blow out these ports.
Clean the inside of the intake and the mesh screen where the throttle body bolts to the intake.
Reassemble, connect the battery, crank the engine and just let it idle for a good 10 minutes
The 2009 Corolla S DOES NOT have a serviceable IAC. It is riveted on to the throttle body. This is why it is important to spray the cleaner in the antifreeze ports in order to clean it. These ports are the antifreeze bypass ports.
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So I just bought a 2004 Ford Focus. I did not drive above 15mph when I tested the car due to the lake effect snow that was occuring. Now that I own the car I have noticed if you try to stop going over 20mph the car starts to stop but last second it lurches forward a little bit. There is also a grinding noise that sounds like its coming from the back and a loud vibration that sounds like its coming from underneath the middle of the car. I'm trying to figure out if it is the brakes, tires or a leak in a brake line (those are all things my dad said it might be).
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I have a 2000 Ford Focus that vibrates more at idle. The previous owner replaced the top passenger side motor mount when I bought it in Nov. I just replaced the bottom and then the other top drivers side mount two days later. 75% improvement but I wonder if there is some thing in the engine like an adjustment of some kind. I have only had it a couple months so I don't know when the last time it had a tune up. I can replace the spark plugs my self but would need a computer diagnosis to determine if there is something else that needs some adjustment of replacement.
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I have a 2000 Ford Focus Wagon with 114,00o miles on it. I'm having a problem determining why it is stalling in reverse and also sometimes while it is idling. I've had the idle speed motor replaced, hoses checked, etc. After we had these things done the car seemed a little better but I could still feel the car hinting at wanting to stall.
I also noticed it usually stalls in reverse when I'm turning the steering wheel but not if I'm backing up in a straight line. It also feels like it wants to stall when it sits at a long traffic light. Before I had the idle speed motor replaced it stalled more often - several times a week. However, now it stalls a little less.
On another note, the car seems to idle a little rough. It almost sounds like a diesel engine. It seems to simmer down some once the engine is warm. I had a new water pump installed and a timing belt put in and now I can hear a squeaking sound coming from that area of the engine. I'm not sure if any of these symptoms are related.
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For the last month I have had a code come up as p0451 and it says the fuel tank pressure sensor needs replacement. i cant find it in any repair manuel and my mechanic says there is nothing wrong with my fuel system. he did find that my valve cover gasket was leaking, so we replaced that. i was also smelling gas in the car in the mornings so my brother in law replaced the purge valve, smell did go away but the light still on.
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I recently bought a 2001 Ford Focus (about 4 months ago) and it recently began having a rough idle, check engine light, and stalling. One night, I started and it immediately stalled. When I tried to drive it, it made a grinding noise. Eventually, I made it home and got it to a shop the next day. I was told that it was likely the pistons by a mechanic. He later confirmed it was the pistons, had them replaced, sent my engine off to a machine shop for "smoothing". 2 days later, I had it back and it seemed to be running great. Took it to work and went up a small grade hill (not even labeled) and it began chugging, making a grinding noise and the check engine light began flashing.
I took it back to the shop where the mechanic couldn't even keep it running and he determined that it was a broken hose. He replaced it, free of charge and the car ran great for a couple days. Next thing you know, it begins the rough idle and random stalling but no check engine light. I took it back in and he asked to keep it for a few days. He said that he determined the machine shop didn't do things correctly and sent it back in. I got it back this morning and it seemed to be running fine for my husband, but once I got in it, there was a loud rumble and a slightly rough idle. Then, there was the smell of burnt rubber. My mechanic wants it back, but isn't open again until Monday and I work the next two days. By the time I got it home from work, it had a very rough idle, issues accelerating and I'm still having issues going up hills.
Clearly, my mechanic is really focused on the issue being related solely to my pistons and is only focusing on that. I think something else is wrong and is being missed, but I have no clue what.
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We have a brand new 2013 Ford Focus, a little over 2500 miles. We drove the vehicle to NYC, starting the trip with over 500 miles. During stop-n-go driving the following conditions are experienced: - car in drive but stopped, engine idles at 750rpm- car moving at crawl speed, less than 5mph, and RPM between 750 to 2100, engine acts as if it will stall (IT IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANS); when this happens there's an obvious shudder - again almost as if the car will stall out- cannot determine what gear its in, but probably first, second, or maybe third, but no higher
We took the car back to the dealer, but they acted as if this was a normal, if not, non existent issue; they were very dismissive.
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I have a 2008 Ford Focus - 4 Door Sedan SE 60300 miles.
I've gone to 3 mechanics now and no one can seem to figure out whats wrong with my car. Here's whats happening:
About 1 1/2 years ago I took my car to get an oil change at Jiffy Lube (Yeah never again). When I left, my car was idling funny... Silly me didn't take it right back and have them tell me what was wrong.. so I let it go, well about a month later it started idling even weirder. Basically it feels like my car is shaking when it gets under 1000 RPM and I notice my RPM dial start falling and bouncing back, acting like its going to stall, but never does. I notice a loss of power when this is happening (on speed up and just accelerating in general). All of this is random, I can't seem to put a pattern to it as to when it happens. One day I'll start it up and everything is perfect... Then I'll shut it off and restart it later, and it starts vibrating and puttering again... No signals as to if its hot/cold or wet/dry, no environmental variables seem to cause it to happen anymore than others. And there is no check engine light on, everything "looks" normal.
What I've had done to it so far is:
Air filter changed / reseated
3 oil changes (keep getting told it will work)
Throttle cleaned
Computer reset for idle sensor data rebuilding
Now I'm told that I need new engine mounts, and that could be the reason for the vibration. I'm thinking that the vibration caused the mounts to wear out, more so than the mounts being the cause. Mainly because I don't see how bad mounts could cause loss in power/bad idling.
What could be wrong?!? Really bugging me and don't want to keep throwing money at it for phantom solutions. Seems like mechanics I go to can't figure it out unless there is a check engine light on with some diagnosis code to tell them exactly whats wrong.
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I drive a 2007 Ford Focus and when the fuel level gets to half a tank the car tries to die, and quite often does, when making a left turn. About 1% of the time it will do it when making a right hand turn. It will also sputter and die when running it on idle for a few min. It first started doign this at 1/4 tank but has gotten to where it will do it at 1/2 now.
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I have a 2009 Ford Focus and have been having a problem with the brakes. When I hit the brakes at any speed there is a feeling of pulsing as I slow down. It is proportional to the speed I am going. It feels like there is an unevenness to the rotor or brake drum that makes one spot on either of those hit the brake pad/shoe more severely than the rest of the pad/shoe and thus I slow down more during that one spot. Maybe the best way to describe the feeling is like this: While the brake pedal is pressed down it feels like I am slowly pulsing the pedal even though the pedal is steadily pressed down. This pulsing feeling slows down as I slow down until I stop. What might cause this?
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I have a 2009 Ford Focus. The ignition key can not enter the steering column cylinders unless the key is jiggled with a far amount of pushing. I took the car to the dealership in the late Fall and they replaced the ignition cylinder. This worked fine until Spring when the outside temperature got above 75 F.
I have tried using the extra key and it also will not be permitted to enter the cylinder except with a great amount of key jiggling. This problem only occurs when it is above 75 F, it is not a problem for 6 months of the year; but, I am concerned that sometime I won't be able to get the car started.
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My daughter's automatic DOHC SE Focus had suddenly been stalling, becoming harder to start and not maintaining a steady idle. I took it to our semi-trusted repair shop and was told it needed an EGR valve, plugs, coil, and ignition wires. $580! These all seemed like repairs I could do and so I have worked through all of these. I replaced the EGR valve and that seemed to make the problem actually worse. (so I put the old one back in) I put in new plugs and that improved the idle a small amount. Then I put in the new coil and that seemed to steady the idle a bit more. But here is what I have discovered through my many test drives after making these incremental repairs: The car starts now from cold very well and runs great for the first 20 minutes or so but...when it gets hot after 15 minutes or so of 50 mph driving, the idle drops and the engine wants to cut off. At low revs it seems to stumble and lose power. I think this is what my daughter was experiencing originally and none of my early test drives were long enough to surface the original problem. I have read that the Idle Control Valve might be a culprit in this sort of behavior.
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I have a 09 Ford Focus, this morning I heard a noise that sounded like shaking, something in my back passenger tire. Sounded like something that should be connected and has now come disconnected, rattling around, only when I drive over a bump in the road (ie. manhole, crack in road, pothole) etc.
At times it feels as though the car is shifting when a bump is hit. I think it is the sway bar or stabilizer bar, is that what this sounds like? If this is what it is, is it time sensitive to get replaced? Or can it last a few days?
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