Ford Focus Engine Problems

SOME carmakers stipulate a belt change at 90,000km, but it isn't unusual for the recommended interval to be 150,000km. Ford's service schedule is 150,000km or 10 years, whichever comes first. I see no reason not to follow that.

The Barina will run happily on E10 and I doubt the dealer's advice about the "emission light". Ford, on the other hand, recommends you use the higher octane rating premium fuel, hence the advice not to use E10. Your Focus will run on E10, probably without any trouble, but it will run better on premium unleaded.

I had a similar situation on another car, not a Focus. There was a problem with the temperature sensor that switched the cooling fan on and off. I would watch the temperature gauge rise to the point it was almost at boiling point when I was stuck in slow moving or stationary traffic, but it would drop again when I was able to get moving and pick up even a little speed. The problem was that the fan wasn't kicking in to keep the engine cool when it was needed, but the airflow was enough once the car was moving to do the job. The answer in my case was to run with the air-conditioning on all the time, because that way the fan was always running. I have never had the problem again. Mind you there is still a problem with the sensor, all I have done is circumvent the issue. I would suggest you try driving with the air-con switched on and see if the problem persists. If it doesn't you can be sure it's a problem with the temperature sensor that controls the cooling fan, if it does persist it could be the fan itself.

REPORT your experience to the oil company involved and ask it to check the fuel being sold at the outlet. If there is a problem, it's unlikely to be with the petrol being supplied by the oil company. I'm sure the oil company involved would be happy to check the fuel to make sure its product is not being tampered with.

I'm not sure what you would complain about, unless you're concerned that the dealer might not have changed the oil at the service, or hadn't refilled it after draining it, but if that were the case the engine would have stopped a long time ago. If it has been running without oil, or with too little oil, it would cause severe internal damage, and do it very quickly, but if that was the case you should had warning that the oil level was too low. What you should do is have it checked. Engines lose oil through burning in the engine or by leakage, and you need to find out which it is in your case.