2004 Ford Focus SE

Not true, The Ford and GM replacement brake pads are just as bad as the originals, the solution is aftermarket brake pads which last a heck of a lot longer and are a lot cheaper. .Its really nothing to do with asbestos, its caused by smaller rotors and smaller pads to reduce the weight on the cars. Brakes have to work harder.

"V.Lan" wrote

Many Focus owners have complained about short brake life, but in fact it's an industry-wide problem, at least in North America. Environmental regulations in the late 90s meant that asbestos had to be removed from brake linings, which shortened brake life across the industry. For the 2005 Focus models, Ford addressed the problem by increasing the size of the brakes, which meant that 14 inch wheels could no longer be used. For the older cars, replacement linings tend to be better than the new ones, as the industry found better compounds to replace the asbestos.

Reply to
Henri
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"Henri" wrote

You really need to get a life.

Reply to
Dave Gower

"Henri" wrote

You continually twist facts to support your silly agenda. Asbestos has been a critical part of brakes for decades, and its elimination caught many manufacturers in a bit of a bind. Certainly enlarging the brakes is one answer, as I mentioned with the 2005 Focus.

Automobile designs take many years, and regulatory changes can't always be accommodated overnight. The same thing happened to paints in the 80s. But of course you wouldn't know about that.

As to your reference to aftermarket brakes, you are correct that these companies were faster than the auto companies at getting new types of brakes on their shelves. When I replaced my front pads at 55000 kilometres (35k miles) that's what I used. I put them on myself and at 91000 kilometres they seem to be doing fine. My dealer tells me they now stock better types of pads and linings.

Reply to
Dave Gower

What agenda is that? What twisting of facts.

I do not know what you are talking about!!!

And it appears neither do you.

I actually do know about the paint in the 80's. Which lead to TSB's and secret warranties by the car manufacturers.

Like I said before YOU are not an Automotive TECH and do not work in the Auto industry. It appears that much of what you post is based on what you have read or heard from someone else.

"Henri" wrote

You continually twist facts to support your silly agenda. Asbestos has been a critical part of brakes for decades, and its elimination caught many manufacturers in a bit of a bind. Certainly enlarging the brakes is one answer, as I mentioned with the 2005 Focus.

Automobile designs take many years, and regulatory changes can't always be accommodated overnight. The same thing happened to paints in the 80s. But of course you wouldn't know about that.

As to your reference to aftermarket brakes, you are correct that these companies were faster than the auto companies at getting new types of brakes on their shelves. When I replaced my front pads at 55000 kilometres (35k miles) that's what I used. I put them on myself and at 91000 kilometres they seem to be doing fine. My dealer tells me they now stock better types of pads and linings.

Reply to
Henri

OH! I forgot to point out that you really do not know what you are talking about.

Your words! "Asbestos has been a critical part of brakes for decades, and its elimination caught many manufacturers in a bit of a bind" is bullshit.

Asbestos has not been used in brakes pads and shoes since the middle

80's. -- Yes Virginia its been that long.

The US car manufacturers have had over 25 years to get their act together with brake problems and still have not been able to do it.

Keep em coming!!!! I am having fun.

"Henri" wrote

You continually twist facts to support your silly agenda. Asbestos has been a critical part of brakes for decades, and its elimination caught many manufacturers in a bit of a bind. Certainly enlarging the brakes is one answer, as I mentioned with the 2005 Focus.

Automobile designs take many years, and regulatory changes can't always be accommodated overnight. The same thing happened to paints in the 80s. But of course you wouldn't know about that.

As to your reference to aftermarket brakes, you are correct that these companies were faster than the auto companies at getting new types of brakes on their shelves. When I replaced my front pads at 55000 kilometres (35k miles) that's what I used. I put them on myself and at 91000 kilometres they seem to be doing fine. My dealer tells me they now stock better types of pads and linings.

Reply to
Henri

Henri schrieb:

Hi here in Europe this is not a problem. The original Focus pads and rotors are lasting for about 80.000 km depending on the drivers break foot. With 14" wheels. There is space enough in them. And we also have no asbesto in the pads since about 25 years. The problem in the US could be the wish of the FORD managers, to build cars even cheaper and cheaper to maximise their profit. Going this way too long leads to more problems for their customers. They could easylie use the same parts as in Europe where the car was developed. bye Jupp

Reply to
Josef Erbs

True. After 35'000 km, and more importantly two winters (hey, we don't drive as far in this little country) the pads and rotors on my TDCi still look great. From the pad thickness, it looks like these will go 70'000+, and the rotors are wearing evenly with no scoring or pitting. To be clear, those have been 35'000 hard kilometers, charging into every roundabout, bombing up and down Swiss alpine passes, braking deep into corners, and all in a nose-heavy turbodiesel Focus. A telling sign of the quality is that there is almost no surface corrosion on the rotors, even with the salt used in the Swiss lowlands. It seems Ford Europe simply requires a higher quality product from their suppliers.

To be fair, Ford US is not necessarily going cheap on the supplied parts to generate a ridiculous profit. They are going cheap to break even at best. In North America, the Focus (and cars in its class) is a "cheap" car. Consumers are not prepared to pay anything close to the European-equivalent price for a subcompact price. Ford builds them partly to meet corporate fuel economy averages and partly to deliver a product that some people want, but they have to build them to a price dictated by the market, and I would be very surprised if the Focus line, even at its low cost to the manufacturer, does much to boost Ford's bottom line. Over here, the Focus, especially with its recent redesign and size increase (or, bloating in my opinion) is the classic middle-class family car. People are prepared to spend up to the equivalent of 25'000+ USD for a Focus/Golf/Astra, and consequently demand a better quality interior, more performance, more features etc.

The first comment from one of my Canadian students when he sat in my Focus was that there is a noticeable difference in the overall quality feel of the European Focus... something like "too bad they don't build them like this back home", and that was before I even drove away and he could experience the composure of the Euro suspension or the pull of the TDCi motor...

Reply to
Stephen F.

I have '01 Wagon 1.6 liter and auto tranny

38K kilometers on the clock original tires-Michellins and almost 40% thread left original breaks blower blows ice cold and hot air when needed fuel economy: 7 liter / 100 kms highway, 10 liter / 100 kms in city the only one problem so far is auto lock motor in the drivers door acts up when it is cold ride is comfy enough for me paint is still shiny well, I agree significant power loss since it has auto tranny..but hey, its a 100 hp wagon..what do you expect? I am quite happy with the car.

ahmet

Turkey

Reply to
dragon

my rotors were gone at 19,000kms they were warped, grooved, full of hot spots and rusted. dealer replaced them under warranty.

now at 36,000 the rotors are again full of rust, full of grooves and hot spots. pads are less than 50%.

basically North American rotor quality is poor.

How much more would it of cost Ford to use the same euro rotors?

$30-$50 per car?

Reply to
V.Lan

Probably more like 10 dollars. maximum. But as I pointed out, when you are building a car down to a price point, 10 cents is a big deal. You can't blame Ford entirely, as every car squeezed on price has poor components. The Neon was junk, the Cavalier/Sunbird was junk, even my Corolla, otherwise an incredibly reliable car, had some pretty dodgy component quality.

Until North Americans are willing to pay European prices for their subcompacts, this is what we will continue to get in Canada and the US.

Stephen

Reply to
Stephen F.

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