Recent Focus Purchase

By 2002 most of the gothcha's were fixed. The most likely one is the ignition lock switch may seize, in which case you have no choice but to have it towed to the dealer for a $250 repair. But that's by no means certain. The factory front brake disks have a fairly short life, but aftermarket replacements are much better. You have purchased the finest small car in the world. Enjoy.

Erin.

Congratulations on your new Focus. I can give you one good practical tip, valuable to any Focus wagon owner...

When you close the rear hatch, always put your hand on the license plate, not the handle. The handle, itself seems fairly strong and won't bend, but the area where that handle meets the sheet metal isn't strong and will quickly take on a permanent distortion. I see it on almost every Focus wagon. If your car doesn't have this problem yet, you can avoid it by heeding my advice.

Good luck with your car, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Rob

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"Er> I recently purchased a used 2002 Focus SE wagon with 58,000KM on it. I was

If you have 2 good keys now andd have a bad habit of losing them - get a spare one from the dealer (or some would say Ebay) as you can program them yourself and save much $$$. I had to pay $80 (US) to get a second key and get it programmed since I lost the first one....live and learn. Linda

Hi all.

Thanks so much for all of your hints and tips. I've been driving the Focus for a week now and I have to say that it is one of the few cars that I have actually enjoyed driving. Fun yet practical. I do have one question though. My Focus is an automatic with overdrive. Is there any rule of thumb as to when / when not to have the overdrive engaged from a fuel economy point of view?

Thanks again. I look forward to participating in the group.

Erin

Erin,

Always disengage OD while Towing and sometimes when Carrying a "heavy" load. Keeping the OD enabled could cause an excessive amount of strain on the engine during heavy loading conditions. Also, if you are in stop and go traffic for any length of time it is a good idea to put your tranny in D1 or D2. (Keeps the tranny from needlessly shifting) Just remember to shift to D as you increase to traffic flow speed .

-- Dan

2003 ZX5 2.0L 24k miles "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it" - George Santyana

From a fuel economy point of view leaving it in overdrive will allow the powertrain computer to keep the car in the proper gear for best mileage - not always for best performance though, but best mielagwe and best performance don't usually go together. Of course at over 45 mph or whenever the auto shifts into 4th, having overdrive selected (lower RPM's) will always win for mpg.

I can imagine leaving overdrive off (or going to 2) when you want more engine braking for a long hill/slippery conditions or want to reduce amount of 3rd to 4th shifts some in traffic.

Gary

If you're doing a lot of city driving or stop and go under 40mph I turn off my overdrive. It does help mileage as city mileage is poorer than highway - of course. However in the snow I found better handling with the overdrive turned off - didn't help economy but I felt better - good trade off...even with my snow tires. Have fun with your new toy. I don't have any of the extras like ABS and those other handling packages and I love my (second) Focus just fine. First a 2000 wagon - now a 2003 ZX5... Linda