The manual says that when ignition goes to pos 2 the ABS and Traction Control lights should come on briefly to confirm they are operational.
Just bought a second hand one 1.8 zetec estate which they said had both the above, but neither light flashes on, like the manual says, when ignition goes to position II
Is there a problem with the systems?
I'm not sure where you are but here in The States, at least in the 2001 models like mine, both items were optional. If so, it's possible that the car has neither and therefore no lights upon startup, either.
Plan B is that both items discussed are working but the bulbs burned out.
Plan C is that the seller knew that both systems were bad (where at least the ABS light will stay on--not sure about traction control) and rather than fix the problems, they just removed the bulbs.
One test would be to take the car onto an empty dirt or icy road and hit the brakes hard and see if the ABS system kicks in. If not, either the car has no ABS or the ABS has failed and needs service.
Re: Traction Control; don't Foci with Traction Control have a switch to turn it on or off? If so, do you have such a switch? if not, the Focus came without the feature.
Craig
Ta for that, I'll check what u said!
In alt.autos.ford.focus Craig :
Strange all Focus seem to have different equipment optional and out of the box, depending were the car was sold/bought. My 1999
2l has both ABS + traction control out of the box. Iirc all Focus over here (Germany) have ABS, the traction control might be only default with the 2l engine.At least mine has a small lighted switch to turn traction control off, near the gearshift, meaning the orange bulb will stay on all time and you'd have to switch if off always after restarting the engine again.
If I remember correctly uk model 1.8 does not have TC and ABS was an option. that's y I went for the 2.0 as u get TC , ABS and ESP (esp on some 2.0 models) + a few other goodies.
HTH
MC.
Ta, So does the ABS warning light come on (briefly) b4 you start (when ignition in pos 2) to indicate system is operational.
Do the lights come on before starting then extinguish (ignition pos 2)?
no switch, so.. possibly no traction control
Think so, but can't tell for sure, there are about a dozen or so light bulbs if you switch on ignition. Could double check tomorrow, if I remember it. Albeit you can easily test if there's a working ABS, just get onto some wet, *empty* and large enough parking lot and stamp onto the brake pedal with force. You don't need to be fast 30-40 km/h should be enough to let you know.
[..]
tried that and it did skid, but not wildly
so doesnt rule out partially working with fault and light/warning suppressed.
If the ABS is functioning, you'll feel the brake pedal pulsate during a hard stop on a slippery surface. The ABS and Traction Control instrument bulbs light briefly when I turn the key to P2.
Don
Ta Dude, thats what I wanted to know, mine don't so I think there is a fault or not fitted...
It shouldn't at all with ABS.
Indeed.
Sounds as if it wouldn't be fitted at all, perhaps you have been ripped-off? You could ask the next Ford dealer, he should be able to check in a second.
:>>> Albeit you can easily test if there's :>>> a working ABS, just get onto some wet, *empty* and large enough :>>> parking lot and stamp onto the brake pedal with force. You don't :>>> need to be fast 30-40 km/h should be enough to let you know. :>>>
:>>
:>> tried that and it did skid, but not wildly :>>
:>> so doesnt rule out partially working with fault :>> and light/warning suppressed. :>
:>If the ABS is functioning, you'll feel the brake pedal pulsate during :>a hard stop on a slippery surface. The ABS and Traction Control :>instrument bulbs light briefly when I turn the key to P2. :>
:>Don :>
Also to confuse the issue, at least on my '04 SVT Focus, the TC is ON by default when you start the car. If you turn it OFF using the button on the console then the light on the dash turns ON. Yep, you read that right. If the light is ON the TC is OFF. WTF??
me/2
thats typical... LOL, one of the university placement students doing the design got a wire crossed....?
Indeed, the dealer placed a misleading/false advert which specified that it had ABS and Traction, but in fact when I went back there today the salesman calmly explains neither were fitted and their advert has a disclaimer... Chuffin Eck...
Bloody con men, they seem in the ascendant in this country (UK) Flippin' think they are operating a snake oil / medicine show or something.
And I have parted with the cash now...
I also think they swapped the wheels for a duff/well scraped up set between me viewing and taking the car..
Fraud, a professional car dealer should be able to advertise a car probably.
Again fraud.
Sounds bad, TC isn't really needed (for me), though on snow it's nice. ABS on the other hand can be worth the money quite fast even if you get into a situation you can utilize it only once.
If you aren't used to ABS a security training helps tremendously to take full advantage of the system. With ABS cars behave different during full braking and you need to handle things accordingly.
Haven't been in a situation were it came into action, despite by provoking it on snow, just to see it's working as expected. But the security training with my Focus some ages ago really helped me to get used to ABS, more then I thought before. ;-)
yeah difficult to prove the latter but next time I buy a car (if) I will take a camera and get plenty of detail photos for evidence.
But the lack of ABS and Traction control I was well annoyed at, the salesman had a nerve saying there was a disclaimer on the advert
"Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the above information but errors may occur. Please check with a salesperson."
but they obviously had not made any effort to check the correctness of the advert as it was a simple job for him to tell me it did not have either when i took it back today.
Gits! and its a pain to try and get anything done about it, I'll visit trading standards sometime this week see what they say, but I bet it will cost me solicitors fees etc. to get anything done.
I'll also write the garage a letter saying I'll accept a further £300 off the (overpriced) price to compensate.
Tested ABS out on a quiet road in a hire car I had once, and its cool! Like you say could save you a fortune and possibly save a life or few.
Was wondering what traction control was like, guess I'll have to wait to find out.... when i get an ST... dream on...
Even ignoring the benefits of ABS and TC (I've never had a vehicle with TC but like my ABS), both items add greatly to the value of a vehicle. So buying a vehicle claiming to have both and finding neither lowers the value of the car a lot. I bet this "dealer" would be quick to point out its lower trade-in value if you went to sell it to them or trade it in on another.
Craig
Yeah, you are exactly right, talk about fuming... I am cross.
In alt.autos.ford.focus Grassy Knollington :
[ Used bought Focus missing advertised ABS + TC ]
Ah see, thought from the thread you would have returned the car already?
You should mention optional stuff in the sales contract, would be fairly easy to prove now that both ABS + TC are missing but listed.
[..]
TC is standard with the 2l engine. The best idea was to get a suspension set:
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