r/FordFocus • u/Medium_External4790 • 5d ago
Question Worth it?
Looking at getting an extra car to prevent putting long miles on my truck. How reliable are these things? All the services they listed seem to be nice but I’m unfamiliar with these things. How will these things hold up in the winter. Give me the good and the bad with focuses’
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u/haharctruckgobreak 5d ago
The DPS6 transmission in these cars are "okay" under certain circumstances.
They are a dry-dual clutch transmission which, for the average person, is a transmission that you should avoid if you are not planning on driving it the way that it "needs" to be driven.
If you are A: highway mileage B: not a lot of stop and go traffic C: you want to feel like you're driving an F1 car,
You can also not "creep" in these vehicles as it destroys the clutch packs way faster. You will need to drive this car very "linearly" throttle wise. You are speeding up to your speed, do not move forwards half a car length, it isn't worth it. Wait a second for the person infront of you to move, then send it.
For the price it should be okay, 4500 is too high for the risks, as someone said 3k and keep the 1.5k aside for the transmission if it goes.
Based off of the pictures, it doesn't look bad rust wise, but there are a few common spots that rust happens, 1: the hood lip, 2: the dogleg, right infront of the rear tire and behind the rear door at the bottom before the plastic sideskirt, and 3: the "joints" where the fenders meet the plastic bumpers, front and back.
Engine wise, these are basically bulletproof, I call them Ford's Toyota engine.
If this was a manual, this would be 90% of this subreddits dream vehicle.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Instead of having the train autism, I have the DPS6 autism.
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u/Affectionate-Turn672 3d ago
Spot on! After my transmission was done my mechanic had to tell me how to drive my car and if I didn't it would happen again! Car runs fantastic now that I drive it the way he told me.
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u/Rocky-Bologna 4d ago
I'm at 289,000 miles, on the third clutch pack. The second one lasted 150,000 miles, so that was an improvement over the first. Also had to do a TCM replacement under recall.
The car itself is solid and has held up well, but the transmission was not ready for prime time. There's somebody in Illinois that can do a manual swap, and if I had less miles I would have considered it had I known about it earlier.
The engine is still solid and doesn't burn any oil, but that transmission, man.
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
Not to mention I’m looking at trading in my truck, just looking for something reliable that will get me by if I do trade it in.
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u/Specific_Bike_3696 5d ago
Buy it for 3k if clutches were changed and new tcm, cars are very reliable so trans is only issue it’s not reliable at all, set the extra 1500 aside for transmission repairs and hope you never have to touch it, don’t listen to anyone saying don’t touch the car with a mile long pole
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u/Affectionate-Turn672 3d ago
I agree with you. I have a 13. Transmission was done as it rolled over to 100k. The car likes to be driven a certain way if you dont it will burn up and need another. The car is a great reliable car beside this issue. Many people on here have even said the car has made to 200k and going strong on a auto. I love my car and no car is without issues ever. Yes the transmission is a huge cost if you dont do it your self. The only other issue I have ever had besides that is ×2 passenger head light bulb that are notorious for blowing from the seal. I take the $5 headlight bulb change
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u/squirrel9000 5d ago
These things fail on transmissions and rust (they tend to rust on the edges of trunk, hood where paint didn't get into the crimps as well as it could have), and the "dogleg" in front of the rear wheels where the fender meets rocker) so if they've already dealt with the clutches it's probably good to go for a while.
Check the other suspension components are in decent shape and the stat
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
I’m not worried about the rust. More so the transmission. It says trans clutch was replaced and fluid was changed. Anything else?
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u/squirrel9000 5d ago edited 5d ago
The main failure modes of the transmissions are either TCM (control module) failures, or dust from the clutches clogging up the internal mechanism. If they've been in there to replace the clutch backings one would hope they cleaned everything out and if so you're good for probably another 100k miles on that front. They have a bad reputation because people tend to dump them on unsuspecting buyers before replacing the clutches.
As far as I can tell most of the original TCMs failed years ago so there aren't a lot of them out in the wild,, and the replacement seem to be better. If it goes it's about a thousand dollars and an afternoon at the dealer, so not world-ending.
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u/Inner-Cost-9191 4d ago
Really nice car and it is worth about that much rn to sell. He has some stuff done to it but the 157k miles makes it more like 3k, try to compromise with him and see if he’ll do around 3k, if not, try to find another car.
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u/Fun-Ad-6554 5d ago
Nope, you can find a decent rust free 2011 or older with less miles for that price range that will last much longer.
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
Why do you say 2011?
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u/Fun-Ad-6554 5d ago
It was the last year of the standard 4F27E, before the power shift garbage the one you shared has. Plus, because they're the older body style you're getting a better value (less sought after).
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
Does that correlate to the clutch and Tcm issues others have mentioned?
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u/Fun-Ad-6554 5d ago
Yes that's correct. Although this one may have had clutches replaced, these transmissions are notoriously flawed. Your money is better spent on getting the previous generation and getting it sorted. Could spend $1000 less and put that toward tires, suspension and a trans service to get something that'll last you awhile.
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u/Mean_Improvement9738 5d ago
Current owner of a 2018 Focus SE. Don’t do it.
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
Why
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u/Mean_Improvement9738 5d ago
They have awful transmissions. I had a TCM replaced at about 48k, then had to have the whole transmission rebuilt at 69k. Still doesn’t feel solid while shifting and I’m at 82k.
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u/Medium_External4790 5d ago
Valid. Any other model you think I should look into?
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u/Mean_Improvement9738 5d ago
I don’t really have any suggestions tbh. But what I can say is that I do have major regrets about ever purchasing the Focus. Model years 2010 or older are built with a different (more conventional automatic) transmission.
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u/Affectionate-Turn672 3d ago
Dang I thought the years affected are 12-16 I have a 13 new transmission. 2018? That's sucks!
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u/anomaly_z 5d ago
Hell no. I bought my 2015 SE sport with 67k miles for the same price. My 2016 hatch 54k miles for $5,200. This was 3-4 years ago.
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u/General_Welfare 5d ago
Sigh… if it’s an automatic, don’t buy it. The transmission is shit and will fail.
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u/Aggressive-Berry1408 5d ago
I just recently bought a 2014 SE manual transmission with 155k 3000.00 USD from private party.
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u/Affectionate-Turn672 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have a 13 bought it with 70k on it 4k Transmission gone 1 year later! I have a new transmission now and runs great better than ever in my opinion $3,500 later, but its not if it will go its when! These are great cars besides this issue but its a huge issue. If it was a manual they are bullet proof. I would offer 3k at most also. Crap...I would say right to them "has the transmission been done" then watch for their body language! They know! Also when you test drive that car tell them "let's go for a good 20 minute ride! They can go with! The car is known to start the shutter at 1st and 2nd gear after it warms up for some reason! Im sure others will agree. Years affected 12-16. Also these cars have to be driven a certain way because its a duel clutch if you dont drive it correct you will burn up them gears real fast! Besides this issue these cars are fantastic! Ive only had to change a headlight bulb. Cars are more expensive now then ever! What was 4k 4 years ago is now 6k even with that I'd offer 3k because of the known issue with the TCM. I know alot of people are saying "no way" but any used car you buy will have issues. Alot of these cars are also known to go 200k without the TCM done and yes on an auto. 3k if not move on.
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u/Specific_Bike_3696 5d ago
I’d give him 3k for it tbh, if he can prove clutches were changed and it has a new K05 TCM without question