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Ford Focus Hatchback ZX3 - Part XII

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Comments

  • drebe73drebe73 Member Posts: 243
    honda needs to get off their butt and do some redesigning of their interior. I have a bunch of friends that drive civics of various model years and they all have that same generic and cheap looking dash and interior. Come to think of it the exterior hasn't changed much in the last 10 years. Talk about blending in with the crowd. I guess I am spoiled now that I own a Focus. I was in my friends 96 Cavalier this weekend and was surprised buy the plain interior, now I used to have the same car before I traded it for the Focus, and had totaly forgotten how plain the inside was. I still can't get over how much car the Focus is for the money. Love my Zx3, hate the fact that my service center is so half a**ed.
  • vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    http://www.vtec.net/news/items/445.html
  • trevatreva Member Posts: 39
    Ok... Hold Everything.
    Is someone playing a trick on me with that new 3-dr Civic ? Am I totally out of whack here ?!, coz that looks oh-my-god like the zx3.
    All they've gotta do is pull them headlight-eyelids back a tad, and you've got one-and-the-same.

    I guess Honda finally realized what they'd been missing....

    Treva.
  • trevatreva Member Posts: 39
    my local dealer just sent me a postcard advising me it's "time for my 5000 mile service". This after buying my zx3 on June 24th; just under two months ago! He said, "Oh we estimate that you'd have done that amount by now...." !
    Ok, so I've put 3200 on in that time, but 5000 miles in 7 weeks, yikes. Do the math for what that is per year....

    Treva.
  • smkmsmkm Member Posts: 11
    ZX3 Kona Edition....any good leads???
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    Konas are all over the lots here in Houston; mostly automatics, though, but in several colors. Ford seems to have built a bunch of Konas and shipped them all at once - "regular" ZX3s are in short supply.
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    brettzx3- someone posted way back about getting only an avg. of 18mpg. i dont remember if they had
    5spd. or auto. cape may + back on sat. avg. 28.5
    with air on the whole trip. the legal limit is 75
    on parkway, right?
  • cscott1cscott1 Member Posts: 6
    Was informed by my dealer that Ford sent the VIN for my zx3 to them today. Anyone have any idea when I can expect delivery of my new baby?

    Thanks,
    Chris
  • norwaydougnorwaydoug Member Posts: 249
    To clarify:

    The rattle in the engine compartment occurs at idle only. Where I had a perfectly silent idle, on occassion, I have a diesely sound. The sound remains if I engage the clutch or have it in gear (with clutch depressed) and upon acceleration the noise disappears. If I stop and the car is allowed to idle again, the noise comes back. Today, for example, I did not hear this noise, but I am certain it will return. I am thinking of going to another gas station and get a different source of gas. See what happens..will the noise go away? If anyone has had this problem or has seen the dealer (thanks Vadp!), please let us know.

    This does not occur while shifting out of first. (I have a 5 spd manual transmission). If I was to be very picky, I notice the transmission is not the quietest unit I have ever driven. It does seem to make some unusual noises. I hear some clunky noises at times, but not all the time.

    ND
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    having previously owned a zx2,i must admit that
    the zx3 does exhibit vastly different sounds.i
    believe the air-intake is configured differently.
    the sounds that have been attributed to the zx3,
    i have never experienced with the zx2.many forums
    back there were post about the 2 different tranny types.i do not recall the specifics of those discussions or what the concern was.perhaps someone
    here can offer some insight.
  • njzx3njzx3 Member Posts: 170
    I got my VIN issued about 3 weeks to a month after order... delivery isnt until about 3 months after the vin was issued. Hope you dont have to wait as long as I have been waiting.

    NJ
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    jw- you were in my neighborhood.was this your first
    visit here? did you visit bowmans hill tower,its
    right down river rd.about 5mi.north.many,many bikers out riding this weekend.the one yellow z
    i saw has the ground effects and rear wing,looks
    really sharp.you cant miss a yellow z.it really
    stands out.as you are probably aware,the entire bucks
    county area is steeped in revolutionary war history.
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    vadp - you may have located the problem.the catalytic converter. the loose part you had described,may well be the culprit.the sound does
    start when clutch is engaged and you begin to accelerate. i have only recently been paying attention
    to it since you and others have been mentioning it.
    the sound goes away as you upshift through gears.
    the reason i ignore so many sounds is because i always have cds playing.also, since the car is covered under warranty for awhile, im not overly
    concerned.now if i breakdown somewhere,i will be the first to whine about it .another reason i tend to overlook the quirks is because i enjoy this car so much.i just resist taking it back to the dealer.
    i never felt that way about other cars i have owned.
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    does anyone think ford will be more receptive to
    car owners concerns,given the firestone tire fiasco? i say probably not, i had thought they
    learned something from the flaming pinto.
  • jwkessler1jwkessler1 Member Posts: 99
    zx3beast - Didn't get to the tower, but found out about it late in the day. We'll be back - there's a lot to do an see down there.

    I just got the pix up a few minutes ago if you're interested.

    http://www.geocities.com/videocrazies

    I've yet to see a Zinc other then my own. I sort of like it that way. It's good to be driving something different for a change.

    In fact I only saw one other ZX3 all day. It was a silver one and it was driving past the park gate while I was inside.
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    jw- thanks, the pics look great. i know i have mentioned this countless times but its worth repeating,the yellow looks truly striking on the z's radical body.its a superb match.the trip you had taken was a good work-out to test the strengths of the zinker.the roads are exactly as you had described.at one time i would drive the entire river rd. on both sides of the delaware.im
    sure you had noticed the many bikers driving into
    new hope.
    i had went to cape may,n.j. on sat.i had to laugh when i was at a stoplight. a little guy was crossing with his mother,yelling look mom,look theres a focus.yes,the z gets many a look.
  • sirconradsirconrad Member Posts: 1
    i just bought a zx3 about two weeks ago. i thought i wanted green but couldn't get that color so settled for malibu blue. i know it is a little brite but i'm starting to like it. i really love the car but wish the mpg was a little higher. i have an automatic with a/c and have gotten 27-29 mpg. i'm used to my '89 colt 4 speed where i used to get 38-41 mpg (although no a/c on this guy). but i do love the ride of the zx3 and the way it handles. one another comment..i have noticed when stopping in traffic a slight oil smell. maybe this is because it is new. i'm hoping that this eventually goes away. what do you all think
  • kdominczakkdominczak Member Posts: 174
    Malibu Blue is a great match with the Z, almost as good as Zinc Yellow. Congrats on the color selection.
    Your gas economy should improve, don't expect it to do 40 mpg, though.
    Some members here reported 38 mpg on the longer trips!
    Engine will work a lot smoother after couple thousands of miles, so your mpg should improve.
    26 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway are the average numbers.
    If you can menage to drive it peacefully you can do better than that (as you know by now, it's a hard thing to do with the Z)
    Good luck and welcome to the family.
  • silver15silver15 Member Posts: 9
    i live in houston and all the ford dealers i have gone to have konas. the price they offered to me today was 15,835 it does not come with pwr locks or pwr windows but has a lot of other features. i don't know if this is a good deal it is the only dealer i know that has a silver kona all the other places have the dirt color ones. i prefer the silver my opinion only. i just came back from a different dealer for the same car they were asking 16,300 and all they had was the dirt color and a higher price.

    i would really appreciate it if you can tell me if the price is good or not. it went down a little i tried lower but the sales rep told me they couldn't because they were not making much of a profit. i guess my ? is should i take the offer or not?
  • jwkessler1jwkessler1 Member Posts: 99
    silver15 - Poke around on this site and you will find the invoice price on this car with the options it has. The dealer gets a 3% rebate, called a "holdback" off this price. In other words, you can buy the car for invoice, not MSRP, and the dealer still makes 3%.

    This holdback is intended to cover the dealer's costs for holding the car on the lot. For instance the dealer pays for the car on delivery so there are financing costs, they pay someone to keep the car clean, these has to be some sort of insurance, etc.

    You can come closer to invoice, or even beat it by a couple of hundred, if you were ordering. In this case, the 3% is all profit for the dealer. If the car has been sitting on the lot for any length of time, the 3% has been getting chewed up by the dealer's costs, and you may not do as well.

    I'd suggest offering to pay invoice with the expectation of paying a couple of hundred over that.

    My local dealer here in upstate NY has several Konas that they have been advertising for invoice, so you should be able to come close.
  • brettzx3brettzx3 Member Posts: 28
    75 mph??? The Parkway is only 65 mph at its best points, unless you consider that most people believe that they are entitled to drive 10 mph over the posted limit without being stopped, which in that case, would make the legal limit 75 mph. Sound good? Cruising at a good clip, were ya?

    I have an automatic, but it seems that the poor gas mileage doesn't even discriminate between seasons and conditions. I've had my car since 12/11/99. So, it's been through 3 out of 4 seasons with the same bad mileage throughout. I've tried to apply some rhyme or reason to this, but always come up empty handed. Like I said, that car is just lucky I like it so much and that it is so perfect in all other ways. A girl could get ticked off, ya know.

    Query: Is sap harmful to paint? I mean, I know it's not great and I clean it as soon as I can and I don't let it sit, but is it harmful for even a short period of time? Also, some sap is really difficult to remove. Any good suggestions?
  • gabegarwickgabegarwick Member Posts: 127
    Try goo gone or a mild solution of simple green. I am also sappy (huge sycamore tree in my front yard)

    Gabe
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    Hate to tell you this, but some tree saps are amazingly harmful to paint if left too long on the surface. Wash the car frequently, make sure you maintain a very good coat of wax to protect the car, and consider using a good quality car cover if parking under trees is unavoidable. A friend of mine owns a shop that does automotive restorations, and he has shown me several cars that he has repainted due to pine sap penetrating the finish all the way through the primer to the steel... these cars had to be completely stripped of the damaged paint before they could be repainted correctly. Believe me, waxing the car and using a car cover is much cheaper!
  • zgrrrlzgrrrl Member Posts: 147
    my local dealer just sent me a postcard advising
    me it's "time for my 5000 mile service". This after
    buying my zx3 on June 24th; just under two months
    ago! He said, "Oh we estimate that you'd have done
    that amount by now...." !
    Ok, so I've put 3200 on in that time, but 5000
    miles in 7 weeks, yikes. Do the math for what that
    is per year....

    Treva.


    Ummm, I got mine the exact same day .... I just hit 6300 this morning. They know me all to well at my local service dept ;) Per year? Yeah...warrenty null and void
  • zgrrrlzgrrrl Member Posts: 147
    Anyone remember me talking about the 2000 zinc Z still at the dealer I pass every day? Well, no it say on it "Win Me" I guess as a fundraiser for some local school or something they are doing a raffle to give the thing away. It's like $50 a ticket or something...Hmmmm....a loaded Zinc Z for 50 bucks?

    I wish I had better luck ;)
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    My Official Ford Service Manual on CD-ROM arrived yesterday, and it is a wealth of information. Want to know how to disassemble some part of your ZX3 (like brake pad replacement, shock replacement, or door panel removal)? This CD gives all the details. Torque specs, too (wheel lug nuts are tightened to 94 ft/lbs, BTW). If some of you have specific requests, I can print diagrams and procedures and fax them, as long as this doesn't get out of hand. Posting the diagrams is a no-no, as it would infringe on Ford's copyright.

    I read through the section dealing with transaxle noises. Basically, the official word from Ford is that some degree of "buzzing or rattling" from the transaxle is normal, especially in 2nd and 3rd gear, while coasting or under light throttle. They say the noise is due to "insufficient damping of engine vibration by the clutch", and will not affect the lifespan or serviceability of the transaxle.
  • norwaydougnorwaydoug Member Posts: 249
    I heard it this morning. It occurs only at idle and not while shifting. If someone has any ideas, please let me know. I think when it is time for an oil change (8000 miles), I'll ask them to check it out.

    Thanks Silver B for your information.

    How's your z, zzzgrrrl?

    Doug
  • norwaydougnorwaydoug Member Posts: 249
    This is a common problem. I think it is due to some oil being spilt on the engine compartment and the air intake location is such that the oil smell enters the passenger compartment. That is my theory.

    I had this smeall, and I lived with it for about 2000 miles and then it went away. I think the oil burned off.

    I have a rainforest green focus and I like the color, especially when it is clean. The malibu blue is rare here and I have only seen it twice, but I like it too. Both the grey or charcoal grey interior looks good.

    ND
  • vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    silver bullet,
    where did you get it, how much?

    Regarding the transaxle fluid change.
    I made an attempt to purchase MTL last week at Euroasian parts. They had only 2 quarts left.
    The tranny takes 2.1 qt. Am I right?
    Will check with them again this week.
    Any new thoughts on MTL vs. D4 ATF?
  • skater4skater4 Member Posts: 35
    Ok, I am officially less in love with my Focus now. I just looked out my office window and noticed something funny about my windshield. It looked like a crack, but I thought that couldn't possibly be it since the windshield was intact an hour ago. I went out to check, and sure enough, it was a double crack! It starts right at the roofline, near the antenna, and extends in both directions, like 2 fishhooks back-to-back. How can a crack just appear like that? Can a defective windshield do that? Now I'm worried about having to fight with the service dept. about fixing this under warranty. They better! Man, I haven't had any trouble (not really) with this car in over 10,000 miles. Now this. What's a girl to do? I vaguely remember reading other posts from people who had cracked windshields, but that was a while ago. Please help! What's the best course of action?
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    A guy on eBay is selling them, although you can buy them from Helm, Inc., the big publisher of all the manuals for US cars. Helm wants like $150 for the CD, and I paid 1/3 of that for mine.

    The CD lists the MTX75 capacity as 1.9 LITERS, so get three quarts for a refill. On level ground, the MTX75 should be filled so the oil level is 0-5mm below the level of the filler hole. Redline told me the same thing - use D4 ATF if the mfg. calls for Mercon. Although I bet the MTL cushions better, I will probably try the D4.
  • gogogophergogogopher Member Posts: 11
    For those who are getting really poor mileage. Has the choke been checked to make sure its not sticking open? A car can run "well" with this problem but will show poor economy. It should show up during a diagnostic check.
    Keep in mind all my knowledge is based on a 28 year old car...

    -Wilson
    '72 BMW 2002 (orange)
    '01 ZX3 (yellow) -- on order...
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    A 2002? Oh my gosh! Still have the solex carb, or does it have a weber? Not a tii, is it? Hate to break it to yo, but chokes are a thing of the past, thanks to electronic fuel injection and digital ignition control. It is still possible to have an electronic glitch that produces a problem comparible to a stuck choke, but it isn't that common. You are going to love your ZX3 ;-)
  • brettzx3brettzx3 Member Posts: 28
    Thanks for the suggestions. I will be waxing my car this weekend. The tree in front of my house isn't as sappy as a Pine, but it still spews nonetheless. We don't like the tree, but the neighbors do, and it is right in the center of our properties. It drops these big, hard, pointy balls too. Hate it! Sometimes I get to park in the driveway, sometimes not. It all depends on who gets home first. Skater4, that really sucks about your windshield. I hope you win when you do battle with your dealership. It was just out of nowhere? no chips? no cracks? nothing? The only thing I've ever heard about that is when it gets super-hot the pressure can built up inside a car and break the windows (it happened to my mother's car within the past couple years). Go figure! But, maybe it's a Ford problem. Or at least, it is now.
  • vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    O.K. this link should work

    http://www.geocities.com/vtecing2000/civic2001/
  • mznmzn Member Posts: 727
    More perhaps more than you want to know about tree sap, and other dangers to paint finish, check out the Maintenance & Repair conference. There are a few discussions there that could be helpful.

    carlady/host
  • kdominczakkdominczak Member Posts: 174
    That new Civic sedan is looking like a mix of:
    Sentra, Jetta and Focus.
    Interior looks better too, finally some refinement in Civic.
    ...and it's all because the Focus is sharper than the old Civic. Honda could not afford to loose just like that. Focus inspired Honda to do something with their aging Civic. Honda fans should be thankful that Ford decided to bring Focus to America.
  • njzx3njzx3 Member Posts: 170
    wow... finally a little improvement on the civic... the whole think still looks rather vanilla though... im glad i ordered a Z
  • vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    Improvement?
    I don't see any.
    And this is a design they plan to keep for another 5 years?
    The same awfully boooooooring car--in and out.

    Wonder about the new engines performance.
  • kdominczakkdominczak Member Posts: 174
    It's definitely more attractive than present civic.I agree with you that despite the changes it still looks quite boring (just one "o", though)
    Where did you get those pics from?
  • vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    kdominczak,
    Here is a source for latest Honda news and rumors:

    http://www.vtec.net/news/
  • fgaydosfgaydos Member Posts: 319
    I had my windshield form a stress crack and took it in to the dealer. He took a ball point pen and ran it along the crack to try feeling an impact point. When he found none, he was very nice about replacing it.
    Sorry for your bad luck.

    Saw a Z Sedan this morning, Green with a sun roof.Looking spiffy.
  • norwaydougnorwaydoug Member Posts: 249
    Yes, the exterior is boring and looks like that have some Mitsu Mirage in it too, besides the old civic, sentra. The coupe probably looks better.

    The interior of the automatic equipped Civic looks much better and is more stylish than previous models. The close up of the carbon fiber version (I suspect a manual transmission model) looks pretty cheap and I notice they have an ill-fitted cassette player. My personal pet peeve is CDs have been available since 1982 and car makers still don't put them in as standard in their cars. The interior of the automatic equipped model looks a lot better and I like the fact that the gear display is in the dash. Good job Honda on that point.

    The engine compartment looks solid and well designed.

    Stylisticly, it is not very exciting, but it will be a good car. THe exterior is really disappointing. IMHO, the last good Civic was the 1988 Civic CRX.

    Focus Sedan is pretty subdued too, but I think it looks better than the Civic. I hope the ZTS will lose the woody interior accents.

    Summary: Honda wasn't gutsy enough and did not push the envelope like Ford did with their Focus. Honda will still sell 300,000+ copies, but not based on style. It will be based on solid engineering, good parts and good assembly. And who could argue with that! Still, I think they could have done better. Bring-on the hatchback Honda!

    ND
  • jamers85jamers85 Member Posts: 100
    any signs(s) of what you think is odd you better send it to your dealer and have it checked right away. i didnt bother taking it to the dealer before and now it's too late..it's costing me 300 dollars plus. i should have brought my car to them when i thought my brake is kind of slipping when braking over rough surfaces. It started the first month i got the car and happened occasionally. Now that my car is due for the 12,000 miles service i had my brakes check. And they i do need to change my brakes and in addition my rotors are warped. How could that be it's only 11,600 miles. i asked for warranty because it's so early for that to happened but they only covered if i didnt need new brakes. but they said i need new brakes. but i didn't get any signs that i'm out of brakes. no squeaking sound and my brake fluid has been ok. But there's nothing else i can since they won't cover it. So just a warning to you Z owners..don't wait too long...we got warranty ...bring it in as soon as u think there's a problem
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    jamers85- i would push the issue on the brakes +
    rotors,under 12,000 is totally unacceptable.given
    the recent fiasco with ford + firestone, i can believe anything.i am extremely disappointed with
    this current crisis. both companies are going to suffer a major backlash of public opinion.i am
    convinced that they deliberately ignore the consumer with problems till the lid blows off.this
    is just another example.the damage+spin control
    is already underway.interesting tidbit,seen on msnbc this evening that mitsubishi had hidden consumer complaints for the past 20 years.in my opinion all of them are cut from the same cloth.
    any goodwill they have earned with the focus will
    certainly be eroded, if it turns out that the current owners here, who have certain issues with their vehicles are not taking seriously.this tune that this is normal is starting to wear thin.safety
    must be paramount.nows the time to make your voice be heard,you know their heads are reeling from
    this tire recall.also, their high profit explorer
    is going to take a beating.ford can ill afford to
    dismiss consumers concerns at this time.i believe
    they were truly striving for a quality image,in spite of this recent problem.time as always will tell the true picture.
  • zx3beastzx3beast Member Posts: 661
    brett- tree sap + bird droppings are a car finishes
    absolute worst enemies.as others have stated,a cover is a wise investment if you must park under
    trees.a visit to the local pep boys have quite a few sap + tar removal products. keep a good coat of wax on the car as well.removing tree sap is an endless + tireless battle. it is not worth the aggravation.ive dealt with it a previous residence.
    tall,well-mature pine tree sap+needles,i ran out of curse words.at the risk of being lambasted by the tree-huggers,i say the best place for trees is in the fireplace.
  • powerslidepowerslide Member Posts: 48
    Got this off the NHTSA site. Details are sketchy, but I'm sure you will hear more.
    Year: 2000
    Make: FORD
    Model: FOCUS
    Manufactured From: JUL 1999 To: JUL 2000
    Year of Recall: '00
    Type of Report: Vehicle
    Summary:

    Vehicle Description: Passenger vehicles. Certain vehicles fail to comply with requirements of FMVSS No. 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact." The resultant HIC(d) value at one target location AP1, located on the trim panel at the juncture of the A-pillar and roof side rail, may be greater than design intent.


    Ford has not yet provided a remedy for this campaign. Ford has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign.
  • jwkessler1jwkessler1 Member Posts: 99
    zx3beast - "i say the best place for trees is in the fireplace."

    Hummm - Exactly how long did you say you could hold your breath? Trees produce much of our oxygen, don-cha know.

    Of course I can be a tree hugger - I keep the Zinker in the garage.
  • gabegarwickgabegarwick Member Posts: 127
    Uh oh! That includes every focus purchased until the 2001 model! Isn't that something around 375,000 cars?

    Let's see... juncture of A-pillar and roof side rail...

    That would make the location the top corners of the windshield. We certainly don't need the roof collapsing on us!

    I'm curious to see what a remedy will be... new car maybe? Can't imgaine... (maybe I will hold off on my stereo install for a little while longer and see what transpires)

    Gabe
  • gabegarwickgabegarwick Member Posts: 127
    I would like to amend what I just said. (I am not scribbling the post in hopes that others will not incorrectly interpret this as I first did.)

    I went to the NHTSA site and read the aforementioned recall. Then I read powerslide's post again. I overlooked it the first time.

    I says "located on the trim panel at the juncture of the A-pillar and roof side rail..."

    The part I overlooked being "on the trim panel".
    This, I would think to be the plastic bit on the interior. Not nearly as serious as I first thought. (shows what skimming will get me!)

    Also said: Potential Number of Units Affected: 351000

    "Potential". Maybe we won't all be affected by this recall?? One can hope! Or better yet, maybe we'll all receive consolation prizes from Ford? (I still wouldn't mind having a mug. My car wasn't subject to the sensor recall.) And for those of you who did receive the mug. Maybe this time around, a light-up femur-shaped keychain stamped w/ the Ford logo? ;-)

    Gabe
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