Hi, Guest
Well, where to start. I picked up a used Ford Focus SE wagon in March. It had low KM on it, about 52,000. It was dirty inside and out though. I cleaned it up and it was proving to be a great family car. I took it in to the local dealership to have some maintenance done. An oil change, fuel filter and there was a strange noise when turning the wheel excessively. They found that the fuel filter was pretty old so they
recommended cleaning the fuel injectors, something I was thinking of having done any way. There was a loose linkage in the front so they replaced it. After that it was running so much smoother and the steering felt better too. Couldn't be happier. Two weeks later, I'm leaving to commute to work just after filling up at the local Esso station. Suddenly the " Check Engine" light comes on. So I pulled over and checked things out. Belt seemed fine and all the fluids were okay. I took it over to the dealership to have them diagnose the issue. I thought it would be a faulty sensor some where. I took public transit to work. Just before walking through the door of the office, Ford calls. " I've got bad news and worse news for you." Uh oh. That's never a good sign. The diagnostic shows the PCM is not functioning... the engine still runs but it's running rough without the engine management system to co-ordinate things. They want 1200.00 CAD for a new one. The worse news was that they had none in stock and no one around did either. It would have to be ordered from the supplier . They couldn't give me an ETA on when it would get there because they have no control over when the supplier ships. At first I said sure because I need a car. then I saw used ones on Ebay for considerably less. So after doing way more research than I should have to, I finally settled on a used one for 195 US plus 30 US for shipping to my address in Canada. I may be in for more headaches, I don't know but it beats 1200 bucks. Also, I contacted Tousley Ford in Minnesota and they could get me a new one for 595.00 plus 100 core charge. So if the used one doesn't work I can still order a new one from them and I'll still be under 1200 bucks.
Okay, any one out there experience PCM failures/problems? If so, I was reading up that it could be a faulty part else where.....something in the ignition system. Possibly the alternator, voltage regulator, coils, etc. The funny thing is, I've read other stories about the dash going crazy and all sorts of weird things before the PCM cut out. I had none of that. The car seemed to run okay, it wasn't fine but it didn't just stop dead. What should I be looking for or at to get to the root of the problem? Or could it just be a faulty computer. Another thing that bugs me.....why the hell is the part 1200 CAD here and 795 US from Tousley! Insane!!!
recommended cleaning the fuel injectors, something I was thinking of having done any way. There was a loose linkage in the front so they replaced it. After that it was running so much smoother and the steering felt better too. Couldn't be happier. Two weeks later, I'm leaving to commute to work just after filling up at the local Esso station. Suddenly the " Check Engine" light comes on. So I pulled over and checked things out. Belt seemed fine and all the fluids were okay. I took it over to the dealership to have them diagnose the issue. I thought it would be a faulty sensor some where. I took public transit to work. Just before walking through the door of the office, Ford calls. " I've got bad news and worse news for you." Uh oh. That's never a good sign. The diagnostic shows the PCM is not functioning... the engine still runs but it's running rough without the engine management system to co-ordinate things. They want 1200.00 CAD for a new one. The worse news was that they had none in stock and no one around did either. It would have to be ordered from the supplier . They couldn't give me an ETA on when it would get there because they have no control over when the supplier ships. At first I said sure because I need a car. then I saw used ones on Ebay for considerably less. So after doing way more research than I should have to, I finally settled on a used one for 195 US plus 30 US for shipping to my address in Canada. I may be in for more headaches, I don't know but it beats 1200 bucks. Also, I contacted Tousley Ford in Minnesota and they could get me a new one for 595.00 plus 100 core charge. So if the used one doesn't work I can still order a new one from them and I'll still be under 1200 bucks.
Okay, any one out there experience PCM failures/problems? If so, I was reading up that it could be a faulty part else where.....something in the ignition system. Possibly the alternator, voltage regulator, coils, etc. The funny thing is, I've read other stories about the dash going crazy and all sorts of weird things before the PCM cut out. I had none of that. The car seemed to run okay, it wasn't fine but it didn't just stop dead. What should I be looking for or at to get to the root of the problem? Or could it just be a faulty computer. Another thing that bugs me.....why the hell is the part 1200 CAD here and 795 US from Tousley! Insane!!!