Worst Automotive Ideas: The 2005-2007 Ford Focus' Irreplaceable "Lifetime" Air Filter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Learn more about the air cleaner/filter assembly on the 2005-2007 Ford Focus which cannot be replaced absent changing out the entire assembly.
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In my opinion, the worst automotive inclusion in recent years is the unserviceable automatic transmission. If there was ever a component that was engineered to fail this is it.
That would be the CVT or constant variable transmission. Instead of metal gears they used belts as the prime mover. Steel belts but still, you drive snowmobiles with a belt, not an automobile.
They don't work, they wear out quickly, and manufacturers refuse to release parts so transmission shops can't work on them.
They're planned obsolescence. The car makers want you to just buy a new car when the transmission wears out. Which you kind of have to do because replacing the transmission costs more than what the cars are worth by that time.
Total scam.
wow this statement is loaded af
They dont work? Sure they do.
Maybe not as long as you'd like. Some cvts are necessary for hybrid electric vehicles.
@@rickjames5998 Tell that to the Nissan owners who need a new CVT at 50,000 miles. New ones cost more than $6,000 to replace.
@@rickjames5998Toyota's powersplit device is not a CVT.
@@aliendroneservices6621It's still a cvt, just not a belt driven cvt.
Ford was concerned that the EPA was going to designate the air filter as an emissions item. Those by law are covered with an 8/80 warranty. They set out to engineer a filter that would get them to 100,000 miles, enough cushion to assure it would make it through the 8/80 period. Engineering originally envisioned the filter to be similar to the charcoal EVAP canister. The charcoal would be embedded on a stainless steel grid. The grid would be superheated after a certain amount of engine operating hours. The contaminants would burn off and become harmless ash that would fall into a tray in the bottom of the canister. There were three problems with it. The first was if fuel vapors were present, they tended to ignite and charcoal likes to burn. The second was it was quite large and packaging was a challenge. The third was its cost and complexity. The project was modified and the result is what you see in this video.
I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help you 😉
Thank you for that knowledgeable and concise explanation. Are you an engineer ?
@@HemiChrysler no, just love cars, I was employed in the automotive industry for my entire career
I had heard it was for emissions as well but never knew the reason. Great explanation, thank you.
Thanks for explanation!🎉
Those Duratec and earlier Zetec engines were fantastic, used worldwide, and are often overlooked on lists of best engines. Versions of them were often used in spec racing series - reliable, easy to rev, consistent, and not too pricey. Ford/Mazda deserve some credit.
Agreed
The 2.5 Ford/Mazda L was on Wards 10 Best Engines list.
Idk. During this era ford seemed to have a issue with their aluminum alloys. 4.6 tritons that spit out spark plugs. I personally saw 2 2.0s that were toast after one time overheating. The head warped so bad there was no saving it. In both cases I pulled the thermostat out and told the owner they were on borrowed time. I also remember if you revved it and let off the throttle it would Rev a little higher before settling down. A ford engineer told me they had to put fairly large flexplate/flywheel to try to balance out the nvh. My favorite quote was I believe from motor trend. They called the nvh of the 2.0 "agricultural" as in a tractor engine. All that being said, these weren't cars bought by car guys who are good at maintenance. Most were teens or 20 somethings. So they would regularly go 10k without oil changes and the coolant that was put in at the factory is usually what it died with and they held up.
the GM 2.2 ecotec was also a great engine. many of the engines made today do not match up to the engines from a couple of decades ago. my favorite from the early to mid 2000's the GM 3800
@@andrewdonohue1853 ill agree with the caveat of pre direct injection were good engines. After di they started having problems
We had a 2005 Focus wagon that we put 230K on before selling it to our old neighbor. I saw him a few weeks ago and it's still going strong at 285K. Never an engine or trans problem or anything serious--but we maintained it regularly--except for the air filter.
In so glad someone finally covered this. I've had my 2007 focus ST with the 2.3L for years and I've always had no idea what tf is up with this filter
My grand daughter is driving my mom’s 2005 focus that mom bought new. It has 210,000 on it. Runs perfect. The air filter thing still has “green” on filter gauge It still gets 29-35 mpg.
Lol. Mine has that green filter reading, too. I don’t know if it’s accurate. But that sucker gives me 35 mpg, cold a/c, loud audio, 6 disc CD player. I don’t have to worry about locking it because it’s not on the Tulsa car thief wishlist.
Yes my son and daughter both had one. Neither needed to replace the air filter. I liked that they had a fuel filter. Many are putting the fuel filter only on the pump. Only needed oil changes and transmission fluid change before 100k. New plugs one coil and a flex pipe on my son's before 150k.
@@don2deliver would love to hear which car doesn't have a inline fuel filter.
@rickylafleur5823 They are relying on just a large strainer in the tank on many cars and trucks these days. Go on rock auto and look up fuel filter for many 2016 and up cars and trucks.
@@rickylafleur5823 I just checked random car models from popular makers between 2017-2022. These cars have no filters after the pump and only screens before the pump. Ford, Chevy, Kia, Jeep, Ram. I found a fuel filter listed for a BMW but that was it.
A friend I work with bought a 2007 Focus. Second week driving it 65 on the freeway the steering wheel came off the column. He calmly tried to put it back on but it was broken, he was able to stop the car safely. Call his dealer they pick the car up on the side of the freeway and took the car and him to the dealership. What ford or the dealership, someone made the decision for ford to take possession of the car and in return ford / dealership gave him the most expensive focus with all kind of racing stuff for the same price he paid for the car he bought. Ford wanted that car back and paid my friend back with a better car.
Damn right they should have, that protected the company from not just a lawsuit, but an investigation from the DOT which could have led to a massive recall and fines. That car was likely used by engineering to research QC and materials failure.
Carry a pair of Vise Grip pliers with you...
That is an amazing story ! The new one must have been a great car?
We had a dodge dart towed to our dealership. It caught fire and burnt to the ground. Whatever short caused these fires also caused the fuel pump to kick on and spray gasoline on the fire til either it ran out or wire burned though. Anyways, dodge bought the car back to send to engineering and gave him a voucher for the price of the car new.
Edit.. a little more info.... This was 2017 when they still sold those turds. If I remember correctly the guy hadn't even bought it new. It was a 2015 model with about 65k miles. It was already charred to a crisp when it got to us. The aluminum hood was complete burnt with a lot of it turned to aluminum oxides which made parts crumple into what looks like ashes. The front fascia,headlights, and plastic parts of the core support where completely gone. The air intake was a charred blob. Valve cover melted to nothing. Windshield melted out. Dash burnt. It even got hot enough to char the contents of the glove box. He told our boss he had to sign a non disclosure and wave rights to arbitration. He wasn't hurt at all. The car had caught fire in his driveway while he was asleep. No property damage other than some charred grass and shrubs.
They certainly wanted to keep him happy, and quiet. Imagine what would happen if the press and the lawyers got wind of that story.
I removed and replaced the lifetime air filter with a K&N on my '05.
The othe major fault with this "economy car" was changing the $27 PCV valve located under the plastic intake manifold. It was like a 4hr dealership job
How to tell me I don't want a used Ford without saying it
@@marckyle5895
I have a spare PCV valve for a 2.0L Focus if ya want it..
Only smooth brains buy Ford 😅
Try replacing the altinator , better yet the temp sensor Behind the altinator that sits against the firewall where you need to take off the motor mount and lift the motor to get it out 🤯( 02 ZX5)
That seems to be universal to Ford/Mazda L series units, many Mazda3s, 5s and 6s with these engines tend to burn oil due to bad PCV valves
Nice to see you discussing more modern vehicles. Your topics are always interesting.
Wish my Dad was still alive to enjoy these videos. He was a bible of automotive history, and cross referencing auto parts.
I enjoy your work in each and every video...
I have an '07 Wagon with one of these things. 380,000 kms., and never changed. Car is a champ, and want to keep running it, so now i know what's in there. Thanks!
I bought an 06 recently and amazingly the next day this video came up on my feed. I popped hood immediately and yup, never touched.
Found a video of retrofit, bought new box on ebay for $75 and 91 Saturn SL1 filter for $6. Can't wait for delivery and installation. Thanks!
it’s 2024 and you’re still amazed by the youtube algo?
Had an ‘06 that I bought new. That lifetime air filter….always thought that was the dumbest damn thing!
@@mustbetrue1602 I never bothered with it, and I had well over 100,000 miles on the car when I sold it.
I had a '62 F-100 with a 312 V-8 that utilized an Oil Bath Air Cleaner that lasted virtually forever.
I had an oil bath on my '75 Power Wagon. By the 70s, it was considered an option for "extreme dusty conditions".
Thank you for mentioning that. I’d not heard of it before and I’ve just learned something.
I changed the oil bath oil on my Farmall 504.
You have to eventually. It gets dirty and/or old enough that it gets too thick to allow enough air through to the carb. But for extremely dusty conditions it’s a fantastic (and economical) idea.
yes it is better than K&N but same idea. K&N will last forever if u service them
My mother had a 2005 Ford Focus for about 14 years. The vehicle was donated in 2019 after my mother stopped driving. I am sure the filter assembly was replaced before the car was donated. I had a 2003 Ford Focus that belonged to my late father for 10 years. Currently I own a 2013 Ford Focus with over 54k miles on it. It's been a very reliable car for 11 years.
Manual transmission in the 2013, then?
I doubt the filter was changed. It took a lot of dirt to clog up that filter. I advised against the 2004 on back cars when I realized how many problems they fixed in the 2005 model. Bad ignition cylinders, melting wire harness. Corroding brake lines. Horrible SOHC engines.
We had a 2004 Focus ZTS 2.3L w/this airfilter/air cleaner ass'y. It had a kind of a vacuum gauge/indicator attached to the air cleaner case used to help determine if the air filter element was restricted & should be replaced.
Like you said, getting at the air cleaner was quite a chore.
The car was also a PZEV model, w/the KAT intalled immediately after the exhaust manifold.
This was to aid in getting the KAT up to operating temp. quickly.
Additionally the fuel tank was plastic to air the car earn a PZEV rating by curtailing fuel vapor loss.
The quik-heating location ( right after the exhaust manifold ) for the KAT aided the PZEV rating too.
Back then, I remember the industry was talking about lowering the total cost of ownership. The idea was that customers would choose a car based on the estimated cost to maintain it over five years. This sort of thing was on the table.
It's a good idea but five years seems short! Why not over 10 years or 20 years, assuming Ford designed their vehicles to last that long? Setting a 5 year cut-off makes it too tempting to just defer maintenance to when it no longer matters for the OEM (e.g., lifetime transmission fluid), instead of minimising ownership cost over 20 years.
I bought a 06 Ford Focus with 340,000 miles and it still had the original filter in it...plugged solid! Somehow it ran, just slowly
I had a 01 two door that I drove hard for 9 years. One of the best cars I ever had
I remember renting one and I liked the way it handled
@@LongIslandMopars
Handled very well as it was one of the very, very few cars of this category with fully independent rear suspension: trailing arm + double wishbone. Mounted on an independent subframe. Whatever happened, it kept the wheels firmly on the ground in vertical position.
A bit off-topic but rented a 2002 Focus that year. Was really amazed how well it steered and handled, especially the steering feel. This is something very few people could appreciate and was only pointed out by magazines such as Car and Driver. One of the first American subcompacts that handed like a proper European car.
Was it essentially identical to the European model engineered by Ford-Werke GmbH (Ford Germany)? The Mk1 Focus was very sporty even compared to other European hatchbacks.
It’s the hydraulic steering it feels great if a little heavy while parking
I mean that is essentially because it IS a European car. First Gen focus was praised for its dynamics in the United Kingdom too
Beat car I ever had 2007 focus. Couldn't kill it so I gave it to my ex. She killed it.
The transmissions were the weak link.
was the manual transmission bad too ? my brother had a ztw and i fried the clutch at 26k miles, not abusive driving
And that’s why she is an ex
That's how it usually works...
good suspension but the transmission was horrible.
My 1926 Buick, with the Master 6, had a "cream separator" sort of filter. It took air in and, spun it, and dropped the dirt in a little cup held in place by a bale. It actually worked, based on how much I would find in the cup, but doubt it would get the very fine stuff.
I had an 04 Focus ZTS with the 2.3 which had that filter. A little 4 door with heated seatd, 5 speed stick, and a sunroof. Fun car.
I took one of those filters apart on a 200k miles junker that was dumped my shop. I knew it was “lifetime”, but wanted to know how.
Slightly disappointed to learn it was just layers of ever finer foam. But it got me recommending the aftermarket replaceable filters once the Focuses hit 100k. (Actually managed to sell one!)
Yeah, I had one of these cars. The sealed box was installed on California PZEV models in 2004. It kinda backfired on Ford though. Because I split the sealed box apart with a hammer and flathead screwdriver and threw the foam media in the washing machine. It's just like the media in a lawn mower air filter. Washed out great and didn't disintegrate.
This is hilarious! I worked on one of these and thought I was going crazy!
So - referring to the Vega VS the Focus air filter, here's why they did it. GM at best - broke even with the Vega. The target retail price was to be with the VW Bettle which at that time was @$2k. Problem is when all said and done, the Vega's base price was closer to $2200 a full 10% over original target price. In order to make up the gross profit (there was very little to none) they designed replacement parts to add more gross on the back-end with service.
The Focus is different where designed in is 'low cost of ownership' which is a huge marketing tool, especially for entry level automobiles. By extending the service intervals (on paper at least) and labeling parts / fluids ' lifetime' the cost of ownership goes down significantly.
That's the difference of each generation - cause / effect
Glad somebody else also noted the similarities with the Chevy Vega air filter which was encased in metal and the whole metal assembly had to be replaced when you changed the air filter
@@billdang3953 I was able to split open my Vega air cleaner and use an aftermarket filter, which was a lot cheaper. Many Vega owners knew this trick.
One of the selling points of the Ford Pinto, for that matter, "was low cost of ownership" and "ease of service". The Pinto turned out to be barely average at best, but it was a far better car than the Vega.
@@adotintheshark4848except for the Chevrolet Vega Cosworth Twin-Cam model!!!!!!!!!!
The European Ford Focus was a really nice design. I often wonder why they felt the need to give the American market what I think was a lesser design.
I thought the European Granada was also a good example as we got the over stuffed over chromed version.
Some drivers are happy with a 50,000 mile "lifetime", others want 300,000 plus.
Whenever they say 'lifetime' they're only talking about the lifetime of the warranty, or the emission control requirements...
my ‘81 vw rabbit diesel made it to 600k miles!
@@denisrhodes54 But very, very sloooowly...
Seriously, I'm not sure which was worse, a month in jail or driving a 48 HP Rabbit diesel over Donner summit. 🙃
@@marko7843 the 1.6 was not bad with a manual and no frills. the rabbit lived most of its life in MT. i bought it with a 1.9 partial conversion. much more powerful. top speed was 76 in wyoming.
@@denisrhodes54 Well at least you never got a speeding ticket on the highway!
There’s a special place in hell for engineers who design to require removal of a fender liner to access anything.
Part of the fleet I am responsible for is 2015 F-150s. Fender liner has to come out to change headlight and turn signal bulbs.
Let’s not go into replacing a Chrysler 200/Sebring battery from ~2006 or so 😅. Some Dodge’s too…
@@AAPLGUY '99 Intrepid PSF wheel came off, remove screws from panel in the front of fender liner, undo a battery retainer from inside engine compartment - and batt slid 6" back to enter the wheel house then rest of way out for removal. UGH!!!
@@patrickshaw8595 omg
@@patrickshaw8595 unreal
Brought a 2007 Ford Focus brand new, the basic model power windows, no cruise control, 2 alternators, shocks, struts, valve cover gasket. I have changed the transmission fluid every 100000 miles, just turned over 400000 miles and still going 😊, Just got a 2009 basic focus with 72000 miles on it, compared to the 07 it rides like a new one
Whoa. That's dedication. I've a 2010 SES sedan all options, only 166k miles. I bought this car used in 2014 only intending to keep it 3 years. These cars have a few pesky items (sway bar links, engines mounts, valve cover gaskets) but sensibly engineered (said filter above excepted) and solid. I think of everything I've owned, new and used, this car has probably most exceeded my expectations.
I had a ZX3 with the 2.3L Duratec. With some Koni Yellows, a big rear swaybar and Dunlop Direzzas I won two regional SCCA H-Stock autocross championships with it. I "cheated" a little bit by running the Dorman airbox with a drop-in K&N. Instantly noticeable difference in top end power. In stock form the engine would start to keel over around 5000 rpm, now it would pull hard to the rev limiter. Besides being stuffed with foam, the intake hole on the stock airbox isn't much larger than a silver dollar. It very literally strangles the motor.
I bought an ‘07 with about 125K miles. Nice 6 disc CD changer and audio is loud and clear. I now have 205K miles. Mine has this “lifetime air filter” that I might change out for an aftermarket unit. But first, I need to figure out how to replace the PCV valve and hose without taking the whole front side of the engine off. Removing components and sections I’m good at; my problem is all the “extra” parts lying around after reassembly. That little clunker has leather seats, cold a/c and gives me an average of 35 mpg.
To change the PCV hose you will need to remove the intake manifold
@@Paul1958R Uh huh. I could have sworn I mentioned something about removing the something from the side of the engine that blocks easy access to the valve.
@@ithinkaboutthings9052 Changing valve vs changing hose - two different things. You mentioned hose which will require removal of intake manifold
@@Paul1958R Sorry. I wrote about changing the valve and the hose, not one or the other. In mine, the manifold is in the way for both. I was hoping some shade tree tinkering savant had found an easier method.
I had over 144,000 miles on my 2005 Focus ZXW before the Michigan cancer made me sell it. We bought it new in February 2005 and sold it in February 2019 when the new Cherokee was delivered. Also sold the 2005 Forester as I was retiring in May 2019 and didn't need two cars and a Pick-up. I wish someone still made small station wagons like the Focus. I debated trying to find a southern car with no rust and transferring my power train to the new body, but after studying the Ford Service manual, I realized I would have to buy a lot of specialized tools for my shop that I would only use once.
We had them as stationwagons in Europe.
I was lucky to get a 2019 Buick TourX, one of the last wagons sold by a US auto maker. Great car, that's not a SUV.
@@kevinkoch-jj1ujI sat in one at the New York International Auto Show. I wanted one in the worst way but didn't want to give up my 2012 Acura TSX SportWagon. Still have the Acura.
@@LongIslandMopars Tough choice.
Yeah the 2nd gen focus had no wagon. Or else my 08 would have been a wagon.
Worst Ford idea; the "wet belt" oil pump and cam belts. Hope you cover this disaster of an engineering idea!
Agreed. Terrible engineering! And these engines won multiple “engine of the year” awards… those aged like milk
Every Ford idea is the worst Ford idea
I'd have to agree
I remember tryimg to take one of these air cleaners apart lol.. I was shocked when it was sealed lol
I’ve worked at a ford dealership since 2001. Even I didn’t realize they were lifetime . I simply thought it was tough to reach under the fender well. But people tended not to bring low end cars in for service once the warranty was over. So I never really thought about it. But these cars usually were put to pasture when the transmission failed or they just got tired. The engine wasn’t usually the culprit. I guess the filters really did last.
The manual ones were pretty good. A friend of mine had one for over 200k. As you said though, the automatics were iffy
@@billbob4856 I agree. I also think by the time the typical manual clutches wore out, many just scrapped the vehicle because it typically had high mileage and was well worn as a whole. Not because they were bad vehicles. But an entry level vehicle was often less valuable than the repair. And most were ready to buy another vehicle by then. I have a good friend with a 5 speed focus of that vintage. It’s a great car. But the only reason he replaced the clutch was because I gave him a big break on the price. But otherwise, even routine repairs would give him pause.
It clearly says so in the owner's manual!
I replaced one of these on my grandmother's Focus. Got the aftermarket box and tossed it in. Funny enough is it takes an air filter out of a 1990's Saturn sedan if I remember correctly. Made it a little tricky to find the filter honestly but Rockauto had it. Car had relatively low miles on it anyways so I didn't see a big performance difference. I still opened up the housing anyway and found about the same level of dirt shown here. Definitely a weird design!
In 09 I bought my used 2006 Focus ZX5 and I still drive it today in 2024 with 160k mi. only has had oil changes, tires, brakes, a rear strut replaced, a new OEM battery and exterior light bulbs replaced. It just keeps running in our extreme cold winters and hot summers here in Canada. I have this affection for this car..lol
These were used after 07, my daughters 08 and my 09 had one in it. The fix is to replace with the factory one that was replaceable. Fits right in, need to stretch wire a bit. Pick n pull usually has quite a few of these.
I had a 06 as my first car, the air filter also had a restriction gauge that let you see how clogged it was.
A bunch of old Mercedes had those too. Pretty neat tbh, works similar to the indicators on vacuum cleaners
@@Sohryu-Asuka-Langley also used on diesel trucks
My 1997 Chevrolet pick up had one of those restriction gauges. I thought it was actually a brilliant idea.
That filter design is surprisingly well thought out. With a sealed system like that they could have used something very cheap and just expected trust. I think it's easy for us engineers to loose touch when considering design life vs real life. It's important to consider diagnostics, and vehicles that last beyond the design life or vehicles that operate outside the designed conditions. I can see how this was well intentioned, but failed to consider design externalities, which are easilly overcome by serviceability.
I've had 2 focus cars. Both very reliable, comfortable and well made.
The last one had 160,000 miles on it when I sold it and everything worked perfectly 👍
Ford at this time had a corporate fascination with extended life/maintenance components. In Europe they were the first to offer longer term oil changes with fleet cars in the 70's and were much more focused on fleet/corporate sales and maintenance costs than they were with individual customers. If you own a fleet of a hundred of these, not having to rotate them out for certain, routine maintenance was a boon in the eyes of many a Ford bean counter. By being able to market this car as having one less thing for that car to be absent for,,,,,,,,
My neighbor's had a later 2000's Focus. It got T-boned in an intersection early this summer. One of them said they were glad to be rid of it as it had been a lemon the whole time they had it
My first car was a 2005 Ford Focus, and it had 163,000 miles on it when I first got it. I drove it for 7000 miles before I accidentally forgot to put the oil cap back on after an oil change and ended up driving around for 400 miles with no oil cap, spewing oil all over my engine bay. But guess what? The engine didn't care! There were absolutely not adverse effects on the engine for driving around with no oil cap for that long. In fact, while cleaning oil out of the engine bay, we discovered an exhaust leak that we could not fix because removing the damaged section of exhaust would destroy the mounting provisions for a new exhaust due to how rusty the entire car was. It was so rusty that the car had to be junked because the structural stability had been so compromised by the rust that it wasn't road safe anymore. But even after all that, do the very last day that I owned it, that engine still ran strong. Probably would have made it to 200k miles if the rest of the car hadn't disintegrated around it first.
I tried to service my stepmother's Focus several years ago after my father died, since he usually took care of car stuff for her. I was surprised to find that I couldn't replace the air filter! But, there was some sort of air filter condition meter under the hood that had green and red areas to indicate the condition of the filter. I assume this was some type of vacuum gauge that was telling me how hard the engine was having to suck air through the filter, but no really sure.
These gauges are common on off road equipment and tractors
“Lifetime” anything always makes me chuckle!
I take that classification with less than a grain of salt.
It lasts till the end of its life, so it's quite accurate.
Lifetime is Usually 150k km or roughly 93,2k miles, at least in German/European engineered cars. So, a "Lifetime" oil filling is good for max. 150k km, but usually replace it at half of that or use other manufacturers with the same transmission as guideline
Ive never ever seen one of these, but im in the UK, and I work on cars for a living.
If I'm not mistaken, only the PZEV cars got those because to get the PZEV designation they had to have sealed intake and different exhaust and fuel system that could be reasonably be expected to last the 10 years/150000 mile term of the PZEV emissions systems warranty.
My daughter's 2004 model had this filter. Her car was the ZTS model with 2.3 PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) engine. This model was initially only supplied in California, but in later years was available in other US States. So I believe this filter set-up was intended to reduce emissions. You did not mention the indicator on the air-box which rotated and indicated the life remaining on the filter. As far as I know original replacement filters were never available. My daughter's car went to the junkyard when its transmission failed (repair cost quoted was $4000).
I LOVED my 07 focus zx3. I did put an aftermarket airfilter box on it though.
The plastics under the hood were cheap as hell and would just disintegrate, but i never had a problem with the engine or trans.
So much fun to drive in the city. Good sound system. Several cars later and its still my favourite car ive ever owned
5:27 Gimme back my 10mm socket!
Hi, I drove My '06 Focus SE Wagon for 16 years in 160 thousand and it was a super little car. I even pulled a trailer down to Florida and back with some my son's belongings when he transferred to Stuttgart. It was fun to drive and it performed very well. When my wife could not drive any more we became a one-car family and Sometimes I wish I still had it. I had to remove that air cleaner to replace my fogged headlight housings. It was a bear to get out of the car and even harder to reinstall, but I come from stubborn stock and finally got it back in. Other than that, The car was a great car. I wish that Ford would make them again.
My dad gave me his 2005 Focus base model as a moving gift.
I was at 225k miles on it with just basic maintenance. I was going to get it to 250k but I was hit by a truck on the 405 in Bellevue, WA and totaled it.
I remmeber discovering the secret menu that would give me a digital tach because it didn't have an analog one.
I loved that car. I treated it like a micro truck and kept the rear seats down almost all the time.
The seal on the third brake light failed, and I caulked it with shower silicone since that was cheaper than replacing the seal.
On the topic of the lifetime filter, at 190k I bought the FSWerks Air intake and used that. Never knew Doorman made a filter box.
I have a 2006 focus 2.0 sedan with 286k on the odometer. Still going strong. Minor issues. Scratches, broken plastics. But still runs and drives excellent!
GM did the same thing on the Vega - you were supposed to change the entire metal air cleaner assembly. I had one when I was 16. I cut the housing away exposing the filter, which I measured and matched one up at K-mart. Open element added a bit of responsiveness too.
The lifetime filter went on until at least 2010. Mine had it with a stupid fake filter health gauge attached that actually fell off. A kit became available online to replace the bottom section and filter with a piece from a Saturn to make it "normal."
I was recently shopping for a very cheap car and looked at one of these. The driver's seat back was broken at the hinge. While the HVAC blower worked and the headlights worked, nothing else did. Tail lights, brake lights, turn signal lights, power windows, wipers all no-operational. I passed.
I'm the happy owner of a 2005 Focus 1.6 TDCI, and I can tell you that the european version is totally different form the car that you are showing. Different body, totally different interiors, and different motor. And never had any trouble from the air filter ^^ She has 290,000 Km on her, and still runs perfectly - and no rust on the body.
Of course she's been built in Germany, not in the U.S. 😉
For the Focus to get the PZEV rating, it had to meet specific anti-tampering and lower maintenance requirements. In the early 2000s, many of the requirements brought about larger catalytic converters and double platinum spark plugs that could go 125,000 miles before replacement. There were some people who got over 200k miles out of these lifetime filters, but some people who lived on gravel roads reported clogged filters at around 80k miles.
We put 215,000 miles on ours before we sold it. About 50,000 miles was on dirt roads. Ran like a top. Only major issue was the alternator. Still on the original LLF. Replaced the spark plugs at 115k and again at 200k. It did have a leaking valve cover gasket but this was very common on the Duratec 20/Mazda LF.
@douro20
I'm sure it directly depends on how the vehicle was driven on gravel and how clean the air was in the locations the car was on pavement.
SKP also makes an aftermarket housing, it's a bit cheaper than the Dorman. I put one on my sister's 2006 Focus. Kind of a pain to get at for sure. But hey, the original filter lasted 230,000 miles!
By the way, guess what else isn't servicable on the Focus? The 2.0 Duratech short block. But, I DID IT ANYWAY! Every day that the Focus fires up is impressive to me. Not bad for something you're not supposed to rebuild.
As a person who lives across the river from Michigan in Sarnia, To speak like a Michigander pronounce words with an O with the letter A and now you speak Michigan.
I can attest that it was 2004-2007 as I have a 2004. Mine is a California 2.3l, 5 speed and it has the lifetime air filter. It has been replaced and it wasn't that bad. As for the car it passed 200,000 miles 5 days ago. Did a front brake job on the original pads at 200,000 miles and they had 40% left but rotors could stand replacement. This car has been 100% trouble free. Only item replaced is the PSM. It is quick and handling of my version is fabulous. Body and interior in brand new condition as is typical of all 11 of my cars.
I had the same model. The transmission went in mine at 140k and I had to junk it. A trans rebuild was $4000.
I heard they implemented this to meet PZEV requirements. I seem to remember the factory service interval states to replace the unit every 150k miles. I think the air filter housing was even covered under PZEV warranty up to 15 years or 150k miles if it did clog up.
Correct it was to meet emissions.
Correct - it was to meet _PZEV_ emissions requirements
Worth noting that these cars also had an inline flow meter that was meant to show the user if the filter was compromised. Not sure how it worked exactly, but it would slide from green to red to show when it was done.
Vacuum. A dirty filter flows less increasing the vacuum. Higher to vacuum toe more that flow meter would move into the red.
Yay, more videos about 90s and 2000s vehicles now that they're getting up there in age.
We didn't get the same '05 Focus that Europe got. In Europe, it was a completely new design that shared a platform with the Volvo S40. I guess Ford decided it was too upscale for the US.
Focus was huge in Europe and still everywhere a decade ago.
While it wasn't claimed to be lifetime, if I recall, my new 1968 Pontiac LeMans (2-spd auto/AC) with the base 1-barrel OHC-6 had a "serviceable" air filter. It consisted of a ring of foam that sat in the air filter housing just like a normal paper filter. It was supposed to be cleaned (I used gasoline) and re-oiled... much like the filter on one of my lawnmowers! Don't know how long that design lasted as I traded the lethargic, brake-fade prone disappointment in on a used 1967 Olds Toronado less then a year later.
I suspect it was a marketing thing - never worry about changing your air filter. Same with 100K mile spark plugs.
Probably some young engineer who was digging through car history and then became impressed with the Vega sealed air filter unit and figured they could do it even better. I'm guessing that we are not too far away from some car company making engine blocks out of FRP.
No doubt the Focus was built as an economy car but they can be very dependable. My 2009 has 210,000 miles and another family member has 260,000. For a car that cost $13,000 brand new, hard to argue with that.
I have an '08 SE Coupe that's about to turn 100k miles. Bought it slightly used in 2009 for ten grand. Recently replaced the motor mount and serpentine belt. Made a huge difference in reducing noise/vibration. Otherwise just basic preventive maintenance over the years. Still averages about 35 mpg. It ain't fancy or anything, but it's easily the best car I've ever owned.
It was most likely marketed as a low cost of ownership issue. "Maintenence free" seems to appeal to buyers who do not keep cars very long.
My family has been driving focuses for the better part of 10 years now. My dad has one, I have one, my brother has one. These cars are just hard to beat. They have their issues like rust, and they love to vibrate. But man these cars handle amazing (one of the best driving hatchbacks ever made) kinda quick and they stop hard. I love my focus
It was a geniune surprise for me to find out that there was some actual thought put into this filter, both on its longevity, and, possibly, even on the longevity of the engine.
Always thought that it was just that Vega debacle all over again, just with a cumbersome replacement process to squeeze out some extra cents on service.
However, with those foamy pads I'm quite sure nasty premature decomposition events happened to the cars, which happened to run in a solvent rich atmosphere.
Imagine getting your car in for a quick bumper respray or an underside lining, and getting the engine glued solid by gooey chunks of foam!
Worst idea? My 2007 (owned since 2010) fj cruiser auto lock mechanism. The car is analog so doesn’t sense the fob. And after a few minutes automatically locks the doors. After locking my keys in the car a couple times I got in the habit of making sure I have the keys, leaving a door open and leaving a window cracked
wow is this wild..i'm sitting here watching this video and at 55 seconds into the video you show a silver focus with a street sign behind saying [ frackville ] 5 miles away..i only live maybe 1 mile from where this photo was taken ..this car is at Lucas Auto body shop in Fountain Springs P.A
I hear you. I was watching a video a couple of months ago about hilariously unfortunate bride-groom names in wedding announcements and saw guy I went to high school with in one of them. 😂😂
The Focus with the 1.6L Zetec RoCam is awesome and unbreakeable!
Another was the LUBE FOR LIFE front end on late 60's Ford...had a 68 Fairlane with NON GREASABLE BALL JOINTS., ETC....had to be replaced at 40K with GREASABLE BALL JOINTS.
I used to have a 2008 BMW 328i that had a transmission with a label that read "lifetime" fluid 😳, what a bad idea... I didnt care and replaced the oil to fix the transmission ( also replaced the tranny filter) this automakers definetly have a wrong idea on what "lifetime" should be.
I think these filters are great unless you’re driving on dirt roads. Even that one he took apart didn’t look bad to me whatsoever. There’s a gauge that will tell the owner when it’s restricted. That’s probably more of a real indication of it needing replaced, not discoloration of the filter element. Mines got over 150k on it now without replacement. Gas mileage isn’t affected.
And for our next trick ...we will need a Dremel and a hot glue gun 😂
Cut it at an angle into the plastic so the halves fit together with dovetails and such (PLAN YOUR CUTS, measure twice, cut once) , then use tightened nylon strap to bind them together. You could kitbash the right filter at the store.
Real funny hahahaha
Or get the European filter housing that's designed to be opened
I think the reason for this is to attract fleet buyers to the low cost of servicing. They can also design the part without considering any access to the replaceable section, or needing to open the two halves (requiring more space).
They figured that people who buy these cars don't normally do regular maintenance anyway. So by the time the filter gets clogged. The car is at the end of its life anyway. I'm surprised they didn't have lifetime oil filters too. Cause like I said, lack of maintenance
I believe you. But it still is not logical. If you buy an econobox (like I did), you should maintain and baby it to no end, because (for my purse) even buying an econobox it something I want to delay as long as possible. I don't get the logic of not maintaining economy cars.
@@ronaldderooij1774I agree with you on maintaining everything. I've never sold any of my old vehicles under 200k miles. Plenty going well over 300k. It's amazing what proper maintenance can do. But unfortunately lots of people just done. I did an oil change on one of these with over two years or daily driving on it. They had not changed oil in it sense they bought it. It was sludge. But they brought it to me cause it wasn't running well. The problem was a cracked pcv hose. No way there where going to get the air filter changed.
In Europe, Focus was praised for quite good suspension/handling.
I wonder if they got the gradual filtration sponges from the fish keeping industry. The German aquarium filter company Eheim was making canister filters with this type of filtration decades ago, so you only had to open up the filter and change/clean it every six months or so, according to your fish load.
It's a good concept and design, but it looks like Ford overshot their expectations with it.
...meanwhile Toyota's legal team was busy protecting the brand's perception of reliability, hiding two massive catastrophic engineering defects: 1) Engine oil sludge failures in both 4 & 6 cylinder engines (1997-on Camry/Solara, Lexus ES300, RX300, etc.) and 2) The defective piston ring design in 2AZ-FE 2.4L engines which caused excessive oil consumption and ultimately catastrophic engine failures (2007-on Camry, RAV4, Matrix, Corolla XRS, Scion xB and tC). The buying public was kept dumb of these costly design failures thanks to savvy litigation. GO Toyota!!!!
They should have called it The Fucus.🤣🤣 My friend had a brand new one back in about 2011. Brand new, less than 1000 miles on it. We went on a 150-mile road trip to Vancouver B.C. It blew the head gasket about 15 -20 miles from the border. Of course, it happened on a holiday weekend,so the dealer wasn't open. We were young, so nobody had a credit card, so renting a car was out. Luckily, my uncle had recently retired. He drove all the way up from Ocean Shores to pick us up. I've hated those cars ever since. 🤣
I'm thinking a large portion of the target buyers for that car tend to skip maintenance. In that case, the filter is more likely to get the car to 100k w/o issues.
I have an SVT Focus from 04. The Zetec/Duratec is, in my opinion, one of the greatest engines ever built. They are DEAD reliable, absurdly simple, and have significant performance potential. My NA 2L makes 190hp and redlines at 7500rpm. With the close ratio 6 speed, it drives great and gets ~30mpg on the highway. It makes excellent specific output, almost the same as a Lotus Elise and close to the S2000.
These cars really were engineered for about 100k. My car, with 160k on it, needs a new rear subframe, corrosion repair on the floor and subframe mounts, a complete suspension kit, and a complete brake kit. I've done a complete engine service, with a timing belt, water pump, and the thermostat housing has been replaced with an aluminum housing as the plastic factory ones like to leak. I've also replaced a lot of coolant hoses as the valve covers often leak on the back side and compromise those hoses. It's already had two new control arms in the front, and wheel bearings in the back. It eats tires as the suspension is sagging causing an unfixable toe in. This will be corrected once the complete kit is installed.
At 170k with many of those being hard miles and spirited driving, the engine still has perfectly even compression, great cylinder balance, no compression leaks, warms quickly and stays at the right temperature, and runs like a dog with a bee up his ass. Every time I've driven it, it sees 6500+ rpm.
My first thought was a washable filter, like a K&N.
I had a 2004 Focus ZTW 5-spd wagon, and it lived up to its reputation for being a truly fun-to-drive family car. I miss it to this day. We needed something bigger after child 2 came along, so when the lease expired we replaced it with a Mazda 5. The 5 was built on the Focus platform, and was enjoyable, but not nearly much fun as the Focus.
At that time especially, it was all about lowering the “cost of ownership” that you could then advertise. Stretched-out oil change intervals, no fuel filters, 100k mile spark plugs, non-serviceable auto transmissions and so on, all to lower the initial 0-100k mile cost of ownership.
Interestingly enough, the same strategy did lead to some major improvements in other areas: primarily brakes, exhaust, and suspension parts all typically last MUCH longer than previous model years. Again, that drops that overall cost of ownership (while increasing the initial cost to purchase, naturally). New vehicle brakes typically last 50-80k miles before requiring replacement, suspension often still feels almost new at 100k, and exhaust systems last far, far longer than ever before… 200k miles on a factory exhaust system isn’t unusual at all. Compare that to vehicles from the late 80s to late 90s and it’s actually quite impressive.
Lifetime = service plan length.
It's to avoid spending on air filters while the vehicle is under service plan or warranty.
Made to last the warranty or leasing agreement. European cars are big on this in the US market, but when you research the service requirements you find that in their own markets they have regular service intervals, the automatic transmissions come to mind.
This is the car that came to mind with the Vega video...
I sold my Vega at 17k miles, before I needed an air filter.
My kid traded a 05 trailblazer with 160k miles for a 07 focus with 60k miles in 2012. Still has focus. Zero issues.
No the worst decision by ford was the dps6 dual clutch. Absolute garbage. I think I personally did about 300 clutch replacements. One man at one dealer. We had 10 guys in the word shop who also replaced them. Times that by a few thousand ford dealerships internationally, that is a lot of clutch replacements
You will have a lifetime supply of stupid things automakers have done and are still doing today. Ford's "wet" timing belts and oil pump belts are a great example of stupid modern engineering...
The ones who design and approve of such things will likely call anybody who calls out such things as "idiots" and will defend their decisions as being "superior" for whatever reason.
They are not the only ones doing it. And are not the first. Even the old Honda GCV160 had a wet belt and those came out in the late 90s
Also internal water pump.
Worst? CVT transmissions with bogus "lifetime transmission fluids". NOPE, change that CVT fluid every 25000 miles religiously to keep the transmission in working order!! 🎉🎉🎉
feeling a CVT in a rental feels like the moment when you hear the call coming from inside the house
I guess that lifetime they really mean out of warranty time.