Ford Focus recalled over driveshaft fault

LW Ford Focus owners are being advised not to accelerate aggressively from take-off due to a potential driveshaft fault.

The driveshafts - or half shafts/axle shafts as they are also known - could fracture when the front-drive Focus endures aggressive acceleration from stationary, which could pose an accident hazard due to reduced drive performance.

Ford has issued a safety recall to replace the affected parts for the LW four-door sedan and five-door hatches – inclusive of Ambiente, Trend, Sport and Titanium variants. It affects a mix of 1.6L and 2.0L petrol models with auto or manual transmissions.

These driveshafts are different to those used as on current LZ Focus models, the company confirms.

A Ford representative says about 4,530 vehicles remain to be fixed out of the original 10,669 (in total), which were included in a customer program the company had previously notified. More than 60 per cent of driveshafts have already been replaced.

Models included in that program were built between May 21, 2013 and January 24, 2014.

The fault was discovered after a number of customer reports, but there have been no accidents to date, according to Ford.

Ford will contact owners of affected vehicles by mail. Vehicles will need to be returned to a Ford dealership for an inspection and, if applicable, the driveshaft fault will be corrected free of charge.

Customers should direct any immediate concerns to their authorised Ford dealer, or Ford’s Customer Relationship department by phone on 13 36 73 or 1800 503 672.

 
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