Analysis: Ford Focus RS engine problem

“Once the car is up to temperature, there are no issues at all,” said Focus RS owner Mark Briggs. “I had my car on the rolling road before and during the issue, and the [bhp and lb ft] lines were identical. The car ran fine when hot.” Briggs, who has documented his Focus RS ownership online via his YouTube channel (MarkCup70), experienced the problem with his car after 8000 miles. He counts himself lucky because Ford put a new engine in his car, rather than just replacing the gasket, as he was among the first to report the issue.

“I think it was because Ford hadn’t officially decided on a fix at that stage, so it was quicker to just replace my engine at that time,” he told Autocar. Ford has since confirmed a field service action for the RS, offering owners of cars built between August 2015 (when RS assembly started at Ford’s Saarlouis factory in Germany) and July 2017 “a free inspection and repair, regardless of warranty or mileage status, for concerns of white exhaust smoke and/ or coolant consumption stemming from an issue with cylinder head gaskets”.

Many owners, commenting on specialist online forums, claim they have yet to receive a letter offering this service. Hilary Cotton is one such owner and he also has a rather different concern: his low-mileage Focus RS has shown no issues whatsoever.

“I know my car has the wrong gasket, but it runs absolutely fine,” he said. “I’ve only put just over 400 miles on it in a year, so my concern is whether my car will develop the issue before the end of the service action period.”

Cotton was told by Ford that the cut-off point for the work is 31 January 2023. If he maintains his current rate of progress, his car will only be at about 2400 miles by then. As someone who openly admits to not driving his car as hard as other enthusiasts, this leaves him worried that he won’t put the engine through the heat soak stress required to distort the block, but the problem might arise in years to come.

“I’ve written to Ford to ask for something in writing to confirm that they’ll do the work even without [signs of] an issue,” he said. “My dealer said it will, but I’m disappointed that I’ve not yet received a response from Ford.”

Another owner, Shaun Lovesey, said that when his Focus RS was taken in with an issue, it was off the road for 11 weeks due to a parts supply issue. He’s not alone: several other owners claiming similar delays have contacted Autocar, some suggesting Ford issued its service action before ensuring there was a sufficient supply of parts for the dealer network to carry out the work.