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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / August 2005Help, 2001 zx3 check engine light on
I have a 2001 focus zx3 about 61000 miles on it. Recently my check engine light has come on and the car seems to be running kind of funny. It doesn't want to give me full acceleration at times, and kind of sputters sometimes while driving and at idling speeds. Anyone have any ideas what this could be, fuel filter, pump, trasmission maybe? I am a woman of meager means and don't want to have to pay a mechanic a fortune becasue I don't know anything about cars. Thanks for any help. >I have a 2001 focus zx3 about 61000 miles on it. Recently my check engine > light has come on and the car seems to be running kind of funny. It [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > meager means and don't want to have to pay a mechanic a fortune becasue I > don't know anything about cars. My quick guess is a sensor, which is not horribly expensive, but it is impossible for anyone on a newsgroup to remotely diagnose something like this. The warning light means that your computer will contain a trouble code, which will help a technician diagnose the problem. The first stage is to get the code read, at a dealership or good repair shop, and they can then give you an idea what repairs are needed. Good luck. Ah, thank you very much. I made an appointment at the dealer to get it checked. I'll cross my fingers! Thank you. > Ah, thank you very much. I made an appointment at the dealer to get it > checked. I'll cross my fingers! Thank you. Or, if you're feeling slightly ambitious, take it to AutoZone, for free, they'll plug in and tell you what their code reader says. John Cairns > Ah, thank you very much. I made an appointment at the dealer to get it > checked. I'll cross my fingers! Thank you. Dave Gower is right, we can't remotely diagnose it. But, given the history of the Foci, the odds are at least 2 out of 3 that it's a bad DPFE sensor. That's $42 bucks from Ford, plus installation. If they are going to charge you $80 or something for a diagnosis, I'd tell them to change the DPFE and make sure they agree on the labor charge ahead of time. I told my mechanic to do the DPFE if he'd charge no more than 1/4 hour, or else I'd do it. He agreed, and it the DPFE took care of it. BTW, those code don't necessarily pin it down to one component. You can get a code like P0401 "Insufficient Exhaust Gas Flow" and it's probably the DPFE. See http://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/generic/p0401-insufficient-exhaust-gas-re circulation-flow-egr.php So, I'm not sure, but on my car, I went right for the DPFE. Wasn't the much of a leap of faith, that was the third bad one in 100,000 miles. One of my friends was telling me that he thought auto zone did do the free diagnostic check, so I will take it to them just out of curiosity to see what the code says. I may just go ahead then and have thwm change the DPFE sensor then if that seems to be a Focus problem. Just out of curiousity Tony was your car having similar problem? Thanks again for all and everyones help. Hi Shelma...if it's code number 402 that is the DPFE in the EGR valve...got a notice from Ford in Jan. '03 telling me that they were extending the warranty on that part an additional 2yrs or 24k miles...had mine fixed free of charge about 10 days ago on my '01 ZX3. Steve >One of my friends was telling me that he thought auto zone did do the free >diagnostic check, so I will take it to them just out of curiosity to see >what the code says. I may just go ahead then and have thwm change the DPFE >sensor then if that seems to be a Focus problem. Just out of curiousity >Tony was your car having similar problem? >Thanks again for all and everyones help. > One of my friends was telling me that he thought auto zone did do the free > diagnostic check, so I will take it to them just out of curiosity to see > what the code says. I may just go ahead then and have thwm change the DPFE > sensor then if that seems to be a Focus problem. Just out of curiousity > Tony was your car having similar problem? I have the check engine light on, good idle, good open-throttle, really rough in the middle. I couldn't put the cruise control on at 45 mph without the car bucking. But I could drive with cruise just fine at freeway speeds. That's my third bad DPFE. First two were under warranty. They didn't all behave the same way. I suppose they have different failure modes. I seem to remember the first bad DPFE gave me a real bad idle. > Thanks again for all and everyones help. Good luck and please post what the final outcome is. NOT spamming, but I would take it to PeP Boys, and they might charge you a few hundred dollars, but the one here in GA will do it in 1 day, and do it right, and they should give you an estimate first. I despise PepBOYS for their tire service, but they are very good at things like this. Precision Tune ripped my wife off for a lot of $, and so does Midas, and Just Brakes. Hope they sue me, 'because it's true! :+) It sounds like it could be any of the other posters' ideas, but most of our troubles have been a bad injector and/or needing a new fuel filter, egr, etc. This stuff could be done much cheaper - I dunno... btw- the "check engine light" comes on if the gas cap isn't screwed tightly on (!), and never overfill the tank... timing belt MUST be replaced at 60,000 miles... good luck - Paul 2000 Focus I just visited Auto Zone and the code came up as P0401, EGR Flow insufficient. Is this what is under the extended warranty or does anyone know what that involves? I have a 2001 Focus ZTS, and the check engine light comes on all the time. I comes on and the next day goes off. About a week later it does the same thing. I have a feeling that its the gas I use, or maybe its the crap Ford quality. If I use Esso or Shell gas it appears to be OK as soon as I use gas from Superstore or Safeway that's when I 'sometimes' get the check engine light. The dealer tells me that when the light goes out then it is a non retreavable code. The only problem is when I try to get an appointment, generally a week wait, at the dealer, the CIL has gone out. Darn car - Ford Focus, Yugos american cousin. Can't wait to sell this thing. > I just visited Auto Zone and the code came up as > P0401, EGR Flow insufficient. Is this what is under the extended warranty > or does anyone know what that involves? Shelma, Check this old thread: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.autos.ford.focus/browse_frm/thread/e322c f07a46e5e1b Summary: Focus had P0401 and it was a DPFE. I don't know about any extended warranty for this. Thanks Tony. It pretty much looks and seems as if it's the DPFE. I'm taking it in tommorow morning to the dealership so I may just tell them to change that part and cross my fingers and hope it works. I really don't have alot of money to spend on this car. I'll let ya know what happens. shelma wrote in message <03bbb96b9649c80fcb52739f44a1cf61@localhost.talkaboutautos.com>... >Thanks Tony. It pretty much looks and seems as if it's the DPFE. I'm taking >it in tommorow morning to the dealership so I may just tell them to change >that part and cross my fingers and hope it works. I really don't have alot >of money to spend on this car. I'll let ya know what happens. This link might shed a bit more light on what is going on under the bonnet (hood) http://www.focushacks.com/index.php?modid=80 Bob Well it was the notorious DPFE! Of course I am 2,000 miles over the extended warranty so I had to pay for it. They wanted to charge me $160 to replace it. Thats $33 for the part, $87 for the diagnostic, and the rest in labor(they wanted to charge for .5 hours labor). But thanks to all you fine folks here I was equipped with the knowledge of how long it takes to really change the part. I told them that 1st its absurd to charge me $87 when I told them what the problem was when I walked in. 2nd I'm not paying for a 1/2 hour labor when it takes 10-15 minutes top to change the part. The first guy said sorry it is what it is so I asked to speak with the manager. I told him its absurd and unfair that I have to pay for it to begin with when Ford knows theres a problem with this part. I cant help it it took my car until 62,000 miles for the problem to arise. So he knocked down the labor to .2 hours. I'm writing a letter to ford about this DPFE problem and I'm going to try and get some reimbursment for this thing. I want to thank everyone who helped and made me a wiser woman. Thanks, Michelle > Well it was the notorious DPFE! Of course I am 2,000 miles over the > extended warranty so I had to pay for it. They wanted to charge me $160 to > replace it. Thats $33 for the part, $87 for the diagnostic, and the rest in > labor(they wanted to charge for .5 hours labor). Great that you got it fixed, without the diagnostic! Thanks for posting your results. My Focus was doing much the same thing. Turned out to be nothing more than a bad vacuum hose. Check the hose that runs from the valve cover to the EGR valve - it's at the back of the engine. Rob ----------------------- >I just visited Auto Zone and the code came up as > P0401, EGR Flow insufficient. Is this what is under the extended warranty > or does anyone know what that involves? I had the same, I took it to the dealer, they replaced an emissions sensor and reprogrammed the computer. $345 Canadian. Works good as new now!! 2001 Yellow ZX3 Quick update, I just got off the phone with Ford and they are going to reimburse me for half the cost I spent to get the DPFE replaced. There had been an extended warranty but I was 2,000 miles beyond that so they agreed to pay half the cost. Needless to say I'm very happy.
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