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Engine light/P Code malfunction 2015 Focus St. Ford engineers working on this problem

8K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  Cwolfe10 
#1 ·
2015 Ford Focus ST/ Engine light P Code malfunction. Diagnostic Ford engineers working to fix this problem. Its has been almost 3 years with solution. I've been informed 2015-2017 Ford Focus St nation wide have this problem with the P codes with engine light coming on and has to be reset by the dealer. Note Cold starts light comes/misfire not happening its a Malfunction. Waiting for Ford to recall and fix the malfunction and the wait continues and the P codes still malfunction.
 
#4 ·
is there a specific P code that is coming up? I also don't really understand what is being described? are you saying that on a cold start, a CEL pops up for a misfire but there is not really a misfire?

also, if they haven't found a solution to a near 3 year old car by now, then regardless of what they say, they are not working on it anymore... it would have to be a safety recall or them getting sued to get an engineer back on the job.
 
#5 ·
I had this problem last week. The code is P0300 and P0316. Misfire. The issue, as it was explained to me, is that during the engine start the sensor the recognizes misfires misinterprets the the start up as a misfire. I'm at 19k miles on my 2015 and this was the first time for me. My solution is I carry a simple scanner that can read and erase the code. It is allegedly a software issue that Ford has not been able to fix, but they are working on. Seeing and considering that it's a 3 year old issue and that it doesn't affect many people, I'm not surprised they haven't found a solution. This has been my only check engine light, and it did not impair the car at all. I am stock.
 
#6 ·
This is a real thing, folks. Head over to http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-...-code-says-misfire-can-t-get-service-148.html to read the rest. It appears to only impact the 2015 ST, I believe. Based on input from my servicing dealership, Ford really is aware of the issue but their Engineers cannot figure out how to fix it. I have a 2015 with 30,000 miles. The misfires started at around 11,000 miles for me and since May of this year, my car has been in the shop almost every week for the same misfire CEL.

My advice to anyone with this problem is to just bring it in every time the light comes on. Let the dealership try to fix it. Get paperwork. Take home. Light comes back on. Repeat. Get that paper trail going. Once you have gotten enough, I'd recommend contacting Ford customer care or pairing with your local Ford's service department to see what Ford can do to accommodate you.

I hope this gives you some insight.
 
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#10 ·
My advice to anyone with this problem is to just bring it in every time the light comes on. Let the dealership try to fix it. Get paperwork. Take home. Light comes back on. Repeat. Get that paper trail going. Once you have gotten enough, I'd recommend contacting Ford customer care or pairing with your local Ford's service department to see what Ford can do to accommodate you.
Good advice. I just can't go without my car for that long. My local dealer sits on the car for 1 to 5 days at a time, which is a huge PITA!
 
#7 ·
well thats F'ed up, glad my 15 with 37k hasn't been affected (yet). having a constant misfire code would drive me bad **** crazy... especially coming from a Lincoln LS which is known for having coil packs fail often after just 10k-20k miles (if you are lucky) and always having constant misfire problems. honestly it would probably be enough to push me to getting a toyota, and god do I hate toyota's.
 
#14 ·
I have a 15 and get multiple P codes: P0300, P0316, and P0303. I've been to the dealer with in the past week and have had no mention of any sort of fix or recognition from Ford. They cleaned the valves, replaced an injector, and reflashed. I've only driven it a bit since receiving the car back. Guess we will see what happens in the future.
 
#15 ·
You should be provided a loaner vehicle if you are under warranty. If not, call their bluff!
 
#16 ·
I read it's an ecoboost problem. All direct injected Ford's build up carbon on the back of the intake valves resulting in misfires and rough idle at startup. They were experimenting with running a cleaning solution through the intake but it kills the turbo. I wished I could remember where I read this..
 
#22 ·
Flashing CEL is bad, this thread mostly refers to idle misfires due to carbon buildup on the valves. Usually occurring on all cylinders.

Pull the cyl 2 plug, is it oily? If it is run a comp test, if that comes out good swap your coil packs around.
 
#18 ·
Ford dealer has a TSB (technical service bulletin) for this. I went in and they updated the software and gave me spark plugs one step colder. Service was free. I've had no problems since. Another person posted that when the plugs wear out, the problem could return. But plugs need to be replace when worn anyways. Give it a try.
 
#20 ·
Well, if you have the update then I;m not sure what to tell you. As for plug life, I;m not sure. Seems to vary by users, but I'm only 15K into the new plugs, so I haven;t had a problem yet. Do a search for P0302 (Misfire cyl. #2) on this site and see what you can find. There are many threads on this topic.
 
#21 ·
Mine was also having non stop misfires and Ford told dealership to install updated software and for me to drive it for 500 miles to see if the problem is fixed. The idle was all over the place for the 1st week after new software, but after 3 weeks everything seems to have smoothed out and runs really well now.
 
#25 ·
Well I haven’t pulled the head off yet, I took a borescope to cylinder 2 and found that it does appear to have some jagged edges. It’s mostly because of the carbon looking like jagged edges that’s kind of misleading. When I did take it to the dealership they did confirm that cylinder 2 spark plug did look discolored from the others, looking a little orange and white as if the coolant is getting into that cylinder. I haven’t lost hope yet, but I also did get into some conversation with the service manager. I told him that if my car was severely damaged it wouldn’t be running at all, and agreed with me, plus I just fired it up today and literally ran fine. My only concern is let’s say it’s the head. The heads only going to cost me around 600 which isn’t bad, but I also need to know if ford made some changes on the engine for the ST. I know the tech said that he’s never torn into a 2.0 before which is a good sign lol but he said that the 1.5 liters had problems with them overheating and it was because of the channeling of the coolant. Im curious if the ST has a newer designed block or head after a certain year, that would beneficial for me to discover on if it’s ford basically not admitting that there were problems with certain years.
 
#26 ·
I'm not mechanically or technically inclined by any means. That said...I remembering reading somewhere that there were a couple brands of octane boosters that caused the spark plugs to get discolored, specifically "orange". Who knows the previous owner of your ST could have been using those particular brands of octane boost...just a thought!
 
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