Auto hold problems

[Gilli]

I have a Focus Titanium 2019 diesel (but registered December 31st 2018)  Manual.  Doesn’t need ad blue but is the Ecoblu engine. Since the beginning, I have had problems with auto hold turning itself off randomly. This also goes along with intermittent failure to apply the parking brake on engine switch off. 
during a drive I will be using auto hold at junctions and then I realise the little A has failed to illuminate. Sure enough, when I glance down, the orange light has gone out and I need to turn it on again. 
Sometimes it doesn’t remember the setting at the end of a drive and the next time I use the car I have to engage it again. 
if it turns off just before I park, the parking brake won’t automatically engage. I have to apply it manually. 
The car has been in last week and spent 1.5 days having software updates. I have had a series of problems with system failures such as the navigation freeze ups etc.experienced  by many of us, but also failure of various systems such as park pilot; emergency call, Hill start assist, pre collision assist among others. It requires an engine stop and door opening and time to reset the computers involved. 
But it is the brake issues that concern me. 
Has anybody else experienced auto hold turning off during a drive? I have got used to it, but have to be aware of the failures when on steep hills and be prepared to adapt to the situation and use the electronic handbrake manually when necessary. 
Ford dealer has been helpful, but has not seen it on any other car. Neither have they seen the catalogue of errors ny car exhibits on its screen! 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
Just to emphasise. Auto hold switches off during normal driving conditions on normal commuting conditions. It works for half a day or sometimes less if more- it’s completely random- then suddenly turns off. It frequently needs to be turned on again the next time I drive  the car. Along with this, parking brake fails to come on automatically. This coincides with when auto hold has turned off just beforehand. Not what I expect from a £25000 car. ☹️
Gillian 
 

[Dark Andy]

You're not alone - my auto hold sometimes turns itself off as well, and I have to switch it on again by pressing the button. I think I remember reading somewhere that a particular combination of pedal presses will over-ride and turn off the auto-hold but unfortunately I can't remember exactly what the combination of presses were or where I read it. (It was something along the lines of carrying out a manual hill-start will switch off the auto-hold but I can't remember now exactly what I read or where I read it, sorry).

[Gilli]

Thank you Andy. 
mine will just do it on a drive. But I know what you mean. I think I saw something about that too. But I don’t  think that is what is happening on mine. Thank you for taking the time to post. 
Gillian 

[Comares2001]

Autohold should remain on once set even after reversing etc . Its probably just a random glitch that happens on MK4 causing all user settings inc auto hold to be reset to factory settings. Happens from time to time on mine and others cars.

[Mark-UK]

Auto hold has done the same for me but very very rarely, the failure to apply the parking brake on engine switch off, is all the time I just find it completely random as to when it works or doesn't.

As you say for £25K cars there are just too many glitches.

[CallMeSteven]

I've had it happen once on mine. Happened at traffic lights..my brother said the car is going backwards!! (very slowly). The Autobrake light was off, but was On for 95 % of the 60 mile trip. Because I had the car only a few weeks I didn't trust the Autobrake so looked down at times to make sure it was on.

Slightly pushing more firmly on the brake when the car has just stopped brings up the green Autobrake circular sign and the brakes are applied without further invention. This has worked 99% of the times since the one incident. But sometimes I wish I still has a manual handbrake (the more tech they put in the car, the more to go wrong)

[DaveT70]

I'm not saying you do this but autohold switches off automatically if you take your seat belt off.

Do you take your belt off as you are coming to a halt or pulling on your drive etc etc?

If you are reversing, auto hold will only engage once you have take the vehicle out of reverse (and have seat belt on)

You also have to wait when you want to stop the car for the green lamp to illuminate, with your seatbelt still on, before you power off the car. The handbrake will then automatically engage.

If it's still playing up after all that, ensure the dealer is updating all modules as they can conflict

[Comares2001]

The point here is though that even if the the autohold has been temporarily overridden it should always retain its previous user setting ie on/off with illuminated switch. As already suggested this a glitch on the MK4 that can randomly reset some user settings inc also for example speed limiter tolerances 

[DaveT70]

39 minutes ago, Comares2001 said:

The point here is though that even if the the autohold has been temporarily overridden it should always retain its previous user setting ie on/off with illuminated switch. As already suggested this a glitch on the MK4 that can randomly reset some user settings inc also for example speed limiter tolerances 

Agreed.

You must ensure the dealer updates all the modules

[Gilli]

38 minutes ago, Comares2001 said:

The point here is though that even if the the autohold has been temporarily overridden it should always retain its previous user setting ie on/off with illuminated switch. As already suggested this a glitch on the MK4 that can randomly reset some user settings inc also for example speed limiter tolerances 

There are so many glitches on my car. ThIs is just the one that I find most disconcerting. Until I learned how to deal with its vagaries,I actually avoided hills. I was anxious all the time.  I now know how to react if auto hold and hill start assist don’t play ball. I have learned how to do a hill start with the electronic handbrake. It is just so random in its  functionality. It is a safety issue. I shouldn’t have had to learn a work around. I stopped using it for a couple of months to perfect using the electronic handbrake. But in the early days I found myself marooned twice on a steeply sloping drive. I couldn’t move my feet fast enough to pull away without the car rolling. I use it again now. But it fails at least once in a 12 mile drive. Either not switching on at a restart, or switching off randomly. My husband refuses to drive it. My 2015 Focus,  now owned by my son was a beauty. As was the 2011 still run by my husband. No problems at all. This one has spent ten days with issues in Sandicliffe with no permanent fixes. Don’t get me started on auto start stop which rarely functions. Even after a 600 mike round trip to Cornwall. 

[CallMeSteven]

@Gilli "I now know how to react if auto hold and hill start assist don’t play ball. I have learned how to do a hill start with the electronic handbrake. "

What exactly do you do? Do you use the manual lever on a hill? Just curious..thanks.

[Gilli]

1 hour ago, DaveT70 said:

I'm not saying you do this but autohold switches off automatically if you take your seat belt off.

Do you take your belt off as you are coming to a halt or pulling on your drive etc etc?

If you are reversing, auto hold will only engage once you have take the vehicle out of reverse (and have seat belt on)

You also have to wait when you want to stop the car for the green lamp to illuminate, with your seatbelt still on, before you power off the car. The handbrake will then automatically engage.

If it's still playing up after all that, ensure the dealer is updating all modules as they can conflict

Thank you. No, I never touch my seatbelt until I am properly stopped and the car is braked and the ignition is off. 
I am aware of the little green A and the requirement to fully depress the brake in certain situations. When it fails to illuminate despite all these checks, a glance to the left and back shows the orange light has gone out on the switch. 
I am now used to this and can quickly reingage and continue the journey. See also another reply with more detail of what I had to do to learn how to work around these issues. The thing is, I shouldn't have to. Especially brakes. The car was in for a day and a half last week while they did the oil degradation recall and updated all the modules. Didn’t help this problem at all. Auto stop start worked beautifully until yesterday. Now urs stopped again. Ford seriously need to address these software issues. Thank you fir taking the time to reply. These cars are so tech complex it is easy to overlook all the possible causes of problems. 

[Gilli]

6 minutes ago, CallMeSteven said:

@Gilli "I now know how to react if auto hold and hill start assist don’t play ball. I have learned how to do a hill start with the electronic handbrake. "

What exactly do you do? Do you use the manual lever on a hill? Just curious..thanks.

Yes. If I can see the auto hold has disengaged. I am now confident to use the electronic handbrake. Once I worked out that you can pull away without releasing it. It’s just a ‘harder’ release than with auto hold. That is, not quite as soft a pull away. But it works. I’ve also recently discovered that I can also quickly press the auto hold  switch and it will then hold the car. It’s just a bit awkward as you have to glance back wards and take your eye off looking ahead. The only time  that doesn’t work  is when the  car screen flags a malfunction. Auto hold will not function again no matter how many times you press the switch until your car has completely stopped and been given time to reset itself.
As I am writing this,  I am thinking “What is going on here? Listen to yourself. This  is a state of the art car. Allegedly! why on earth doesn’t it just work the way it is supposed to! “ 🤷‍♀️

[CallMeSteven]

Thanks Gilli. I agree, it's a nice car (I have the Titanium 1.0 Petrol since December), but it's worrying that if there are issues now what will it be like in a few years time. I had my original Focus since 2003 to 2019 with 80,000+ miles or breakdown free driving & only needed a few items over that period due to wear and tear. Let's hope that these new cars are as good.

[Gilli]

14 hours ago, Mark-UK said:

Auto hold has done the same for me but very very rarely, the failure to apply the parking brake on engine switch off, is all the time I just find it completely random as to when it works or doesn't.

As you say for £25K cars there are just too many glitches.

Yes. And it is really hard to replicate. You just have to be vigilant on the parking brake thing. I nearly rolled into a fence once as when I took my feet off the pedals,  the brake hadn’t come on. It happens maybe once  a week. No big red light at the end of a journey. So it’s just another thing I have to be constantly aware of. My list of glitches runs into five pages. Find won’t even give me a case number. Just referred me back to the dealer who are doing their best to fix  it. I just want a  new car without constant problems. But that doesn’t seem to be a possibility. Without a big bun fight. Just won’t keep it at the end of the three years. Always normally do. But not this one. 

[Gilli]

4 minutes ago, CallMeSteven said:

Thanks Gilli. I agree, it's a nice car (I have the Titanium 1.0 Petrol since December), but it's worrying that if there are issues now what will it be like in a few years time. I had my original Focus since 2003 to 2019 with 80,000+ miles or breakdown free driving & only needed a few items over that period due to wear and tear. Let's hope that these new cars are as good.

Yes Steven. It’s a wonderful drive when it’s working. Such a pleasure to cruise down the motorway on a longer drive. We still have the two previous cars in the family. Trouble free both of them. This one just isn’t reliable from the point of view of the technology. Error after error. Some just annoying, others impactful like the brake. And the auto start stop not working meaning the car ticks over in traffic when it should have shut down. So not environmentally friendly after all. And the complete failure of navigation and traffic sign recognition during a long journey. Fortunately I know my way from Nottingham to my son in Cornwall. Wasn’t so funny on a journey to London City Airport. 

[DaveT70]

The main problem is the dealers will not update any/all the software, just the modules they absolutely have to. I think it has to do with the fact that Ford won't pay them.

Yes, autohold is mainly controlled by the ABS module but also controlled by the BCM and the IPC (instrument cluster) and I believe the PCM, if all the software levels are different it can cause more problems once you have updated. The dealers don't seem to grasp this at all.

Plug the bl00dy car in and update????

I would say the only way to ensure it gets done is to ask to see the ETIS screen when you take the car in.

Ask them if they are going to update ALL the modules and then look at ETIS again when you pick it up to see if it has been done.

If not phone Ford customer relations and get them to tell them to do it

[DaveT70]

Whilst we're on the subject of Auto-hold, have any of you guys got a MK4 Automatic?

How does the auto-hold work on that?

Do you just press the throttle to drive away/disengage?

I am having an auto next and was just wondering as it's on the clutch bite on the manual.

Thanks

[Alex.S]

1 hour ago, DaveT70 said:

Do you just press the throttle to drive away/disengage

Yeah, I don’t use it much but that’s how it works. 

I’ll sometimes put it on if I know I’ll be stationary for a while , let’s me take foot of the brake. 

Ive seen mixed reviews of the auto gearbox but I really like it. Remote engine starts a good feature also. 

I know you like your sports mode Dave. The auto sports mode in the 182 is really good 

[CallMeSteven]

@Alex.S  I was going to get an Auto, but was told a) there was an 18 week wait to get one & b) the scrappage scheme (£1,500 for my old car) would not be available

for the Auto as the process of purchase/delivery had to be completed by the 31st December. Shame

[DaveT70]

1 hour ago, Alex.S said:

Yeah, I don’t use it much but that’s how it works. 

I’ll sometimes put it on if I know I’ll be stationary for a while , let’s me take foot of the brake. 

Ive seen mixed reviews of the auto gearbox but I really like it. Remote engine starts a good feature also. 

I know you like your sports mode Dave. The auto sports mode in the 182 is really good 

Thanks Alex.

I'm thinking of the 2.0 Diesel Auto

[Alex.S]

15 minutes ago, CallMeSteven said:

@Alex.S  I was going to get an Auto, but was told a) there was an 18 week wait to get one & b) the scrappage scheme (£1,500 for my old car) would not be available

for the Auto as the process of purchase/delivery had to be completed by the 31st December. Shame

I waited around 14 weeks. I think with the amount of possible extras for each car they’ll be pretty much building to order. 

Whats the logic with the scrappage scheme? Seems unfair..

[Alex.S]

11 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

I'm thinking of the 2.0 Diesel Auto

That’d be my choice. The mpg on the 182 ain’t funny..

ive a 3 year lease, after that I’ll be going electric either hybrid or full electric.

 

[CallMeSteven]

23 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

I waited around 14 weeks. I think with the amount of possible extras for each car they’ll be pretty much building to order. 

Whats the logic with the scrappage scheme? Seems unfair..

Yes, I told the Head Office it was unfair and they said that the scrappage scheme ended December 31st & could not be extended or apply to a car purchased after that date. I almost them

what I thought of their scheme! But I did not a lower emission car & the 1.0 Manual is far better than the Auto 1.5 - so went for the manual

[cdp2911]

On 1/25/2020 at 5:18 PM, Gilli said:

I have a Focus Titanium 2019 diesel (but registered December 31st 2018)  Manual.  Doesn’t need ad blue but is the Ecoblu engine. Since the beginning, I have had problems with auto hold turning itself off randomly. This also goes along with intermittent failure to apply the parking brake on engine switch off. 
during a drive I will be using auto hold at junctions and then I realise the little A has failed to illuminate. Sure enough, when I glance down, the orange light has gone out and I need to turn it on again. 
Sometimes it doesn’t remember the setting at the end of a drive and the next time I use the car I have to engage it again. 
if it turns off just before I park, the parking brake won’t automatically engage. I have to apply it manually. 
The car has been in last week and spent 1.5 days having software updates. I have had a series of problems with system failures such as the navigation freeze ups etc.experienced  by many of us, but also failure of various systems such as park pilot; emergency call, Hill start assist, pre collision assist among others. It requires an engine stop and door opening and time to reset the computers involved. 
But it is the brake issues that concern me. 
Has anybody else experienced auto hold turning off during a drive? I have got used to it, but have to be aware of the failures when on steep hills and be prepared to adapt to the situation and use the electronic handbrake manually when necessary. 
Ford dealer has been helpful, but has not seen it on any other car. Neither have they seen the catalogue of errors ny car exhibits on its screen! 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
Just to emphasise. Auto hold switches off during normal driving conditions on normal commuting conditions. It works for half a day or sometimes less if more- it’s completely random- then suddenly turns off. It frequently needs to be turned on again the next time I drive  the car. Along with this, parking brake fails to come on automatically. This coincides with when auto hold has turned off just beforehand. Not what I expect from a £25000 car. ☹️
Gillian 
 

HI, i have the same problem handbrake not activating on engine stop.Ford dont seem to be bothered and just told me to leave in gear think they may listen when someone is hurt.I have told them i wont be held responsible if anything happens which nearly did at a petrol station by good luck the car started rolling while i was filling so managed to stop it.Ford should be ashamed and fix this issue ASAP