FORD FOCUS 3 RESTYLING
Introduction.
It’s a rare car owner who doesn’t look at cars that are newer and fresher than their own in the brand’s line-up. Some people like the new design or the comfort of the interior, while others are even considering selling their current car and buying a new car in a new body, even if it is in worse condition, but more fashionable and modern. There is another class of people who will definitely not change a car that has been tested over the years for the sake of external elements of decoration. Among them is a considerable number of enthusiasts who see a field for creativity and experimentation when comparing two generations of the same Focus.
So what is the third-generation restyle? This is an update of the lineup that was released in 2014. It included mostly cosmetic changes to the car’s exterior and interior and addressed some of the third Focus’s “inherent” technical flaws.
Almost from the moment the first restyled cars hit the market, a very reasonable question began to appear on the Internet: “Is it possible to make the same restyle yourself?”. And the answer to it: “Yes, you can” – was not long in coming. With a certain level of knowledge, desire and financial capabilities, you can make a car that is visually indistinguishable from the restyled model (albeit with some caveats and pitfalls). And for this we will need:
Exterior restyling
“Let’s meet on clothes”
Part 1: The front of the car
In the restyled Focus, this part of the body has been changed as much as possible. The silhouette gained more sporty lines and some aggression. The headlights have become narrower and more predatory, and the radiator grille (and the air intake for cooling the engine) is larger and more “toothy”. It is in this body that the Fokis resemble Aston Martin cars so much, as bloggers love to talk about. So, first of all, to make our old Focus look younger, it needs a facelift! The restyling begins with replacing the hood (the hinges remain the same), the bumper, and the hood seal that is glued to this part. To mount all this, we need a new amplifier (“TV”), or steady hands to modify the old one to fit the new mounting points for the hinged plastic. The headlights and fog lights are also replaced. At the same time, you need to do some electrical work to make all our lighting devices work properly, because the connector layout is slightly different in different generations of cars. When the whole kit is assembled, painted and installed, you can move on to the next step.
Part 2: The rear of the car
Here, everything is a little more complicated and simple at the same time. The number of elements that need to be “re-faced” seems to be less, but their cost is higher and labour costs are higher. So, the trunk lid with the glass and the rear bumper are replaced. And after them – the lights, for which it will still be necessary to redo the fasteners in the pre-rest body, making a couple of additional “technological” holes.
We paint, we look, we rejoice. After a certain amount of time and a certain amount of money invested externally, we get a car that is no different from the “new” generation model. But as soon as you open the door and look inside, you realise that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Interior restyling
“We bring the inner world into harmony with the outer world”
Many people criticised the third-generation Focus for its interior. For the crampedness, for the abundance of buttons, for the general futurism and “bloatedness” of everything and everyone. Ford listened to the opinion of consumers and redesigned the interior to please everyone. Thus, the overall style of the driver’s “workplace” has become more sustained and pragmatic, the central console with an armrest is narrower and more practical. The multimedia controls and climate control have also been redesigned.
Centre console and front panel
“Following in the footsteps of Ford engineers”
So, if we want to make the Focus look like a restyle, then we can’t do without replacing the centre console!
To do this, we need the centre console itself from the rest with all the plastic, as well as the fastening of the parking brake lever to the floor, An important nuance is that the front panel (the so-called “torpedo”) of the restored Focus is somewhat different from the restyled one, so for the successful installation of the console, you need to either modify all the “disputed places” at the attachment points of the trim elements with a drill (there are only two of them), or change it too (with a bonus The factory installation location for the centre speaker and the grille for it). It’s good to know that at least the glove compartment can be replaced without any problems.
Climate panel
The restyled climate control panel is an integral part of the centre console with an armrest, so it doesn’t make much sense to change one without the other. The restyled climate (or air conditioning) panel fits into the original console without any problems, but here, as in the case of the headlights, the electrical connectors need to be rewired.
Steering wheel
The element of the car with which we come into contact the most, the restyling has lost not only one of the “spokes”, but also the frankly uncomfortable buttons for controlling the on-board computer and multimedia. One steering wheel can be replaced with another only in a set with a clock spring and a steering wheel switch unit (“headstock”). At the same time, there is a problem with replacing this element, the solution to which will be quite difficult to find: in the presence of adaptive cruise control, the LIM and Set + buttons will not work
Instrument panel
The dashboard in the restyled Focus 3 boasts a new stylish design of the on-board computer menu, new scales with a neat font of numbers and symbols, as well as new functionality (2 on-board computers, more accurate display of the coolant temperature, digital speedometer on the screen of the screen, etc.)
Replacing the dashboard with a restyled one is not difficult. Moreover, many members of Ford Focus Club UA have already done this operation, and it is carried out on a pre-restored Focus without any problems. The only thing is that if you have the factory parking sensors, the sound of their operation will not be displayed through the dashboard (the solution is to replace the parking unit with a restored one and firmware/replace the VSM unit, which we will talk about later).
Multimedia
“And a little more…”
We changed the climate – we change the multimedia! If we have Sync 1 or higher on board, then we only need to replace the radio screen, APIM unit and button panel + the lower plug from the restyle. One caveat: there is no security control button on the restored panel, so we lose the ability to control the locks from the cabin. To fix this, you need to change the door cards to the rest and redo the wiring again, since the restyle has the security button installed in them.
By the way, using exactly the same algorithm, you can install a restored radio in a pre-restored cabin without changing the centre console. However, in this case, you will need to additionally modify the fasteners of the button panel.
…
And that seems to be all! The car is indistinguishable from the restyled model inside and out! But… no.
The electronic part
“Seeing off the mind”
Appearance is not enough. To make all the car systems work as they should after restyling, it is necessary to replace the VSM unit with flashing the keys and loading the JV series software + configuration editing. To return the sound to the parking sensors, as mentioned earlier, you need a restyled sensor control module. For cars with sign recognition and Active City Stop, you need a restyled camera module. And this list can be continued as long as you need it.
Conclusion.
What is all this for? Focus 3 is Lego for adults and wealthy “boys” who have grown up but have not stopped playing with cars. You can just drive it and not even know where the cork is that pours oil through. Or it can be modified, improved and perfected almost endlessly. This is what we have just talked about.