In the 2013-14 Focus towing procedure it states to disconnect the negative battery terminal. I assume this is to keep the transmission from somehow shifting out of neutral. Has anyone tried just removing fuse F15 or F26 and leaving the battery connected? That would save all presets.

I think that you had better follow the instructions to the letter! I used to disconnect the negative battery cable at the firewall and even doing that was not enough. Ended up frying the transmission! I got rid of the car. Way to much hassle as far as I was concerned. Much prefer my Fusion hybrid now anyway.

DouglasC wrote: Way to much hassle as far as I was concerned. Really? I don't think it is a big deal to disconnect the battery but it would be easier if a fuse would do it and not have to reset the clock.I would understand why Ford would say to disconnect the battery cable as that is absolute in comparison to someone removing the wrong fuse.When yours burned up the trans did it go back into gear or what happened? What year was it?We did consider the Fusion but it just did not work for us. Glad you are happy with it. Others are also.

az99 wrote:DouglasC wrote: Way too much hassle as far as I was concerned. Really? I don't think it is a big deal to disconnect the battery but it would be easier if a fuse would do it and not have to reset the clock.I would understand why Ford would say to disconnect the battery cable as that is absolute in comparison to someone removing the wrong fuse.When yours burned up the trans did it go back into gear or what happened? What year was it?We did consider the Fusion but it just did not work for us. Glad you are happy with it. Others are also.Yes, the transmission tried to go back into gear and both clutches burned up, essentially melting most of the interior parts of the transmission into one big metal glob. When I stopped the motorhome, smoke was pouring out of the hood of my 2012 Focus. If I hadn't stopped when I did, the whole car may have caught on fire. I DON'T want to go through that again.Not only was it a hassle to disconnect the battery cable but resetting all the other stuff (including the "One Touch Up/Down" feature on all the power windows) was a definite nuisance. I've been towing vehicles behind motorhomes for over 20 years and never had any problems before this issue happened. The Focus is a nice car and some folks are definitely happy with towing them, but IMHO I should have purchased the Fusion 1st and then I would never have had this unfortunate incident occur.

az99 wrote:In the 2013-14 Focus towing procedure it states to disconnect the negative battery terminal. I assume this is to keep the transmission from somehow shifting out of neutral. Has anyone tried just removing fuse F15 or F26 and leaving the battery connected? That would save all presets.I tow a smart car. My owners manual says to use a battery disconnect switch. The warnings that it has are:Not disconnecting the battery and leaving the key in starter switch position 1 (ignition on) may result in:- the vehicle locking. The vehicle will lock if the wheels are turning at vehicle speeds of approximately 8 mph (14 km/h) or more.- the ESP® being activated. Active braking action through the ESP® may seriously damage the brake system which is not covered by the smart Limited Warranty.In short it says that if the car is rolling, but not running, the car's computer could have a brain fart and lock up the brakes during flat towing. Follow the instructions for your vehicle's flat towing procedures. Failure to do so may void any warranty still in effect. Below is my battery disconnect. The image is clickable.

Not disconnecting the battery on the Focus, even towing at low speed, can result in ABS fault codes and transmission fault codes. Also, the odometer will click the mileage and you could end up with a dead battery.The negative terminal is tough to get to, but electrically, disconnecting the positive terminal is the same. After re-connecting the battery, you need to set the time, date and one-touch windows if you have them as well as run the engine within 15 minutes of reconnecting.RK

Ford Focus Battery Disconnect ? | Good Sam Community

az99
Explorer
Oct 31, 2013
DouglasC wrote:
Way to much hassle as far as I was concerned.
Really? I don't think it is a big deal to disconnect the battery but it would be easier if a fuse would do it and not have to reset the clock.
I would understand why Ford would say to disconnect the battery cable as that is absolute in comparison to someone removing the wrong fuse.

When yours burned up the trans did it go back into gear or what happened? What year was it?

We did consider the Fusion but it just did not work for us. Glad you are happy with it. Others are also.
DouglasC
Explorer
Oct 31, 2013
I think that you had better follow the instructions to the letter! I used to disconnect the negative battery cable at the firewall and even doing that was not enough. Ended up frying the transmission! I got rid of the car. Way to much hassle as far as I was concerned. Much prefer my Fusion hybrid now anyway.

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