I am considering buying a FORD FOCUS HATCHBACK as a car to tow.I am not quite certain that it can REALLY be FLAT towed , and hope someone out there has the accurate answer to this.Thank You .... Richard

Moved to Dinghy Towing forum from Towing.

I would check the owners manual and also have the service department at the Ford dealership verify with the VIN number. that's what we did on our escape-also will need the year of the Focus, type of transmission and anything else to describe the car front wheel, all wheel drive, etc..

I read the owners manual in the car. It had absolutely NOTHING to say about it .I have tried calling dealers. I got one YES .. one NO .. and 2 said they would call me back .. and did not !By the way .. I am interested in an AUTOMATIC transmission version.Richard

I tow a 2013 HB with the select shift auto, PB start. Look in the owners manual under recreational towing, not break down towing. Battery must be disconnected at the BATTERY, not the firewall. There have been some reports of tranny failure. This info is for the 2012,2013,2014 Focus. A search here will yield a lot of information.jim

Towing a Ford Focus | Good Sam Community

OldRadios
Explorer
Nov 05, 2014
We recently purchased a 2014 Ford Focus hatchback with automatic transmission. We were looking for a manual transmission but could not find one in our area as it was too late in the model year. The automatic can be flat or dolly towed no problem but we chose to dolly it as we have other vehicles we might want to tow. With the tow dolly we chose (EZ-Tow), there are no brake or lighting wiring issues to deal with.

We Just drove the Focus itself on a 2,800 mile trip and got an average of 35 mpg. Comfortable, handles great, plenty of power (even at the 90 mph flow of traffic in Indiana) and only cost us about $230 in gas for the whole trip.
az99
Explorer
Nov 04, 2014
The towed vehicle's brake lights are powered by the MH. You either use the existing lights with diodes installed or add extra bulb sockets.
DewOnAPetal
Explorer
Nov 04, 2014
Thanks - very helpful! That solves my mileage question. One other question - since the battery is disconnected, how do the brake lights work?
az99
Explorer
Nov 04, 2014
It does not add mileage as the ignition is off and the battery disconnected.

Do a search and you will find lots of happy Focus owners on here. Don't worry about 1 person that needs to be spoon fed and can't read a manual.

It is a great 4 down toad.
Richard_999
Explorer
Nov 04, 2014
I checked EXTENSIVELY on this same subject..
Found out that SOME of the 2012 - 2014's can be flat-towed .... BUT .. the transmissions are bad anyway, and the car should be avoided....at ANY price.

I am certain some of those who have one that has not gone bad YET ... will argue this point !
DewOnAPetal
Explorer
Nov 04, 2014
Not sure where to post this, but hopefully some can answer my question. I am purchasing a 2014 Ford Focus as a tow vehicle, auto trans. I know it can be towed but my question is, can it be towed 4 down without adding mileage or should I get a dolly to lift the front wheels? I don't want to add miles if it's being towed and the manual doesn't address this issue. This is very important depending on how I tow it, flat or dolly. Thanks!
B_s_Bunch
Explorer
Oct 22, 2014
Richard_999 wrote:
Thanks to all of you, but due to the confusion in my research, I have decided AGAINST any Ford vehicle.

I tried FordOwner.com ... confusion
I called dealers ... they REFUSED to be of help
Read the manuals online ... confusing at best

I guess I will stick with an older SATURN since I know they are ideal for this task.

Again ... Thanks

Richard
I understand your @#$ feelings buy a jeep and enjoy.
Richard_999
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
Thanks to all of you, but due to the confusion in my research, I have decided AGAINST any Ford vehicle.

I tried FordOwner.com ... confusion
I called dealers ... they REFUSED to be of help
Read the manuals online ... confusing at best

I guess I will stick with an older SATURN since I know they are ideal for this task.

Again ... Thanks

Richard
B_s_Bunch
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
willald wrote:
travelzoo's response sums it up well. Yes, the Focus can be flat towed, but you HAVE to disconnect the battery. Not doing so can result in major transmission damage. IIRC, the cases of transmission failures noted on here in the past, were from folks that didn't disconnect the battery properly. ( some did, some did not. So what does this prove??)Ford extended the warranty on ours. Probably would not do that if was in fact our fault. Larry

This was actually one of the main reasons we chose NOT to get the Ford Focus, and went with the Ford Fusion hybrid. I did not want to have to fool with disconnecting and re-connecting the battery, and having to reset things in the car every time after towing. With the Fusion hybrid, you don't have to do any of that. You just hitch it up, put it in neutral and go. Thats the way I like it. :)
willald
Explorer II
Oct 20, 2014
travelzoo's response sums it up well. Yes, the Focus can be flat towed, but you HAVE to disconnect the battery. Not doing so can result in major transmission damage. IIRC, the cases of transmission failures noted on here in the past, were from folks that didn't disconnect the battery properly.

This was actually one of the main reasons we chose NOT to get the Ford Focus, and went with the Ford Fusion hybrid. I did not want to have to fool with disconnecting and re-connecting the battery, and having to reset things in the car every time after towing. With the Fusion hybrid, you don't have to do any of that. You just hitch it up, put it in neutral and go. Thats the way I like it. :)

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