
Note:Do not rock the vehicle if the engineis not at normal operating temperature ordamage to the transmission may occur.
Note:Do not rock the vehicle for more thana few minutes or damage to thetransmission and tires may occur or theengine may overheat.
Sand
Most of the time traction control improvestire traction by managing wheel slipthrough brake, engine, and all-wheel drivecalibrations. However, during low speeddriving, disabling traction control in deepsand can help keep the wheels moving tomaintain vehicle momentum.
When driving over sand, try to keep all fourwheels on the most solid area of the trail.Do not reduce tire pressures, shift to alower gear and drive steadily through theterrain. Apply the accelerator slowly andavoid spinning the wheels.
When driving at slow speeds in sand underhigh outside temperatures, use a low gearwhen possible. Using a low gear maximizesengine and transmission cooling capability.
Avoid excessive speed because vehiclemomentum can work against you andcause the vehicle to become stuck to thepoint that assistance may be required fromanother vehicle. Remember, you may beable to back out the way you came if youproceed with caution.
Note:You may be able to reverse out theway you came if you proceed with caution.
Do not drive your vehicle in deep sand foran extended period of time. This couldcause the system to overheat and defaultto front-wheel drive only mode. If thisoccurs a message appears in theinformation display. To resume normalall-wheel drive function as soon aspossible, stop the vehicle in a safe locationand switch the engine off for at least 10minutes. After the all-wheel drive system
has adequately cooled and the engine hasbeen restarted, the message turns off andnormal all-wheel drive function returns. Ifyou do not switch the engine off, themessage only turns off, when the systemadequately cools and the normal all-wheeldrive function returns.
Note:Under severe operating conditions,the air conditioning may turn on and off toprotect the engine from overheating.
Mud and Water
If you must drive through water, driveslowly. Traction or brake capability maybe limited. See Driving Through Water(page 23).
Once through water, always try the brakes.Wet brakes do not stop the vehicle aseffectively as dry brakes. Drying can beimproved by moving your vehicle slowlywhile applying light pressure on the brakepedal.
Be cautious of sudden changes in vehiclespeed or direction when you are driving inmud. Even all-wheel drive vehicles can losetraction in slick mud. Apply the acceleratorslowly and avoid spinning the wheels.
After driving through mud, clean offexcessive mud that has become stuck torotating drive shafts, wheels and tires.Excessive mud stuck on these componentsmay result in an imbalance that couldcause damage not covered by the vehicleWarranty.
If the transmission, power transfer unit orrear drive unit is submerged in water haveyour vehicle checked as soon as possible.
152018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingAll-Wheel Drive

Hilly or Sloping Terrain
WARNING
Avoid driving across or turning onsteep hilly or sloping terrain. Yourvehicle may lose traction and slipsideways increasing the risk of rolling over.When driving on steep hilly or slopingterrain, determine your route beforehand.Do not drive over the crest of a hill withoutassessing what conditions are on the otherside. Do not reverse over a hill without theaid of an observer.
Although natural obstacles may make itnecessary to travel diagonally up or downa hill or steep incline, you should alwaystry to drive straight up or straight down.
Apply just enough power to the wheels toclimb the hill. Too much power will causethe tires to slip, spin or lose traction,resulting in loss of vehicle control.
When climbing a steep hill or slope, startin a lower gear rather than downshifting toa lower gear from a higher gear once theascent has started. This reduces strain onthe engine and the possibility of stalling.
Note:If your vehicle stalls, do not try to turnaround as your vehicle may lose tractionand slip sideways increasing the risk ofrolling over. It is better to reverse down to asafe location.
When descending a steep hill or slope,start in a lower gear rather thandownshifting to a lower gear from a highergear once the descent has started. Do notdescend a steep hill or slope in neutral.Avoid excessive brake application as thiscauses the brakes to overheat. Whendescending a steep hill or slope, avoidsudden hard braking as you could losecontrol. The front wheels must rotate inorder to steer your vehicle. Your vehicle hasanti-lock brakes, therefore apply thebrakes steadily. Do not pump the brakepedal.
Snow and Ice
WARNING
If you are driving in slipperyconditions that require tire chains orcables, then it is critical that you drivecautiously. Keep speeds down, allow forlonger stopping distances and avoidaggressive steering to reduce the chancesof a loss of vehicle control, personal injuryor death.
Note:The original equipment tires on yourvehicle are designed to optimize theperformance of your vehicle in dry or wetsummer road conditions. We recommendusing a dedicated set of winter tires in snowand ice conditions. Do not mix summerperformance tires with winter tires on yourvehicle. See Using Winter Tires (page 34).
All-wheel drive vehicles have advantagesover two-wheel drive vehicles in snow andice but can skid like any other vehicle.
162018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingAll-Wheel Drive

Direction of travel.A
Steering wheel rotation.B
If the rear of your vehicle starts to oversteerand slide on snow or icy roads, turn thesteering wheel in the direction of travel asshown above to help regain control.
Note:Excessive tire slippage can causedriveline damage.
Avoid sudden applications of power andquick changes of direction while driving onsnow or icy roads. Apply the acceleratorslowly and steadily when starting from afull stop.
Avoid sudden braking while driving onsnow or icy roads. Although your vehiclemay accelerate better than a two-wheeldrive vehicle on snow and ice, stoppingdistances are not reduced. Make sure youallow sufficient distance for stopping. Driveslower than usual and consider using alower gear. Your vehicle has anti-lockbrakes, therefore apply the brakes steadily.Do not pump the brake pedal.
172018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingAll-Wheel DriveE223901AB

USING STABILITY CONTROL
WARNINGS
Do not switch off stability control oruse Sport, Track or Drift mode whenusing a temporary spare wheel orafter inflating a tire using the temporarymobility kit.
If you switch stability control off,active city stop also turns off.
The system automatically turns on eachtime you switch the ignition on.
Press the button on the center console toswitch sport mode on or to switch thesystem off.
Switching Sport Mode On
Press and release the switch. You will seea message in conjunction with anilluminated icon in the display. Press andrelease the switch again to return thesystem to normal mode.
When you switch sport mode on, tractioncontrol is switched off while stabilitycontrol intervention is reduced.
Note:You may not be able to switch Sportmode on when using a programmed MyKey.See MyKey for more information.
Switching the System Off
Press and hold the switch forapproximately five seconds. You will seea message in conjunction with anilluminated icon in the display. Press andrelease the switch again to return thesystem to normal mode.
Note:When using a programmed MyKeyyou cannot switch this off.
192018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingStability ControlE194298

DRIVE CONTROL
WARNING
Do not use Sport, Track or Drift modewhen using a temporary spare wheelor after inflating a tire using thetemporary mobility kit.
Your vehicle has various drive modes thatcan deliver driving experiences through asuite of sophisticated electronic systems.Each mode has preset vehicle settings tooptimize steering, all-wheel drive, torquevectoring, powertrain response, suspensionand electronic stability control.
Selectable Drive Modes
Press the button.
The available modes appear in theinformation display. Repeatedly press thebutton to scroll through the availablemodes. When your desired mode appearsin the information display, wait for fourseconds while the system sets the selectedmode or press the OK button on thesteering wheel.
Note:You may not be able to choose oneof the selectable drive modes for a shorttime after starting your vehicle in coldambient temperatures.
Selectable Drive Modes
Normal
The system defaults to normalmode when you start thevehicle. Vehicle settings tunedfor street driving.
Electronic stability control and tractioncontrol systems fully enabled.
Note:When using a programmed MyKeyyou cannot switch any other mode on.
Sport
Vehicle settings tuned forperformance street driving.
Electronic stability control and tractioncontrol systems fully enabled.
Note:When using a programmed MyKeyyou cannot switch this on.
Track
This mode is for track use only.Vehicle settings tuned foraggressive driving.
The system reduces brake systemintervention from the stability controlsystem and optimizes the road-holdingability of your vehicle. Electronic stabilitycontrol is set to reduced mode while thetraction control system is disabled apartfrom the electronic limited slip differentialfunction. Engine interventions from thestability control and traction controlsystems are also disabled.
Note:When using a programmed MyKeyyou cannot switch this on.
Drift
This mode is for track use only.Vehicle settings tuned forspirited and aggressive driving.
The system reduces brake systemintervention from the stability controlsystem and increases torque transfer tothe rear axle to allow controlled oversteerdrifts.
Electronic stability control is set to reducedmode while the traction control system isdisabled apart from the electronic limitedslip differential function. Engineinterventions from the stability control andtraction control systems are also disabled.
202018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingDriving Aids

The electronic stability control or all-wheeldrive system may automatically turn offduring extreme drifting maneuvers. If asystem turns off, the electronic stabilitycontrol warning lamp illuminates or acorresponding all-wheel drive messageappears in the information display.Continue to drive and when normal drivingresumes, the systems automatically turnon within a short period. If the electronicstability control warning lamp remainsilluminated or a warning message remainsin the information display, have yourvehicle checked as soon as possible.
Note:When using a programmed MyKeyyou cannot switch this on.
Suspension Damping
Selectable Suspension Damping
Normal
The system defaults to normal mode whenyou start the vehicle. Vehicle suspensiondamping tuned for street driving.
Sport
Vehicle suspension damping tuned forperformance driving on flat roads or fortrack use. Sport mode gives firmersuspension damping characteristics.
To select normal or sport mode, do thefollowing:
1.Press and hold the button for a shortperiod of time. The current settingappears in the information display.Release the button again to change thesetting.
Enhanced Torque VectoringControl
The system consists of two elements:
•Torque vectoring control.Automatically applies brake torque onthe inner wheel in a curve to increasetraction and decrease understeer.
•Cornering understeer control.Automatically controls the tractionresponse of your vehicle when youaccelerate on high and low frictionsurfaces.
Unlike electronic stability control,enhanced torque vectoring control doesnot slow the vehicle. The system limitsexcessive wheel slip giving greatercornering ability.
Note:The system does not disableenhanced torque vectoring control if youswitch the stability control system ortraction control system off.
In addition to enhanced torque vectoringcontrol, your vehicle also has all-wheeldrive with dynamic torque vectoring.
This feature further improves theroad-holding and traction abilities of yourvehicle. See All-Wheel Drive (page 13).
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TRANSPORTING THE VEHICLE
If your vehicle has to be towed, werecommend that you contact aprofessional towing service. If you are amember of a roadside assistance program,we recommend that you contact yourroadside assistance service provider.
We recommend the use of flatbedequipment to transport your vehicle.
Vehicle damage may occur if towedincorrectly or by any other method.
•Do not tow your vehicle using wheel liftequipment.
•Do not tow your vehicle using aslingbelt.
Note:Incorrect towing methods can causedamage not covered by the vehicleWarranty.
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We recommend that you only operate yourvehicle at high speeds at locationsdesigned to do so safely. Your vehicle haselectronic controls that may reduce poweror limit engine speed to help reducepowertrain temperatures if required.
Note:When using your vehicle on a track,have the vehicle serviced more frequently.This recommendation may not necessarilyprotect your vehicle or engine from damagein competition conditions. Increased wearand noise to certain parts of your vehiclemay also occur, for example brakes andtires. The vehicle Warranty may not covermechanical failure or damage caused toyour vehicle as a result of track use.
Steering Assistance
Steering assistance reduces andrequires more steering effortwhen you select sport or trackfrom the drive modes menu. See DriveControl (page 20).
Prolonged track driving can result in highsteering gear temperatures. If the steeringgear overheats, you will notice a furtherincrease in steering effort being required.
High steering gear temperatures can bereduced by doing any of the following:
•Reducing vehicle speed.
•Reducing steering input.
Normal track mode steering assistancereturns when the system cools down.
Note:Steering gear cooling time can bereduced if you leave the ignition switchedon while taking a pit stop.
Before Track Use
Before operating your vehicle on a track,check the following:
•Tire pressures. See Tire Pressures(page 35). Do not exceed a cold tirepressure of 50 psi (3.4 bar) for trackuse.
•Wheels and tires for wear and damage.
•Engine coolant, engine oil and brakefluid levels.
Do not operate your vehicle on a trackwhile:
•Carrying more than two peopleincluding the driver.
•Carrying cargo in the luggagecompartment.
•Carrying cargo or loose objects insideyour vehicle.
After Track Use
After track use, leave the engine runningfor a short time to allow it to reach thenormal operating temperature. Ifconditions allow, complete a cool downlap prior to taking a pit stop. Failure toallow the engine to sufficiently cool mayresult in a high coolant temperaturewarning message appearing in theinformation display.
You must replace the rear drive unit fluidafter 500 mi (800 km) of track use, or ifthe following message appears in theinformation display, whichever occurs first.
AWD System Oil Change Due
See All-Wheel Drive (page 13).
302018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingTrack Use