2018 FORD FOCUS RS Owners Manual

USING ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Your vehicle has All-Wheel Drive withDynamic Torque Vectoring. This featureuses all four wheels to power the vehicleand independently controls the torque toeach rear wheel. The system also has theability to over speed the outside rear wheelwhile cornering. This increases traction andhandling performance giving your vehicleroad holding capabilities that are superiorto conventional two-wheel drive andfour-wheel drive vehicles. The system isactive all the time and requires no inputfrom the driver. The system has differentDrive Mode calibration settings thatoptimize all-wheel drive performance forvarious conditions. See Drive Control(page 20).
Your vehicle is not intended for off-roaduse in the same way as an all-terrainvehicle. The all-wheel drive feature givesyour vehicle some limited off-roadcapabilities where driving surfaces arerelatively level, obstruction-free and similarto normal on-road driving conditions.Operating your vehicle under other thanthose conditions could subject the vehicleto excessive stress which can result indamage not covered by the vehicleWarranty.
The rear drive unit does not require anynormal scheduled maintenance. Thesystem is electronically monitored and anyrequired service messages appear in theinformation display. The rear drive unitlubricants may require changing if you useyour vehicle for extended periods of highspeed driving, for example track use. Youare not required to check or change therear drive unit lubricant unless there aresigns of leakage or a message appears inthe information display indicating that theunit requires service.
Using Mismatched Tires or Wheels
WARNINGS
Only use replacement tires andwheels that are of the same size,load index, speed rating and type asthose originally fitted to your vehicle.
Using a tire or wheel that is notrecommended can affect the safetyand performance of your vehicle andcould result in a loss of vehicle control,vehicle rollover, personal injury or death.
The recommended tire and wheel size canbe found on either the Safety ComplianceCertification Label or the tire informationlabel on the left-hand B-pillar or left-handfront door. If this information is not locatedas stated contact an authorized dealer assoon as possible.
Note:Using a tire or wheel that is notrecommended could cause steering,suspension, axle, power transfer unit or reardrive unit failure. Incorrect tire or wheel usecan cause damage not covered by thevehicle Warranty.
Your vehicle does not have a spare tire. Wedo not recommend using a mismatchedtire or spare wheel. However, in anemergency, the system can tolerate amismatched tire or spare wheel of adifferent size to the original for a shortjourney. The system may automaticallyenter front-wheel drive only mode toprotect driveline components. An all-wheeldrive off warning message may appear inthe information display if you install amismatched tire or spare wheel. SeeInformation Messages (page 8). Themessage turns off after you reinstall thecorrect wheel and tire and you switch theignition off and on. We recommend thatyou reinstall the repaired or replaced wheeland tire as soon as possible.
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Major mismatched tire or wheel sizesbetween the front and rear axles, forexample 18 inch low profile tires on thefront axle and 20 inch high profile tires onthe rear axle could cause the system todefault to front-wheel drive only mode.Damage to the system can occur that maynot covered by the vehicle Warranty.
The system can tolerate any combinationof new and worn tires of the same originaltire size. For example, using three worntires and one new tire.
Driving in Special Conditions
Your vehicle is capable of being driven onsand, snow, mud or a loose surface.However the operating characteristics aredifferent from conventional off-roadvehicles.
Note:Under severe operating conditions,the air conditioning may turn on and off toprotect the engine from overheating.
Basic Operating Principles
WARNING
Be extremely careful when driving onroad surfaces that are made slipperyby loose sand, water, gravel, snow orice. Failure to adhere to this warning couldresult in the loss of vehicle control, seriouspersonal injury or death.
Emergency Maneuvers
If your vehicle goes off the edge of theroad, slow down but avoid severe brakeapplication, only ease the vehicle backonto the road after reducing your speed.Do not turn the steering wheel too sharplywhile returning to the road surface. It maybe safer to stay on the apron or shoulderof the road and slow down graduallybefore returning to the road surface. Youmay lose control if you do not slow downor if you turn the steering wheel too
sharply. It may be better to strike smallobjects, for example highway reflectors,with minor damage to your vehicle ratherthan attempt a sudden return to the roadsurface, which could cause your vehicle toslide sideways out of control or rollover.Remember, your safety and the safety ofothers should be your primary concern.
In an unavoidable emergency situationwhere a sudden sharp turn must be made,remember to avoid over-driving yourvehicle. Only turn the steering wheel asrapidly and as far as required. Excessivesteering results in less vehicle control, notmore. Additionally, smooth variations ofthe accelerator or brake pedal pressureshould be utilized if changes in vehiclespeed are required. Avoid abrupt steering,acceleration or braking which could resultin an increased risk of loss of vehiclecontrol, rollover and personal injury. Useall available road surface to return thevehicle to a safe direction of travel.
If your vehicle goes from one surface typeto another, for example from concrete togravel, there will be a change in the wayyour vehicle responds to steering,acceleration or braking.
If Your Vehicle Gets Stuck
WARNING
Do not spin the wheels at over35 mph (56 km/h). The tires may failand injure a passenger or bystander.
If your vehicle gets stuck in mud or snow itmay be rocked out by shifting betweenforward and reverse gears, stoppingbetween shifts, in a steady pattern. Presslightly on the accelerator in each gear.
If your vehicle is stuck in mud or snow,switching traction control off may bebeneficial while attempting to rock yourvehicle.
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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.
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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.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Your vehicle has a braking system designedfor high performance driving and superiorbrake fade resistance. You may noticeoccasional brake noise and elevated levelsof brake dust. This is normal and does notaffect system performance.
182018 Focus RS (CEW) RS, Canada/United States of America, JM5J 19A285 LAA enUSA, Edition date: 201706, First PrintingBrakes

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.
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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