Ford Focus starting problem

[briwire]

I bought a Focus from new nearly 3 years ago. I've had no problems with it other than a little bug that crops up every now and then. When starting the car, 999 times out of 1000 I just turn the ignition key for about 2 seconds and the engine will fire. However on the odd occasion, I will release the key as usual but the engine hasn't fired up. It must have then flooded as I have to dip the accellerator pedal and crank it over for a good 10 seconds and it will splutter into life. No real problem as I know what to do.

I've sold it to my daughter, and it has happened to her a couple of times in the 4 months that she has had it and she struggles and panics to get it going.

Is it a sign of a faulty part or is it just a "bug" that we have to get used to?

 

[cjard]

I will release the key as usual but the engine hasn't fired up

You could try holding the key in the starter position until the engine has started, rather than until 2 seconds have elapsed.
Naturally, if an occasion happens such that the engine has not fired within 2 seconds, and you release the key after 2 seconds, the engine will not be running.

Tell your daughter:
1) Don't panic. Panicking does no good at all
2) Your technique for remedying the situation

You can assess whether something is actually wrong i.e. if the battery is getting old/knackered and the car is turning over slowly, or whether the spark is weaker than it should be, or whether the relevant ecu sensors are reading correctly in a cold start situation etc etc but the number of things youre starting to consider is quite large, and given that it only happens once every 1.5 years (1/1000 times assuming 2 starts per day) it's possibly not worth investigating