Ford Mondeo (1996 – 2000) Review

Slipping clutch. Can be £500 to £700 to replace due to dismantling involved, though some specialists will do it for £300.

Infamous 'pulling to the left' caused by kerbing damage, by worn track control arm bushes, by misaligned reassembly of front subframe after clutch replacement or by failure to re-track properly after replacing track control arms. Look for uneven tyre wear (outer shoulder wear normal).

A bang on a speed bump can knock out the otherwise well protected catalytic converter on 4-cylinder cars.

ST 200 has very short gears and traction problems.

Question-mark over longevity of front wishbone bushes on all models, especially V6. Suspension bags out after 120,000 miles. Reports of early front coil spring failures on 'R' and 'S' reg cars, now also coming in on earlier cars.

Report of £500 diesel injector pumps "only" lasting 100,000 miles, but this could be due to the lack of lubricity of the fuel being used.

Reports of driveshaft failures on the last of the Mk II 'W' and 'X' reg Mondeos. Seems the driveshaft UJ boot clips were wrongly fitted, allowing water ingress to the UJs causing them to fail. Ford originally offered free replacement for affected cars, but not any more.

Chrome comes off the smart 12 spoke wheels fitted to some high spec Mondeos at the time of the 97MY facelift.

Screenwasher pumps apt to clog up. The simple cure is to use a bamboo cane or similar to give the reservoir a stir, but better to flush the reservoir out with a fairly high pressure hose and get rid of the gunk in there. Also make sure screenwash pipes have not become trapped or kinked in bonnet hinge.

Reports of 2nd gear band breaking up in 4-speed autobox, contaminating the ATF and requiring the box to be rebuilt. These boxes tend to have a life of 60k - 90k.

Reports of water leaks into boot through rear light seals, but only seems to affect 1999-2000 build cars.

Loss of power on 1.8 turbo diesel may simply be due to a split in a pipe to the turbo.

On 2,544cc V6s, plastic impeller of waterpump can crack leading to overheating, 4 speed autoboxes don't last, secondary air intakes get gunked up leading to poor performance. Wiring loom under the battery prone to acid attack.

If ABS fitted, make sure light goes out after 3 seconds or new pump or ECU may be needed.

Shafts of front electric window winder mechanism can go: make sure both work.

More than its fair share of recalls. If automatic, make sure shifts are smooth and check ATF which should be red, not black. Timing belts belts on diesels only good for 3 years or 36,000 miles.

Reports of shorting out of resistors to heater/ventilator fan motor of 1996 and 1997 build cars. (Repair/replacement kit: '97BG18A336AA...1 056972) Resistors situated upper RH side of passenger footwell. If you smell an electrical fire, this is the first place to look for the source.

On Zetec E petrol engines, several reports of timing belt tensioner pulley heating up and shattering after 5 - 6 years and 60 - 80,000 miles. Essential to replace the pulley at the same time as the belt.

Alarm sensors under the rear windows of V6 Ghia estates can suffer water ingress leading to electrical short and flat battery.

Only the 1.8 engine with hydraulic lifters is suitable for conversion to lpg. 1.8 engines with mechanical lifters tend to burn out their valves.

Watch out for corroded lower radiator pipes/connectors on older Mondeos. Can lead to sudden loss of coolant.

2000W and 2000W cars can have failed rear light cluster seals, failed front road springs and failed CV joints due to water penetration through the CV gaiters.

Open both rear doors and check for rust in the permanently wet crevice where the lower rubber sealing strip ends just before the rear wheel arch. May be minor, but may have taken hold quite seriously.

Corroded rear brake pipes where they pass over the fuel tank (an MOT failure point).

Zetec has ABS but they can feel weak on stopping power or spongey on the pedals, best way to avoid this... avoid a Zetec with rust on the disks.

The fuel filler flap is electrically released by an electric motor from the inside & fails to work on a lot of them. Make sure you check that because if you drive it away & need to fill up with petrol you will be stuck because the flap won't release!

The Electric forward/backward seat adjustment doesn't always work. It can't be done manually.

On 2.5 and 3.0 V6, a rumble from the front may mean that the bottom crank pulley damper assembly 4659709 is starting to separate around the rubber insert in the middle of the flat dinner plate sized wheel. Costs £83.23 + vat. Pulley Assy £25.47 +vat and the V-Belt £17.86+vat Total Labour £82.00. Separation is usuallly more marked on the inside than the side one can observe. If it fails completely then engine is written off.