December 2007
Our 2004 Scenic 1.9dCi Priv has well and truely let us down again. The keycard system has completely failed so we can't unlock/lock it. Luckily we were able to get in with the little key and drive it after the alarm timed out, but this really is getting silly now. I could write a list of faults as long as my arm, the interior rattles like a Sierra, the interior plastics are brittle, the engine keeps idling like a tractor (dealer says ok) and i'm generally fed up with it.
It's a real shame because the concept is great, it's nice to drive and looks good. We won't be buying this at the end of the lease. Read more
I've decided that the wife's Hyundai Getz is just too small and have been idly looking for a replacement. We've seen both an Almera 1.5 SVE and a Tino 1.8S. 54 plates) While they may not be exciting, I was attracted by the promise of reliability.
However , on checking owner reviews, there seem to be a large number of timing chain faults on the Almera, with bills of £1000+. The Tino is an unknown quantity for me. Reviews seem more positive, but anything I should be aware of. Read more
Maybe spend a bit more if Japanese badges are your thing on a 55 Toyota Corolla or one of the last of the old Honda Civics, both of which are totally reliable if serviced correctly and seem to be more reliable than their replacements. The Mazda 3, while not as common, is another reliable car and looks more exciting. However, the Almera isn't bad and used values are low.
hi all,this is my first time posting on this site, the site is class.
my problem is I have just bought a mondeo tdci and am sorry now, with the reports posted makes me worry, its a 04 tdci mondeo 130,are they that poor. Read more
My understanding is that they are great cars let down badly by dealers who don't understand them, and sometimes Ford themselves who give customers the run around getting what should be relatively straightforward things fixed.
Yes, you do hear some horror stories, but as others have said, there are so many around that this is bound to be the case. Plus, all cars have their known faults - look at the 320d BMW's for example, but nobody dares to suggest they're not up to scratch, even though they can pop turbos and ingest manifold parts. The vast majority of both BMW and Ford will rack up starship mileages without giving owners the slightest headache. That's how cars are these days, even the "unreliable" ones.
In addition, you see so many TDCi Mondeos as taxis and fleet cars, both applications where unreliability is simply not tolerated, that they can't be inherently bad.
And the car itself is lovely. You won't find a better handling or more refined diesel family hatch.
Cheers
DP
The engine of my 2.0 CDT cut out last January on a French motorway. The emergency engineer managed to restart it only after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. He had poured extra diesel into the tank without success in restarting. The car then drove without any problems for about 8000 miles.
Recently the engine refused to start and the AA engineer again only succeeded in restarting the engine after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.
On both these occasions I had allowed the level of diesel in the tank to drop to very low levels just prior to the engine failure but had refilled the tank and driven about 40 miles before failure.
Diagnostic testing by a Bosch agent gave an error code which showed low fuel pressure and his educated guess was that the auxiliary fuel pump had an intermittent fault, but 2 instances in 11 months is not a lot to go on. Again the car seems to be behaving itself and replacement pumps are expensive, especially on an educated guess!
Can anybody suggest a better diagnosis?
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Many thanks 'injection doc'! Unfortunately ( or is it?) the car has run perfectly all this week. I'll have to wait for the next failure and have the car towed to a specialist for T4 diagnostics.
in ref to the prev post that I put on here, that problem has been sorted out with out the need for a cmashaft rebuild - anyway I m due for a oil change tommorow moring, and I wanted to bring my own oil on Ive bought Castrol Magnatec 15W-40 however ive just realised that the Vauxhall Website and the Handbook state 10W-40 but i swear when I was in a well know retail branded chain of car parts, the guide book stated that 15W-40 was the one for my car,
Have I wasted my money, and shall i hope that the garage that I have booked it into (local firm) have the correct oil? or will it be able to take this oil no problems?
DOH!!!!!
Many thanks Read more
Cheers, Cheicksfan, and many thanks to everyone else, who responded to my post
What kind of mpg can i expect from 330 petrol and 330d estates. Petrol models are cheaper and it is a case of comparing based on my 10K a year mileage. Also how much does an auto box decrease mpg?
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Who is Joe Dowd? Thanks
Use the FORUM search for "Joe Dowd" over the last year or beyond (above "Help", next to the "Log In" "Log Out")and it will give you many links.
Glad to see the website and forum is still doing well in its new restful blueish look!
Anyone run a Mondeo Estate 2.0 petrol to know their real life fuel consumption?
Also I wonder what a trade sale (not p/x) value would be for a clean 51 plate Ghia with 86K and history up to 70K?
Thanks,
David Read more
Have a 2.0ltr zetec 2002 with only 37,600miles,i filled tank up and got 520,miles...80%motorway driving may have had influence on this result
Hi
I've just bought a new VW Passat with the 170 PDI diesel engine. Great car to drive, will let you know in due course if it has any of the trade-mark VW reliability problems!
My understanding of the DPF is that if my driving style doesn't suit the DPF then it starts to block up. The response of the engine management system is to increase the fuel mix being burnt to increase exhaust temperatures. If this doesn't work my engine warning light comes on and I need a new filter! Ouch!
Is there any way to find out how happy my DPF is with my regular commute to work? It includes two 8 mile runs on a motoway at speed - but in 6th gear the engine is only doing 2000 rpm? I'd prefer to modify my driving style (cruising in 3rd!??) before the warning light comes on! (I'm not sure if a sudden drop in MPG indicates this burn-off process occurring?) Does the engine measure the pressure across the DPF?
Thanks for your help. Read more
If you look in HJ's FAQ (at the top of the page) there is a VERY detailed bulletin from a VW technician about VW's DPF methodology and deployment, which covers the ideal conditions for regeneration, soot loading levels and more.
That will give you the info you need.
For the VW cars, DPF regeneration happens most efficiently at around peak torque rpm (i.e. around 2,000rpm) and above 38mph. A soot loading of 50% will burn off in about 8-10 minutes this way.
All of the sudden the beep-beeping has stopped amd I just get a continuous tone which is different very annoying and distracting.
Anyone know what has happened? I have cleaned the sensors form recent muck, but still the same. Read more
ND Haigh's have sorted the problem out through look more than judgement. By removing all the sensors and checking the wiring the system, the excercise appears to have re-booted the system and all works again. No more annoying constant noise everytime you select reverse.
Whether it is a permenent fix or not I do not know.
Its worth a try though to remove all the senors unplug them turn on the ignition select reverse and then re plug everything back up. Sensors are not difficult to remove.
Good luck in your repair Monsieur Kev.
Tim
Been on before on this - for 7 months now, once in a while my Focus 03 plate only 24K miles 1.8TDCi 115PS refuses to start -RAC men says it fuel delivery its been into Ford Dealer had £2000 (yes 2000) of parts fitted new PCM, new fuel pump system etc crankshaft sensor yet still plays up.
Then in November it got towed in yet again this time Ford Dealer say 'its fixed' it was a chafed wire under the gearbox, wire part of fuel delivery they said.
I battle with Ford Customer relation centre and got £1200 refunded a few weeks ago. think Ive got it sorted
then
Then it starts to play up again reluctant to start , tonite 28/12/07 had to abandon it at work hope to get it towed to Ford dealer tomorrow.
Now desperate (as is dealer) can anyone say if they might have found this issue.???
Everyone says its a fuel delivery issue, in fact twice the RAC managed to start it with jump leads (battery woirn flat) and easystart in air filter inlet.
Even a Ford Field engineer couldnt bottom this when it was in the ford dealers for 5 weeks once in June/July 2007.
all electrics checked and like I said new fuel pump, new PCM, new battery new crankshaft sensor, yet still once in a while it resues to fire up, turns over perfectly Ok just wont actually fire up like I say RAC men say its fule delivery.
The Ford dealer is entirely beaten by tjis car, they are helpful and I cannot fault then getting a courtesy car to me tonite but where do I go with this problem ?
Thanks
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Well its gone I got rid of it and YIPPEE
all I know for certain is it isnt due to radio staions nearby and its definitly a diesel only problem
the concensus is the fuel delivery is inadequate and rpossible easons are
electrical fault/s thats what the RAC men say and theyve no axe to grind.
but a Ford Field engineer told me a con rod had gone ( on 15 June 2007)but (I dont thinks so as I was doing 70 all the way up to and back from Yorkshire withing 3 weeks of that remark) goes to show what a accident it is getting these fdaults seen and fixedi
like I say Ive motored since 1967 and Ive never had such anguish as I had with this TDCi over last 7 months .
Frankly I love driving diesels I did over 100K miles in my last diesel, before this focus (which has done 24K) BUT I will never ever risk buying another for the sake of my sanity and wallet.
I like the Focus dont get me wrong and I have another on order (petrol) but just no way a diesel.
Had lots of opinions in last 7 months MOST said buy a honda so if a Honda dealer opens in my town I might.
Thanks Lads
Browse
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I agree DP that they are not all bad but the horror stories do seem to exceed the good ones and their is a concensus locally in the garage trade that once they hit 3y and/or 50k miles the repairs come on big style. Its not just repairs but the engineering involved - shall we talk about replacing bulbs on meganes?