Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do?

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Thu 15 Aug 2013 15:59
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - ElCani

Hi all.

I have a 2007 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi, with 64k miles (90% motorway driving at 70-80mph). The car has basically been 100% reliable since I bought it when it was nine months old, but recently it has starting 'hestitating' during driving. It feels like a momentary (less than a second) loss of power and usually happens when cruising on a light throttle or pulling away from a junction. No warning lights have been displayed and the car drives normally at all other times.

As soon as it happened, I Googled the problem and was confronted with the depressing litany of turbo problems this particular engine has. I had the oil changed, but this has not fixed it. Generally, the car has been serviced at the recommended intervals and the correct oil used, although I now realise changing the oil every 6k would have been advisable.

So... what to do next? Does anyone know if this is behaviour is definitely the turbo going, or could it be the EGR or the throttle body? Should I just trade the car in immediately or can it be 'saved' at reasonable cost?

I have 500 mile round trip to a wedding in a week, so if I'm going to trade it in I'd prefer to do it asap.

Many thanks in advance for any advice offered!

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Thu 15 Aug 2013 16:04
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - Peter.N.

Doesn't sound like classic turbo failure symptoms, sounds more like an electronic or sensor fault. You need to get the fault codes read, take it to a diesel specialist rather than the dealer, they usually know what they are doing and are cheaper.

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Thu 15 Aug 2013 16:13
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - ElCani

Thanks Peter.

I found this thread which seems to describe the same problem, but unfortunately no clear answer as to what's actually causing it.

www.cmaxownersclub.co.uk/forum/technical-39/interm.../

Other views welcome.

Edited by ElCani on 15/08/2013 at 16:13

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Fri 16 Aug 2013 15:07
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - ElCani

Update: Just come back from a local mechanic. He said it showed the fault code that means the DPF is getting clogged. Said he could do a manual regen, but I should first try buying a bottle of diesel additive and then drive the car at highish revs on the motorway.

I suppose I'd be slightly surprised if it is the DPF, due to the fact almost all the car's miles are from motorway driving, but he said they can still be a problem.

Any views on whether the diesel additive is worth it? I thought these were basically just snake-oil...

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Fri 16 Aug 2013 19:30
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - BigJohnD

Update: Just come back from a local mechanic. He said it showed the fault code that means the DPF is getting clogged.

The DPF can be removed and cleaned for around £200. http://www.dpfcleanteam.co.uk/.

I doubt an additive will have any significant impact, and is quite likely to blow clouds of smoke out of the tail pipe.

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Fri 16 Aug 2013 22:12
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2007 - Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi turbo going? What to do? - ElCani

Hmmm.. that looks interesting. Has anybody got any personal experience using them? Or an idea of how much a garage might charge to remove and refit the DPF?

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