Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation

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Sun 11 Oct 2015 00:17
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - wrightyl

Hi,

When driving my Mondeo I have noticed that it has a definite hesistation, that tends to happen when the car is at a steady speed rather than during acceleration. When it hesitates the revs stay constant, there are no warning lights on the dash, no black smoke, in fact nothing physically looks out of the ordinary other than the feeling of the car hesitating.

The car can have a week or two where it is fine in between the episodes where it has the hesitating problem. It has been to the garage, but due to the problem being intermittent and it does it when it feels like, the diagnostics check hasn't provided any clues. I have changed from using the cheap supermarket diesel to using the branded stuff like Shell, but it hasn't really made any difference.

The car has only done 29,000 miles although it has had one previous owner. I do think the problem is getting worse as today the hesitation felt a bit stronger than usual, more like a jolt on occasion rather than the usual flutter if that makes sense. The problem does feel like it is fuel related in some way, but as to what exactly I don't know, it would be easier if it happened everytime I drove it, but it doesn't. Has anyone got a clue as to what could be causing these symptoms?

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers

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Sun 11 Oct 2015 10:51
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - craig-pd130

The early 1.8 TDCI Mondeos had problems with intermittent cutting out, uneven running etc. Ford released several ECU map updates to try and fix this, which seemed to work.

Try searching the TalkFord forums in the Mondeo section, there should be plenty there. I seem to remember the ECU updates were coded for identification.

You could ask a Ford dealer if they would check your car's ECU map version and if it can be updated. They'd charge for the update, I'm sure, but could be worth asking.

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Sun 11 Oct 2015 21:18
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - wrightyl

Cheers for the reply.

I think I'll take it to Ford and see what version the ECU is on before doing anything else, probably sounds like good advice to me. If I recall, there is a mention of this type of thing in the 'What's good/bad' reviews of the Mondeo Mk4 on this site.

Been out in it earlier today and it was doing the same old thing, hesitating similar to a petrol engine misfire, but without a coil pack to check! The problem with these modern engines is the reliance on diags to report a fault, otherwise you and often the garage are left guessing and swapping parts that might or not fix the problem.

If any solutions to this problem arise then I will post them back here to help anyone else that may the same problem in the future.

Ta

Wrighty

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Tue 3 Nov 2015 21:30
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - dafskipman

Cheers for the reply.

I think I'll take it to Ford and see what version the ECU is on before doing anything else, probably sounds like good advice to me. If I recall, there is a mention of this type of thing in the 'What's good/bad' reviews of the Mondeo Mk4 on this site.

Been out in it earlier today and it was doing the same old thing, hesitating similar to a petrol engine misfire, but without a coil pack to check! The problem with these modern engines is the reliance on diags to report a fault, otherwise you and often the garage are left guessing and swapping parts that might or not fix the problem.

If any solutions to this problem arise then I will post them back here to help anyone else that may the same problem in the future.

Ta

Wrighty

Just wondering, have you got to the bottom of this problem?. I ask only because i've owned several Mondeo's and Focus's fitted with this type of engine (tdci 1.8) 8v, and always found them bulletproof. Hence any issues which crop up and how they can be rectified is of interest to me, as they say forewarned is forearmed.

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Sat 30 Jan 2016 23:18
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - wrightyl

Yep, the problem is now sorted and the car is running great.

The fix was surprisingly simple. I basically stopped using Tesco diesel and now only use Shell, since then it hasn't missed a beat. I did go back to Tesco diesel after it had been running fine on Shell for a while just to prove the point and straight away it started to hesitate again. Anyway, it's been running on Shell now for a few months and it's been fine, car runs perfectly.

So if anyone else has a problem, then try using Shell or BP as they seem to be better. Even had a problem with Gulf diesel from one of the local garages so even some of the branded stuff it doesn't like.

If you have been running on Tesco, Asda etc diesel and then switch to Shell it might take 2 or 3 refills before the hesitation and previous fuels clear.

My mates Mondeo MK4 2.0 diesel and my MK3 both run fine on anything, but the 1.8 doesn't for whatever reason.

Cheers

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Tue 27 Oct 2015 22:22
Ford Mondeo Mk4 - 2010 1.8 TDCI (125) hesitation - dafskipman

Do you know if the EGR valve has been "blanked off"?.

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