08 Mondeo 1.6 Petrol Engine blown!

King9

Have an issue with 2008 Mondeo 1.6 Petrol and dealer is now saying engine needs replacing. Long story short have had issues with coolent since new and last month head gasket went, had that and timing belt done and serviced paid 1k but engine light came back on after 4 week now they want to replace engine?

Car is out of warranty and Ford dont want to know, anyone any idea how much a reconditioned engine costs as have meeting tomorrow in garage as told them I'm not paying. This is with a main Ford dealer in Dublin so any help appreciated.

King9

King9 wrote: »

.......... Long story short have had issues with coolent since new and last month head gasket went............

They couldn't sort a coolant loss from new?
Do you have it documented how often they attempted to? If you do then the HG failing may well be related. Now if you were driving around cooking it then that's a different matter.

If you give more details folks can advise

si_guru

So for 4 years you had a coolant problem and then 1 month after they diagnose a new HG the engine is toast... that's horrid.

Was the car always serviced by them and did they ever look at this problem in the past 4 years?

If yes - I think they owe you a big favour.

If it was me I would first suggest that they swap your car for another *working* 2008 car - and both parties part company on good terms.

King9

Was recalled after about 5 months from new for water pump after that seemed to be running ok but after few months noticed engine fan staying on after driving. Coolent was low so was due service and left it in with garage and reported issue. (garage i got it in now which is now closed!) They just seemed to top up at service and left at that. I had to top it up between services until May 2010 coolent hose coming out of engine disconnected. Left back into same garage it is in now and they replaced hose and coolent issue was sorted all do still have had to keep an eye between service intervals. All issue repoted during warranty period which expired Feb 2010. Had to pay for hose in May 2010 but not the labour as had previously reported issue to them. Issue i have is last two services I get off local non Ford garage so they are not taking responsibility in dealership.

What were the circumstances of the HG going?

King9

Was driving fine just Engine light came on and seemed to be misfiring. As soon as light came on went straight to delaer and left it in. They sent head away for testing and that was fine so replaced HG, bolts timimg belt and full service. Car was running great for four weeks and they had asked me to bring it back after a month to ensure all was ok which I did last Monday and got the all clear. Tuesday engine light comes back on, left it back they reset and gave it back to me, drove it round the block and know car wasnt right left it back in the next day and am now in this situation.

x in the city

not related but a 1.6 litre engine in a big saloon like that is a joke.

i was interested in the new model mondeos until i saw the puny little engine they use.

you are been given the run around with that car, tell the garage fix it, and give you a written warranty.

tbh, i would ask for a different car, sounds like a lemon you got.

Well if they reckoned 'twas fine after them doing the HG and 4 weeks later they reckon a new engine is needed ask them what exactly do they think happened in the 4 weeks to cause the situation.

I can't see them explaining this one very well.

King9

Have exaused myself saying it is both Ford's & dealers issue but both are saying I will need to pay as out of warranty and not serviced by them last two times. Ford in particular very unhelpful.

Not sure what I will do but have all service receipts including the first one at 20k which notes I reported engine fan staying on. Has had 5 services in 110k so will see how I go tomorrow with Dealership. :mad:

Very bad from if they charged a grand for a HG and timing belt, let the car out the door and 4 weeks later they reckon the engine is scrap. In fairness I can see Ford Ireland's point but not the actual garages.

The engine couldn't have been hunky dorey 4 weeks ago. What mileage have you done since they did the HG?

King9

HG done at 107k engine toast at 111k

4000km in 4 weeks, did the coolant drop before the light came on? Perhaps they never rectified the root cause of the coolant loss in the first instance?

King9

not that i noticed but i kept it topped up. never got any notification on dash even when coolent was low or empty

Surely if you were topping it up twas losing coolant ?

guil

King9 wrote: »

not that i noticed but i kept it topped up. never got any notification on dash even when coolent was low or empty

so how long could you of drove it with no water or coolant? i'm not sure if there is a light that comes up for coolant but i could be wrong

garhjw

that is a really sh1t situation you are in. unfortunately, i think the best you could probably get from them would be the €k you already paid put toward replacing the engine.

the only alternative would be to get an independent engineers report into the cause of the engine failure but that is a long and messy process in my opinion.

good luck

Tea drinker

King9 wrote: »

not that i noticed but i kept it topped up. never got any notification on dash even when coolent was low or empty

in fairness that car wasn't drivable, but the dealership should have told you that. It should have stayed with them till the fault was fixed.
Maybe the gasket was the source of the problem since new.

Bearcat

Taking the garage is going to shun you, if you feel you have a case Id pass it by a solicitor.

King9

OK havin taken all our comments on board had good meeting with Garage today. Gave copies of all my service receipts and explained my case and they are going to contact Ford and see where we stand. Issue was noted on 40k service so thats something. I have also spoken to my Solicitor and organised independent assessor to do report which garage have been kind enough to cover cost of. Garage seem to be onside in getting it sorted so only issue is now getting Ford to come accross with an engine under warranty which is a big ask!

Will let you know how it goes..

cadaliac

The fact that you have details that the problem was reported at 40k service and you have been using a Ford dealer since new, I think you should get a good deal from Ford Ireland. Well, imo anyway.
It is good from the garage to cover the engineers report also. This should also help your case, if the HG failure can be related to the engine failure.

245

You've taken the right approach. I had an issue with a new Fiesta some years ago which the dealer and Ford refused to deal with until I got a solicitor. Sad to see that their attitude to their customers hasn't improved in the meantime.

Drummerboy08

Ford are usually pretty decent when it comes to goodwill claims.

I did here that they were covering the cost of timing belt failures on the Mk1 Focus once it had a full history, so that's an indicator of their service.

But follow through with the engineer's report either way, very useful to have.

Slightly related, but the coolant issue is also common to Diesel Fiesta's, or more importantly the coolant hose coming loose from the engine (As the OP described above). The problem on the Fiesta was the clip holding the hose in place was never good enough, I'm wondering is it the same on the Mondeo?

Plug

I'd love to know whats wrong with the car. What fault codes etc. Was it running under powered or ok, was it running hot?

EPM

Going on what DB said, they covered a new clutch on my dads 3 year old Mindri recently. Manufacturing fault it was deemed as and it was changed no questions asked.

King9

Plug wrote: »

I'd love to know whats wrong with the car. What fault codes etc. Was it running under powered or ok, was it running hot?

No fault code until engine light four weeks ago, never noticed any performance issues and heat gauge never moved.

There is no warning light on dash for low or no coolent which I think is nuts considering there is for washer fluid

Bearcat

Keep us posted......It's a very relevant topic in this day and age,

King9

King9 wrote: »

No fault code until engine light four weeks ago, never noticed any performance issues and heat gauge never moved.

There is no warning light on dash for low or no coolent which I think is nuts considering there is for washer fluid

Presumably if the gauge moves there is a message in the dash display?
If the gauge never moved it makes things quite strange really.

EPM wrote: »

Going on what DB said, they covered a new clutch on my dads 3 year old Mindri recently.....

What's a Mindri?

EPM

RoverJames wrote: »

What's a Mindri?

It's a phone that auto corrects:pac:

OP, it was on a 3 year old Mondeo bought at 2 years old from a non-Ford dealer. Full history and they covered it without question. Mileage was only c.55k km on it and was about 3 months ago.

Plug

RoverJames wrote: »

Presumably if the gauge moves there is a message in the dash display?
If the gauge never moved it makes things quite strange really.

Mmm something not adding up all right. I wonder what the fault codes were? Over heating will bring up a fault on this engine but as the gauge never moved its a bit suspicious.
OP is the engine running ok or what exactly is it doing? How did they come to a blown head gasket conclusion. I've seen these leak coolant and over heat pretty bad but only once have I every seen a blown head gasket.

King9

Plug wrote: »

Mmm something not adding up all right. I wonder what the fault codes were? Over heating will bring up a fault on this engine but as the gauge never moved its a bit suspicious.
OP is the engine running ok or what exactly is it doing? How did they come to a blown head gasket conclusion. I've seen these leak coolant and over heat pretty bad but only once have I every seen a blown head gasket.

No engine not running OK, will drive but very noticable in low gears that something not right. As i said only issue and first issue on dash was engine light four weeks ago. No idea what came up on diagnostics in garage but they are the ones said HG leaking which as I have found out four weeks later may not have been the issue.

I will say car was running great after they did the HG and TB, only after I left in for final check over a month after the work was done engine light came back on next day?

Plug

Ask them what the fault codes were, demand them. Blown head gasket between cylinders(loss of compression will cause a misfire, engine light on). Whats it like starting, will it start ok? Or does the engine turn over a few times before it starts?
If you get the fault codes report back here, it not need a new engine at all.

King9

Plug wrote: »

Ask them what the fault codes were, demand them. Blown head gasket between cylinders(loss of compression will cause a misfire, engine light on). Whats it like starting, will it start ok? Or does the engine turn over a few times before it starts?
If you get the fault codes report back here, it not need a new engine at all.

They are saying there is a slight crack (or pitting??) in one of the cylinders which is now the issue? I did ask was this not there when they did the work last month and surely would of shown up on pressure testing after HG fitted? But they are saying they could not tell if it was or not.

Car starts fine but does not idle well and feels like it is going to cut out.

Have the assessor going in so will contact him and ask him to get a list of all fault codes from before and after HG was done.

Plug

Ah well if the cylinder wall is cracked well then thats goodbye engine:( You would be cheaper to fit a second hand engine but they might be a bit hard to fir since its the vvti engine..
The engine light was probably brought on by a misfire so. It could have cracked when it over heated but was either not noticeable or they didn't look when they head was off. It could have been there the whole time and just got worse.

King9

OK got good news from Garage today that Ford have relented and are going to supply engine block and related parts under warranty so happy days!

Garage have also agreed to fit at no additional cost so seem to have gotten the best result possible from what was a nightmare situation at the outset.

Thanks to all for the advice as I am sure if I had not taken the steps I did I would of found myself forking out for a new or reconditioned engine for an issue that in my opinion was in the car from near enough the day I got it.

Should have it back next week so will let you all know how it goes.

Bearcat

That's brill news.....fair play to ford. I too would have stuck to my guns esp as it's a 08 car. Safe driving on return!

EPM

In fairness Ford seem to be straight up when it comes to out of warranty issues. Happy you're sorted op.