Ford says that it will give full refunds to thousands of customers who have been affected by sudden failures of its Ecoboost turbo petrol engines.
The issue has been highlighted by a BBC investigation, which found that "hundreds" of customers said their 1.0-litre Ecoboost engines had overheated. The broadcaster was also contacted about problems involving 1.6-litre Ecoboost engines, which drivers said had burst into flames when they were driving.
The BBC said that many drivers affected were originally told they would have to pay for their own repairs.
According to Ford, the two problems are unrelated issues. The coolant hose on the 1.0 Ecoboost engines of cars built between October 2011 and October 2013 can potentially fail at high temperatures. Ford says that 44,682 cars were affected, and a recall was issued through a Field Service Action (FSA) in March 2015, with "96% of affected cars" have been reworked.
The engines affected are the turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder units, fitted to models such as the Ford Fiesta and Focus since 2012. Ford said that the FSA is not classified as a safety issue by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, because drivers would be warned should the car start to overheat.
Ford also said that there was a separate issue relating to 15,200 1.6-litre Ecoboost engines, for which a recall was issued earlier this year. That unit has been found in the Focus since 2010, alongside the Ford C-Max, Ford Kuga and (from 2012 on) the Fiesta ST.
Ford issued a voluntary safety recall through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) back in January for models affected, and said it was contacting customers to rectify the problem. It claims that "localised overheating of the engine cylinder head may cause the cylinder head to crack. This may cause a pressurised oil leak which in extreme circumstances could result in a fire in the engine compartment.”
The remedial action taken by dealers since then has included replacing affected parts of the engine and cooling system, as well as adding in a coolant level sensor with audible and visual warnings for the driver. Ford has yet to reveal the exact number of models affected in the UK, but claims it is "a small percentage".
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This has just happened to my car and I've been on the phone to Ford for the past three days and they are saying there is nothing they can do about it. If anyone has experienced the same problem please let me know what happened in your case and I need some advice.
Thanks
2012 1.6 ecoboost
brought second hand car for the missis,£6100 only to end up with months of misery reserviour bottle started to pee out the side of the sealed area,found was replacing water once a week then every day,got to the stage where couldnt get the bottle cap off without the middle getting stuck,then when took back to ford and explained was not interested and if i changed it they wouldnt do the recall work which was booked for aprill only to be put off,come june i went into ford dealership only to find that other people were bringing there keys in for recall work,no explanation to why they hadnt being in touch,paid 80 pound for a health cjheck to find heater inside was now leaking and head gasket was crippled due to the over heating and the plastic pipe leading to the res broke on mine and had to cut it and refit or car was out of action,pipe was brittle.Ford have been cutting corners in a big way even the RS FOCUS which is the top of the line have had new head gaskets after just 5000 miles mine had done 66,000 which is low for a 2012 and had full service history explain that ford? put it threw a car auction and lost 3000 but did not want a worthless car with a blown engine.all ford do is blame the owner.gone on to audi and would never trust ford again.