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My Ford Kuga broke down at 65,000 miles - is the dealer responsible to fix it?

I bought a Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi automatic two years ago, with approximately 50,000 miles on the clock. It started juddering and displayed a transmission fault on the dash. I drove the vehicle directly to my local Ford dealership, where it gave up the ghost on the forecourt and would no longer operate in any direction. We were advised to try give the transmission a service and reprogramme of the computer. We were warned that this may cost around £500 and had no guarantee of success. Otherwise, potentially, it would be a new transmission (estimate £5000). Sadly, the transmission service did not do the trick and a decision on what to do with the vehicle is being made. At this moment in time it has approximately 65,000 miles and I should not be replacing a transmission on a vehicle, at my own cost, at this stage. It is not covered by any warranty. I purchased the vehicle via a PCP agreement. Is my issue with the retailer that sold me the vehicle (a Ford dealership 40 miles from where I live) or Ford itself?

Asked on 11 May 2018 by Jeremy Matthews

Answered by Honest John
Unless there is a recall, any liability is with the supplying dealer. You don't say how old the car is. I assume it's the 2008 - 2013 Kuga and the post-2010 Kuga 2.0 TDCIs had a 6-speed wet clutch Getrag Powershift automatic transmission. This transmission requires maintenance (an oil and filter change) every three years and if that has not been carried out it tends to fail.
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