Ford Galaxy (1995 – 2006) Review

• January 0001

Make sure 7-seaters are genuine seven-seaters with rearmost area heating and not just 5-seaters with two extra seats clipped in.

Make sure recall work carried out.

Beware if wipers won't turn off. Water gets into wiper motors, corroding them. New motors £500. First symptom they will not turn off.

Vital to check that the aircon works properly as this is a common failure and fixing it can be very expensive.

Air mass meters on TDI 110s can suffer failure through corrosion.

Brake servo pipes of TDI 90 and 110s can fail leading to lack of servo assistance.

Intermittent power loss on TDI 90s and 110s may be due to one of the following:- sticking turbo due to dirty oil; dirty or faulty mass airflow sensor; exhaust gas recircularion solenoid valve sticking open; wastegate valve actuator rod sticking; faulty throttle switches; faulty temperature sensor; loose or leaking brake servo pipe or turbo boost pipe from fuel pump to turbo; faulty ECU.

Clonks from the front of a 2.3 petrol model may mean one or more engine mounting bolts have sheared.

Problems with Ford 5-speed manual box on early TDIs. On 6-speed twin shaft manuals the gearchange from 1st to 2nd can become still. First stage dealer cure is to replace the transmission oil. If that fails, it needs a synchro ring replacing. So if your box stiffens up, make sure it is attended to before the warranty expires.

Ford dealers unable to work on Galaxy 2.8 automatic with the "Tiptronic AG5" gearbox as it is purely VW and they do not have VAG diagnostic equipment. Problem of stretched timing chains on VR6s and chains actually breaking at around 90,000 miles.

Reports of valve box failures on Galaxy TDI 115s with JATCO 5-speed auto.

JATCO advises owners not to carry out AUTOMATIC transmission fluid changes hemselves because it's difficult to ensure the correct amount is added (the gearbox needs to be run to a specific temperature - This requires diagnostic equipment) and probably they will use the wrong oil, e.g. Land Rover Discovery ATF is different from a Land Rover Freelander, and Jaguar X-Type (Jatco) uses different ATF to a Land Rover Freelander (Jatco).

Reconditioned JATCO automatic transmissions around £1,000 from www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk Factory exchange JATCO automatic transmissions (more expensive) from www.xpartautoservicecentre.com

Reports of failures of 6-speed manual boxes started coming in early 2007.

On TDIs, EGR valve should open to allow carbon dioxide, which acts as a cooling gas) into the combustion chambers when the engine is under load (>30% boost). This allows the combustion chamber temperature to drop and thus the temperature of the exhaust gases. If it sticks in the closed position the exhaust gas temperature will rise causing a) the turbo bearings to fail and b) engine oil into the induction system. This can cause the engine to run on its crankcase oil until it is either stalled or goes bang. Problems with EGR valves in TDI engines are often the cause of rough running when the valve is stuck in the open position as well. In several cases turbos have blown but the EGR valve has not been replaced. Inevitably the new turbo unit will not last long.

Failing DMFs on 6-speed diesel manuals can generate so much heat in the transmission housing that they cause a fire.