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Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - CMax Cathy

Our 2009 CMax 1.8 tdci has had 3 diesel fuel injector failures in the 3 years we have owned it. Each time, the car has gone into limp mode and the garage has found a fault code relating to one of the injectors. Two injectors have been replaced so far, one in 2012 and one in 2014. It broke down again this month and the garage (a different chain this time) advises a third injector needs replacing.

We have just about given up on the car - it feels too risky to drive long distances in it in case it breaks down again. Which kind of defeats the point of having the car!

Would like to know if this failure rate is normal for a car with FSH and 45,000 miles on the clock? Does it sound like an underlying issue and/or what might be causing it? We always use decent diesel fuel from proper garages....

Any advice would be useful!!! Thanks a lot.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - elekie&a/c doctor

Injectors on these are usually good for around 100k miles.So 3 failures in 45k miles is not the norm.Has the fuel filter been regularly changed?Also as you have only owned the car for 3 years there may have been previous history of fuel contamination,poor fuel or petrol in fuel at some point.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - Peter.N.

If the injectors genuinally are failing there must be an underlying cause, as mentioned by the doctor. A problem with some PSA cars was failure of the lift pump (don't know if yours has one) metal particles were getting into the injection system.

I have a Peugeot 406 Hdi which still has the original injectors at 244k miles but for some reason the Ford ones don't seem to be as reliable.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - dogdays

Is this the Ford built 1.8 ltr, 8 valve Endura engine? if so it is fitted with Siemens Piezo Electric injectors, though they can give trouble its certainly not normal to happen at 45,000 miles. Did the garage have any idea why they failed, eg was it electrical (piezo actuator failing) or mechanical issues ( jamming internaly) ? You say you are using good fuel, are you nursing this car along when driving it, It helps to give the car a good hard thrash down the motorway regulary to stop injectors sticking and cloging. Taking it easy is not doing a modern Diesel car a favour, neither is short runs.

I have to say though, unfortunatly electronic injection is a mystery to many small garages.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - CMax Cathy

Hi thx for replying. It's definitely a 1.8l but not sure about the valves/engine type. None of the garages who have seen it have given reasons for the failures, despite me asking them each time. They've only said to use good quality fuel, which I do (it's not like I'm brewing my own!) and get the fuel filters cleaned/changed, which I've asked my servicing garage to make sure they do.

Someone at the local Ford specialist garage suggested I contact Ford about it. I've emailed but got short shrift back.

It is used for a lot of town/short distance driving, with the occasional weekend blast up the motorway, and a very long drive about three times a year. Perhaps that's not enough?

Thanks for the advice anyway.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - CMax Cathy

Also meant to say, I did wonder if there was previous history of problems.

The first injector failure was just 3 weeks after we bought it - the selling garage paid for the injector replacement. I now think we should have asked for our money back at that point......

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - Peter.N.

You would do better to take it to a diesel specialist, they usually know what they are doing.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - Railroad.

I would be interested to know how these injectors are failing. Are they failing because of a problem with the electrical circuit, or because the nozzles are becoming worn? For your garage to just say they are 'faulty' doesn't tell us much, or help them, or you, to understand the cause. As said above, a good diesel specialist who has all the correct equipment for testing the system pressure and the components would be far better placed to help you. In all fairness most independent garages don't know half as much as they'd like you to think when it comes to areas of speciality such as this.

A technician in a garage near me removed the injectors on a Focus to replace the seals. Conscientiously he thought it a good idea to clean them prior to re-fitting, so he did so on the wire wheel. What he had no understanding of is that although there would be no problem cleaning the body of the injectors on the wire wheel, he also wire brushed the nozzles, leaving four previously perfectly good injectors totally destroyed. He didn't even know what the problem was until he discovered he could not start the engine, and even his boss didn't know until someone from outside the business told him.

Moral of the story. You cannot trust people who have limited understanding of modern cars.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - dogdays

Try using inector cleaner in with the fuel, then give it a good thrashing up the motorway, not sparing the engine revs.

Incidently,early ford diesels were not very informative with the fault codes. My old Ford Diesel used to see the EGR valve sticking as Turbo Boost Failure.This is because they can only read the values of the sensors, not the reality of what is wrong. The only way you realy can prove that the injector has failed is the get it out of the engine and onto a diagnostic test rig. Every thing else is testing by subsitution, not much fun for you paying the bills.

Ford CMax Zetec 1.8 tdci diesel - Help! CMax recurring diesel fuel injector failures - PRICEY71

This may be too late but..

www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/62816-ford-inj...1

I too have the exact same problems with my C-Max TDCi 58 Plate