I have an '04 Zetec S mondeo which, pretty much since new has had one problem or another. These include:
Air temp sensor failure
Fuel Presure Sensor Failure
ECU replacement and various program updates
Stalling and cutting out at any speed or gear
Hesitation and labouring at 50MPH ish
Engine mounts have been replaced
Battery failed at 20k miles
Serpantine belt and tensioner replaced
Rear brake calipers locking on
Hand brake cable failure
Front and rear disks needing replacing after less than 30K (seems a bit soon!)
Clutch failure
clutch hydraulics failure
Ingition barrell collapse
Suspension bolts had worked their way loose (after less than 5000 miles)
Bonnet not correcly aligned
I also thought I would add that I seem to eat front tyres (10-12000 miles), just glad I am under a maintenance plan so I don't have to pay for them. I also had one of the metal valves blow out at motorway speeds, not pleasant.
I thought I would list the faults as I am interested to know if other Mondeo drivers had experienced similar problems. Some of these faults may just be down to wear and tear however some parts such as brakes and clutch seem to have worn out a lot sooner thanI would have expected.
I have had the car back now for about four or five weeks after a two month stay at a main dealer to resolve some of the problems listed and so far so good. In fact I actually really like the car, I am just interested if I have a friday afternoon car or if other owners have had numerous problems too.
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To be honest, it sounds like you've got a Friday afternoon car. Not one fault jumps out as being Mondeo specific but I don't own one. A lot of people do on here so I'm sure they'll be along shortly to advise.
For what it's worth, not one item on there, even in normal wear and tear use should have failed. The only exception being the pads/discs if you brake like a loon but even then, 30k is pushng it!
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The reason the rear disks were replaced were because the calipers kept locking on so the whole of the rear brake assembly was replaced. The fronts were replaced because they were worn out!
Most of my mileage is motorway derived which, when on the M25 equates to a lot of stop start driving!!
I forgot to mention in my previous post that the car is a 2.0l 130 TDCi.
My final question is, does anyone have definitive answer to why these cars have a greater tendancy to stall when pulling away from stationary? Most of the guys in my company with simalar cars have experienced this problem and we now just live with it.
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Re stalling, the TDCi takes some getting used to however the problem can be highlighted if the clutch pedal position sensor needs adjusting/replacing. A likely cause in your case if the clutch has been replaced and the hydraulics bled.
I have had my 2002 109k miles Ghia X TDCi 130 from new, of the problems you mention:
I have had one s/w update correspoding with an injector being recalibrated.
I have had a couple of instances of the rear calipers binding, one caliper was replaced under warranty however it is an easy fix and Ford do a repair kit now with replacement sliders and silicone grease. The handbrake cable was also unnecessarily replaced under warranty as part of the binding problem.
I replaced the original rear pads myself at 105k though the discs are original, the front discs and pads were changed at about 65k and will need doing again at around 120 to 125k.
I have also done the rear sub frame bushes myself at about 101k miles and had it laser aligned afterwards.
The car had a revised V belt and tensioner under warranty to address a thrumming at idle.
I had a new clutch master cylinder fitted to address a slight clicking through the pedal, I am fussy, reckon most people would have left it as it was however.
It pretty much still drives as new, perhaps better because it took 10 to 15k to loosen up.
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My final question is, does anyone have definitive answer to why these cars have a greater tendancy to stall when pulling away from stationary? Most of the guys in my company with simalar cars have experienced this problem and we now just live with it.
We have a Focus like this. As cheddar says, it's a characteristic of the TDCi. I've read that it's to do with the dynamics of the dual-mass flywheel being very poor at very low engine speeds, and so the engine (ECU?) cuts, though I'm not sure whether this is to prevent excess vibration or whether the flywheel stalls it by itself.
There's been an e-mail round about it at Fords, asking for personal experience from staff with leased cars. Apparantly it's causing quite a headache for the Ford engineers.
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Mike Farrow
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Stalling and Cutting Out Any Speed ? How did you resolve this !.....as I am having similar problems with my 02 MONDEO local Main dealer are a bit mistified going back for its 3rd Visit see recent posting WED 16 Aug 11.56
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I had the fuel pressure wiring modified along with another sensor in the fuel line which I am sure had something to do with the fuel temp. I do remember that they did not want to tell me too much though. They also changed the ECU program yet again though.
One suggestion if you have a few (hundred) quid spare, I have heard very good things about the Superchips Bluefin from collegues. They have used the product and their car has run pretty much perfectly. Not tried it myself though.
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