Do a forum search for "Mondeo TDCi" and you'll find a good few horror stories.
I own one myself (55-plate 2.0 130 ps 6-speed, Euro 4 spec) and it has very occasional hiccups, in which it loses all power for maybe a second and the immobiliser, engine management and glow plug lights come on once and then go out. Local main dealer (whose service department is prety good) has had a look at it but there was no fault code logged. I'm keeping an eye on it. Apart from that it is fine. Using V-Power diesel definitely makes it run perceptibly better. I do not know why, nor am I going to speculate on the reason, as this is not a fuel-related thread.
My own perception, based on what I have read here and on other forums, and on the experience of 20,000 miles' driving of one, is as follows:
1) These are powerful and (at least in 2.0 form) refined engines, if not quite as economical as VAG TDI PD engines of equivalent output (although some may/will disagree).
2) There are certain fragilities with the common-rail injection system, particularly on earlier examples. Some of these fragilities are understood to have resulted from manufacturing defects. Later examples are generally considered to be better in this regard.
3) If you are unlucky enough to experience failure as a result of one of these fragilities, the repair bill will be an inconvenient distance into four figures.
4) Some people's experiences seem to indicate that Ford can be reluctant to do the repair work under the warranty if it is in either its second or third years, and will seek to use fuel contamination/misfuelling as the reason for refusing a warranty claim.
5) Whilst there are a large number of stories concerning failure of these engines, so there are concerning VAG TDI PD engines, and the Fiat/GM CDTI units in sundry Vauxhalls. Equally, there must be a great many examples that are trouble-free.
6) There is no such thing as a 100% reliable engine, but if there was, it would as likely as not have a badge saying Honda on it.
Hope this helps :-)
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It was explained to me by a local diesel specialist as follows:
"Nice motors, but when they go wrong, they don't do it by halves. You'll need deep pockets."
In fairmess, you could probably apply that to most cr diesels.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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That is a fairly well balanced comment!
But to say, do a Google search for "Mondeo TDCi problems" and you'll find this forum, people with issues gravitate to a forum like this.
Honda have a good reputation for engineering though there have been Honda engine failueres reported here and Honda diesel issues. If there were to be such a thing as a 100% reliable engine then I reckon it might have a badge saying Yamaha on it (Moto GP bikes excluded, eh Vale!).
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Less risk of mis-fuelling the new shape Mondeo so may be a safer bet now
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if there was a 100% reliable engine then I reckon it might have a badge saying Yamaha on it
Seeing as Yamaha designed the Ford Zetec petrol engine, and considering the anti-Ford guff that you read on here, that comment is amusing
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Ford seem to design less and less of their cars. Petrol engines have been designed by Yamaha (1.25 unit) and Mazda (1.8, 2.0 units). Many of their Diesel units are now sourced from PSA. They have pulled out of the auto-transmission market ('Ford' auto trasmission interests were sold to ZF, and they now source some units from Jatco via their Mazda link).
As regards the reliability of the CR Diesels. Well, virtually all modern ENGINES are very reliable and will go to high mileage. What tends to give trouble is the bits bolted onto the engine - the CR injection system itself, the dual mass flywheel/clutch assembly, and (less commonly) the turbo.
A friend of mine has a steady stream of very profitable CR Diesel repair work. In fact when I last saw him (Monday afternoon of last week) he made the comment that he was booked solid for the next couple of weeks. The statistical relevance of this is hard to gauge, but a lot of his work comes from main dealer who don't seem to have the techs to deal with these motors.
The snag with faults on CR Diesels is that even the small ones (a faulty injector) will cost a few £100's. Bigger problems (pump failure, DMF trouble) will cost north of £1k to put right. This is a lot more than typical petrol engine faults cost to fix. This is due to a shortage of skilled techs, a requirement for expensive diagnosis equipment and also to the high costs of the precision-engineered parts that have to work at extreme pressures. Its a bit like playing Russian Roulette - but we don't know how many chambers the gun has - time will tell.
IMHO a TDCI makes a lot of sense if bought new (or nearly new) and used to cover a high annual mileage. Once out of warranty they become a risky proposition. One fault could wipe out the fuel economy saving - and don't forget to factor in the 'Diesel premium' on the purchase price when doing your calculation. Are you a 'gambling man'?
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Yamaha designed the Zetec-S 1.25, 1.4 etc not the Zetec though I wasn't thinking of that rather 600cc m/cycle engines that rev to 13,000 + have a valve clearance interval of only every 27,000 miles and are still going strong after 200,000 miles. In which time the engine will have turned over around 1.5 billion times.
In contrast my TDCi will have *only* turned over around 250 million times in 120,000 miles.
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They did the the Puma 1.7 as well - that was a crackerjack motor !
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My 04 plate 1.8 TDCI (100) Focus has required the following in just over three years and 46,000 miles:
Replacemnt DMF
Replacement turbo
1 no. replacement injector
Auxillary belt tensioner
Starter motor
The fact that it regularly does 52 mpg however you drive it is wiped out by the cost of the above faults.
As Aprilia says, this could happen to any CR diesel.
I should of stuck with my P plate D Turbo Peugeot 306 which has currently done 145,000 trouble free miles and is still going strong on just routine servicing. Doh!
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I have noticed fewer and fewer Mondeo minicabs. I don't know if the TDCI engine has anything to do with that.
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So surely this means that as the common-rail diesels get on a bit, their value is going to be pretty worthless (say 10 years or possibly a less?) because of the fear of hefty repair costs if anything should go wrong.
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My 04 plate 1.8 TDCI (100) Focus has required the following in just over three years and 46 000 miles .....
Oh no! If this were a Honda woopywoo or whatever his name is would use this post as conclusive proof that Hondas are carp.
Unfortunate that, but the way it goes sometimes.
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Yamaha designed the Zetec-S 1.25 1.4 etc not the Zetec though I wasn't thinking of that rather 600cc m/cycle engines that rev to .....
SNIPQUOTE!
The interviewed a courier in BIKE that did 600 to 1,000 a day on his bikes. Got 850,000 miles on a VFR and had 250,000 on his Blackbird.
We had a combine harvester in 2005 that we felt was lacking in power, they plugged the laptop in and said it had done 1 billion cycles, it had 250 hours on the meter and was in it's first season.
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The OP emphasised the word "true".
Therefore, I take it that was the implied question may have been:
"Are the 1.8 TDCi & 2.0 TDCi engines developed by Ford more reliable or less reliable than the PSA/Ford engines found in several Fords?"
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The interviewed a courier in BIKE that did 600 to 1 000 a day on his bikes. Got 850 000 miles on a VFR and had 250 000 on his Blackbird.
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I read that, one of his bikes was a Kawa ZZR, also I dont believe he averaged 600 to 1000 a day, at 2000 a week, that is 100,000 a year it would take 8.5 years to do 850,000 so I also dont think the VFR was as high as 850,000, I will have to find the mag.
We had a combine harvester in 2005 that we felt was lacking in power they plugged the laptop in and said it had done 1 billion cycles it had 250 hours on the meter and was in it's first season.
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So what does a cycle comprise?
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hi im new to this forum, but i wish i had read through it sooner, decided to scrap my 2003 tdci mondeo ghia, it has just been giving problem after problem, ive servied it religously, actually been a bit anal about it but my god ford you have let me down, ok i bought the car second hand running beautifully, smooth fast economical up until a flashing glow plug light, then i was contacted from the garage with an estimate , 1500 euro to sort the diesel pump issue, common rail, injectoers etc, then told theres grease surrounding the gearbox, mass flywheel on the way out, wondering why to myself why a vibration at 60-70mph getting worse after ll wheels were balanced in 2 different garages, and not the rear calipers have seized, door regulators breaking twice, radio is on but maybe an owl can hear it, another 6000 cd problem, i bought an audi 80 tdi 1.9 2 years ago for 100 euro, drove it for 40 000 miles on top of the 280 000 that was on it when i got it and put 20 euro petrol in by accident( dope i know) but it went perfectly when i put diesel in on top of it, actually ran better lol. my point is please avoid the tdci range, ive always loved fords but petrol is all id touch in them unless its pre 1999, the emission laws have ruined it for me neway but keep well away or your heart will be broke i wouldnt want it to happen to anyone else.
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I used to own a Mondeo 54 reg 2.0 TDCi. It ran well and was economical at around 52mpg.
With regards to the engine, the starter motor was replaced under warranty. A turbo air pipe split and caused rough running, this led onto a diagnosis of failing injectors. I had them replaced and the car ran very well.
However, not long after the injector change, the oil consumption collapsed. From nil consumption to 50 miles per litre. The local main dealer diagnosed a major internal failure, cost to repair between £4K & £5K. The odd thing about this was there was no external leak showing on the pavement or car underside nor was there any signs of burning oil such as exhaust smoke. All this was around 135K miles.
Due to excessive repair costs, I sold the car to a dismantler and bought another Mondeo.
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I've got a Focus 1.8 TDCi which I bought with 50,000 on the clock. It had a full main dealer s/h and I've had it regularly serviced.
What a complete and utter POS. Problem after problem. Broken camshaft, faulty injectors, faulty sensors, clutch and dual mass flywheel, water leaks, dead A/C. How a modern car can be this unreliable amazes me. I've probably spent £3k+ on engine repairs alone.
Which magazine also describe their reliability as dismal.
I'm going to part exchange it and my next car will be anything but a Ford
Edited by DirkThrust on 30/05/2011 at 15:55
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