'03 Ford Focus TDCI - Sudden loss of power

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Tue 19 Jul 2011 18:44
'03 Ford Focus TDCI - Sudden loss of power - BenG

No diagnosis required! Driving to work last week in my Focus, the engine suddenly died, loss of PAS, potentially brake servo assistance, etc Engine turned over but would not restart. Stranded on major 'A'-road for 1h waiting recovery...

Car towed to my local garage, who found the problem was a failed cam sensor. Apparently a regular issue on this engine (Ford 1.8 TDCI), leading to same potential safety risk of sudden power loss as the VW piezo injector death frequently reported on here. The sensor costs about 20 quid and is easily replaced by undoing the single bolt which attaches it to the cam cover. Might be worth a try if your Focus fails under similar circumstances!

Cheap to fix, but added to the catalogue of faults my car has developed in the last 5 years I can't see me buying another Ford diesel!

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Tue 19 Jul 2011 21:13
'03 Ford Focus TDCI - Sudden loss of power - unthrottled

Glad the car was cheap to fix!

But I don't really understand your point. It's hardly negligence on Ford's behalf for a minor component to break on an 8 year old car. There are probably 50 or more components that could cause a total loss of power. It is impossible to design a component to be 100% failsafe.

If you're on a quiet road with no other traffic, shift into neutral and switch the engine off. It's not that daunting. The steering is heavy-but still works. There's several pumps of the brake pedal before the servo is exhausted. If you're in neutral, you'll coast a long way before the car stops.

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Fri 22 Jul 2011 18:01
'03 Ford Focus TDCI - Sudden loss of power - BenG

I realise things fail. I've just never had so many failures on a single car before - i.e: drivers door handle, stereo, instrument cluster, tailgate struts. Also, car has failed twice - once in limp home mode and then the recent cam sensor failure. The car is serviced annually every 6-7k miles and any additional maintenance is carrried out on time.

The engine stopped instantly when the fault developed, on the A6 in rush hour, and so I lost PAS and brake servo immediately. Complete loss of power could be dangerous to many people and for the engine to fail just because one sensor fails is not very impressive. After all, the ECU still has a crank sensor to tell it the engine is still turning!

The main issue is finding a 'reliable' newer diesel, without a DPF, to replace the Ford before it disintegrates totally...

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