Ford Ecoboost Engine Failure (TWICE)

[53catalina]

Has anyone experienced a failed engine? 1.0Ecoboost in a Focus Titanium

After 11 months and 31,000miles the engine in our car stopped and was recovered to a local ford dealer. After some discussions Ford replaced the engine, asking the dealership not to touch the engine, just replace it. With this being a newly launched engine and our car being high mileage we assumed Ford were taking the cautious route to make sure it was not an inherent problem with the engine. There cant be many cars with this high mileage.
Obviously we were pleased to have a new engine, all was fine.

However, after another 11 months and 31,000miles (Exactly the same time period) the engine has failed again. Whilst there was an obvious loss of water when the car had stopped, this all happened really quickly. As soon as the light came on, the car was pulled over and shut down.

Have we just been really unlucky? Or has anyone else suffered problems?

[MGZTV8]

This could be interesting although I wouldn't class that mileage as high by any stretch but I understand what you mean in the context of things.

[heners54]

Very interested to see if engine failures in these small turbocharged engines are more common and at earlier mileage. Out of interest what servicing plan is the car on?

[andy-xr]

I've read about these from people who were thinking about putting them in kit cars, seems that around 36k is a prime time for the head gasket to let go. There's no hard evidence, but enough to put a worry on me buying a second hand one without a warranty or a rebuild

[valiant]

heners54 said:

Very interested to see if engine failures in these small turbocharged engines are more common and at earlier mileage. Out of interest what servicing plan is the car on?

Servicing is 12months/12k miles.

I have one of these and haven't had a sniff of any problems (yet) however my annual mileage is low at around 5k per year.

I haven't heard too many horror stories yet and you have to consider that Ford are building millions of the things every year and sticking a variation of the engine in virtually every model they do but on the flip side it is a completely new engine and faults and failures may arise as time passes. After all, factory testing is no substitute for everyday use by thousands of different driving styles.

Would be interesting to compare Ford's ecoboost failure rate to that of the small turbocharged offerings of VW, Vauxhall, etc.

These engines run very hot though, and use a specific grade of oil that isn't widely available yet so if you fail to check your levels often and don't use the right oil, you may be storing trouble for the future.

[53catalina]

Car has been regularly serviced by Ford at the required intervals.

We have been told today that the failure was caused by a Coolant Hose catastrophically failing, dumping all the coolant very quickly.
The car was immediately stopped, but the engine is now u/s.

Repair bill quoted as £4,500. Not happy :-(

As it was hose, and out of warranty, we are not yet being offered any assistance towards costs.
With a fleet of cars, normally running to 80,000 miles, i have not experienced a hose failure in over 10 years. Could it be a faulty hose, or was the hose damaged when Ford replaced the engine last year??

I will keep you updated................

[Toaster Pilot]

So it's 22 months and 62,000 miles old?

And out of warranty?

[53catalina]

Valiant, you are correct about the oil.

If the correct oil isn't used, the warranty is automatically void.
This was thrown at us when the first engine failed. However the correct oil had been used and the engine was covered under warranty.

[53catalina]

Toaster Pilot said:

So it's 22 months and 62,000 miles old?

And out of warranty?

Yes. warranty is 60,000miles / 3 years, whichever occurs first

[IanCress]

53catalina said:

Toaster Pilot said:

So it's 22 months and 62,000 miles old?

And out of warranty?

Yes. warranty is 60,000miles / 3 years, whichever occurs first

I'd say you've got a very good argument to say Ford should stump up a large percentage of the costs, since it has always been serviced by Ford.

[anonymous-user]

Surely the 2nd engine has a years warranty. If they blame the hose I'd pursue legally..

[panholio]

53catalina said:

Yes. warranty is 60,000miles / 3 years, whichever occurs first

But this engine is only 31,000 miles old.

[glasgowrob]

speak to Ford CRC customer relations centre 0845 841 1111.

explain to them your issues, that should be without any doubt a 100% contribution to repair costs from Ford.

as long as you haven't voided the warranty you'll be fine, The dealer should definitely not be dragging their heels over this 2k over warranty is nothing.

seems more like to me that the dealer doesn't fancy doing the job at warranty rates.

[xxChrisxx]

My spider sense is tingling! Something doesn't feel quite right about this.
How did the coolant hose fail? Was the coolant hose the cause of the 1st engine too?

Out of interest, and I understand this isn't helpful in any way, why did you buy a small 1L petrol for what is 35k miles a year, which must be dominated by motorway miles. It just seems ill suited to the task.

[53catalina]

Jimboka said:

Surely the 2nd engine has a years warranty. If they blame the hose I'd pursue legally..

You would like to think so!

Because the first engine was replaced at no cost, you just get the balance of the original warranty. If you make a contribution towards the repair, then you would get a 12months parts and labour warranty as expected. They do not warranty, a warranty part. This was as explained to me by the service chap. (Service desk chap has been fine, just following his policies)

Yes, we will be taking legal advice. It was mentioned as the part that failed was the hose, i.e. not part of the engine, it is definately out of warranty. I have asked why the hose wasnt replaced, but was told that it must have looked ok when the engine was changed!

Our legal team are about to get busy.

[SMB]

Based on the comments about , the most likley reason I can see for a sudden hose failure would be excess cooling system pressure from a head gasket failure.

Even if you are at 62k miles, I would be approaching ford Customer services, 2 failures at 31K miles each is not good , and fails to meet merchantable quality under sale of goods act I would suggest, then see what they offer.

[Snollygoster]

53catalina said:

Toaster Pilot said:

So it's 22 months and 62,000 miles old?

And out of warranty?

Yes. warranty is 60,000miles / 3 years, whichever occurs first

Only 2,000 miles, and 31,000 of those miles were on a new engine (surely that must have another 1 year warranty atleast?)

I'd be speaking to Ford UK and getting a 3rd engine put in FOC. It's not your standard warranty claim.

[53catalina]

xxChrisxx said:

My spider sense is tingling! Something doesn't feel quite right about this.
How did the coolant hose fail? Was the coolant hose the cause of the 1st engine too?

Out of interest, and I understand this isn't helpful in any way, why did you buy a small 1L petrol for what is 35k miles a year, which must be dominated by motorway miles. It just seems ill suited to the task.

The car was purchased as the Co2 was low and saved the driver on his BIK car tax.
we have previously run a 1.0 ltr Polo which had no problems, and that used to cover 50,000 miles a year. Yes in hindsight a larger engine may be better suited, but even then you wouldn't expect a new car to fail twice like this.

The car is used on motorways, so relatively stress free. Its not driven hard. I know the drivers who do drive with a lead foot, and this chap isn't one of those.

[IanCress]

xxChrisxx said:

Out of interest, and I understand this isn't helpful in any way, why did you buy a small 1L petrol for what is 35k miles a year, which must be dominated by motorway miles. It just seems ill suited to the task.

It might be small in capacity, but it produces as much power as the old 2.0 Focus Mk1, with a longer top gear. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't choose a car like this for big miles.
Anyway, as you said, it's off topic!

[ManiacGT]

Its pretty standard that replacement items come without warranty these days. You get the balance of the manufacturers warranty, end of. This is the case for BMW also, who've shafted med out of quite a few quid because they'll fit something on the verge of warranty expiry, for it to fail again a month later and they wash their hands of it. Well, until you kick up a massive stink, argue from a good standpoint and get people onside. Then, you just pay labour and they stump up the ridiculous part cost.