67 replies to this topic

[Tony23]

Thanks for all your help, my alarm and windscreen wipers had just started playing up about an hour ago. Now with all the fuses removed and car still, we can now get on and start complaining to ford again!!, after last times questions on "why is the clutch going on our 07 plate S-Max after only 38000. Hope they are a bit more responsive this time, not sure if we can carry on telling friends on what a good car it is.

Cheers Again

[Adj]

Hi, just have problem with power steering malfunction on my smax 2.0 zetex. How much it will cost me if i take to Fod dealer? Previously, I also ave problem with Faulty Alarm Horn box under the wheel arch cousing the wiper mulfunction.

Hi

2.0 TDCi not quite 3 years old, 20,000 miles. Problems so far:

Failed turbo
New ABS pump
Faulty alarm control module

Now getting intermittent "Power steering failure" warning - anyone had that one?

Getting worried about the warranty expiring!

Chris

[Drummerboy]

(2.0L S-Max 07 plate).The same problem occurred yesterday. I was travelling home from work and the windscreen wipers came on on full power for no reason and then stopped. This happened for twenty miles intermittently . No matter what position I pushed the stalk they would not stop. Once home and the doors locked the alarm went off and then stopped. Bizarre before I go down the route of frustrating visits to my local Ford garage any advice?

[pickers]

Hi, I had a similar problem with the wipers, they stopped working altogether which was dangerous. Luckily I was still under warranty at the time and they replaced the alarm component that was creating the problem. I'll still randomly get the Alarm needs servicing message tho'.

However just recently my steering went all heavy, was told rack had failed needs replacing, that'll be £1300.

Car just out of 3yr warranty with only 26k miles on clock. Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Titanium (56 plate).

I'm in talks with their Customer Services about them paying for this as clearly this is a faulty part as opposed to general wear and tear. Right now Customer Services are doing quite the opposite to Servicing the Customer.

Last Ford I'll be buying.

Tempted just to get rid of this now before everything else starts failing that's listed in this thread.

[S Max driver]

Hi,
New to this as well.
Haven't experienced this persistent whining but know it from accelerating at high speed (motorway) - it is quite loud. Always assumed it was the turbo.
The problems I have found are:

• Faulty indicator switch (leading to parking lights coming on of own accord when the engine is off - potential battery drainer - and motorway hazard as indicators again could come on of own accord - it is a known problem and got it replaced under warranty.
• Other issue is how farcically difficult it is to change rear break bulbs -has any one succeeded?? Please let me know

I had a rear break bulb go a few months ago. It caused me endless stress over a week.

The manual isn't terribly good at describing how to get at it - you have to take off two covers in the boot area and then grope about for plastic wing nuts with no clear idea of what you are suposed to be doing.

I eventually did that, got the correct bulb out, checked that it really was blown, and put a similar bulb back into the same socket.

That was the least of my problems - the brake light was not fixed and the tail light was too bright.

After a lot of head scratching and taking it all apart several times, I discovered that it is easy to put in the bulb wrongly so that the brake light filament is used for the tail light and the tail light filament is not connected. In essence, worse than when the bulb was first blown.

You cannot see what you are doing to replace the bulb, the pictures in the book are not a lot of help, and small hands are vital, but primarily a lot of luck (or in my case trial and error) is needed to get the bulb in the right way round. A properly engineered socket for the bulb, costing Ford about 10p more in the first place, would have made life a lot easier.

It can be done, but it's tears all the way.

[vjeffreys]

Hi There I wpould be really interested to kow if anyone has had the same fault i am getting at the ment. The car thinks it is overheating when it is not resulting in loss of power and the whole thing refusing to go above 40.
The bonnet is cool to the touch with all blowers con=ming through cold ??? I am uttely confused.
Thanks all Vicky

[colinh]

Hi, I had a similar problem with the wipers, they stopped working altogether which was dangerous. Luckily I was still under warranty at the time and they replaced the alarm component that was creating the problem. I'll still randomly get the Alarm needs servicing message tho'.

However just recently my steering went all heavy, was told rack had failed needs replacing, that'll be £1300.

Car just out of 3yr warranty with only 26k miles on clock. Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Titanium (56 plate).

I'm in talks with their Customer Services about them paying for this as clearly this is a faulty part as opposed to general wear and tear. Right now Customer Services are doing quite the opposite to Servicing the Customer.

Last Ford I'll be buying.

Tempted just to get rid of this now before everything else starts failing that's listed in this thread.

We also had the same fault with the Alarm Control Unit and received dreadful service from the Customer Relations people at Ford so this will be the last car we buy from them. We have owned the car from new (2ltr Diesel Titanium) and use it to tow a caravan as well as transport hordes of kids around the place. Really sad as this is an excellent vehicle which is great to drive and thoughtfully designed but the fools who run Customer Relations employ people without technical knowledge. When I asked if they could put me in touch with a knowledgeable person they gave me the number of a phone line with a ridiculous cost per minute - how is that for a PR own goal.
If the Alarm Control Module is replaced and you are still getting the "Alarm Service Required" signal it means that more water is dripping onto the module and it will only be a matter of time before that one fails as well. I replaced the unit myself but made a little "raincoat" for it from a piece of thick polythene and so far have had no further problems. The steel panel directly above the Alarm Control Module has a drainage hole cut into it fitted with a plastic diverter tube. If they had thought to seal the plastic diverter to the steel panel we would all be at least £135 better off. Because they didn't, water pours out around the edge of the diverter and slowly destroys the Alarm Control Module. I have pictures that I took when I replaced the unit if anyone would like to see them!
As you may have gathered Ford Customer relations said that they could not contribute to the cost of the replacement as the fault was caused by water ingress so they weren't liable. I maintain that this is a design fault so we will be taking our money to either BMW or Volvo in the next couple of months.

[Ches99]

Hi, can I ask anyone that has had the alarm issue on the S Max as to whether they've replaced the alarm module themselves and if there are security bolts how they removed them - thanks!

[deko757]

I have an 07 Ford S-Max. When I get out of the car and lock the doors the "I" light on the dashboard keeps flashing. When I unlock the car it stops. If I check the messages section on the computer it says there are none.

So what does this mean & am I going to wake up to a flat battery or something?

[Stumax]

I’m new to this forum group but have to also share my Smax faulty alarm system saga...
The alarm sounded, hazard lights were activated and wipers stopped working all while the car was being driven in heavy rain conditions on a very busy a road during the rush hour on a Friday night. Whilst being driven by wife with our children in the vehicle...it doesn’t get much worse than this! The wife had to perform a rapid exit off the road whilst other road user thought she was trying to warn of a pending road accident due to the hazard light flashing
Turning off the ignition, locking the car stopped the alarm...albeit from the lay-by whilst getting wet!
Yes it is all down to the Alarm Horn Sounder unit in the near side front wheel arch. The module is hidden out of view by the plastic inner wheel arch liner. The module is bolted to bracket just behind the suspension strut, very close to the horozontal bulk head pressing. The bulk head has a drain hole in it to allow any rain water to be released. The hole is fitted with a plastic diverter tube...but the fit of the diverter tube is not good and any water drips off the drain tube and on the alarm module and or its connecting wiring loom.
The modules purpose is sound an internal alarm horn if the vehicle is broken into, within the module it is supported by it own rechargeable battery backup, this is ensure the alarm will still sound if the main vehicle battery is removed or disconnected.
This module is manufactured by Delphi for Ford the same component is fitted to Freelander II.
Once the alarm horn sounder module is damp it is likely to breakdown. The breakdown is due to the electronics within the module shorting out, this will cause permanent damage. Root cause effects are varied from making false alarm sound, activating the hazard lights and sending a false signal to the wiper control module that demobilises the front windscreen function.
If you’re wondering why I’m so sure of these facts it’s because I took out the wheel arch liner and unplugged the module and then the wipers worked fine. I then dismantled the module to see the PCB and its tiny surface mount components burnt with signs water stains!
Although Ford MoCo stock standard answer is that they are not responsible for water ingress, I have to totally disagree; I'm in no way responsible for the design of this poor system. The Failure Mode is very dangerous and warrants safety recall and proven corrective measures implemented.
I have complained to Mr Andy Barratt Customer Services Director at Ford, I will post his response as soon as it arrives, I’m hopeful of a refund of my £200 bill I got for this problem. Annoying as my car has only covered 28k miles.
In the mean time I’m preparing a 'safety defect report to VOSA, I recommend that all other owners with this fault do the same to force some action, see link below for the form.
http://www.vosa.gov....fect report.doc
Also I will contact my local trading standards office as this is a safety issue.

[jezzer]

An amazing coincidence considering the post yesterday (Good Work Stumax), I have been outside trying to figure out why my front wipers have suddenly stopped working. Fuse seems Ok so is the alarm module the problem? There are no other symptoms.

I have removed the F26 fuse from the central fuse box but this didnt seem to make any difference!

I guess this is down to the battery backup so im wondering how long it would take to drain down. I dont want to start pulling the arch apart to get at the alarm unit itself.

If i take this to a dealer how much will it cost me ?

Jezzer

S Max 2.0 TDCI Titanium 56 Reg

[kirsty27]

i have a s-max tdci 07 and have noticed a whinning when driving, any ideas? thanks

[Stumax]

Hello Jezzer,

Good news...I'm glad my notes & experiances are being of use to someone.

The bad news is..

1. In the short term the only way i could reactivate the front wippers was to un plug the alarm sounder module located in the wheel arch. Bit tricky as I found the only way was to unbolt the whole thing as to be able to see how the wiring cable was snap fitted in to the sounder unit itself.

2. Once water ingress has taken place its unlikley that drying out will recover the problem as the damage has been done to the PCB and its mounted electronic components, you could see the surface mount resistors on my unit had virtually been burnt off the board.

3. It cost me £250 at a Ford dealer to replace a new unit and reset the alarm fault display on the dashboard etc.

4. Im awaiting a reply from Ford, Im not holding my breath, howver I've had some serious advice that Im not likley to get any thing. I'll keep this forum posted with any update. You never know perhaps thos really helpfull Ford people might read our remarks..

[femdad]

I'm having a similar problem with my 56 s-max. There is an intermittent fault whereby the alarm goes off spontaneously, sometimes with hazard lights flashing and sometimes without. Occasionally I can disable the alarm with the remote but sometimes the only way to quieten it is to turn on the engine. I have tried disabling the internal scanners but to no avail. The fault has occurred on two nights about ten days apart with no problems in between. After the first occurrence it went into my local dealership where they claimed to be able to find no problem. It's back in the garage today after a second night of frequent disturbances and again a claimed not to be able to find fault, suggesting that wind was causing the air vent louvres to flap and set off the internal sensors! I find this hard to accept, particularly since I had turned off the internal scan. (The Ford technician incidentally claimed this was not a feature of the alarm system which I found a little worrying) After I involved customer care on the main Ford website the garage has claimed to have found a fault with the sensors. Has anyone else experienced this fault? When I queried whether there could be a problem with water getting into the alarm sounded I was told this would lead to a failure of the alarm to sound at all which does not seem to be the experience of others on this forum. As it stands I am waiting for the part to come in and fearing another disrupted night. When I asked the garage if they could pull the fuse as a holding measure they refused and warned me that if I take it out myself it may invalidate my warranty re the alarm system. Much as I love my s-max, this whole episode and the ambivalent at best attitude of the staff at the dealership have me starting to regret going for a Ford.

[femdad]

Pls how can i disable/turn off internal scanners/sensors ford mondeo lx auto 06