Streetka 1.6 - Engine Maintenance Light

[Sylvia]

Hello,

I have got a 2004 StreetKA. About September last year, the engine maintenance light came on and I took it to my local independant garage who told me that it is the Lambda Sensor. As I had a service/MOT due the following month, I asked the garage to order the part and book the car in for repair, service and MOT.

When I picked up the car with the MOT, I advised the garage several days later that it wasn't running right since I got it back. A mechanic took the car for a test drive and said there is nothing wrong with it so I drove home, thinking I must have imagined it. About a week later, I took it back to the same garage and this time I was more forceful and said there is a problem so they said it's my HT Leads which they changed. The mechanic said I would have no more problems with the car but within a week, the engine maintenance light was back on. I left several messages with the garage advising them that I was not happy and I wanted the car fixed, they ignored my messages.

I decided to take the car to another garage (which had been recommended by my work colleagues) for a second opinion. They hooked the car up and said it was a faulty Lambda Sensor. I told them that it had been changed in the last few weeks and when they took the old one off to replace it with a new one, the mechanic advised that the Sensor was a lot more than a few weeks old, more like months old.

Anyway the second garage replaced the lambda sensor andI asked them to replace the spark plugs (although they had just been replaced as part of the service at the first garage). About a week later, the engine maintenance light comes back on and I take it back to the second garage who now tells me it is the Secondary Air Sensor so I have this replaced.

About a week later, the light is back on and they tell me that it is showing either the Lambda sensor or the Catalyst Sensor. I have completely lost faith in the garages and just seem to be throwing good money after bad. I decided to go to an independant garage rather than Ford as I thought it would be cheaper, how wrong was I.

The engine maintenance light is still on and the car seems to be running smoothly.

Can anyone please shed any light on what the problem could be or has anyone experienced the same issues? I am running out of money! As soon as the car has been hooked up to the diagnostic machine, it seems to reset itself and the light goes off straight away.

Also, could I report these garages to somewhere like trading standards if I can prove what the fault is and the garages have claimed to have fixed the issue?

Thank you

[btmaldon]

You really need a code reader to see where the problem is. Do you do a lot of short runs? Do you fill up with fuel at the supermarket or at a branded fuel station?

You may find putting a good fuel cleaner in the tank and taking it for a good 25-30 mile drive at motorway speeds will sort it out.

[Sylvia]

Hi Btmaldon,

Thank you for your reply. I have had the car hooked up to the diagnostic machine on several occasions, firstly it was the Lambda sensor. Next time, it was the secondary air sensor. Now I am being told that it is the Lambda Sensor or catalyst.

The car has had a new Lambda sensor, rear secondary heated oxygen sensor, HT leads, temperature sensor, full service, spark plugs have been replaced twice in the last 3 months.

I don't think the garage has a clue and I have to ask myself if I am replacing parts that didn't need changing because they are having difficulty diagnosing the problem.

[Sylvia]

Hi Btmaldon,

Thank you for your reply. I have had the car hooked up to the diagnostic machine on several occasions, firstly it was the Lambda sensor. Next time, it was the secondary air sensor. Now I am being told that it is the Lambda Sensor or catalyst.

The car has had a new Lambda sensor, rear secondary heated oxygen sensor, HT leads, temperature sensor, full service, spark plugs have been replaced twice in the last 3 months.

I don't think the garage has a clue and I have to ask myself if I am replacing parts that didn't need changing because they are having difficulty diagnosing the problem.

[btmaldon]

These things are not always easy to find the problem. Our SportKA was with the garage for over a week. The codes were giving alsorts of readings. Took 4 Coil Packs and an injector to sort the problem. This is a good garage.

The Street KA and SportKA dont like pattern parts. They only seem to work properly with original Ford Parts. The Coil Packs were not communicating properly with the Engine Management Unit. It may be the same with the Lambda Sensors. However if the car hasnt had a good motorway run in a while, the sensors get sooted up and give the wrong readings. So like I said, try giving it a good blast down the motorway with some Fuel Cleaner in the tank.

You may still need the light switching off afterwards though.