Ford Fiesta Quartz

[Becky2590]

Hi everyone,

I've just joined this forum so I hope I'm using it right.

I've had a 1995 Ford Fiesta Quartz for almost 3 years and I've only recently been having problems whilst driving and it doesn't happen every often.

Sometimes when I've been driving it feels like the brakes have been slammed on and I didn't even touch the brakes. It happened yesterday when I was joining a roundabout and it happened twice while I was driving on a motorway so it's very scary each time. Usually after it brakes I can keep going and it's fine but other times I have to stop the car completely. As I said, it doesn't happen often but when it does, it's scary because it seems like its out of nowhere and cars are behind me. Now when I drive I try to make sure I stay away from most cars on the motorway but obviously this can't be avoided a lot of the time.

I'm pretty good with checking my car, every Sunday I check the oil and other levels and the car tyre pressure.

Has anyone experienced this problem before?

I wanted to check on here before I took it to a garage because it's hard to explain and I'd rather have a little more information if possible before I go there. It might even be a fuse that I can check myself.

Thanks in advance,

Becky

[Phil 87]

Hi and welcome :)

Sounds like a problem that was shown on TV a while back, wasn't a Fiesta but the problem was caused by a passenger pressing their feet into the front of the footwell, which affected a braking component behind it. If it's happening with no passenger in the front, then it must be something else.

[Ffoxy]

Petrol or Diesel?

Do you get any dashboard warning lights?

Do you have a mate who could scan the ECU for fault codes?

It's really difficult trying to take a blind punt and could become expensive, as much info as possible helps.

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[Becky2590]

Petrol.

And thanks. I had a passenger in the car when it happened on the motorway but no one was in the car but me the time it happened joining a roundabout.

[Ffoxy]

From what you say so far I'd suspect the throttle position sensor on the throttle body or the accelerator pedal. Once the ignition is off it may be fine until the same circumstances occur.

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[Becky2590]

Oh sorry, just read the rest of your message.

The engine light comes on and the car stalls sometimes when I first start driving but I think that's just because it needs to warm up and I'm used to that and it's fine once I'm off my street.

I don't think the engine light comes on when it suddenly brakes but I need to pay more attention to it next time, the first thing I check are if there are any cars close behind me. So it might have come on for a few seconds.

I do have a friend who could help checking things but I didn't think my car was new enough to be able to check things with a laptop. Or is that something completely different?

[Becky2590]

Thank you. I might ask my friend to take a look at the throttle body and pedal then.

[Ffoxy]

I'm pretty sure the OBD port in your car is by your right knee on the lower dashboard.

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[Becky2590]

Perfect, thank you. In case anyone would like an update I'll reply to my post to let you know if we found the problem and what it was.

[Ffoxy]

Cheers Becky, hope all goes well.

Use someone experienced as codex reading isn't an exact science and mistakes can be made easily.

When all is running well you'll probs find it fixes that cold running issue you mentioned.

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