Ecoboost Engine Failure - 2015?

[JPMacDee]

I've got myself a Mk7.5 fiesta with a 1.0 Ecoboost Engine (125 model) heard a few horror stories about the reliability of the engine so I was wondering what goes wrong with these engines and what can I do to prevent them? 

[GingerFlame]

main issues are when mapping 

 

Keep to the service intervals and you'll be fine 

[GingerFlame]

Stay away from AET motorsport and only use reputable companies if you map 

 

Keep to the service intervals 

 

And allow the turbo to cool for a few seconds if you've been driving hard and you'll have no issues. The main 1.0 issues were on the focus but the majority of the recall work has been done on those now 

 

They're decent little engines, it's the gearboxes that have real issues

[JPMacDee]

1 hour ago, GingerFlame said:

Stay away from AET motorsport and only use reputable companies if you map 

 

Keep to the service intervals 

 

And allow the turbo to cool for a few seconds if you've been driving hard and you'll have no issues. The main 1.0 issues were on the focus but the majority of the recall work has been done on those now 

 

They're decent little engines, it's the gearboxes that have real issues

Yeah been told to stay away from AET! Heard of a few problems not long after mapping from them. What's the problem with the boxes?

[MJNewton]

12 hours ago, JPMacDee said:

[...] heard a few horror stories about the reliability of the engine so I was wondering what goes wrong with these engines and what can I do to prevent them? 

It might be easier if you share the stories you've heard then we can be more specific with comments.

[JPMacDee]

10 hours ago, MJNewton said:

It might be easier if you share the stories you've heard then we can be more specific with comments.

I've heard of a few cooling issues with these engines mainly 

[GingerFlame]

The cooling issue was pretty much just a badly designed coolant pipe on the focus' (and early 1.0 fiesta?) which would eventually break and dump the coolant. These were all replaced under a 'recall'

[GaryPL]

There are stories of cooling system problems on the Fiesta too. As the Fiesta got the ecoboom engine later than the Focus, it's logical for its problems to follow later too. Couple the apparent fragile nature of this engine with Ford's woefully disgusting customer service and you aren't in for a fun ride if you're one of the unlucky ones.

There's a Facebook group for this problem and you basically get a new story a day, maybe every other day. I know they sell shed loads of these engines, but a person a day is still quite worrying for an identical problem.

And frankly, for any engine to need full replacement because of a fault so sudden that the coolant warning light doesn't even have a chance to come on... Very worrying.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/

I've personally learned the hard (and expensive) way about Ford and can only hope that others don't make the same mistake.

[MJNewton]

2 hours ago, GaryPL said:

There are stories of cooling system problems on the Fiesta too. As the Fiesta got the ecoboom engine later than the Focus, it's logical for its problems to follow later too.

It might appear as logic but it could be flawed. Regardless of how much pre-production testing takes place some issues will only become apparent once patterns emerge from real-word testing over 100's of thousands of cars/engines. This leads to both minor and major changes being made to the design and manfacture of components as evidenced by the change in engineering part numbers and the revision codes that they include. Lessons have evidently been learnt from the early Focus Ecoboost failures and reflected in the Fiesta implementation and we know this to be the case even for late-2013 models of the Fiesta. Furthermore, whilst the engines might be the exactly the same between the Focus and Fiesta (are they though? Even down to manufacturing plant?)  not all else is equal. For example the coolant tanks differ as does some of the pipework and these are all known areas of problems with the Focus hence possibly one reason why we are not seeing the same level of failures on the Fiesta.

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Couple the apparent fragile nature of this engine with Ford's woefully disgusting customer service and you aren't in for a fun ride if you're one of the unlucky ones.

Agreed, I can sympathise with anyone that finds themselves with a failed engine but in terms of the OP's question we should focus on the technical aspects.

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There's a Facebook group for this problem and you basically get a new story a day, maybe every other day. I know they sell shed loads of these engines, but a person a day is still quite worrying for an identical problem.

It is worrying, and concerning for those affected as mentioned, but in context of how many Ecoboosts are out there I still think it is insignificant from an objective statistical perspective. Moreover, be careful using the term 'identical problem' as whilst overheating might be the common factor across all these engine failures we know that where the cause has been found (overheating is not the cause but an intermediate symptom) it has varied between failed degas hose (as per the recall), failed waterpump seal due to oil contamination, cracked coolant tank, failed headgasket and perhaps others besides that I am not aware of.

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And frankly, for any engine to need full replacement because of a fault so sudden that the coolant warning light doesn't even have a chance to come on... Very worrying.

I must admit the Ecoboost is very sensitive to overheating and appears to suffer catastrophic failure with little, if any, warning. I do recognise though that from an engineering perspective that this may be an unavoidable consequence of the small block design coupled with a fast (and hot) turbo pushing it to the limit. I don't know what the solution to that is really.

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/

That group, whilst useful for its purpose and those affected, is very parochial and seemingly intolerant of objective discussion. Of course, easy for me to say that given I am not suffering the problem, but as an indepedent observer with no axe to grind I can see that it represents a very polarised view of the issue. It is also worth noting that the vast majority of reports are from the Focus (a few months back I ran a check of all the reg's reported and found something like 75 Focus and only 1 Fiesta) and so be very careful extrapolating anything discussed there with what might be in store for Fiesta owners.

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I've personally learned the hard (and expensive) way about Ford and can only hope that others don't make the same mistake.

I am genuinely sorry to hear that and I hope none of my comments are taken as belligerant as they are not intended to be.

[GaryPL]

59 minutes ago, MJNewton said:

It might appear as logic but it could be flawed. Regardless of how much pre-production testing takes place some issues will only become apparent once patterns emerge from real-word testing over 100's of thousands of cars/engines. This leads to both minor and major changes being made to the design and manfacture of components as evidenced by the change in engineering part numbers and the revision codes that they include. Lessons have evidently been learnt from the early Focus Ecoboost failures and reflected in the Fiesta implementation and we know this to be the case even for late-2013 models of the Fiesta. Furthermore, whilst the engines might be the exactly the same between the Focus and Fiesta (are they though? Even down to manufacturing plant?)  not all else is equal. For example the coolant tanks differ as does some of the pipework and these are all known areas of problems with the Focus hence possibly one reason why we are not seeing the same level of failures on the Fiesta.

No, not all is equal. I agree. The Fiesta is a lighter car, so the engine doesn't work as hard either. This may also account for a delayed presentation of issues.

Agreed, I can sympathise with anyone that finds themselves with a failed engine but in terms of the OP's question we should focus on the technical aspects.

I disagree that the technical aspects should be kept to. How a company reacts to issues is an important piece of information any owner or prospective buyer. Even looking at this aspect objectively, taking out my personal experience, Ford usually come somewhere near the bottom of various surveys.

It is worrying, and concerning for those affected as mentioned, but in context of how many Ecoboosts are out there I still think it is insignificant from an objective statistical perspective. Moreover, be careful using the term 'identical problem' as whilst overheating might be the common factor across all these engine failures we know that where the cause has been found (overheating is not the cause but an intermediate symptom) it has varied between failed degas hose (as per the recall), failed waterpump seal due to oil contamination, cracked coolant tank, failed headgasket and perhaps others besides that I am not aware of.

I have already stated that they sell many of these engines. However from a customer point of view, the issue is identical. A failure in the cooling system destroys the engine. Complete engine failure is across almost all manufacturers is an extremely rare event. Exceptionally rare in fact. So to have even a few is worrying - particularly on young, low mileage cars. And your own logic is flawed, given that those people on the Facebook group are all just a few months outside of warranty. How many engines fail before the warranty expires? We don't know for sure because these people may well get the repair done and have no need to complain. But my bet is there's a fair few, as it'd be pretty coincidental for the engines to only start failing the moment the warranty is up. Engines don't have calendars!

There are a couple of examples of multiple engine failures too. And of the engine failing after the recall pipe being replaced.

I must admit the Ecoboost is very sensitive to overheating and appears to suffer catastrophic failure with little, if any, warning. I do recognise though that from an engineering perspective that this may be an unavoidable consequence of the small block design coupled with a fast (and hot) turbo pushing it to the limit. I don't know what the solution to that is really.

That group, whilst useful for its purpose and those affected, is very parochial and seemingly intolerant of objective discussion. Of course, easy for me to say that given I am not suffering the problem, but as an indepedent observer with no axe to grind I can see that it represents a very polarised view of the issue. It is also worth noting that the vast majority of reports are from the Focus (a few months back I ran a check of all the reg's reported and found something like 75 Focus and only 1 Fiesta) and so be very careful extrapolating anything discussed there with what might be in store for Fiesta owners.

A couple more Fiestas have appeared in recent days. Also, see comment about the Fiesta being lighter above.

59 minutes ago, MJNewton said:

I am genuinely sorry to hear that and I hope none of my comments are taken as belligerant as they are not intended to be.

You're entitled to your opinion, as am I.

Sorry for my weird looking post. Did it on my phone.

[ThaiFiesta]

I've just had to have an expansion tank replaced under warranty but otherwise the engine is (so far) performing fine (2013 build with 28k kms). Like any machine being pushed to relatively high limits, it's worth checking oil and coolant levels regularly (I check daily before I drive), as well as an at least monthly visual inspection all round (including underneath) for leaks. 

[Paramanic]

obv your gonna hear horror stories on a page that is designed for horror stories of the engine type 

ford has sold thousands upon thousands of these engines and the problems are less  than 1% of cars sold therefore its only some that have had this and nothing to really worry about...

Only real problem is when mapping...... after this it increases engine power and puts stress on the next weakest component and its mostly synchros on the gearbox
I personaly know as i changed mines when running  154bhp via bluefin but again I think bluefin was too strong on the lower end of the revs therefore wearing synchro down... 

changed the gearbox went to revo car is now running 167.8bhp with 199ft/lb torque and cars running great and best of all the car isn't a new car my car is a 13plate never had any issues with my car at all and its done 41k miles so far and still going sweet.... its down to how you treat your car and map it generally but sometimes people are just unlucky and unfortunately 1 bad case out of millions of good ones are usually more listened too as its human nature to pay more attention to the bad than good 

:) 

How to keep the engine good nick ;) 
1. service regularly at intervals that Ford had guided 
2. Don't go above 3k revs untill engine has heat up. 
3. When done with car let the engine cool down when finished (ps this isnt as hard as it sounds and a lot of us reverse up a drive the time in reverse will cool down)
4. Use the auto stop/start so engine doesn't heat up so much when idle (this is a optional but does save fuel too) 
5.Listen to the rules above  and enjoy the car as its a great engine and been voted engine of the year for many years now for a reason.

I have been driving my car for over 3 year now and not lightly either and with mods as long as you follow what I said above and enjoy the car :) 
 

[m112]

Hello,

I'm looking for buy 2014-2015 Ecoboost 100 Fiesta. I'm aware of the coolant issues causing engine damage. I've read Facebook group and I'm not sure about ecoboost anymore.

 

I've read somewhere that Ford installed additional coolant sensor inside an engine, apparently previous models had a sensor only in coolant reservoir. Is that correct?

I've read somewhere that Fiesta's manufactured in 2015 are less likely to develop coolant issue?

Cheers

Martin

[Banana Co]

my understanding was that this was a focus issue, not so much on Fiestas?

[Cross Max]

I'm experiencing the problem with my 2013 Fiesta Zetec S with 35000 miles.  Driving home from station the engine temperature was high.  I pulled over, checked engine and found the coolant had gone.  Refilled, drove home and took for test run the next day.  Rough start up and excessive white smoke from the rear so booked into Ford who have had it a few days.  They say there is evidence of coolant loss and want £620 to take engine apart and investigate further, this includes head gasket replacement if that is required.  Now from what I've read and been told any overheating at all and the engine is cracked so I'm expecting the bill to be much higher than that, possibly £3000 to £4000!!

I've been advised by a Ford technician in confidentiality that the common cause is failure of the o-ring on the timing cover causing coolant to enter the cylinders.  Reading online there are suggestions failure of the water pump will also cause overheating and kill the engine.  There's also an in depth forum post in Australia stating the engine gets hotter than most and by design it is flawed.  `

So what we're dealing with is an engine that may be flawed in its design according to an expert in Australia, has an O-ring that is prone to failure and any overheating is likely to result in a new engine being required.

To make this fair it would be good if ANYONE with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine could post below their mileage, year of manufacture and whether or not they've had any problems yet.  If I had my time again I'd be checking my coolant levels on a daily basis and if I ever get the car back it will sadly be moving on.

[Luke4efc]

For normal cars, I've always gone by the rule that for every 100cc then it should be a maximum if 10hp. So a 1.0L should be 100hp. Anything over I've considered straining the engine too much. So from factory they must've fitted it with something fancy or used better pistons and a good head to stop warping etc. As soon as you try to increase the power, you're putting more strain on an engine. You're a complete idiot if you ever took one of these to over 200hp, the engines are never good enough. There's a reason the Focus RS used a volvo engine! They're indestructible!

[biff55]

the only way to get 10bhp per 100cc is by turbocharging , no way would you get 100bhp or more from a mass produced 1 litre normally aspirated block.

so the the 120 -140 bhp eco engines ford fit to festas & focus are running high boost at high temp.

the downside to this is all it takes is a brief malfunction of the cooling system for the engine to be left completely wrecked.

there is no warning , leeway , or margin for error in the engine design to limp home / to a garage , before irreversable damage is done.

as mentioned only a small number of units sold suffer these problems , but i wouldnt want to be in the unlucky 1 or 2 % that do.