1.6 Ecoboost Petrol Turbo Failure

[RobinJ]

Hi,

We have a 2012 Focus 1.6 Ecoboost. Last year there was a strange whining noise which turned out to be vibration from the turbo, which needed replacing.
The dealer said that the cause was a coolant leak due to a cracked hose causing the turbo to overheat. So the total bill with service/MOT was £2.5k which was a bit of a shocker.

Now we've had a recall notice saying that there's a problem with the coolant system and they want to upgrade it and put in an extra warning on the dash.
The recall states that this is to avoid cylinder head damage and doesn't mention the turbo.
I've also seen some posts here about the coolant system problem on some 1.6 models.

Anyway, I was wondering whether it's worth trying to get Ford to pay for the turbo from last year since that was also related?
Seems quite likely that it's related to the coolant system fault, but it was only the dealer that said that the turbo failure was related to that.

Anybody else seen anything similar?

Thanks in advance.

[JW1982]

The only reason why Ford arranged the recall for the 1.6 ECOboost is because of safety reasons. There is no technical reason for the recall. 

The recall basically only adds a coolant level warning system that integrates into the vehicle electronics. The recall does not mean that Ford recognises that there might be a technical problem. The recall only solves a possible safety issue (fire) that can occur in extreme situations (a cracked cilinder head as a result of overheating). 

I have never seen or heard of a defective turbo on a 1.6 ECOboost as a result of overheating. In case of overheating a hothead like the 1.6 ECOboost usually develops serious engine damage first before it develops turbo damage.

It is also very difficult to prove that the turbo damage was caused by overheating. Without any proof (like for example the defective turbo itself) it is almost impossible to prove anything.

[RobinJ]

Thanks for the detailed answer. Much appreciated.

Perhaps the turbo wasn't damaged by the cooling problem then. That was just the dealer's opinion because the two problems were found at the same time.
Anyway, we'll see what happens if they ever get the parts to do the recall mod.

Thanks again.

 

[JustAnotherName]

JW is wrong... i have the same car as you do, 2012 focus 1.6 ecogarbage... driving 70kmh in fifth gear, suddenly the car stutters for abit, a yellow warning comes up, engine failure... called the " ford garbage " assistance... complete turbo failure, to what reasons i will soon know. The car drives, with the failure, no power as it is clear the garbage system is broken... Furthermore the 2010 to 2015 cars made with ECOgarbage are garbage i highly advise not to buy any ford car during this period.

[isetta]

not all cars have water cooling to the turbo (eg. Fiesta 1.5tdci). perhaps water cooling to turbos is more common on petrol than diesel?   anyway what is more common on the diesels (particularly older 1.6tdci) is turbo failure caused by inadequate oil supply to the turbo bearings. 

[JustAnotherName]

Now isetta, how can that happen, with someone who has decades of designing engines? How can turbo fail after 30k? What sort of nonsense is that? It is ford nonsense and you can find out on www or simply if know a person with a great amount of experience with car handling and maintenance... well they will tell you things you didn't want to know.

[iantt]

what exactly has failed on your turbo? 

[JustAnotherName]

Well the codes are implying at least 7 sensors and there is no pressure coming from it, on Tuesday i have a service for that coolant sensor to be built in ( recall... ), and while i was there for every week for last 4 weeks trying to get them to look at it, they noted they will look at it on Tuesday. The guy who came to help me from the " Road assistance " and checked the car, said it doesn't look good. We had in neutral, pushed to 6-7000 rpms and then came the hiss... the first thing the dude said is " Turbo fail ".

I am selling this garbage as soon as the sensor is installed, there is like a ton of other things just waiting to fail... sorry better sooner as later, later costs too much. 

[JustAnotherName]

Almost every ford car made after 2010 has a huge chance of going south, basically, it will, just a matter of time. From bad head gaskets to various transmission failures ( if you got automatic ), fuel pumps made from bad parts, shuddering ( not only due to the clutch but other factors too ), electronic failures across the board, probably could find more if i had will, which i don't have anymore loved ford, despite everyone saying don't buy it, i did, i saw, i lost,... to hell with ford.

[TomsFocus]

You're gonna be even more disappointed when you find out all manufacturers are using cheap rubbish parts these days...  Don't get me wrong, I hate my Mk3 Focus as well, but it's certainly not 'Ford' specific sadly.

[iantt]

ford are quite good compared to the rest of the manufacturers out there. 

going from ford to what make next?? vauxhall/peugeout/citroen/renault/fiat? from my experience in the motortrade those brands are not without there many faults including turbos. oh and well, landrover, there is in a different cattergory alltogether!!! lol

[JustAnotherName]

Well Tomsfocus than we are on the same page, but i can tell you what Volvo ceo said in a press conference not long ago a month or so, they make cars in China, why? Because they perform work better there than in Europe or in US, sad isn't it, once China was thought of lesser now it is better...

Toyota is overall the best ( most reliable car brand ) on all global indexes, rarely something breaks down, probably due to good engineering... Even Hyundai is better than Ford on global indexes.

Might i ask you got any problems with your focus?

[iantt]

13 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

You're gonna be even more disappointed when you find out all manufacturers are using cheap rubbish parts these days...  Don't get me wrong, I hate my Mk3 Focus as well, but it's certainly not 'Ford' specific sadly.

and all manufacturers use each others engines/gearboxes/floorpans/suspensions/electronics etc. manufacturer ford isnt essentially or any other brand. an assembly operation with different bodys . good example was the focus, mazda3 and one of the volvo cars . basically  same car underneath 

[JustAnotherName]

6 minutes ago, iantt said:

ford are quite good compared to the rest of the manufacturers out there. 

going from ford to what make next?? vauxhall/peugeout/citroen/renault/fiat? from my experience in the motortrade those brands are not without there many faults including turbos. oh and well, landrover, there is in a different cattergory alltogether!!! lol

Well you just named all European manufacturers... to hell with them too. Looking at honda or subaru brz ( has a Toyota engine 😄 , and very good ratings as far as reliability goes ). Anything but EU or US, Asian manufacturers are by far better in engine quality as their counterparts here.

[iantt]

will aggree with you on the asian brands, but even those are not what they used to be. take nissan, used to be a very reliable brand if not desirable. renault now have got there hands on it and yes they sell well now but there not as good mechanically as they used to be. 

[JW1982]

6 minutes ago, JustAnotherName said:

Well you just named all European manufacturers... to hell with them too. Looking at honda or subaru brz ( has a Toyota engine 😄 , and very good ratings as far as reliability goes ). Anything but EU or US, Asian manufacturers are by far better in engine quality as their counterparts here.

The 1.6 ECOboost (also called Sigma GTDI) is basically a further development of the old Sigma (Zetec-S(E) / Duratec) engine. All these engines are part of the Sigma engine family.

This is a japanese engine that was developed by a joint venture of Yamaha/Mazda and Ford. Most of the engine parts of the Sigma engines are still produced in japan.

[iantt]

work with a lad who worked on subarus alot. there not the best either. i wouldnt read to much into the reliability indexes out there.

so basically its honda or toyota then? thats narrowed it down. how about a prius for you, no turbo. lol 

[JustAnotherName]

Spot on, Nissan was an amazing brand, they lost some of the reliability from the past, but nowdays i have no clue about how they behave. Don't get me wrong Ford exterior design is fire, looks damn good, i only wish that it was made like that on the inside, which is by far more important than outside. See Toyota perhaps takes the crown for engine reliability but they are ugly AF on outside, no offence.

[TomsFocus]

4 minutes ago, JustAnotherName said:

Well Tomsfocus than we are on the same page, but i can tell you what Volvo ceo said in a press conference not long ago a month or so, they make cars in China, why? Because they perform work better there than in Europe or in US, sad isn't it, once China was thought of lesser now it is better...

Toyota is overall the best ( most reliable car brand ) on all global indexes, rarely something breaks down, probably due to good engineering... Even Hyundai is better than Ford on global indexes.

Might i ask you got any problems with your focus?

There isn't enough forum space to list all the problems with mine...  Quick rundown, it drives like utter crap, engine mapping is awful (and at least one injector is duff at just 45k), clutch is awful, steering is awful, brakes are awful, air con is broken, gearbox is leaking, various internal electric faults, horn stops working, audio stops working, pressing one button changes something completely unrelated, seats are uncomfortable, ride is worse than the mk2, everything feels cheap and flimsy, annoying creaky door cards at just 45k miles!...etc...etc...  Previously I had a Mk2 facelift which was a far superior car tbh, but after the financial crash and the ever decreasing emissions limits all manufacturers have to use cheaper parts sadly...  

A lot of things are made in China, most of it is still rubbish though lol.  Volvo and Ford use a lot of the same parts...  Toyota's are built in Britain and the interiors are pretty awful...  I don't think Hyundai's are more reliable, my Grandad had one when they were all the rage back in 2009, despite it having no spec there was always something broken on it, but he didn't seem to notice so it never got recorded anywhere as broken...I would guess most Hyundai drivers are the same...

[JustAnotherName]

Damn, well that is by far worse situation than mine! 

[JustAnotherName]

6 minutes ago, iantt said:

how about a prius for you, no turbo. lol 

1

Ugly design i mean seriously the car looks bad. Ain't in pension yet 😄

[TomsFocus]

3 minutes ago, JustAnotherName said:

Damn, well that is by far worse situation than mine! 

Yeah, it's bad enough that I've bought a 14 year old Audi to use in the meantime!   Back when cars were built properly.  

But seriously, I'm struggling to find anything else for the same price as the Focus that's got equivalent ride comfort, size and spec.  I'm not fussed about power these days, and MPG isn't too much of an issue as I do fairly low mileage, but want something that looks nice inside and out as well, and should probably avoid a diesel/DPF with the driving I do.  I'd like a Mk7 Golf (early ones are the same age as my Focus) but they just cost so much more, and aren't without their own common faults!

[JustAnotherName]

Definitely on the same page. I am currently thinking of perhaps buying some small car for 2k-3k for the meantime, or trade this garbage in for something else. I understand because, before the service, focus drove 20k glorious kilometres, smooth drive, spacious, fast, super drive without any failure or error, mine is petrol too, and the next car i get will be petrol.

Golf ain't bad but if you compare to focus, by far better. Or Passat perhaps?

[iantt]

are you serious. vw, dont even get me started on vw/audi rubbish and burning oil, coil packs, springs, suspension arms,wheel bearings,  cv boots by the million.electrical faults, clusters,  i could go on and on. 

[JW1982]

Same experiences here.

The parent company of the company I work for has ties with VAG (Volkswagen Group). Because of this our company is only alowed to drive VAG vehicles. All company cars are Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Skoda. 

Some of these vehicles had serious problems. Replacing main components like engines or gearboxes are no exception. We even had 3 Year old vehicles that were sold as scrap because of financial reasons. Repair of the car was more expensive than a new one.

I have seen enough problems to never want to own a VAG vehicle privately again. 

 

 

I drive both a 1.0 ECOboost Focus MK3 and a 1.6 ECOboost Focus MK3. Both are fully serviced by me. Except from the recall on the 1.6 ECOboost no other mechanic has ever touched these vehicles. Both vehicles were bought only a few Months old well before the first service was performed. Apart from the regular maintenance both vehicles did never had any serious problems

In 4 Years of ownership the 1.0 ECOboost only suffered from a defective battery, a btoken front spring and a leaking waterpump seal.

In 6 Years of ownership the 1.6 ECOboost never had any problems it suffered from a coolant leak last Year but this leak turned out to be caused by a stone marten. The little animal damaged the degas hose with its teeth. At high speed on the German motorway the degas hose eventually failed and the engine ran hot (reduced power and a lot of steam). Luckily the engine was stopped on time and except from the degas hose itself there was no damage. 

Both cars are in mint (like new) condition. Not a single creaky sound from the door cards or other interior parts.  

The only reason why I probably will not buy another Ford is the design of the new Focus MK4 (which I do not like at all). Another reason may be the price. Based on the Ford configurator the 1.0 ECOboost MK4 with a comparable spec level as my current MK3 will cost at least €32.000,-.