1.0 EcoBoost theory

[Simmons84]

Hi all. I’ve not long bought a 2012 1.0 EcoBoost. Had it for around 6 months now and so far had no major problems. I’ve since seen the media post regarding these engines regarding the failures so am now a little concerned. I’ve found a Facebook page which seems a little biased and full of people who have had problems and have their heart set on slagging Ford off. So.. has anyone got one of these cars that haven’t had any major problems?? 

Mine does use a little more coolant than normal but im of the understanding this is normal in these engines as it cools the turbo too and makes the coolant evaporate. Is this correct?? In 6 months the coolant has dropped to just below minimum levels. Also the start/stop function never really works not sure if this is a related issue or not. Should I be concerned? 

[iantt]

ive not had problems in 4 years ownership. but did change the degas hose as soon as the recall came out. 

stop start operation is dependant on battery state of charge so  infrequent short journeys dont help.otherwise a new battery or a battery monitoring reset usually fixes stop start

[Simmons84]

Thanks, how do i go about the battery reset? 

[Pebbleheed]

I’m on my second ecoboost now. Sold the first and bought another. My girlfriend has an ecoboost and has had it five years. 

I monitor the Facebook group just in case but I still get the impression that while failure numbers are high they’re aren’t representative of every engine. 

I keep an eye on my coolant level and it seems fine so far. It’s a worry but one that I monitor. 

[Simmons84]

7 hours ago, Pebbleheed said:

I’m on my second ecoboost now. Sold the first and bought another. My girlfriend has an ecoboost and has had it five years. 

I monitor the Facebook group just in case but I still get the impression that while failure numbers are high they’re aren’t representative of every engine. 

I keep an eye on my coolant level and it seems fine so far. It’s a worry but one that I monitor. 

That’s good news. I’m monitoring mine more now that I’m aware so hopefully mine will be one of the ok ones. Coolant does drop but it’s not like I’m losing it one go like all the unfortunate Facebook users have been. It’s in Ford in a few weeks for the clutch recall so I’ll get them to check for leaks and compression test while they have it 

[JW1982]

In 4 Years of ownership my 1.0 ECOboost was basically trouble free.
 

Apart from the annual services I only had the following minor problems:

* A defective battery. The car had been in storage for 6 months before I bought it which caused a flat battery. Because of this the battery lost a lot of its capacity which caused the Start/Stop system to become inoperative.

* A minor (hardly noticeable) coolant leak caused by a defective waterpump seal. After I replaced the waterpump it is absolutely leak free. I never had to top up the coolant.

Next to this I installed the additional electric coolant pump and changed the degas hose, coolant reservoir, coolant reservoir cap and coolant as a preventive measure.

 

Until now the 1.0 ECOboost has been the most reliable engine I owned. 

[Simmons84]

23 minutes ago, JW1982 said:

In 4 Years of ownership my 1.0 ECOboost was basically trouble free.
 

Apart from the annual services I only had the following minor problems:

* A defective battery. The car had been in storage for 6 months before I bought it which caused a flat battery. Because of this the battery lost a lot of its capacity which caused the Start/Stop system to become inoperative.

* A minor (hardly noticeable) coolant leak caused by a defective waterpump seal. After I replaced the waterpump it is absolutely leak free. I never had to top up the coolant.

Next to this I installed the additional electric coolant pump and changed the degas hose, coolant reservoir, coolant reservoir cap and coolant as a preventive measure.

 

Until now the 1.0 ECOboost has been the most reliable engine I owned. 

Fantastic news. The Cambelt is due one mine in a around 1.5k so might get that done now too so the pump will get changed anyway. 

[iantt]

38 minutes ago, Simmons84 said:

Fantastic news. The Cambelt is due one mine in a around 1.5k so might get that done now too so the pump will get changed anyway. 

How many miles has your car done then? The water pump is aux belt driven so unless it's leaking I would leave well alone. 

Cambelt change interval is 150k miles or 10 years whichever is the sooner. 

[iantt]

On 9/1/2018 at 5:51 PM, Simmons84 said:

Thanks, how do i go about the battery reset? 

There is a procedure with ign, rear fog and hazards . Will see if I can find it in an old post. 

Edit-- I can't find it, will ask at work tommorow. 

[TomsFocus]

Ignition on for 10 seconds

Press rear fog switch 5 times

Press hazard switch 3 times

Wait 10 seconds and watch for battery light flashing on dash

Ignition off

Edit - can an admin make a topic about the battery reset and sticky it so it's easy to find?

 

 

[iantt]

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Ignition on for 10 seconds

Press rear fog switch 5 times

Press hazard switch 3 times

Wait 10 seconds and watch for battery light flashing on dash

Ignition off

 

 

Tom to the rescue again. Well done. 

[TomsFocus]

Just now, iantt said:

Tom to the rescue again. Well done. 

Thanks...but you did teach it to me in the first place...

 

[iantt]

Good job I did before my memory loss.lol

[Simmons84]

1 hour ago, iantt said:

How many miles has your car done then? The water pump is aux belt driven so unless it's leaking I would leave well alone. 

Cambelt change interval is 150k miles or 10 years whichever is the sooner. 

It’s done 58300 but I was told it needs doing at 60k, it’s a 2012 so 5 years old

[iantt]

21 minutes ago, Simmons84 said:

It’s done 58300 but I was told it needs doing at 60k, it’s a 2012 so 5 years old

another job that doesnt need doing then. good job too as its an 8 hr job to do cambelt

[Simmons84]

Phew thanks for that, just started the process of getting the quotes in 

[nitten_traveller]

I inherited a 1.0 125 bhp 63 plate Focus last summer.  It had only done about 14,000 miles in that time.  I also found out about the engine problems by googling about (also led me to this website too) so looked a few things up to do with the car and the engine.  The car is now at about 22,000 miles and still has the factory brake pads/discs plus three of the four original tyres all with life in them.  Looking back at the invoices the car has only had servicing and recall work done, nothing else.

The original owner bought it with 10 miles on the clock and had it serviced by Ford as per schedule and had the degas hose recall done.  I've continued to take it to my local Ford garage (independent rather than a big chain) for servicing as the price was very reasonable, made more appealing by the year of breakdown cover.  They've also carried out the clutch recall work and were happy to look at the turbo pipes which have a small patch of corrosion.  I keep my eye on the coolant tank, checking every few weeks, and in a year and a bit the level has not changed at all.

The start/stop comes on when it feels like it.  The battery is still the original factory battery. To be honest I see start/stop as more of an annoyance than anything else. I leave the air conditioning switched on all of the time so maybe that also prevents start/stop from kicking in.  Usually I switch off the start/stop if it kicks in.

I really enjoy driving the car, so much so that I'm thinking of taking advanced driving lessons.  The engine has plenty of power when you need it and is pretty quiet.  I recently drove a new Toyota Avensis estate hire car and the 1.8 engine in it seemed so slow and unresponsive compared with the Focus.

[YOG]

19 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Ignition on for 10 seconds

Press rear fog switch 5 times

Press hazard switch 3 times

Wait 10 seconds and watch for battery light flashing on dash

Ignition off

Edit - can an admin make a topic about the battery reset and sticky it so it's easy to find?

 

Tom

Do you switch the Ignition off after the 10 seconds, or is it, switch on and wait for 10 seconds, before pressing the rear fog light switch, whilst leaving the Ignition on?

Thanks.

 

[iantt]

leave the ign on after the 10 second wait, then  press the switches.