New to Fords, think I might have purchased a dud.

[MHamill6]

Hi everyone, 

I've been looking at these forums for the last few weeks and now signed up so I can ask questions directly. 

I have a ford focus 2011 1.6tdci. I bought this car a little over 2 months ago after my previous car died, I am already having issues with this car and after doing some googling I am concerned this is going to cost an arm and a leg to fix.

 

The first problem is an intermittent problem which happens probably once every 2/3 weeks I will get an error saying the power assisted steering has malfunctioned. After turning the car off and on it disappears.

The second problem is the car seems very 'rumbly' when first starting but then smooths out after I drive it, if this makes sense? Is this car eligible for ECU updates? Any input would be great, if you've experienced this before! 

 

Thank you, Mike.

[andypsp]

do you know when your car last had oil change and filters replaced ? that may sort the rumbly problem. try clearing all the codes stored and then see if any re-appear after a few weeks 

[Micro]

Dealer/trader or private?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[MHamill6]

It was a private sale, it's got a full service history with receipts for a full service along with a cambelt and water pump replacement Jan 2019. 

 

I have noticed on start up there is white smoke coming from the exhaust.... I've moved from Renault Meganes to a focus and know that with Meganes they have the notorious 'check injection' problem where white smoke billows from the exhaust on start up..... the 1.6 focus doesn't seem to suffer with the same problem though? Unless maybe the spark plugs need replacing but that wont be connected to the rumbly engine. 

Does anyone here use any bluetooth ODB reader that actually works? Or is it best going to a garage? I ask this because I did take the focus to my local F1 autocentre and apparently there were no error codes on the car..... this was after the steering malfunction message. 

[stef123]

Rough when started plus white smoke, presumably once warm it clears? Sounds like an injector issue to me.

[ColW]

The power assisted steering malfunction could just be a low battery. I'm assuming it is the electric power steering rack, my car is a 2011 1.6 petrol which has the electric rack. 

There is a thread on here about the issues people have had with these racks. Mine started having the malfunction shortly after I bought it a couple of years ago. The dealer I bought it from replaced the battery for me and a software update puts a delay on the error message showing if it is just slow to power up. 

I did have to change my rack about a year later though as it failed completely. Ford charge £1200-1300 for a new rack fitted but there are refurbished racks around. I paid £400 for a guaranteed refurbished steering rack delivered with swap out and then labour at my local garage to fit it. 

[MHamill6]

The injector issue is what I was afraid of.... because the only way to pin point which injector is failing is a drip test I assume? Not even sure how much that would cost. Then the parts and replacements are expensive, that tied in with a probable steering rack issue sounds like I could be in for an expensive car repair bill. 

I've booked in for a battery test and I'll arrange to have the plugs replaced but something tells me this wont work. 

Does anybody know where I could get the software update that isn't from Ford directly...? It is my understanding that I would have to pay a diagnostics fee of up to £100 for the car to then not need an update. 

[FatHead1979]

5 minutes ago, MHamill6 said:

The injector issue is what I was afraid of.... because the only way to pin point which injector is failing is a drip test I assume? Not even sure how much that would cost. Then the parts and replacements are expensive, that tied in with a probable steering rack issue sounds like I could be in for an expensive car repair bill. 

I've booked in for a battery test and I'll arrange to have the plugs replaced but something tells me this wont work. 

Does anybody know where I could get the software update that isn't from Ford directly...? It is my understanding that I would have to pay a diagnostics fee of up to £100 for the car to then not need an update. 

The MK2/MK2.5 Focus 1.6 TDCi also uses the Peugeot DV6 engine which is known for wearing injectors prematurely.  Although some on here have had steering rack issues, I've not seen that many threads on here for people saying they need a new rack.  The more common cause is a knackered battery (I also had this issue and it was resolved by replacing the battery).  Diesel engines take a lot more "grunt" to start than petrol engines and when you start the car the ECU monitors what the battery is delivering.  If it feels it's not sufficient, it'll start disabling various systems to get the power levels up to where it thinks it should be.

 

The power steering is usually the 1st in line to be sacrificed, if the battery is borderline rather than totalling shagged you can often get away withi turning the car off and back on again to reset things.  Be aware that if the battery is dying then it's only a matter of time before it drops a cell and leaves you stranded somewhere.

[mjt]

1 hour ago, 1979Damian said:

you can often get away with turning the car off and back on again to reset things

Must be Micro$oft software

[FatHead1979]

12 minutes ago, mjt said:

Must be Micro$oft software

I test software for a living so I agree with that sentiment 100%!!! 🤣

[TomsFocus]

3 hours ago, MHamill6 said:

Does anybody know where I could get the software update that isn't from Ford directly...? It is my understanding that I would have to pay a diagnostics fee of up to £100 for the car to then not need an update. 

You can't unfortunately, it's dealer only.  There will be an update for it unless it was done shortly before your ownership, but it's unlikely to fix your issues imo.

The injectors are notoriously bad on these 8v DV6s, that would be my guess as well.  Forscan should definitely help you pinpoint it, F1 don't have Ford specific diags.  Alternatively, you could use the force...  

[MHamill6]

Thank you for the replies, the battery test is the first step, fingers crossed that will solve the steering message. 

The white smoke/rumbling engine I fear will be injector related, but I will get the glow plugs replaced (maybe if I book in through ford they can check the software at the same time without charging the earth?), if all this fails I'll have to replace an injector or 4, I assume going to maybe a ford specialist rather than ford they will have the ford specific diags to pinpoint the troublesome injector.....? 

 

Again, thank you for the replies 👍. Clearly moving from meganes to ford was a wise choice..... moving to a Peugeot engine Haha. 

[FatHead1979]

30 minutes ago, MHamill6 said:

Thank you for the replies, the battery test is the first step, fingers crossed that will solve the steering message. 

The white smoke/rumbling engine I fear will be injector related, but I will get the glow plugs replaced (maybe if I book in through ford they can check the software at the same time without charging the earth?), if all this fails I'll have to replace an injector or 4, I assume going to maybe a ford specialist rather than ford they will have the ford specific diags to pinpoint the troublesome injector.....? 

 

Again, thank you for the replies 👍. Clearly moving from meganes to ford was a wise choice..... moving to a Peugeot engine Haha. 

LOL, not all PUG engines are pants, the 2.0 TDCi in the MK2 seems to be pretty solid by comparison.

 

In terms of the potential injector issue, I'd definately try to find a local Ford specialist rather than using Ford themselves, a Ford specialist should have appropriate Ford specific diagnostic tools.  Ford's labour rates are also likely to be rather silly and their solution will almost always default to "replace this part" and it'll cost ££££ based entirely on what the fault code says, rather than reasonable (practical) investigation.

 

A Ford specialist will potentially also be happy to sourced refurbished injectors which are usually about half the cost of brand new ones, you'll still have a big bill but you'd maybe be looking at £600-£700 compared to £1300-£1500 through Ford.  (I'm not sure what the prices are currently like for properly refurbished injectors but you get my point in principle).

[RJ414i]

Wouldn't a local Bosch diesel specialist not have the software available to do the job? 

[FatHead1979]

4 minutes ago, RJ414i said:

Wouldn't a local Bosch diesel specialist not have the software available to do the job? 

Maybe, after all Ford TDCi's are massively common in the UK so it might make financial sense for a diesel specialist to pay for Ford diagnoastic equipment.  I guess the only way to be sure would be to contact them and be clear that you're referring to Ford specific diagnostics and not just "general/generic" diesel diagnostic tools.

[ColW]

I had software updates done specifically the pcm module due to rough idling /stalling at lights at my local Ford main dealer. I asked for any other updates at the same time. I think I got lucky as they only charged me half an hour labour. 

It was after these updates that I noticed that sometimes the steering wouldn't start immediately (very heavy for a few seconds) on starting the engine, but I wasn't getting the steering malfunction message. I think they added a timer in before reporting the fault for racks that were starting to show symptoms. 

[MHamill6]

Update - battery tested, life = 100%.... 

I'm gonna push the power steering message to one side for the time being until it happens regularly, because you know, that's the best thing to do. 

I have been pricing up some injectors, I could get some from a breakers yard for around 250 for all 4, I'd have to buy the seals etc so I think it will cost 270 for all 4. Seems like a reasonable option considering new injectors cost a fair amount of money. I've found a ford specialist that is local to me so I will go and see then and ask them to check over the injectors, plugs etc, see if we can pin point why the car is kicking out white smoke....

[ColW]

Don't blame you for leaving the power steering for now. Mine was intermittent for a long time. Just be aware that if it does fail completely like mine did you have no power steering at all and it is just about drivable for short distances on slow roads taking corners very slowly. I wouldn't take the risk driving at any speed as the steering is very slow and heavy without it.