Currently in the market for a 2.0 petrol MK4 Mondeo and would be keen to hear from more knowledgeable people than I am about how much of an issue the swirl flaps can be? Is there a model year when the engine had these sorted out and are not an issue? Looking to potentially buy one from around 2011 are these engines still prone to issues in this model year?  

Can't help you re swirl flaps but if you are looking at 2011 onwards try and go for a Mk4.5 with the 2 litre petrol Ecoboost Turbo unit, so no problem

On 8/25/2020 at 9:08 AM, CS1 said:

Currently in the market for a 2.0 petrol MK4 Mondeo and would be keen to hear from more knowledgeable people than I am about how much of an issue the swirl flaps can be? Is there a model year when the engine had these sorted out and are not an issue? Looking to potentially buy one from around 2011 are these engines still prone to issues in this model year?  

The swirl flaps issue was specific to the older Fords, in terms of the Mondeo it was only the MK3 that suffered from this and not the MK4.

 

Although the MK4 2.0 petrol doesn't suffer from this issue typically, it's still an older engine design and naturally aspirated so don't expect "rapid" performance or decent fuel economy.  If it's had oil changes every year though, it should prove to be a reliable engine.  The oil change point is important because the 1.8/2.0 Duratec engine is susceptible to wearing out it's piston rings due to dirty or substandard oil.