i'm having no end of problems with my fiesta, its a 2000 reg, fiesta Finesse 1.3

first i had to replace the brake pads as they didnt stop squealing, 3 weeks in, and they squeal AGAIN!

then the car decided to Rev itself up whenever i changed gear and then sat there in Idle, fixed that by removing the engine management fuse and resetting the computer

now it seems that my fuel consumption has increased dramatically, i drove on the motorway at 80 for about 45 minutes and it pretty much emptied 3 quarters of a tank! other problems i have had include a burning smell? replacing the oil cap seemed to stop that, and the car just seems very revvy, and bass-ey? as if there is a hole in the exhaust, but i have chcked the exhause and no sign of a hole, just seems very rattley and bass-ey, so yeah, i have no idea why its so rattley, and no idea why the fuel consumption has increased?

any ideas???

Well for starters you shouldn't just pull out the fuse for the engine management as it's there for a reason. It's telling you there is something wrong with the engine. Try and get it on diagnostics to see if it throws up any error codes.

The fuel consumption will have increased most likely due to the issue that caused the engine management light to come on. Im fairly new to fiestas but on my old car this symptoms were the signs of a lambada sensor failure, or perhaps something to do with a dirty throttle body causing it to rev high when idling.

A burning smell, this might be caused by an airlock in the cooling system, try bleeding the system to remove any air. Can you give any more details on what the burning smells like? Coolant, oil, plastic or anything.

You say you have checked the exhaust but to be 100% sure get it pressure tested or something similar as it may be a seal that has gone or something.

Keep us informed

Thanks

Kris

Hi Kris, thanks for replying

With regards to the engine management, i just followed the advice of other people that were having the same problem on the internet, looking back at it now it probably wasnt the best decision, but it was a temp fix that seems to be working

The burning smell was just oil escaping and burning away on the head gasket, this was due to the filter in the oil cap being clogged and causing the reverse effect, but i aquired a new one and i havent smelled burning since

I explained the exhause problem to a friend, who reckons it sounds more like a loose bracket???

Hi

It could be a bracket issue rather than it blowing, but does it sound more boy racer or rattlely? As normally the boy racer sound would point me towards it blowing.

But what your saying could well be the issue, is your friend a mechanic? If so try and get some sort of axel stands of a car lift to use and have a proper look under the car.

Have you had your car pressure tested? As the backflow of oil to the HG could have done some damage which may explain the increased fuel consumption.

Personally if you can't find out what is causing these issues id bite the bullet and get it looked at by a professional, as i know i couldn't live without my car, as the schedule of cabin crew life is very tight and im sure you need your car for work or pleasure etc.

Will be waiting on the next post :)

Thanks

Kris

urrrmmm, its quite hard to explain too be honest. It's not the usual boy racery sound you hear when a car's exhaust has holes in, it just seems more rattely, and just generally has a much loader roar to it when you rev it? if it is at idle it drowns out the noise of every other car!

no i havent had anything checked?

shall i just take it too a garage and just say something is wrong with my car, check everything!?? lol, and how much cash would i be approx spending on it??

I use it to get to work every day, and then to go out at night if needs be...if it died i wouldnt be able to get to work so its imperrative it keeps going for atleast another 6 months!

Hi

Well the rattling would lead me to think like you said a bracket has come loose, but the excessive noise would point me to a blown exhaust.

If you were to get it checked you shouldn't have to pay i don't think, but don't hold me to this :) But an exhaust system and fitting may cost you somewhere around £100-£150. That is a complete estimate as i've never had to replace and exhaust so don't know costs.

I'd take it to a garage and tell them you believe your exhaust is on it's last legs, as if you don't specify what's wrong they may just take you for a ride.

And as you need your car i'd recommend doing it asap

Thanks

Kris :)