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EcoBoost lost power - help?


Pebbleheed
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Hi all,

2015 (facelift) 1 lite ecoboost, six speed model. 88,000 miles. 
 

For a while now I’ve noticed soft spots now and then in acceleration. I took it to a garage and they said there were no issues. 
 

The engine management light came on and I took it back. The light was cleared and they said they couldn’t find any faults. 
 

I continued to use it and gradually the car has become more and more under powered. 
 

I struggle to maintain 70mph on the motorway and the other day I had to drop to second gear to get up a medium sized hill. 
 

The oil light flickered the other day on the hill twice but has since not come back on. The engine also sounds more like a tractor now and has a knocking sound. These have developed more recently. 
 

Today I’ve been to an engine specialist who said there were a lot of error codes. He said he suspects they’ve never been cleared down. He then drove the car and the engine light has stayed off. 
 

The engine still rattles and is still under powered with knocking etc. so the problem still persists. But the engine specialist says he can’t see anything wrong with it. 
 

Can anyone suggest any ideas to check please?

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Sounds like the oil pick up filter is clogged as you (worryingly) have had low oil pressure warning.

I would get the sump off and check/clean the oil pick up filter, then test and replace the oil pump.

If it's started to knock though, you may have already had catastrophic damage

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I returned to the garage after a 5 minute drive and they rescanned it. The car was showing a faulty O2 sensor. 
 

They’re fitting a new sensor today. There weren’t any further codes showing up. Is the oil issue going to potentially be a separate issue that they appear to be unaware of or would the O2 sensor potentially cause that issue? I couldn’t see how it would thinking about it but thought I’d ask. 
 

The knocking is new. Came on in the last couple of days. But the oil light flickered on twice only. Not since. I wasn’t sure if the O2 sensor was causing serious misfire or if it was knocking of metal in the engine. 

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O2 Sensor has nothing to do with oil pressure.

The fact that you have seen the low oil pressure warning light is worrying.

I would get that checked out ASAP

Could be the pump, could be the oil strainer is blocked

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Unless it's simply the case that the O2 sensor fault had made the engine stall while you were coasting

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An O2 sensor fault does not stall the engine. It may cause a limp mode but in my opinion an O2 sensor fault is completely unrelated to the illuminated oil pressure light.


Being a 1.0 ECOboost it is more than likely that there are 2 actual problems:

1: O2 related DTC codes are often caused by a defective catalytic converter. This is quite a common problem on a 1.0 ECOboost. A defective O2 sensor is a lot less common. 

2: The illuminated oil pressure light is usually caused by a blocked oil pump strainer. The strainer can either be blocked with rubber material of the disintegrated wetbelts or with sludge from disintegrated engine oil. This is also quite a common problem (usually caused by lack of maintenance or using incorrect engine oils). 

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As both Dave and Wilco have said Low oil Pressure is very worrying on any car but on a 1.0 Ecoboost it is like a countdown timer to selfdestruct.

The 1.0 Ecoboost engine is made from glass, or it may as well be. They are so easy to break that you have to look after them well and the slightest hint of a problem like oil pressure or coolant issues you need to act fast and not ignor the warning signs.

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I asked the mechanic while picking up my car tonight re the oil concerns. 
 

He said he’s rescanned the car and there’s no errors coming up at all now. And he’s checked the oil and can’t see any problems. A bit worrying as I’m not sure if there’s a way to check myself. 
 

The engine light is off now and the car doesn’t seem to be losing power now. It’s not as quick as it was, so there’s still something not quite right, but it seems to be driving without issue. And no knocking. 
 

is there a way to check for oil issues at home?

The light flickered on briefly for a second or two a couple of days back and hasn’t come on since. It was when the engine was under strain. Not sure if that makes a difference?

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When did the oil and filter last get changed ? and what oil was used ?

You need to take the sump off - check and clean the strainer.

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Probably 18-24 months ago when it was serviced. The oil was the recommended type according to the garage. 

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13 minutes ago, Pebbleheed said:

Probably 18-24 months ago when it was serviced.

Isn't a 2015 supposed to be on the 12,500 or 12 months (whichever comes first) service regime?

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Yes it is. 

18 to 24 Months is way too long for a 2015 1.0 ECOboost. 

However when doing low annual mileages or mainly short trips (these are considered to be heavy conditions) the prescribed service intervals need to be reduced to 6,250 Miles or 6 Months. These conditions heavily affect the oil quality (which is very crucial on a wtbelt engine).

During Covid / lockdown many people did not use the car at all or mainly for short trips without realising that additional maintenance was needed.


 

 

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To give an example of what everybody is saying regarding the oil, this picture is of the oil pump on my old focus ecoboost. It is basically blocked with sludge as mentioned, a metal strainer should be visible.

Had I not cleaned my one, I fully expect within the next few days it would have seized the engine.

20210403_175224.jpg

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Did you experience a loss of power or acceleration with that?

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1 hour ago, Pebbleheed said:

Did you experience a loss of power or acceleration with that?

Only 5 minutes before the engine seized up 🤣

seriously don't delay, get the oil and filter changed - do NOT flush the oil or it will kill the engine.

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1 hour ago, Pebbleheed said:

Did you experience a loss of power or acceleration with that?

I noticed the oil light not go off as quickly as it normally would when I started the car. Thinking I was imagining it I pulled away but saw it flicker so switched off and didn't chance driving until I had cleared it out.

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14 hours ago, Pebbleheed said:

I’ll get it booked in for an oil service asap then. 

For the sake of a sump gasket, get them to drop the sump and check/clean the strainer

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I put in a new air filter today. And while I was at it I checked for DTC codes with my bluefin. I got the following,

P0036

P0135

P0299

The first two are surprising as they seem to relate to the O2 sensor again. Despite that just being changed (error codes were cleared after the work was done). So I’m wondering if it’s a faulty O2 sensor or if the loom or MAF need replacing..?

The oil light isn’t flickering occasionally now. It’s doing it a lot. So the car is sitting still until I can get it back in at the garage. 
 

Bit worried re the oil. They said it was checked and was fine. What exactly do I need to ask for to ensure it’s sorted?

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They may have checked the oil but they need to inspect the pump itself which needs to oil draining and sump removing.

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P0299 appears to be ‘under boost’. A bit of a Google re that suggests many things, one of which is low oil pressure. 
 

I’m hoping it’s low pressure and not a new turbo. 

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38 minutes ago, Pebbleheed said:

I’m hoping it’s low pressure and not a new turbo. 

We are hoping that you have caught the low oil pressure in time and it doesn't need a new engine.

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A new turbo is expensive but mere chicken feed compared to the price of a new engine caused by low oil pressure !!

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A new turbocharger may be expensive but removing the sump and cleaning the oil pump is not cheap either. Removing the sump requires a considerable amount of labour. Even the exhaust downpipe (between the turbocharger and catalytic converter) needs to be removed because it is installed just below the sump. 

After the neglected service intervals (18 to 24 Months is way too long) I would not be surprised if the wetbelts are already affected and the oil pump is clogged with rubber debris of the wetbelts. Replacing the wetbelts is a major job that requires a considerable amount of special tools. Ford charges approximately €1700,- for removing the sump and replacing the wetbelts. 

 

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First of all, thanks all for the advice.

 

Ok - so the garage is shut today. I'm going back tomorrow.

What's the best thing to do? Simply ask him to remove the sump and clean the oil pump or do I just ask them to check it all again?

Last time I was there the oil light wasn't showing so I'm guessing they just checked the oil level as there were no error codes to do with oil. It's only when I've come away that it's flickering more and more now. I'm worried that they'll try to fix the errors relating to the O2 sensor stuff, drive the car and kill it.

Is it worth having the sump off and pump cleaned regardless or is there any way they can check for this before they do that?

The car's mileage is 88,000 miles. Is it also worth asking for them to sort the timing belt at the same time while they're there?

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