Hi

Ford focus 2005 1.6 manual hatchback

Car is now in repair garage

All dash lights sometimes stay on and display engine malfunction or acceleration reduced. Codes u0001 & Po500. Initially I thought wheel/ transmission sensors as initial lights staying on was USB

Vehicle starts on key sometimes without dash lights staying on the most prominent code is u0001 bus can etc

I provided this info to garage in emails prior to dropping car off explaining its an intermittent fault

The only other instructions to them was to take for an MOT

They phoned me following morning saying car fixed all sorted it was ignition switch (guess electric element of switch)

Adding needs pads shoes a brake wheel cylinder 300 + 150 for switch + labour

I asked them not to change pads and shoes the also reported a slight lip on disc they said wheel cylinder was a safety issue so had to agree a replacement

I had never asked for a pre mot inspection I was confident it would sail through ( they use a local mot station)

The following day I’m informed great news got an mot However you need a dash cluster repair please collect car

So I Don’t intend paying for switch

Am evaluating the worth of vehicle versus bill of 550

Any comments appreciated

Ph

Not really understanding the point of taking a car to one garage, and asking them to take it to another garage for MOT.

If you would still like the cluster repaired then @rd457 is the person to contact about that.

Theres a few garages here including the one i work at where we only do work on cars and take them to an mot station for the customer.

Its a complimentary service we offer if getting work done with us for an mot that we check it over first, other wise we are wasting our and the customers time.

so what has happened here is farily common practice. otherwise youd have had the car back with a fail sheet and stored on the mot database. (some people hate this)

I got 3 sentences into the OP's post and immediately thought cluster, but hey ho thats what working on fords for 35 years does.

failing to pay for the misdiagnosed part, is actually a breach of contract, so unless you can be civil with them and get them to agree to discount or waive the charge for that, youre still liable for the cost.

1 hour ago, Vauxfan2k said:

"failing to pay for the misdiagnosed part, is actually a breach of contract"

Is This a UK tihng?

Not this way in New Jersey, USA

4 hours ago, Vauxfan2k said:

Theres a few garages here including the one i work at where we only do work on cars and take them to an mot station for the customer.

Its a complimentary service we offer if getting work done with us for a mot that we check it over first, other wise we are wasting our and the customers time.

Appreciate your comments I only pay for what I instruct.. I’ve asked them to look at two items for reduction.. I’m not a lawyer.. but trust me I understand contract & court proceedings

It’s a 20 year old car who cares what is on a fail sheet-prior to mot they tried to stiff me with 300 quid of work found I rejected that

so what has happened here is farily common practice. otherwise youd have had the car back with a fail sheet and stored on the mot database. (some people hate this)

I got 3 sentences into the OP's post and immediately thought cluster, but hey ho thats what working on fords for 35 years does.

failing to pay for the misdiagnosed part, is actually a breach of contract, so unless you can be civil with them and get them to agree to discount or waive the charge for that, youre still liable for the cost.

6 hours ago, Philip4474 said:

Reason I took to garage for repair & mot at a garage local to them was the mot was due in a few days.

Hi

Ford focus 2005 1.6 manual hatchback

Car is now in repair garage

All dash lights sometimes stay on and display engine malfunction or acceleration reduced. Codes u0001 & Po500. Initially I thought wheel/ transmission sensors as initial lights staying on was USB

Vehicle starts on key sometimes without dash lights staying on the most prominent code is u0001 bus can etc

I provided this info to garage in emails prior to dropping car off explaining its an intermittent fault

The only other instructions to them was to take for an MOT

They phoned me following morning saying car fixed all sorted it was ignition switch (guess electric element of switch)

Adding needs pads shoes a brake wheel cylinder 300 + 150 for switch + labour

I asked them not to change pads and shoes the also reported a slight lip on disc they said wheel cylinder was a safety issue so had to agree a replacement

I had never asked for a pre mot inspection I was confident it would sail through ( they use a local mot station)

The following day I’m informed great news got an mot However you need a dash cluster repair please collect car

So I Don’t intend paying for switch

Am evaluating the worth of vehicle versus bill of 550

Any comments appreciated

Ph

12 hours ago, Philip4474 said:

The following day I’m informed great news got an mot However you need a dash cluster repair please collect car

So I Don’t intend paying for switch

As Tom indicated above (Thanks again Tom!) I do instrument cluster repairs (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314393033915).

I presume this is a Mk2. The Mk2 clusters, both pre-facelift and facelift commonly suffer from cracked solder joints on the wiring connector, as discussed in my listing. This can cause a variety of issues. You may well need it to be done.

I've also had several customers where I've ended up advising them to try replacing their ignition switch (behind the ignition barrel) which has then helped solve the electrical/starting issues they've been experiencing. It's a cheap part (I recall them being around £10 when I had a quick look a while ago) and pretty easy to replace. While there are laws covering vehicle repair work, which you should perhaps research, unless you can somehow prove that their replacement of it made no difference to the issues you took it to them for, you may not have any ground to stand on regarding refusing to pay for it.

I'm confused by your breakdown of what they're charging you. You seemed to say they quoted £300 to do the pads, shoes and cylinder, plus £150 for the ignition switch "and labour". Is that labour for both jobs? Average labour costs a little while ago were quoted as being around £75 per hour. You said that you refused all of the brake work except the cylinder which they reasonably insisted upon for safety reasons, but then you're saying the final quote is £550 which seems like they did all of the brake work after all??

Sounds like you didn't authorize some work? If you've been charged for work you didn't authoriz, you are never liable for costs for repairs you didn't authorize. No company ever (including garages) is allowed to say "I've done work now you must pay". Unless they specifically asked you for your authorization and gave a quote, you don't owe a penny.

Also, clusters are notoriously risky to repair. There's no guarantee it'll work, many stories of written off cars trying to deal with cluster. I had an issue which everyone thought was a cluster issue. Couldnt get any codes as the ECU wouldnt communicate with OBD reader. Garage, independent car electrician all said it. Then I changed my rocker cover gasket (had oil on spark plugs) and my issue went away. Think my issue was solved by unplugging the battery for a couple hours and cleaning any electrical connections I saw at the time. Old Fords are strange creatures, sometimes a battery disconnect and a clean is all it needs. Sometimes not.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for a while?

10 hours ago, rd457 said:

Cheers for response. 550 includes dash cluster soldering + removal and reinstall. I’ll check out link below

I reached agreement this morning 50% reduction have vehicle outside I asked for that value, in a long mail talking about trading standards, 2015 sale of goods act & hidden charges & unauthorised work. & my ability through my previous professional work life to take a deep dive at their organisation. Wasn't a threat , just to see who I was dealing with.

10 hours ago, rd457 said:

Thanks for all feedback

Cheers

Philip

As Tom indicated above (Thanks again Tom!) I do instrument cluster repairs (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314393033915).

I presume this is a Mk2. The Mk2 clusters, both pre-facelift and facelift commonly suffer from cracked solder joints on the wiring connector, as discussed in my listing. This can cause a variety of issues. You may well need it to be done.

I've also had several customers where I've ended up advising them to try replacing their ignition switch (behind the ignition barrel) which has then helped solve the electrical/starting issues they've been experiencing. It's a cheap part (I recall them being around £10 when I had a quick look a while ago) and pretty easy to replace. While there are laws covering vehicle repair work, which you should perhaps research, unless you can somehow prove that their replacement of it made no difference to the issues you took it to them for, you may not have any ground to stand on regarding refusing to pay for it.

I'm confused by your breakdown of what they're charging you. You seemed to say they quoted £300 to do the pads, shoes and cylinder, plus £150 for the ignition switch "and labour". Is that labour for both jobs? Average labour costs a little while ago were quoted as being around £75 per hour. You said that you refused all of the brake work except the cylinder which they reasonably insisted upon for safety reasons, but then you're saying the final quote is £550 which seems like they did all of the brake work after all??

3 hours ago, Eli_P said:

Sounds like you didn't authorize some work? If you've been charged for work you didn't authoriz, you are never liable for costs for repairs you didn't authorize. No company ever (including garages) is allowed to say "I've done work now you must pay". Unless they specifically asked you for your authorization and gave a quote, you don't owe a penny.

Also, clusters are notoriously risky to repair. There's no guarantee it'll work, many stories of written off cars trying to deal with cluster. I had an issue which everyone thought was a cluster issue. Couldnt get any codes as the ECU wouldnt communicate with OBD reader. Garage, independent car electrician all said it. Then I changed my rocker cover gasket (had oil on spark plugs) and my issue went away. Think my issue was solved by unplugging the battery for a couple hours and cleaning any electrical connections I saw at the time. Old Fords are strange creatures, sometimes a battery disconnect and a clean is all it needs. Sometimes not.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for a while?

Thanks for interest, I did do a hard reset… where a slight improvement was seen.

I’m not particularly mechanically minded, even though I built a cooper from a bare shell 55 years ago!

I acquired all parts inc sun frames engine hydro suspension from Halfords. All on HP agreements. They would source from anywhere IM trying to recall what happened to hp agreements. I do know they quickly stopped HP shortly after

Cheers again

Philip

I do know a lot about Masa, driven a Konieseg , and most prancing horses that was in another life!

Cheers

39 minutes ago, Philip4474 said:

Thanks for interest, I did do a hard reset… where a slight improvement was seen.

I’m not particularly mechanically minded, even though I built a cooper from a bare shell 55 years ago!

I acquired all parts inc sun frames engine hydro suspension from Halfords. All on HP agreements. They would source from anywhere IM trying to recall what happened to hp agreements. I do know they quickly stopped HP shortly after

Cheers again

Philip

I do know a lot about Masa, driven a Konieseg , and most prancing horses that was in another life!

Cheers

On 1/29/2026 at 1:43 PM, Philip4474 said:

WHEN returned from garage with new ignition switch—-still same lights flashing intermittently Obviously didn’t pay fro switch & labour and reduced Biden charges. They didn’t ask for any money on delivery of car to me He said was not asked to collect any mot. I did pass some cash to the driver for the garage I asked him to sign.

OK Removed instrument cluster sent off returned Now back to normal Morale of story… don’t get stiffed by repair garages.. upfront give them written/email of what you want them to do I’m 77 they probably thought…

Adios