smax all engines common problems

Here is the list of problems known so far and surely it is not the exhaustive list, please participate.

- extensive rear tyre wear

mostly manifests with goodyear tyres fitted

no remedy the owners just changed the tyre make

- cubby box lock failure

this concerns the cubby between the seats in the front and is normally manifested on earlier cars. Mine aged 04/2007 doesn't have this problem

fix is to contact ford dealer to have the cubby lock replaced

- water in the passenger (driver's for LHD cars) side

the problem is bad fixing of the aircon pipes. 5 minutes job for a dealer and a TSB (technical service bulletin) exist.

- alarm going off by it's own often accompanied by wipers "going mad"

the reason is water in alarm siren unit, which is being replaced on the warranty on the majority of the cars. The issue is not model specific and is due to a badly placed siren unit. No fix just a workaround - the units are being replaced on warranty, when the warranty finishes can be a problem.

- rambling at B pillar

this is normally fixed by the ford dealer or owner himself by applying carbon grease to the joints

- boot won't open

this problem has no fix. Many smaxers suffered this problem and it is normally fixed by a patient owner keeping trying or a garage who break in - warranty void.

- bonnet won't close in cold (minus centigrade) weather

no remedy the only thing to do is place the car to a heated garage for a couple of hours

- silver plastic paint fading on the gear stick

mostly affected UK cars with RHD for any reasons, suspicion is the mariage rings. No remedy but if the car is still on waranty ford normally accepts the replacement.