Ford Focus Estate 08 1.6 Tdci

[SG123]

Hi

im new to the site, i'm looking to get some buying advise on a focus 1.6tdci estate. I have heard that they suffer with turbo and dpf snags. Yhe wife needs a estate, what with the shopping and 3 dogs . The cheap road tax, good mpg and insurance and size make it look good to us, however if you guys no better please let me know.

So if anyone has one, or knows what to look out for i would be really grateful

Thanks in advance

Sean

[Stoney871]

If you want to avoid dpf problems them look for a 1.8, no dpf and just that bit more robust in the engine department.

[artscot79]

what kind of mileage are we planning to do?

less then 10-15000 a year and mainly small short in town trips then get a petrol the diesel mpg isnt that great in these cases also as said the 1.6 has dpf issues and doing short trips will only make this worse so th e1.8 is the better choice from what youve said the mileage will be very low that you do so ide be looking more at a petrol than a diesel

[grahamp]

I've had one for just over a year, its an 08 car, 90bhp, not 110. I was a bit worried 90 wouldn't be up to much but I've got a family of 4 and we've been on camping holidays with large calor bottle, 20Kg 6 man tent, a roofbox full of stuff, camping furniture etc, absolutely stuffed full of heavy items and I'm happy with the performance- its not going to win any races but then that's not why you'd buy one. With a fully loaded boot and roofbox I still see 54 - 58mpg. Just me and with a cautious right foot 64mpg is usual, though too much town driving and it will drop to 54 - 57. With a £30 tax disc that's the good news, but if you end up paying thousands for repairs those economies are going to seem a bit pointless.

Firstly you're right to be cautious, the trade view the engine (DV6) as an unreliable dog.. there can't be many professional car mechanics who would own one.. Honest John would tell you to look for something else, and there are horror stories of people with newish cars on not huge miles being told they need a complete new engine. However they can't ALL be bad right?

AFAIK there are 3 potential expensive problems:

1. Dual mass flywheel, common on recent diesels they have a habit of failing and costing an arm and a leg to replace. But this is an issue for pretty well any modern diesel so goes with the territory.

2. Turbo failure, caused by carbonised/sludgey oil blocking the turbo feed pipe - there's a filter in the banjo bolt that attaches the feed pipe to the engine block, carbon in the oil blocks the filter and stops oil getting to the turbo. There are many reports of replacement turbos also failing, and Ford have had a Technical service Bulletin out for a while detailing all the work necessary to try and stop it happening again. As for what causes the carbonisation in the first place, there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer- there seem to be 3 schools of thought:

* poor oil change practice and interval. See here... http://bigjohnd.org....lChange-DV6.pdf and here.. http://c4owners.org/...php?0.cat.5.110 and here... http://www.volvoforu...p/t-154095.html

* a leaking injector, see here... http://www.honestjoh...dex.htm?t=91541 and here http://www.consumera...engine-required

* blocked DPF, see here... http://www.sinspeed....stock-available

In my opinion its probably a mixture of issues, though blocked DPF seems the most plausible to me. I'd imagine they have enough data at Ford by now to know the cause(s), but I guess we'll never know as that would be an admission of guilt.

3. DPF - apart from possibly causing the above issue, they require the eolys top up, and then replacement at 75,000ish, which can be expensive.

So, if you are still seduced by the £30 tax disc and 56mpg+, and do the miles to justify a diesel (and last time I looked 1.6 petrol estates on much lower miles cost quite a bit less than diesels), what can you do to avoid disaster?

My first bit of advice is don't get a car with a DPF. AFAIK all 2008 on 110ps's have them, while they were optional on the 90 until some point either late 08 or mid 09, I'm not sure when. How do you tell if a car does not have a DPF? Look at the VIN plate at the bottom of the driver's side B-pillar; there are 8 small boxes down the left hand side. The bottom box has the exhaust emission level code.

K = stage V

S = Stage 3 (2000 EEC)

V = Stage IV + DPF

7 = Stage IV.

Mine is a 7, confirming no DPF. V or K mean you have a DPF. The latest DPFs are long-life and don't require fluid to regenerate.

Pre 2008 (2005-08) DPF's were optional on the 90 and the 109ps

Secondly ensure the car has been properly serviced... unfortunately a lot of 3 - 4 year old estates are ex-fleet or lease so may have only had minimal servicing. The original Ford recommended interval of 12,500 miles has been lowered to I think 7000 for an oil change - 6 months/6000 miles would be a better idea. Use only fully synthetic oil of the correct spec. The manual recommends WSS-M2C913-B, but the upgraded WSS-M2C913-C is better. Use Castrol Magnatec 5W30 A1 (Ford) or similar.

Finally you could change the filter in the banjo bolt on the turbo supply pipe, perhaps drop the sump and ensure the oil pickup strainer is clean, and clean out the oil cooler, etc, but these are not easy jobs so perhaps beyond your average DIY motorist- I've been meaning to have a go myself but for a start the whole front section of exhaust has to come off which includes the cat, so a bit daunting if all you're used to is normal servicing. The history on my car isnt brilliant: Ford service 1 @ 15000 with semi-syn, Ford service 2 @ 33000 with semi syn, service 3 @ 46000 with low sap syn oil, then at 54000 by me. So not a great start and those long intervals give me cause for concern.

So... the 08 estate can be a great, unpretentious practical family car, but are you SURE you want a 1.6 diesel?!

[Fastfordman]

When I bought my 1.8 petrol 58 estate earlier this year I looked at diesels as I do about 15k a year but they had twice as many miles on clock and cost 1500 more so didn't make sense. The estate is very practical and a nice car glad I bought a petrol not diesel, only down side is the 195 road tax! If you're not doing lots of miles a petrol would be much cheaper than a diesel in overall cost including the lower mpg.

[SG123]

Thanks guys, you saved me for getting a lemon

Defo not going to go for the 1.6tdic any more, however the wife has seen a mondeo estase now and thinks she may like that arhhhhh lol.