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Noob Questions On Reliability


jimbro
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Just joined as I'm off to view a Mondeo 2.2 TDCI Ghia on Saturday to replace my beloved Pajero 2.8LWB Exceed

Pajero is just too expensive on fuel, especially when towing our caravan(14mpg) and the Mondeo should return over 30mpg towing and over 50mpg solo

I've read on caravan forums the 2.2TDCI will tow it no prob but I've been bombarded by the doom and gloom merchants talking about clutches, DMF and injectors failing every 2nd day.

The car I'm seeing is a 2006 model with 65k miles, 1 owner and a full service history so it looks good. It'll also have a 12 month warranty

No pressure but how reliable are they? Are they just like everything else? Look after it and it'll be fine

I had an N reg one as a company car years ago and it was great but the doom merchants rant about the Euro 4 as being unreliable

What's the real story?

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I have a 2006 2.2tdci st. I have had it for 3 and a bit years with very little needing done.

Yes the DMFs and injector go eventually but tell me, what car is exempt from this? Absolutely none..

I have never towed a caravan with mine but I have towed a few cars.. It does it with ease!

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Cheers. That's what I thought.

Funny how people see the worst in cars, usually when they don't have that type.

I was told pajero heads go all the time.

I've had them for ten years now and no serious problems.

I have a 2006 2.2tdci st. I have had it for 3 and a bit years with very little needing done.

Yes the DMFs and injector go eventually but tell me, what car is exempt from this? Absolutely none..

I have never towed a caravan with mine but I have towed a few cars.. It does it with ease!

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Cheers. That's what I thought.

Funny how people see the worst in cars, usually when they don't have that type.

I was told pajero heads go all the time.

I've had them for ten years now and no serious problems.

Even with all the worry and scaremongering people like to do it still wasn't enough to put me off buying a mondeo 2.2tdci.

Granted the DMFs and injectors are expensive but they ain't cheap on any car. The mondeo has been an absolutely brilliant car and workhorse on many an occasion.

If my DMF was to go tomorow I would be a bit annoyed at having to pay out for it but I would be doing it myself so only costing me parts. It would still be a cracking car, it always will be until the day it's not worth keeping on the road

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Reassuring to hear I'm not the only one being told stories. Looks like I could be a mondeo driver soon

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I had an 06 2.2 TDCI for 3 years at 9000 miles a year and all I had to replace was the EGR valve (which is common on all of them) so reliability was not a problem for me.

After reading up on the forums I put a bottle of BG244 into a tank of Shell every year to keep the fuel system clean and prevent the lumpy tickover and cleaned the MAF once a year.

Also the way you drive it makes a difference. Try not to do boy racer starts and don't accelerate hard in high gears - this will make the DMF last longer. The clutches are fine but if the DMF shakes itself to bits it can take the clutch as starter motor out with it.

Obviously towing puts more of a strain on the car but just try and be as sympathetic as you can and it should be fine. Some of these have done well over 100,000 miles without problem.

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My days of boy racing ended when I sold my m3

Bg244? is that like protec fuel system cleaner? I used that in my pajero every time I changed the fuel filter.

Good thing with this car is it has had one owner, only 65k miles and it'll have a 12 mnth warranty

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BG244 is proven to prevent the lumpy idle problem in the winter. It cleans the injectors and works wonders. I wouldn't trust any other fuel additive. The tiny nozzles which operate under massive fuel pressures can get upset by the slightest fragment of glaze or thickening of the fuel and BG244 keeps it clear although it won't help worn injectors of course.

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I'll make sure I get some.

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I have never had any issues with fuel or lumpy idle and we have had a few cold winters.. The additives put in fuel from around October IIRC? Are there to change the freezing point and keep the fuel usable.

Personally I don't see the need for anything other than a good quality fuel in the first place. I only ever use Shell, bp or esso.

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You maybe have not but many have and you only have to look at the massive lumpy idle Mk3 thread on STDrivers to see...... After my car was shaking so badly on idle one winter it stalled I used BG244 and it cured it once and for all. It's just a preventive measure and up to you to use it now or wait if you have the issue.

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Evening Jim. Nice to see you here ;)

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You maybe have not but many have and you only have to look at the massive lumpy idle Mk3 thread on STDrivers to see...... After my car was shaking so badly on idle one winter it stalled I used BG244 and it cured it once and for all. It's just a preventive measure and up to you to use it now or wait if you have the issue.

Perhaps because you only do 9000 miles a year then? Mine is doing over 20k with fresh fuel in it every week

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To be honest mate it seems to be a lottery affecting people with varying mileages. I only ever used quality fuel and didn't hang about. Some of them just seem to suffer in colder weather and others not. Like I say there is a massive section on it on another forum and that's what led me to my fix. Not a problem now as I have a petrol.... :)

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Illogical. Fancy seeing you here.

You were right. It's helped put my mind at rest after a certain doom n gloom merchant got me thinking.

Going to see the Mondeo Sat morning and someone coming to see the pajero in the afternoon

Evening Jim. Nice to see you here ;)

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Ello. Fancy seeing you here.

You were right. It's helped put my mind at rest after a certain doom n gloom merchant got me thinking.

Going to see the Mondeo Sat morning and someone coming to see the pajero in the afternoon

Evening Jim. Nice to see you here ;)

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Bluddy autocorrect. :-)

Illogical. Fancy seeing you here.

You were right. It's helped put my mind at rest after a certain doom n gloom merchant got me thinking.

Going to see the Mondeo Sat morning and someone coming to see the pajero in the afternoon

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I think the situation - particularly with diesels - is that there are a few expensive things that can fail, but they aren't failing at any spectacular rate, and most people get away with it, fine. That said, on any modern car, whether petrol or diesel, some of the electronics can be spectacularly expensive, if you make the mistake of paying the main dealer prices...

Things that ought to concern you:

  • DMF - can fail (wear out) from about 80k onward (depending on how it has been driven, etc). This is expensive (labour). If you look at the service history, and it hasn't been done (and it probably won't have), you'll probably want to mutter 'dmf...(suck some air through your teeth, for effect)..I hear that's expensive...are you sure it hasn't been done?' a few times, and see if that softens the purchase price, any.
  • Cam belts - usually reckoned to last 125 k plus (people change them at 125 k to be safe, as the consequences of one actually failing are not good, but you'll probably find someone who says that they have done three times that without a problem...what they won't tell you is, if everyone went for 375k how many would damage their engine getting there) so shouldn't be an issue, but it is the other expensive (predictable) thing
  • Injectors do fail; it is a low rate of background noise, but it does happen more than Petrols, seemingly

I'd say that all modern Diesels have a higher rate of expensive parts that can fail than Petrols, and I don't think you'll get away from that by buying Mercedes, BMW or Audi. In practice, for most people, the rate at which these parts do fail is such that you'll still be below the expensive service costs on 'the Germans' but, if the surprise of having one of these failures is going to put doubt on your ability to keep the car on the road, you may want to reconsider whether buying a Diesel is right for you.

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Diesel is definitely what I need. For economy and low end grunt for towing my caravan.

The car I'm seeing has 65k on it and a full service history(1 owner) and I'll be getting a 12 month warranty.

Sounds like every car. There's always someone who's had a bad experience.

Don't mention 206s to my wife. Lol

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Couldnt agree more with BOF's post, you do have expensive parts but its all about the TLC the car has. my car had a DMF Clutch replacement at 60K, I presume that in its early days it was driven like a bull in a china shop! but to me now after picking it up 50K later, it still feels tight as a drum!

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I'm guessing this has been cared for as it's very low mileage and full service history

Hopefully and old lady or minister :rolleyes:

Does the 2.2TDCI have a cam belt? I thought everything from 2.0 litre up was timing chains

Not going German. Had my share of BMW's(6 in total)

Thought about an Audi A4 until I heard they need a twin fan conversion for towing big caravans. They're pretty basic too

I think the Mondeo should suit me just fine. Now get ready for lots of dumb questions :)

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I believe it is a belt, there are so few are chains these days.

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Diesel is definitely what I need. For economy and low end grunt for towing my caravan.

The car I'm seeing has 65k on it and a full service history(1 owner) and I'll be getting a 12 month warranty.

Sounds like every car. There's always someone who's had a bad experience.

Well, there is always someone who has a bad experience, but if you have a bad experience with a Diesel it will probably be a slightly worse experience than having a bad experience with a Petrol. Provided you are happy with that deal, and the chances are that it won't happen to you, you'll be ok.

You should also note that the 2.2 isn't quite as good on fuel economy around town than the 2 litre. On the motorways and dual carriageways there isn't much difference. That said, I think the 2.2 is what I'd go for, if I was doing a lot of towing.

...a 2006 model with 65k miles...

8 years and 65 k miles? If anything, you could be concerned with that for being on the low side, I'd rather see something like 12k per year. Make sure that it really does have the full service history, as some people only service them on mileage and not on time. (And I did see one car that only had been for its visit to see the Ford dealers for major and not minor services and that was described as having a full history, so you do have to check.)

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At least that's one thing less to worry about.

Quite looking forward to seeing it a and test driving it.

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