Good Day All,

I bought this (ex Motability) car last year from a Ford Main Dealer in the North-East of England and until recently it ran superbly well. I generally use BP Ultimate diesel.

The engine has recently become troublesome. Starts first time, not always as smoothly as before, and with a slightly smelly exhaust (quite clean and almost no smell before), idles normally at 850 rpm, but then when accelerator pedal is pressed (car stationary, in neutral, handbrake on) the engine shudders once as the revs start to rise and then runs a little roughly as the revs are increased with a distinct sort of "rattling" noise which disappears after the engine is speeded up. On the road the engine runs normally above about 1500 rpm and over-runs ok when slowing down. When accelerating again the rattling noise appears again until past about 1500 rpm (in all gears).

Two separate Glasgow Ford Main Dealers have failed to find the fault despite diagnostic checks showing no warning lights or fault codes etc. Fuel filter renewed twice (once by each garage). Full service and MoT by the first garage, who said they couldnt find any fault and all would gradually be ok after I had covered about 200 miles! as the engine and computer had to re-learn everything!

The second Ford Main Dealer garage (after trying and failing) advised me not to use the car until the fault was found and rectified (by whom, I wondered)?

No wonder I am confused and puzzled, and dont know what to do next! Help please!

Hi,

I've just had the same trouble as you for the last six months, it's the same symptoms that your car has so I booked my car in at Gordon's Ford in Bolton. There was no warning lights on my dash but the car was running rough and a ticking around the turbo area which sounds like yours.

They put the car on diagnostic machine and they told me the DPF was blocked so they renewed it costing £800. I wasn't happy with this as you can imagine but I couldn't leave it because it was going worse. I got a new DPF fitted and the car now runs a lot better.

Hope this helps

Sent from my iPad using Ford OC

Hi John,

Thanks for replying. You may be right, and it might be my DPF, but one would think and hope that two separate Ford Main Dealers would be able to say what the problem is, especially something as basic as the DPF! Or do they now rely so much on the 'computer' telling them whats wrong? Nothing would or should surprise us these days about the motor trade. A few years ago another Ford Main Dealer renewed my (2004 C-Max) EGR valve at cost of £450 which was at fault. My neighbour, an RAC man, later said it was the crank position sensor (£26 and I renewed it myself, and all ok)! The Ford Main Dealer's Assistant Service Manager told me the 'computer' said it was the EGR valve (of course they didnt reimburse me)!

Back to this present problem: BTW the second garage said the only fault the diagnostics showed was a fault with the sun-roof (which the car does not have)!! This is my third C-Max I bought because the second one (2007 2.0L TDCI manual) which I kept for five years was a great car, nothing at all went wrong with it - should never have parted with it)!

I have just written to Ford for advice, so lets see what happens. Meantime I think I will take my car for a good high speed run.

will keep you posted on developments and will bear in mind that I might need to renew my DPF too!

Thanks and regards,

Johnpon

Oops! Regarding the EGR valve.......Sorry... I meant to write...which they said ...was at fault.....

Hi John,

C-Max 1.6 TDCI engine problem update: took the car for a good long run, about 100 miles in total over the last two days on the M74 and M80 at 70 mph and it seems like the problem is fixed! Running much more like normal now, and no rattling sound.

If the DPF was starting to get clogged, maybe it wasnt clogged enough to trigger the warning light?

If indeed all is well, the first garage Service Manager who told me to "run the car ..it will be ok in about 200 miles" was on the right track but I wish his advice was more clear ... if he had said take it for a good run at 70 mph for an hour on the motorway I would have done that right away and saved us time and trouble, and all this writing....!!

His was the garage I normally use; I dont think I will bother going back to the second one.

Anyway thanks and good luck,

Johnpon

Hi glad you got your motor sorted out and not payed a load of money out like me if I can be any help to you just post on here

Sent from my iPad using Ford OC

Hi John(2015),

Sorry you had to pay to get your problem sorted, unfortunately I also had to pay, worse, for NOT getting my problem sorted!

The second garage, Evans Halshaw, charged £65 for the diagnostic check, and I agreed that the fuel filter should be renewed, just in case there was a problem with it. The fuel filter kit cost ex Vat £31.71, (fuel filter element was £15 at Arnold Clark) labour ex VAT £32.45, so with the £65 ex VAT, the total bill, inc. VAT, was £154.99. They did give me an "open invite to return for further checks relating to fault." !

If only the first garage, Arnold Clark, had been more explicit I would have solved the problem that much sooner!

I wrote to Ford and have just received an email from "Ford Customer Relationship Centre" asking for further details re. the problem (so more paperwork)! but maybe my experience will be of help to other Ford owners!

Cheers

John.