Timing Belt Query

[pollution]

I own an EcoSport less than five years old whose broken timing belt caused such damage that I need a brand new engine for the car.

Does this seem normal ?
The Ford dealer wants £7000 plus for the new one.

I'm shocked that a car with 49000 miles needs it.

Any views on this would be very welcome.

[Moulin Yarns]

A friend had a volvo that it happened to, pistons went up through the bonnet!!!

[patch1875]

It’s probably fitted with a wet belt(belt runs in oil) seems a big issue with fords lots of issues with transit vans suffering early failure.

Probably worth checking with Ford to see if there has been a recall or they offer any assistance.

[pollution]

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It’s probably fitted with a wet belt(belt runs in oil) seems a big issue with fords lots of issues with transit vans suffering early failure.

Probably worth checking with Ford to see if there has been a recall or they offer any assistance.

The Ford dealer said that without a full service history they will refuse but I will try anyway.

I wonder if my comp insurance would cover it.

[McD]

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The Ford dealer said that without a full service history they will refuse but I will try anyway.

I wonder if my comp insurance would cover it.

It’s worth checking what the recommended time/mileage period is for replacing it. If it’s past that and not been done, chances are they’ll not offer any help, sorry

[Alfiembra]

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The Ford dealer said that without a full service history they will refuse but I will try anyway.

I wonder if my comp insurance would cover it.

Always worth trying but if you don’t have the dealer stamps or receipts to prove the service history I doubt either Ford or your insurance company will entertain it.
What Ford are quoting is a for a brand new engine fitted by a dealer, always going to be very pricey.

There are are plenty of suppliers of reconditioned engines with warranties or good engines removed from insurance write offs. Get a good independent garage to fit it and I’d be surprised if it comes to even half the price you’ve been quoted. No matter what repair route you go down it’s going to be a sore one for your wallet.

[pollution]

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Always worth trying but if you don’t have the dealer stamps or receipts to prove the service history I doubt either Ford or your insurance company will entertain it.
What Ford are quoting is a for a brand new engine fitted by a dealer, always going to be very pricey.

There are are plenty of suppliers of reconditioned engines with warranties or good engines removed from insurance write offs. Get a good independent garage to fit it and I’d be surprised if it comes to even half the price you’ve been quoted. No matter what repair route you go down it’s going to be a sore one for your wallet.

Good advice, thanks.

The Ford garage is five minutes walk from me, and they know it ! Too convenient for me but looking at new fitted engines elsewhere on line the price is approx £3500 or so.

I bought the car from them with only one service done at 20000 miles, perhaps I should have questioned it but I was too trusting. Thanks again.

[McD]

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Good advice, thanks.

The Ford garage is five minutes walk from me, and they know it ! Too convenient for me but looking at new fitted engines elsewhere on line the price is approx £3500 or so.

I bought the car from them with only one service done at 20000 miles, perhaps I should have questioned it but I was too trusting. Thanks again.

1 service done at 20k is about the norm, did you get it serviced at the ford dealer? They may a record of the services you’ve had done

[pollution]

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1 service done at 20k is about the norm, did you get it serviced at the ford dealer? They may a record of the services you’ve had done

No I didn't. My fault I should have had it done BUT I have checked the service book and the only service was done at 28000 miles.

They sold me a car under the three year warranty which missed its 12500 service and 25000 mile service. I only noticed it this afternoon.

I genuinely don't think the garage is aware of this so I will ask for their views....hopefully they might soften the quoted £7000 cost of replacement.

Under £4000 online , not that I want that. I like the local Ford people.

[LaMotta]

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No I didn't. My fault I should have had it done BUT I have checked the service book and the only service was done at 28000 miles.

They sold me a car under the three year warranty which missed its 12500 service and 25000 mile service. I only noticed it this afternoon.

I genuinely don't think the garage is aware of this so I will ask for their views....hopefully they might soften the quoted £7000 cost of replacement.

Under £4000 online , not that I want that. I like the local Ford people.

This is a common problem amongst Ford ecoboost owners.

Look at this Facebook Page that was set up a while back specifically for this problem and it has 16.5k people on it! https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare

The cars are terribly built basically. There are hundreds of comments from people in a similar position to you on that Facebook page - looks like some good advice on the First Post worth reading. If it was me I would not pay them a penny and be fighting it.

Its an absolute disgrace, hope you can get it sorted mate.

[pollution]

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This is a common problem amongst Ford ecoboost owners.

Look at this Facebook Page that was set up a while back specifically for this problem and it has 16.5k people on it! https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare

The cars are terribly built basically. There are hundreds of comments from people in a similar position to you on that Facebook page - looks like some good advice on the First Post worth reading. If it was me I would not pay them a penny and be fighting it.

Its an absolute disgrace, hope you can get it sorted mate.

Great info here, thanks very much.

I spoke to the Ford dealer and he will pass it "upstairs".

My main complaint is that I was assured it had a full service history, I bought it at 2.5 years old but it had missed its first two services so I was misled. I trusted them silly me.

Is it worth paying £7000 to get five years more life out of it ? At the moment it is scrap only, and the dealer knows it.

[McD]

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Great info here, thanks very much.

I spoke to the Ford dealer and he will pass it "upstairs".

My main complaint is that I was assured it had a full service history, I bought it at 2.5 years old but it had missed its first two services so I was misled. I trusted them silly me.

Is it worth paying £7000 to get five years more life out of it ? At the moment it is scrap only, and the dealer knows it.

That would be a breach of the Consumer Rights Act. If they’ve claimed something about the car and the paperwork doesn’t stand up, it’s a mis-selling. Do you have any proof that they told you about the service history, like a copy of the description in the sale advert, or notes on the sales documents? Not doubting you btw, more about strengthening your position.


You could use that situation to leverage the dealer to cover the cost of the repair, as their misinformation (I’ll describe it nicely ) has led you to this situation where that is directly affecting where you’re at now, with a full history you’d have a much stronger chance of getting your claim covered. So they *should* take responsibility - I’m not saying they will, but it will probably spur them on to push Ford harder, and to hopefully offer you some financial support towards the costs.


Edit: I think Ford dealers in the UK are all signed up to the Motor Ombudsman, who you can take your case to if the dealer doesn’t provide you with a satisfactory conclusion. If they’re being reluctant to move this forward for you, might be worth mentioning the Ombudsman, asking if they’re signed up to their arbitration process (they have to tell you), and suggesting you’re prepared to take it up with them.

[pollution]

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That would be a breach of the Consumer Rights Act. If they’ve claimed something about the car and the paperwork doesn’t stand up, it’s a mis-selling. Do you have any proof that they told you about the service history, like a copy of the description in the sale advert, or notes on the sales documents? Not doubting you btw, more about strengthening your position.


You could use that situation to leverage the dealer to cover the cost of the repair, as their misinformation (I’ll describe it nicely ) has led you to this situation where that is directly affecting where you’re at now, with a full history you’d have a much stronger chance of getting your claim covered. So they *should* take responsibility - I’m not saying they will, but it will probably spur them on to push Ford harder, and to hopefully offer you some financial support towards the costs.


Edit: I think Ford dealers in the UK are all signed up to the Motor Ombudsman, who you can take your case to if the dealer doesn’t provide you with a satisfactory conclusion. If they’re being reluctant to move this forward for you, might be worth mentioning the Ombudsman, asking if they’re signed up to their arbitration process (they have to tell you), and suggesting you’re prepared to take it up with them.

Good help: I do have proof of the full service history claim. Also, they are members of the Ombudsman.

I expect to hear from them soon and I am not very hopeful but you never know.

In the meantime the car is sitting in their forecourt undriveable. I might suggest to them to carry out the repair at the price they quoted

and let the Ombudsman adjudicate later. Seems fair ! I'll let you all know what happens.

Great advice from all the posters here.

[McD]

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Good help: I do have proof of the full service history claim. Also, they are members of the Ombudsman.

I expect to hear from them soon and I am not very hopeful but you never know.

In the meantime the car is sitting in their forecourt undriveable. I might suggest to them to carry out the repair at the price they quoted

and let the Ombudsman adjudicate later. Seems fair ! I'll let you all know what happens.

Great advice from all the posters here.

Just a word to the wise on doing things that way - it’s a sensible and logical approach, which the ombudsman won’t hold against you, however they aren’t quick moving, if you go onto their website and read some of the published case studies, although they are anonymised, it’s clear some of them started years prior to the case being concluded. Could be as long as 3 years from some I’ve looked at, sorry 😔

[LaMotta]

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Great info here, thanks very much.

I spoke to the Ford dealer and he will pass it "upstairs".

My main complaint is that I was assured it had a full service history, I bought it at 2.5 years old but it had missed its first two services so I was misled. I trusted them silly me.

Is it worth paying £7000 to get five years more life out of it ? At the moment it is scrap only, and the dealer knows it.

I don't know if you managed to find this post on the Facebook page but thought it might be helpful - its from earlier this year so fairly recent:

"Welcome. This group and it’s over 12k members are here to support you. If you have experienced catastrophic failure of your Ford Ecoboost, please don’t panic. Complete the 9 steps below in order. You will need to be firm and have a lot of patience but please stick with it. Do not pay a penny for Fords known design fault.

Whether you have a coolant loss issue or wet belt disintegration issue, the Ecoboost engines are failing on thousands of Ford owners. This shouldn’t happen. Watch here re the (wet) timing belt issue reported on Watchdog on 7th June 2023 https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/permalink/3490300647906470/

1. Check for outstanding Field Service Actions and Recalls on Ford Service Info https://www.ford.com/support/

2. Check for outstanding Safety Recalls https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk

3. Lodge a formal complaint with seller of vehicle advising them that you wish to reject the vehicle and receive a full refund due to known design defects. They have a max of 8 weeks to resolve your complaint.

4. Lodge a formal complaint with your finance company stating you wish to reject vehicle as not fit for purpose. If you paid anything more than £100 on a credit card, contact the credit card company too and tell them you want to reject the vehicle as it’s unfit for purpose.

5. Lodge a formal complaint with Financial Ombudsman stating you wish to reject vehicle as not fit for purpose

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/make-complaint

6. Email Ford, DVSA etc using this template https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/permalink/1952274355042448/ sending to addresses below;

Wford@ford.com; vvincen6@ford.com; warleyeo@ford.com; UKCRC1@ford.com; Caroline.Hicks@dvsa.gov.uk; Ian.Bartlett@dvsa.gov.uk; watchdog@bbc.co.uk; panorama.reply@bbc.co.uk; pocorrespondence@dft.gsi.gov.uk; lilian.greenwood.mp@parliament.uk; transcom@parliament.uk; clarkeg@parliament.uk; INCLUDE YOUR MP EMAIL ADDRESS; INCLUDE SELLING DEALERSHIP EMAIL ADDRESS

7. Take photos of rear of car. Deliver failed car to main Ford Dealership or selling dealership (Ford Assist do this free if you have Ford services). Refuse to leave Dealership without a courtesy car. BE FIRM!

8. Raise a Formal Complaint with Trading Standards citing Ecoboost is dangerous as fails at speed without warning. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.../report-to-trading.../

9. Report the serious and fatal design issue to DVSA using online form https://www.gov.uk/vehicle.../report-a-serious-safety-defect

*Familiarise yourselves with the Consumer Rights and Laws.
http://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

*Contact local newspapers, radio etc

Don't give up. Good luck"


It's can be stressful fighting things like this, but companies like Ford rely on that fact and that most people will just give up - so I hope you are able to fight them. It actually enrages me situations like this from businesses, I genuinely hope you can get it sorted. One thing I urge you not to do is to pay Ford any more money no matter what happens. If the worst comes to the worst and you need/decide to get it fixed then you will be able to get a good independent garage to do it for far cheaper than any Ford dealer.

[Jack]

Just caught up with this. The only thing I can add is that it's become commonplace for dealers not to stamp the service book but they do keep a record in their systems.

Apart from laziness the excuse for this was given as people were accusing mechanics of stealing stuff from glove boxes. Only if its left out in plain sight it might get stamped but no-one bothers to tell you this.

[pollution]

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I don't know if you managed to find this post on the Facebook page but thought it might be helpful - its from earlier this year so fairly recent:

"Welcome. This group and it’s over 12k members are here to support you. If you have experienced catastrophic failure of your Ford Ecoboost, please don’t panic. Complete the 9 steps below in order. You will need to be firm and have a lot of patience but please stick with it. Do not pay a penny for Fords known design fault.

Whether you have a coolant loss issue or wet belt disintegration issue, the Ecoboost engines are failing on thousands of Ford owners. This shouldn’t happen. Watch here re the (wet) timing belt issue reported on Watchdog on 7th June 2023 https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/permalink/3490300647906470/

1. Check for outstanding Field Service Actions and Recalls on Ford Service Info https://www.ford.com/support/

2. Check for outstanding Safety Recalls https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk

3. Lodge a formal complaint with seller of vehicle advising them that you wish to reject the vehicle and receive a full refund due to known design defects. They have a max of 8 weeks to resolve your complaint.

4. Lodge a formal complaint with your finance company stating you wish to reject vehicle as not fit for purpose. If you paid anything more than £100 on a credit card, contact the credit card company too and tell them you want to reject the vehicle as it’s unfit for purpose.

5. Lodge a formal complaint with Financial Ombudsman stating you wish to reject vehicle as not fit for purpose

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/make-complaint

6. Email Ford, DVSA etc using this template https://www.facebook.com/groups/FordEcoboostNightmare/permalink/1952274355042448/ sending to addresses below;

Wford@ford.com; vvincen6@ford.com; warleyeo@ford.com; UKCRC1@ford.com; Caroline.Hicks@dvsa.gov.uk; Ian.Bartlett@dvsa.gov.uk; watchdog@bbc.co.uk; panorama.reply@bbc.co.uk; pocorrespondence@dft.gsi.gov.uk; lilian.greenwood.mp@parliament.uk; transcom@parliament.uk; clarkeg@parliament.uk; INCLUDE YOUR MP EMAIL ADDRESS; INCLUDE SELLING DEALERSHIP EMAIL ADDRESS

7. Take photos of rear of car. Deliver failed car to main Ford Dealership or selling dealership (Ford Assist do this free if you have Ford services). Refuse to leave Dealership without a courtesy car. BE FIRM!

8. Raise a Formal Complaint with Trading Standards citing Ecoboost is dangerous as fails at speed without warning. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.../report-to-trading.../

9. Report the serious and fatal design issue to DVSA using online form https://www.gov.uk/vehicle.../report-a-serious-safety-defect

*Familiarise yourselves with the Consumer Rights and Laws.
http://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

*Contact local newspapers, radio etc

Don't give up. Good luck"


It's can be stressful fighting things like this, but companies like Ford rely on that fact and that most people will just give up - so I hope you are able to fight them. It actually enrages me situations like this from businesses, I genuinely hope you can get it sorted. One thing I urge you not to do is to pay Ford any more money no matter what happens. If the worst comes to the worst and you need/decide to get it fixed then you will be able to get a good independent garage to do it for far cheaper than any Ford dealer.

Thanks for the reply, it will take some time to digest !

Re not paying them anymore money: how do I find a local garage ( south east Edinburgh ) that is reputable ?

I don't have any experience of this. My wife wants it done at the garage we bought the car from, can you believe.

[Alfiembra]

This may be of some help to you, massive recall in the USA of these engines presumably UK will follow in due course.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords-...tting-recalled

[pollution]

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This may be of some help to you, massive recall in the USA of these engines presumably UK will follow in due course.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords-...tting-recalled

Very interesting thanks. Too late for me, £8500 new engine etc being fitted at the moment.

Will keep this article in mind cheers.

[Trinity Hibee]

Was considering getting an ecosport but this has put me right off so cheers for posting. Shame as looks a good motor.

Think there will be a way for you to get your money back from Ford?

[greenlex]

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Just caught up with this. The only thing I can add is that it's become commonplace for dealers not to stamp the service book but they do keep a record in their systems.

Apart from laziness the excuse for this was given as people were accusing mechanics of stealing stuff from glove boxes. Only if it’s left out in plain sight it might get stamped but no-one bothers to tell you this.

Are services not electronically recorded these days ?

[pollution]

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Was considering getting an ecosport but this has put me right off so cheers for posting. Shame as looks a good motor.

Think there will be a way for you to get your money back from Ford?

No chance without a full service history which the car did not have when I bought it from the Ford dealer.

The dealer is not playing ball, saying their service sufficed. 12500 is the service interval which is ludicrous in this day and age. They serviced it at 28000 !