Hill start assist/parking aid malfunction/service required

[monkeyhead]

I have a year old Transit Custom 310 L1 2.0 TDS 170 ps with just under 10K on the clock.

The vehicle has let me down now about 5 times whereby the dash display produces the 3 error messages above and the vehicle won't turn over. It seems as if the ECU is shutting the whole vehicle down. Up till now it has cleared itself if left for an hour or two, the vehicle then starts and the error messages vanish into the ether

It's been into the local Ford people twice now and they seem clueless as to what is causing this. First time was for a dipstick recall, and they claimed that was causing the issue. This tues they said there were a load of old codes around battery not charging properly, they cleared these and gave the battery a good charge. I'm not convinced by this explanation (although I use the van around town it has had a number of really long runs) and sure enough it has just let me down again, 3 days after the dealership had it in.

Can anyone shed any light on the possible reasons for this?

On various threads here the following have been mentioned:

Clutch pedal micro sensor, and clutch pedal sticking (latter doesn't seem to be the case on mine)
Brake disc sensor
EGR valve sticking (on a van as new as mine???)
Blocked DPF (mine has the addblue system so would this likely be a problem?)
Faulty MAP sensor (presumably Ford's diagnostics would have picked up this/DPF if that were the case?)

Any help/advice appreciated.

Thanks

[db71]

Mine had the same faults at 3000ish miles and it was the egr valve. It eventually got fixed after a dozen trips to the dealers, wiping codes by error and dismantling the van then checking to see if the part was in stock and it wasn't. Then doing the same again and the wrong part was sent.

When you switch the engine off listen for the noise under the bonnet, it takes about 30seconds plus. Theres a humming noise and then the egr valve opens and closes itself a few times. Mine had stopped doing the self switching clicking noise and had jammed open or closed, cant remember which.

[monkeyhead]

Thanks. It's in with different Ford garage and will see what they say. Error codes hadn't cleared after 6 hours of being sat there so hopefully when they plug diagnostics in they will be able to work out what is wrong. I will suggest this to them if they too can't find the fault.

Anyone in the Bristol area thinking of using Trust Ford for servicing/warranty issues should beware. Non existent customer service, unable to look at this warranty issue for 2 weeks even though it makes the van completely unusable, and felt very much like it was all my problem despite them having the van in twice and unable to find the issue, much less fix it.

[monkeyhead]

An update on what is rapidly becoming a saga.....

van went in to Winford Ford as I was so fed up with the morons at Trustford telling me that they would be able to look at it in a month's time after the latest failure to start.

Unfortunately the recovery people drove the van off the recovery truck (yes the error codes had cleared themselves yet again). Winford picked up a really random mix of error codes when they plugged the diagnostics tool in, but nothing they could pin point as causing the failure. So I collected the van, drove it off the forecourt, and within 48 hours it was back on the recovery truck, returning to Winford with the same fault.

After me getting really nasty with Ford's customer service centre, their technical "experts" finally agreed a plan of action with Winford to tackle the fault - replace the smart data link module (whatever that is). This was duly done, van ready for collection yesterday. Only problem is that Winford is a bit of a trek from home, and couldn't get a lift there till late this pm. Winford knew this, and were supposed to make arrangements to leave the van on the forecourt of the adjacent petrol station, and keys with the staff. When I arrived, no sight of van, and staff had no knowledge of keys. This should have warned me what was to come. Eventually after giving the petrol station staff a hard time, they phoned someone from the Ford Garage who came back in their own time to open up and hand the van back to me. Got in the van, turned the key, and the same three error codes magically reappear with the van again refusing to start.

We'll see what Winford and Ford make of this on Monday. Hopefully having the van on site with the error codes in play will mean they can bottom this out for once and all but i won't be holding my breath.

Aside from not leaving the van out, or not getting me a message that the van wasn't ready (if they knew), I can't fault Winford. They have been really helpful, and are doing the best to find the cause of the problem. They also gave me a courtesy car tonight so at least I am mobile again (they didn't have to as this is Ford's problem).

I'm well beyond the end of my tether with Ford though, and their inability to solve their own quality issues, and miles beyond it with the complete lack of customer service provided by the Trust Ford morons. Time I think to request either a full like for like replacement, or my money back, plus a decent slug of compensation for the frustration and wasted hours this has caused me. Time also to bring this to the attention of the Motor ombudsman, and to see if Watchdog have any interest in the story. Buying a brand new van should be a life enhancing experience, rather than the miserable offering they have served up to me. Will update again next week when I have ripped into Ford.

[monkeyhead]

So the saga continues....

Spoke to Winford Ford today - van now not faulting, and they claim to have gone as far as they can without a fault to diagnose. Allegedly they were part way through a long list of tests, removal of lights, wiring loom etc when the fault cleared itself as before. They have had enough of the worthless pile of junk and want it never to darken their door again. I can see their point - they are not Transit experts, and they are burning up lots of time and effort, seemingly without much, if any support from Ford.

Had a right up and downer with the case manager allocated to me by Ford's Customer Service Centre (the name itself is a breach of the Trades Description Act). They tell me that I should be taking this up with the dealership who sold me the vehicle (People's in Liverpool - because they returned my calls, were easy to deal with and actually gave me the impression that they wanted to sell me a vehicle, in stark contrast to the local morons who just couldn't be arsed). They also tell me that because the vehicle currently doesn't have the fault, there is nothing they can do to help, and they repeatedly tell me they cannot get their local dealers to accelerate any booking to look at the vehicle even though this is a recurring warranty issue. They also tell me to get the vehicle to a Ford transit dealership.

Next step - rang Trust Morons at Cribbs to get the Ford Assist package reinstated - apparently I should have asked them to do this when they did the first annual check on 1 May - not that they saw fit to mention that at the time. Asked about availability to get the vehicle in with them - Cribbs Causeway - 25 June (i.e. 3 weeks away), Ashton - 12 July - over a month away. So much for sending it to a local dealership.

Then went to collect the vehicle from Winford, who insist that it started OK this am. You can just see this coming, turned the key and the 3 horsemen of the apocalypse return with the vehicle again refusing to turn over. So it is now left at Winford again much to both our mutual displeasure.

Next step - speak to People's who I bough the vehicle from. Am waiting for a call back from them, but am seriously considering asking Ford Assist to recover it back to them, despite the fact that this will make things logistically difficult for me with Liverpool being about 180 miles from Bristol . They have been helpful and understanding on the phone at least, and are as surprised as I am that Ford simply will not own a problem that is all about the poor quality of the product they have produced. Try as I might (and I have been blunt to the point of rudeness) I cannot get Ford Corporate to this point, and it seems that I have to ram this up though the selling dealership, even though they are owned by Ford. I'm sure this is part of a deliberate ploy to keep the company at arms length from quality issues with their product.

I've now logged a request with BBC Watchdog and will look for other avenues to engage with consumer rights champions. Hopefully a spot of adverse publicity will focus minds at Ford, and even more hopefully make people think twice about buying a new vehicle from them. Hell would freeze over before I would again.

Even if someone can find a miracle cure for the problem, I just have no faith in it any more, as it feels like this is a lifetime issue with this vehicle, and I can see no light at the end of the tunnel. I simply cannot rely on the vehicle - so kiss goodbye to the family holiday I was planning to take in it to France later this year.... I just want rid of it now, and I think Ford and I are destined for a date in court sometime in the future. Time to get some legal advice and the motor ombudsman involved I think.......

[sparker000]

Just a thought. On your earlier post you said about the fault codes showing a problem with battery not charging. One thing that I have see on this forum a lot is that Ford batteries are terrible. Genuine and almost new batteries playing up and causing strange electronic faults. Many people have had odd electrical problems that have been sorted by replacing the Ford battery with a good quality after market one. It is a cheapish thing to try so might be worth ago. Hopefully others might be able to back me up on this.

Can't help with your problems with Ford but if the battery was the problem it would have been easier than a trip to Peoples Ford and a smug snub when you tell them you fixed it when Ford could not.

Does anyone agree or disagree with what I have said?

[RECKLESS ROAD]

I have to say I agree with the post above about the battery, is it single or double battery’s ? If it’s double it should still start but in my experiance of a faulty battery the van threw many different codes up and pretty much everything on the van that had a code came up but it still started as it was on twin battery’s , I would try this first what you got to lose

[Altransit]

I'm with the above two posts, as I've had problems with original Ford batteries myself; starting the vehicle one minute, and then a couple of hours later, being so dead that they wouldn't even open the doors!

Modern vehicle electrics seem to behave very strangely when not powered properly, you don't get the "old school" slow turning over with a duff battery, as the ECU doesn't activate anything when it sees a wrong voltage.

For the sake of a hundred quid, (or a bit more for an EFB battery if fitted) and possibly your sanity, it could be worth a try. Dealers are so wrapped up in diagnostics, and procedures, that thinking outside the box isn't allowed.


Just one other suggestion; do you turn the key to "ign" and let things power up before turning to start, or do you just go straight from "off" to "start"? Sometimes things need a few seconds to power up before you start the engine

[monkeyhead]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Van is now inbound on the back of a tow truck to Peoples Ford in Liverpool.

Winford Ford washed their hands of it and asked me to collect today which I did. The van started this am so I drove it away but the first time I stopped it 30 mins later - you guessed it, the same 3 error messages and a dead van again.

So having got Trust Ford to renew the Ford Assist that I never knew I had, I called them out and eventually after much to-ing and fro-ing the van was towed away some 3 hours later. Absolutely mental that I have to send the van 200 miles north to address a warranty issue that no-one in the Bristol area can diagnose much less fix but there you go. I hope I do not have to trek up to Liverpool to collect it as i never want to see the thing again.

We'll see what happens next and will keep the battery suggestion up my sleeve for now. Whilst it might seem bloody minded, I don't see why I should fork out £100+ to try and solve a warranty issue on a van that is just over a year old, and not covered 10K yet.

All heading for a day in court now I think. Clearly the van that has been supplied me is not fit for purpose, no of merchantable quality. Only question is, do I go after the seller (Peoples) - who have not had any part in the service failure I am suffering, or can I legally go straight after Ford? Hopefully the latter, and with support from Peoples as after all this is a Ford quality issue.

Anyone thinking of buying a new Ford needs to be aware of their total lack of customer service ethos, and the complete indifference and apathy they give to warranty issues.

[sparker000]

It is a shame you are have all these hassles. Generally the Ford Customs van are reliable I think. When you see how many are on the road and how relatively few problems are reported here.

It does seem most complaints are of bad Ford customer service and you seem to be having more than your fair share of it.

Give People Ford a chance to get to the bottom of the problem. If they can't sort it out I would assume you would go to them with your quality issue, who would speak to Ford. If they don't help go to Ford customer service direct with your documented complaint.

Hope this gets resolved quickly.

[DrDeAtH]

If the van is on finance, it's worth getting them involved to put pressure on to ford. After all, it's their van until the last payment has been made... You may have some recourse to reject as the vehicle is not performing it's function.

[monkeyhead]

If the van is on finance, it's worth getting them involved to put pressure on to ford. After all, it's their van until the last payment has been made... You may have some recourse to reject as the vehicle is not performing it's function.

Sadly it was a cash purchase, so no leverage there.

Legally I think I can still reject the van as not being of merchantable quality or fit for purpose under the sales of goods act, but it will mean going to county court with all the hassle and cost, and having had experience of GB justice, I could see Ford finding a way to avoid their warranty obligations.

[monkeyhead]

It is a shame you are have all these hassles. Generally the Ford Customs van are reliable I think. When you see how many are on the road and how relatively few problems are reported here.

It does seem most complaints are of bad Ford customer service and you seem to be having more than your fair share of it.

Give People Ford a chance to get to the bottom of the problem. If they can't sort it out I would assume you would go to them with your quality issue, who would speak to Ford. If they don't help go to Ford customer service direct with your documented complaint.

Hope this gets resolved quickly.

Thanks sparker000

The van was great for the first 6 months and I was really enjoying driving it. You're right it is terrible customer service from Ford - appalling after sale service from the Bristol Trust Ford Branches (3 - 7 weeks to look at the same warranty issue they had failed to diagnose a couple of days before, and which totally incapacitates the van) and non-existent support from Fords laughably named customer service centre. Winford Ford don't get off scott free either as they have failed to diagnose the fault too and have sent me off on a couple of fools errands to collect the van. However they have tried to help, did give me a courtesy car, and I can see where they are coming from when they washed their hands of the van as they are burning hours on their own dollar with no back up from Ford. It doesn't give me any confidence to go back to them for future services though.

Whilst the fair side of me would normally give People a chance to sort this, I've just had enough of the groundhog day experience I am getting, and repeating it from 200 miles away is too terrible to contemplate. Also I've lost complete faith in the van, and can see this being a lifetime issue which knowing my luck would rear its ugly head outside of warranty period. So where I am is wanting a like for like replacement. If it hadn't been for the first 6 months I'd be wanting my money back and would put into another make despite liking the transit more.

[doddy1]

hi did you find out the problem as i have the sane issue cheers doddy

[doddy1]

just a update on why mine would not start i had water get into the ecu plug and the pins where all green with a bad connection