Engine catastrophic failure!

[Mrcjstone]

Hi new to forum but after some knowledge and advice. I have a 2017 transit custom 2.0l AdBlue. I was driving down motorway for half an hour at 70mph when there was a surge and pop and then was left without brakes or acceleration in the fast lane. Luckily the traffic was light and I managed to get to the hard shoulder. I have had the van recovered back to my ford transit centre which I have used from new for all the services and maintenance. They have informed me the engine needs replacing much to my shock. They have said in the region of £7k. The van is 3.5 years old as so out of warranty but has only done 39k miles. As I say I have had full service history with ford themselves and they have performed the recalls and services. I have had the known check oil warning intermittent pretty much from new which I have asked to be rectified at each service. The first 2 services didn’t rectify it but the last service seemed to have stopped it. Has anyone else been in a similar situation as I think this is completely unacceptable and is costing me hundreds already with hiring vans and recovery and diagnostic checks. I am consulting the motor ombudsman and imf as well as dvla as the failure could have been fatal on motorway and shook me up. I have sent ford commercial an email detailing all these points but would be interested to see if anyone else has been in similar situation? Tia

[Mike]

Good luck, but a bit of advice, drop the bs about being shook up and ‘it could have been fatal’ it devalues your legitimate claim as it makes you come across like a pansy.

[woodbutcherbower]

What has happened to the engine? What failed exactly?

And - how many times had the oil actually been changed in 39k? Was just curious since I also have a 3.5-year-old Custom with 39k on the clock. My oil and filter have been changed six times during that period ....

[Mrcjstone]

Mike have you ever been doing 70mph in fast lane motorway and then gone to use your breaks and just have a stiff pedal. Surrounded by cars and no acceleration so had to coast to the hard shoulder with hazards on hoping other cars make way. F**k you horrible experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Not sure about oil change all I know is I book the service in each year with Ford so let them determine the service.last service said it was a 54k service even though the van had only done 37k miles. This was in September 2020

[Mrcjstone]

What has happened to the engine? What failed exactly?

And - how many times had the oil actually been changed in 39k? Was just curious since I also have a 3.5-year-old Custom with 39k on the clock. My oil and filter have been changed six times during that period ....

Not sure yet as they still have to let me know. Why has yours been changed so much surely that’s not normal?

[Mike]

I haven’t had that exact experience, but I did have a blowout (not a puncture) at 70mph in a 7.5tonne wagon on the M25 once, it was quite exciting but no more and I certainly didn’t bleat about it.

[Altransit]

Mike have you ever been doing 70mph in fast lane motorway and then gone to use your breaks and just have a stiff pedal. Surrounded by cars and no acceleration so had to coast to the hard shoulder with hazards on hoping other cars make way. F**k you horrible experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

It's not a great experience, and one to be avoided if at all possible, but I have to say that it's happened to me a few times in nearly 50 years of driving, most often caused by failing timing belts.
The important thing, like having a blowout, is not to panic and stamp on the brakes, but to make your way ASAP to the hard shoulder using hazard lights if necessary, whilst you still have forward momentum.
It's a common misconception that you lose brakes and steering when the engine stops, but you only lose powered assistance, so the steering, and full braking power, is still available.

[Altransit]

70mph in a 7.5tonne wagon on the M25 once

Such a bad boy Monsieur Mike

[woodstock]

chatting to a tech at citroen dealer a couple of days ago, he says they have cambelts breaking at circa 40k and they have vehicles lined up outside , a mechanic fixes them 1 after the other and that is all he does, he could have been slightly exaggerating he didnt mention replacing engines though. apparently they have to visually check the cambelt to see if it has swollen at service

is "goodwill" as regards repairs out of warrenty still a thing with manufacturers or has that long gone ?

regards

[Altransit]

is "goodwill" as regards repairs out of warrenty still a thing with manufacturers or has that long gone ?

regards

I managed to get a "goodwill" engine rebuild done many years ago, on a Ford Escort Kent engine. It was only a month out of warranty, and a good friend of mine being a good friend of the service manager probably helped
It did cost me a large box of cigars though

[Mike]

Goodwill is still a thing with manufacturers, the op has a good case imo, as long as he keeps things factual rather than trying to make them feel sorry for him because he sh*t his pants in the outside lane of the motorway.

[woodbutcherbower]

Not sure about oil change all I know is I book the service in each year with Ford so let them determine the service.last service said it was a 54k service even though the van had only done 37k miles. This was in September 2020

You have no idea if they've ever changed the oil or not? Didn't you ever read a service checklist or any paperwork from the dealer to see what they'd done? Or not done? Letting any service centre (Ford or otherwise) loose on your vehicle without having a clue what they're doing is frankly staggering. And FWIW - 54k is an 'interim service'. They don't actually do anything, they just have a quick look at it and check it over.

You said in your OP that the 'check oil' warning was on intermittently almost from new. But you then say that you asked for this to be rectified during services? What - like once a year? Or have I misunderstood what you meant?

And you're right - changing my oil every 6k isn't normal. It's also the main reason why my last engine was still running like a sewing machine after 254,000 miles. Regular changes are especially important on Euro 6 engines which dump diesel fuel into the sump during DPF regens, making it progressively thinner and thinner.

And you didn't answer the question. What exactly has failed on the engine? If they're saying 'new engine needed' - they must know exactly why. If I was in that position facing a potential £7k bill, I'd be screaming blue murder, banging my fist on the desk and demanding to know what the f**k had happened, and instead of writing letters to ombudsmen, I'd be down there every day until I got some answers.

[andz327]

Hi new to forum but after some knowledge and advice. I have a 2017 transit custom 2.0l AdBlue. I was driving down motorway for half an hour at 70mph when there was a surge and pop and then was left without brakes or acceleration in the fast lane. Luckily the traffic was light and I managed to get to the hard shoulder. I have had the van recovered back to my ford transit centre which I have used from new for all the services and maintenance. They have informed me the engine needs replacing much to my shock. They have said in the region of £7k. The van is 3.5 years old as so out of warranty but has only done 39k miles. As I say I have had full service history with ford themselves and they have performed the recalls and services. I have had the known check oil warning intermittent pretty much from new which I have asked to be rectified at each service. The first 2 services didn’t rectify it but the last service seemed to have stopped it. Has anyone else been in a similar situation as I think this is completely unacceptable and is costing me hundreds already with hiring vans and recovery and diagnostic checks. I am consulting the motor ombudsman and imf as well as dvla as the failure could have been fatal on motorway and shook me up. I have sent ford commercial an email detailing all these points but would be interested to see if anyone else has been in similar situation? Tia

Not sure about oil change all I know is I book the service in each year with Ford so let them determine the service.last service said it was a 54k service even though the van had only done 37k miles. This was in September 2020

You have no idea if they've ever changed the oil or not? Didn't you ever read a service checklist or any paperwork from the dealer to see what they'd done? Or not done? Letting any service centre (Ford or otherwise) loose on your vehicle without having a clue what they're doing is frankly staggering. And FWIW - 54k is an 'interim service'. They don't actually do anything, they just have a quick look at it and check it over.

You said in your OP that the 'check oil' warning was on intermittently almost from new. But you then say that you asked for this to be rectified during services? What - like once a year? Or have I misunderstood what you meant?

And you're right - changing my oil every 6k isn't normal. It's also the main reason why my last engine was still running like a sewing machine after 254,000 miles. Regular changes are especially important on Euro 6 engines which dump diesel fuel into the sump during DPF regens, making it progressively thinner and thinner.

And you didn't answer the question. What exactly has failed on the engine? If they're saying 'new engine needed' - they must know exactly why. If I was in that position facing a potential £7k bill, I'd be screaming blue murder, banging my fist on the desk and demanding to know what the f**k had happened, and instead of writing letters to ombudsmen, I'd be down there every day until I got some answers.

He did answer ......

Not sure yet as they still have to let me know. Why has yours been changed so much surely that’s not normal?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[Mike]

70mph in a 7.5tonne wagon on the M25 once

Such a bad boy Monsieur Mike

It was October 1987, Royal Mail wagon (no tacho ) and the police let us get away with most motoring offences back then

[dumper]

No it’s not normal to change modern oil until silly mileage but I’m in the same opinion of woobutcher my van gets a oil and filter before every mot and 10.000 max due to Covid and the extension of mot my van had only done 3000 but it still got oil and filter changed even with modern oil been expensive compared to mineral oil it’s still the cheapest form of maintenance.
I believe that the reason manufacturer have prolonged the service mileage is a selling point saying the cost of ownership is cheap but knowing that the vehicle will be out of warranty before anything major happens.