Ford engines and gearboxes ~2015 onwards

After me extolling the virtues of my 2013 Focus the fucking fucker has gone and fucking fucked itself.
Won’t start.
Lights, radio, electric locks all work OK, turn the key and there is just a click
Fuck!
Had to get an Uber to a hospital appointment the other night and get trains to Northampton instead of driving for the last couple of days. :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

Starter motor stuck?

Dunno
Battery warning light doesn’t go out
Battery is original
I think the click is the solenoid

If the starter motor is suck, you could try putting it in gear and shoving it back and forwards a few times. That can un-stick things.

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Thanks for the suggestion
No joy though :unamused:

If the battery is the original I’d say that is the issue.

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This. Get a neighbour to give you a jump start, and then hit-up Halfords (or wherever) for a new battery.

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Check the battery with a multimeter if you have one. Loads of guides on YT.

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I guess it was a diesel in which case I can’t usefully contribute. When I bought mine I wanted petrol because I wanted to be allowed to drive it pretty much anywhere and the outlook for diesels then was grim. The word seemed to be that 90% of Mondeo estates would be diesels, because rep reasons. Among the rest many (most ?) would have the basic 1.6 petrol engine and would have been bought by grandparents in villages for transporting grand-kids, dog(s) etc just a few miles. Not wanting to go any further than that was A Good Thing because longer journeys might have required the car to overtake something and in the 1.6 overtaking needs to be booked in writing at least two weeks in advance*.

I got the 2.0l and it overtakes fine. It came with alloys and quite low-profile tyres and it zips round tight corners surprisingly effectively too. It’s relatively cheap to service and has passed every MOT without a fault. Fuel-economic it ain’t, though, maybe due in part to the poorer aerodynamics at the back end compared with the hatchback ? In rain the tailgate window really doesn’t self-clear.

*This might not matter for Sodders as he’ll mostly be wanting to overtake farmers in tractors taking their dirt out for a Sunday morning drive.

Gutless is a thing I’m resigned-to, since even slightly powerful petrol engines are too thirsty, and the more eco 3-cylinder jobs are too much of a gamblegrenade: if they’ve been looked-after, fine, but used cars are as much of a minefield of liars and crooks as they have always been…

I’d consider electric, but anything worth a toss is about 3 or 4 times my budget.

Thing I’m struggling with is getting in and out of the car The marina was great as it was like getting in a small van height wise. My knees and back are really struggling getting in and out.
I’m thinking of possibly taking an ever delivery round on, but would need to change cars if I did.

Can imagine the hilux to a normal car will feel weird for you.
If your back is fine of course it won’t be a problem

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Top advice, I wasn’t doing my best thinking.
Neighbour had one of those charger pack things, started first time.
Been to Halfords, they are fitting a new battery, slightly complicated as the airbox has to come out.
Just had a call saying it is ready :grinning:

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I may have a “moderate” mileage EV for sale next November. Just sayin’ !

If you like a larf at a fat old man struggling at something age-inappropriate (calm-down at the back!), then watching me getting in and out of Sam’s orange skateboard of an MX-5 is a screamer…

And yep, it’ll be odd being down low with all the Common People, but I’m only medium-fucked backwise, so count myself lucky…


Excellent! :+1: Batteries are good for 10 years usually, so it’s not exactly the first thing you think of.


Used MG you say? How much will you be paying me to take it away?

Also, assuming you mean next Nov and not this Nov - that’s a long old time even for a slowcunt like me…

Have had a 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta Titanium X (2015) for 5 years now (I’ve done 50k in it) - love it and so far no real issues.

My mechanic did say there is a belt service that is meant to be done at 60,000 miles and it means the engine has to come out. Another of his customers had apparently got a quote form Ford and it was over £2k. :exploding_head:
I plan to trade mine in for a newer one pretty soon.

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Yeah, I’m reading the engine-out at 60 or 80k thing a lot - Ford must be fucking retarded: it’s one of the most compact engines they’ve ever made, yet a major service is engine-out!

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Will the new car be free and / or cheaper than you’ll sell the Hilux for?

I ask, as spending thousands on a new car to avoid spending pennies extra on fuel never really makes sense.

How many years would you need to drive to have the ultimate result be cost neutral?

9/10 times the cheapest car is the one you already own.

But perhaps I’m over thinking it.

There were a lot of cars that ‘should’ have had the engines out to do various jobs. I bought a Montego Diesel don’t laugh, that Rover quoted 14 hours for a cambelt change but could be done in 3 hours by supporting the engine and removing the engine mounts.

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I just can’t get my head around the idea that cars are being so poorly designed from a service perspective. 25 years ago I ran monthly packaging reviews on the full CAD model of new vehicles to simulate both manufacture, sequence of build, and service implications. Engine out would have been regarded as a complete failure and heads would have rolled (no, not those type of heads stupid boy).

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If we’re ignoring the OP, it’s not just fuel costs, it’s significantly higher tax, significantly more expensive insurance, and higher charging rates for tolls, bridges, and town/city centres. There’s also non-fuel running costs - very expensive and relatively short-lived tyres, complex and more frequent servicing, and further to fall with depreciation ('tho the Hilux has almost uniquely largely bucked that trend). It is also ~£130 to brim the tank from fumes, and if I’m careful that’s good for ~400 planet-murdering miles.

If I could afford to buy new or nearly-new I’d be looking at electric, but the plan is to keep the replacement car’s cost well below the Hilux’ resale.

There’s a whole slew of other consideration - e.g. parking’s a PITA in car-parks, multi-storey is a no-go, one of the dogs hates being in the back but is OK in a normal car, Sam has firmly-resisted plans to get a caravan, and I hardly ever use it in the ways I’d originally planned to…

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