Dear Alex,
Our 2016 Ford Kuga 1.5 juddered whenever we started the engine. After new spark plugs and ignition coils were fitted at a local garage, the problem went away, but then a really bad juddering returned. A Ford dealer said it needed a new engine at a cost of about £12,000 due to coolant leaking into the cylinders. The car has done only 43,000 miles. This seems to be a known problem, yet there are no recalls. What are our chances of getting compensation?
– RS
Dear RS,
I’m afraid the chances are very slim. It’s worth pointing out that the engine in your car is the earlier 1.5-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost unit, not to be confused with the later 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost.
The three-cylinder unit is an upsized version of the 1.0-litre Ecoboost, which has the same “wet” timing belt and suffers from the same issues.
As far as I can tell, the issues with the four-cylinder 1.5-litre engine relate to its design, which included cooling galleries between the cylinders that resulted in a very slender head gasket between the cylinder bores.
This means the head gasket can fail, resulting in coolant finding its way into the cylinder. If the engine starts burning coolant and the coolant level drops low enough, it can overheat, causing damage.
While I haven’t yet had any emails from readers on this subject, suggesting it’s not as widespread as the wet belt problems on the three-cylinder, you’re correct that several members of owners’ forums have reported similar problems. I’m afraid to say that even with full Ford service histories they’ve had little joy in getting goodwill contributions from the manufacturer.
Given that your car has been tended to by a local independent, I suspect Ford will tell you straight away that it can’t offer any goodwill for that reason.
You can of course challenge this in court – there is, after all, an argument among many owners that the problems you’ve experienced were the result of a design flaw. But you would have to supply plenty of evidence, not to mention legal representation, to prove your case – and you could easily end up spending more than you would on the repair, which is why most people don’t bother.
There is a silver lining. Several companies offer reconditioned or even brand-new 1.5-litre engines (and I believe later versions have a re-designed block and head gasket, which prevents the issue).
If you were to get the car towed to your garage, you might find they’d be willing to fit one of these engines, saving you money on both the cost of the engine and on labour. The bill will still be significant, but it will be far more palatable than the £12,000 Ford is quoting.
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