Ford Fiesta Questions & Answers

Pretty sure I never changed my timing belt and I’m at 180k

I purchased a 2009 WS Fiesta Zetec last October and found it required the timing belt change when I read the manual. Given the previous owner's attitude to servicing, there was no way it would have been done. I did this: I bought the required parts online. I could get them cheaper than my mechanic could. Change the water pump at the same time. Be aware that "timing belt kits" often come with camshaft seals, and if your mechanic goes ahead and does them, you'll then need new bolts for the sprocket(s) they have to remove to get at the seals. They are once only usage "torque to yield" bolts. I'd suggest not to do the seals unless they obviously need replacement- and get the bolts in first. I'd also advise to have a new accessory belt on hand, mine started disintegrating within days of the timing belt work because they're stretch fit and not really designed to be reused. If the car runs like a hairy goat after the work, the cam timing's out. This happened to me, there were 3 bolts supplied to "lock" the camshaft and the workshop used the wrong one. All up cost for me was $1200, but that included a service with oil filter and 5W-20 oil (the recommended grade), a new driveshaft seal plus fitting, a wheel balance and a few other odds and sods. If no other work is required and you don't change the cam seals it might be in the $700 to $800 region. My mechanic has reasonable hourly rates, but charged me $104 for "special tools hire" which annoyed me. Presumably that wouldn't happen at a Ford dealership but they'd undoubtedly find other parts "needing" replacement.

It's likely to be in the region of $700-800 although my service was ~$1200 including parts. I had the gearbox end drive shaft seal replaced, a wheel balance and other odds and sods. I also supplied many of the parts as I could get them cheaper online than the workshop could get them in. Be aware that many "timing belt kits" come with cam seals, and if the workshop goes ahead and changes them, you'll need new sprocket bolts as they're single use only "torgue to yield". In my case that caused a delay of a week while they were ordered in and fitted. Also, the accessory belt on my car nearly disintegrated within days of getting it back: it's stretch to fit and not really designed for reuse, so get a new one of those as well as a water pump kit. You may also need a new thermostat, or at least it's sensible to have the extra parts fitted as so much has to be dismantled to do the timing belt. If you avoid the cam seals (i.e. they look fine) you might save up to $100 or possibly more in costs.

Belt. Try a Yaris if you want a chain.

Belt, needs replacing at 10 years or 150,000km.

They are a good car. If it's an auto make sure it is not the dual clutch type. Look at service history, kilometres, city or country travel, how it has been looked after, general appearance, tyres, rust and any evidence of accident damage. They ride well, are quite in town and on the highway, economical, light steering effort and have a reasonable sound system if you are not under 25. There can be unwanted surprises with any secondhand car, buying from a dealer may be a better bet than a private sale. Depends on price and if you have mechanical knowledge or a good honest mechanic. The blinker switch may be on the left and windscreen wipers on the right, the 2011 WT model is.

I have the 2009 WS Zetec auto. Make sure the services are up to date, the timing belt change is expensive. Check the front rotors and pads. They're not a big job, but make sure you're supplied the correct rotors as I was sold WT rotors which have a smaller PCD (wheel stud spacing) and had to stuff around and pay more for TRW which are OEM and have no coating and so rust. Depending on driving style and place (country vs city) they could need changing at 140-160k kms. I've found the auto box is a rather abrupt changer, and the power is hardly exciting. Nor is the fuel economy because they have to work so hard. The blinkers are indeed on the left, which was no drama for me as my SUV also has them on the left. If the blinkers stop working, check the mirror wire. I changed the blinker stalk assembly and that wasn't the problem. I find it a bit rattly with cheap-sounding doors and the stereo makes the exterior chrome trims vibrate, which is really annoying. The stereo pumps out pretty reasonable sound, but I've had issues with reading USB sticks. I occasionally get an error "line busy" which if it persists, requires a battery reset. Otherwise it's comfortable and surprising roomy for such a tiddler (I am quite tall). The ride and handling is superb for such a little car. It really does feel like a bigger car once you're under way, and it swallows up bends with aplomb. As long as they're not uphill bends, that is. The Zetec is by far the best choice, more airbags, better stereo, cruise control an upgraded interior and suspension. Be aware that the 16" Zetec wheels are often knocked about with gutter rash, and they are really expensive to replace, even second-hand, as in around $300 depending on condition and whether fitted with a decent tyre.

160k is getting up there, I'd be search for something around 100k and not ford if it doesnt have a conventional automatic transmission.

Thank you. I have been looking for weeks now looking at holden barina, astra, ford focus, fiesta.... Agghhhhhh

I'd be including japanese cars in that list like yaris, swift, jazz, mazda 2 and so on.

The cam timing could be out. Normally the cams are held in position whilst the belt is being changed. Have you looked up the P061C code? It seems it's related to an engine monitoring system for engine RPM which could point to the cam timing being out. I don't know why the cams seals were replaced unless they were leaking or if your vehicle has high kilometres. If the WS air cleaner is the same as the WT it is a good idea to clean our the rubbish at the bottom. Leaves, paper, plastic etc can gather there. A light sheet of paper or plastic could be sucked up under the element and partially block it, a long shot, I know.

Thanks, Stevo. The first thing that came to mind was the cam timing. I drove the car for several hundred kms before the belt change so have some comparison before and after. The error code points to the cam sensor or the crank angle sensor. It's booked back into the workshop. I did a 100km+ drive after the cam belt change and it was woeful: even worse, when I checked under the bonnet, the ancillary belt was beginning to fall apart. It seems that as a stretch belt it didn't like being reused. The cam seals were changed because they came with the kit. I've asked the kit retailer to look into why they put cam seals in even if they might not be needed, but if they are changed, the sprocket has to come off and so new bolts are required. Catch 22.

It was the cam timing. The belt kit came with three different bolts to "lock" the crankshaft and they used the wrong one.

The 2006 model maybe OK. Our trouble was the auto dual clutch 6 speed in a 2011 model with only 20,500 klms on it but was a Sydney car so may have been in stop start traffic. A 2006 model may not have had that transmission. If it is a manual you would be pretty safe. It is hard to safely answer your question without knowing its history. I live in Tamworth & favor 2nd hand country cars, especially ones constantly driven out of town. 139,000+ is not a lot these days, helped by high gearing compared to old cars that revved like hell when taken out of town. If it has been garaged & serviced it should be a safe bet. They are a good car to drive but you can always look at Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki & Toyota small cars at a similar price to the Fiesta. Getting your local mechanic to look over it could help & give you peace of mind.

If the kilometres were done on the highway the 200+ is probably OK. Manual gearbox would be better than 6 speed dual clutch auto. Diesels like long runs, not a city commuter environment. Be wary if it's a private sale re future problems although I think Dealer warranty does not apply to 100+ 2nd hand vehicles.

Thanks Stevo. It is a manual transmission, and the km were mostly done on highway. I have searched and searched, but can't seem to find any info about things going wrong with these cars, other than the DPF and the dry transmission they had in the auto's. Hopefully it's as reliable as all the reviews seem to think...

The person at Repco probably checked the recommended oil for the Fiesta so would have gone with that information. Penrite seems to be an oil that is recommended by spare parts shops. 5w 40 would be OK in Australia, especially with summer approaching & if it was a full synthetic oil they gave you. I once bought a Valvoline oil recommended by the label on the container for our Fiesta & when filling the engine noted it was an SL API rated oil. I have since used the SN rating fully synthetic oil in Fuchs, Nulon and Valvoline. It's also an idea to look at the ACEA rating A3/B4. Buy your oil when on special & save 25% to 50% at Autobarn, Repco or Supercheap!

I specified 5W-20 when the workshop did my service. They sell and use Penrite brand. The manual recommends Castrol, and next time around I may use Edge 0W-30. I wouldn't use 5W-40 if I had other choices.

The oxygen sensors are a normal maintenance procedure. I would have to check when the gearbox problem was fixed or changed by Ford. Our car was a 2011 model which had the bad transmission. Without knowing the comments you had read I don't know what the subject was. I know people who love their Fiesta. Ours had been driven in Sydney for 20,500 kms, probably in traffic & that environment may have killed the transmission or I should say the dual clutch setup that operates the transmission. If the car has its fair share of country driving & not a lot of stop start stuff it may be fine. Good luck & I hope the comments were not about any transmission problems.

Thank you for your reply Stevo, the oxygen sensors were replaced in 2016, thank you for reassuring me that that's a normal maintanance thing. What I am worried about is the faulty transmission box, ( I don't have a clue about cars obviously, lol) I have read that Ford Fiesta' models from 2013 -2016 were fitted with power shift gears, and thousands of them had to be replaced 68.000 in Australia, and that there was a class action against ford for the fault and the way they handled the complaints, two million complaints in the US! So having just spent my hard earned cash on a 2013 model, I am very very worried. I a driving it around Sydney so lots of stop start, (it seems to go better in the higher gears).ford extended the warranty for two years for this particular problem for all cars in that time bracket. The warranty runs out in June next year. I feel like I've purchased a big lemon, obviously the car dealer didn't mention any of this when I bought it on Sunday
Thank you for your response, best, heather.

If you haven't had any problems, the 'box may have been sorted by Ford already. In some instances they have extended the warranty on Powershift boxes out to 10 years. In your case, have the car thoroughly checked at Ford before the warranty expires.

Our Fiesta is a 2010 model & there has been no fan or overheating problems, just the powershift transmission which ford have not fixed. An overheating car can become unreliable. The problem should only be the temperature sensor that triggers the fan or the fan itself. If you can run 12 volts to the fan & it works it should be a faulty sensor & an honest auto electrician is possibly the cost effective way to get it going again, cheaper than a dealer I think.

The aircon not working is probably a back up thing because the fan is not working & the system is trying to save your engine from destruction. Get the fan fixed it could cost you an engine if you don't.

Mine has the same problem, auto electrician can fix BUT mine also has a major electrical fault which could be part of the problem, the ignition fuse blows and we don't know why, sometimes as soon as you start the car and other times it will run for weeks, but cant be driven too far because of the dodgy fan not working. The auto electrician says he cant trace fault until the fuse blows again and then keeps blowing every time I replace it. I have no knowledge of cars, so Its going for scrap. I have also had to have parts of my gear box replaced (manual). I only bought it in March, will never buy another Ford EVER

Glad someone shares my grief! If you look on line at the LUK replacement kit I am nearly sure the forks are in it. I may be fixing the twin clutch myself the way I am being treated by ford. Last time I looked the kits were around $600 but that may have been a trade price . I do a lot of fixing myself & I think dealer service departments treat us like fools. It's a pity the is so much electronic & tricky stuff that needs special tools & takes fixing from DIYers. $800 for clutch forks is over the top.

Hi Steve GJ,
Thanks for your reply,I absolutely refused to pay the money to the service dept as I contacted two mechanic friends who both said “No Way” don’t give them a cent, you can’t have a clutch without the forks as they’re a major component,no forks, no clutch.The service dept still refused to budge and threatened to move my car onto their used car lot.One phone call later, and a few tears to my case worker in Victoria and later that afternoon, a call from the service dept saying all was good.Stand your ground Steve and refuse to be intimidated,also don’t waste your time like I did, seeking either a buy back or compensation as Ford will argue that since the car was repaired satisfactorily according to ACCC guidelines,you have no case.They did assure me though, after I questioned if I had further problems with this new clutch, that they would replace it again,who knows,time will tell.It’s not worth the stress.

It’s not a WS. If it’s a Sport rather than a zetec, then it’s probably a WZ

I'm well thank you for asking. If it were me I would either contact the car dealership or take it to a reputable car servicing centre to have them take a look at it. You could possibly ask at your local super cheap or auto one store to see what they suggest for a new stereo that would fit?

It might be worthwhile to disconnect the battery which resets the stereo. I've had issues with the reading of USB sticks and the battery thing has been the only fix.

Does it ever completely stop, due to ignition fuse blowing, or just stall?

Probably a belt....

Guaranteed belt. Needs replacing every 80k.

No. The price is far too high. Do not buy a Ford Fiesta. Buy a Toyota instead.

No. Do not do it. There is a recall on Fiestas, particularly the automatic Ambientes. I bought mine at 38,000 on the clock for $12,712. There is massive transmission flaws that cannot and will not be corrected because it is a fault hence a recall model. The staff I dealt with at Ford were always lovely, but unfortunately, my Fiesta Ambiente was a lemon.

If it's the same as my partners theres currently a class lawsuit action against them for. That model and a few others

Don't drive it more then 10km a day, or you will ruin it.