Ford Fiesta Coolant issue - Dealer might take car back?

maninthestreet

A black puddle would be oil, not the coolant.
If the car suddenly loses coolant, it's probably not a cracked cylinder head (which is not cheap to fix). Does the coolant level drop slowly over a few days or weeks? Is the coolant visible in the expansion tank contaminated with grey-brown semi-solids?

corrag

Hiya, yes the coolant looks contaminated with a grey-brown sludge. What would this be?

I've emailed him asking for a full refund! We'll see what they say.

Edit to say the coolant goes slowly but slightly noticeable after days not weeks.

teffers

corrag wrote: »

Hiya, yes the coolant looks contaminated with a grey-brown sludge. What would this be?

I've emailed him asking for a full refund! We'll see what they say.

Edit to say the coolant goes slowly but slightly noticeable after days not weeks.

Sludge in the coolant sounds VERY much like the head gasket is on it's way out. Especially if the coolant disappears but there's no trace of it underneath the car in the morning.

Head gasket replacements are not cheap, it's a significant repair.

benham3160

Spontaneous head gasket failure (HGF) is vanishingly rare on these engines, if one has failed I'd suggest it's been caused by another fault such as overheating or the car has been absolutely abused day-in-day-out since it left the factory. Of course a leak could have led to overheating, in turn causing HGF (or worse a fracture in the cylinder head)

Ask them as one final request to carry out a thorough pressure test on the cooling system to rule out cylinder head faults, or leaks elsewhere in the system. How high up the temperature gauge does the needle get whilst driving?

Regards,
Andy

Does the

corrag

Thank you everyone for the replies. I had a reply from my email saying that he'll ask the owner of the garage to contact me tomorrow regarding my request of a full refund. From the sounds of the above posts its a blessing to get rid of it now. If they refuse the full refund I'll end up exchanging it for something they have on the forecourt (which isn't much at the moment).

Thanks again, your replies have been really helpful.

benham3160

corrag wrote: »

Thank you everyone for the replies. I had a reply from my email saying that he'll ask the owner of the garage to contact me tomorrow regarding my request of a full refund. From the sounds of the above posts its a blessing to get rid of it now. If they refuse the full refund I'll end up exchanging it for something they have on the forecourt (which isn't much at the moment).

Thanks again, your replies have been really helpful.

It could just be a very simple fault they are missing, I'll stick my neck out and say these are probably the best supermini of all in their price bracket, and generally very reliable so don't be put off the Fiesta.

However, getting them to fix what is wrong with it, is the difficult part.

Regards,
Andy

corrag

Thanks Andy. I've absolutely loved the Fiesta. It took me a while to get used to it (I am 6 foot lady driver - almost unheard of I know) but I love it now. I love its handling, ease of parking, modern interior, surprisingly big interior, good looks, and smooth drive. Its the climate model too so lovely heated screen and mirrors and air con. I will be really sad to say good bye. Other than this problem its really proven itself. We did a boot sale in it recently and it fit loads in including my partner, son, pasting table and 5 crates. It's also done a huge tip trip and manged it perfectly. So I definately wouldn't be put off them

corrag

benham3160 wrote: »

Spontaneous head gasket failure (HGF) is vanishingly rare on these engines, if one has failed I'd suggest it's been caused by another fault such as overheating or the car has been absolutely abused day-in-day-out since it left the factory. Of course a leak could have led to overheating, in turn causing HGF (or worse a fracture in the cylinder head)

Ask them as one final request to carry out a thorough pressure test on the cooling system to rule out cylinder head faults, or leaks elsewhere in the system. How high up the temperature gauge does the needle get whilst driving?

Regards,
Andy

Does the

Sorry just seen the last question. The guage sits normally mid way. It doesn't go up further, always starts at zero and warms to mid way.

corrag

In response to my email asking for a full refund I've had the following reply:

We will need the fiesta back so we can have it rectified for you. Please let us know when you are free to bring it back and I will be able to give you the registration number of the loan car we have.

I've replied saying this, I hope its ok:

I take it a full refund isn't an option then?

Can I ask how its going to be rectified? Is there going to be a pressure test done and by who? I am concerned that its had this problem long before I was unlucky enough to buy it. I've heard that coolant can get drawn through the head gasket into a cylinder and that the car can run for months until eventually the head gasket fails. I've had a prod at the patch on the driveway and it looks like its oil. Also the coolant tank has a clear sludge build up. Apparently both signs of head gasket wear? Although the oil cap doesn't show signs of milkyness it could be an a inner failure and therefore not showing.

I don't drive excessive miles and I drive carefully. I've been achieving nearly 40mpg so I'm not a heavy right footed driver. Also you yourselves have replaced many parts and checked the radiator so its looking to be something more sinister.

The ideal outcome for me would be that the car is fully fixed. I love the car and have really enjoyed the limited time I've had it but now I'm concerned about its mechanical future, it doesn't seem fit for purpose.

I have my fingers crossed though for an actual fix.

I can drop the car in tomorrow evening. I've been taking the train to work as I'm too worried to drive it so I can't drop it off tonight.

colino

Sorry to criticise, but complaint letters should be short, to the point and not divert from the solution you want.
That is, if you want your money back, ask for it and stop there. Don't offer technical solutions or that leads you down the path of, "OK, we'll try that then". Additionally it confirms a degree of expertise that you don't want burdened with. They are car people, you want a working car or cash, not a discussion of the best way of fixing the broken one.
I'd have to add these cars are great little things generally, and while everything can break, a quick sniff test on the MOT machine (or chemical check if they have one) and ten minutes on a pressure test would have pretty much exhausted all of the potential causes of failure. I'm hazarding this a small trader with little or no workshop space that is clueless about mechanics themselves and is beginning to work out how best to fob you off.