Ford Transit Custom - suspected wet belt failure

Tucosalamanca

zedem said:

Just had the same issue on my 2.0 Transit Custom 2017, I had it serviced at Ford in Oct 22 (130K), it says there was a timing belt visual inspection no issues reported.

Last week it failed (138K) and I tried to get it recovered to Ford, they wouldn't take it saying no slots available until June. A 3rd party mechanic has diagnosed timing belt failure and a recon engine will cost me £4k fitted.

I have contacted Ford UK and got the 3 day response email, don't have much hope after reading this post as I have patchy records of service history.

This is my only van and rely on it heavily. 

I've got to be honest, I think you have almost zero chance of getting an acceptable solution from Ford.
The fact that it's recently had a visual inspection might go in your favour and the servicing dealer might be happy to assist.

The Transit Custom group on Facebook (COG) has a wealth of information, but wet belt posts aren't being well received as many members are keen to defend their van's reputation!

A new wet belt failure group has recently popped up, which may be able to assist, Ford Ecoboost Nightmare is another helpful group.

Tucosalamanca

My final update on the thread.

The vehicle was collected at the end of April and a bill for just under £7,500 (inc vat) was paid by myself.
The repair included new engine, new turbo, new egr valve and long list of other components.

I was told that Ford don't need to see the vehicle for the next 25,000miles, which is just ludicrous. 
No running in check, nothing. I have a 12 month guarantee for the replaced parts.

My continuing correspondence with Ford UK has not yielded any results.
CEO office referred me to another team, who referred me back to customer services.
It's very apparent that this is standard procedure and something they are well rehearsed at.

They have accepted no liability but have given me a service voucher 'for the inconvenience and unacceptable delays' in dealing with my complaint. I guess it's worth around £400.

My vehicle is back in service and seems to be running ok but I don't have any confidence in it.

I have a small fleet of Customs, they are now booked in with my trusted mechanic for wet belt replacements (at a cost of around £1,200 each). We are waiting for kits to become available, they have been withdrawn due to belt covers failing and leaking oil.

As it stands, I'm not in a position to replace them all with new vehicles, with the van market being what it is.

I will however be gradually disposing of them and replacing with non-Ford, non wet belt models.


With regards to an MCOL claim. Having taken legal advice, I've been advised that a claim will be time consuming and unlikely to succeed (as it's b2b and I didn't purchase from Ford).
As they say, choose your battles carefully. After two months of being angry (which is out of character and not good for me) I'm drawing a line under it and putting it down to experience.

For any owners. Make sure oil is changed every 10,000miles or sooner, use correct oil and keep all itemised invoices.
I will be changing belts every 60k from now on, assuming that I keep the vehicles for that long. 

Good luck with them...

Graydog7

Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm sure no one here will not be buying a Transit anytime soon? 

Tucosalamanca

Graydog7 said:

Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm sure no one here will not be buying a Transit anytime soon? 

Head over to the Custom Owners Group and people are still queuing up to buy them, they have a strong following despite the daily reports of engine failures.

I scrapped a six year old transit in 2022 and had a new engine in the four year old Custom this year. That's enough for me!

Nobbie1967

Sorry to hear about the poor response from Ford. You’re doing the best thing by putting it behind you.

facade

Popular rumour has it that the wet belt fails because of diesel in the oil from DPF regens.

If only there was a way to block regens............

Tucosalamanca

I had another Transit Custom in for a service, mot and wet belt change this week.

Vehicle is a 2018 base model, 68 plate, 95k, in for its10th service and is not under recall.

My trusted mechanic (not Ford) has reported that the belt was shredding and only by good fortune was there no terminal damage to the engine. Oil strainer was contaminated but other components appear ok.

Full service with correct Castrol oil, MOT, genuine Ford wet timing belt with tensioner, genuine oil pump timing belt, other OE drive belts, OE timing belt cover (as genuine still unavailable from Ford).
Total cost £1,077 inc vat, as previously stated, we'll be changing belts every 3yrs or 60k, if we keep them that long...

Next van is due end of July, 68plate with 70k, although I suspect that this one will be px'd for a different vehicle (at 70k and a limited model it still has plenty of value)

zedem

Tucosalamanca said:

zedem said:

Just had the same issue on my 2.0 Transit Custom 2017, I had it serviced at Ford in Oct 22 (130K), it says there was a timing belt visual inspection no issues reported.

Last week it failed (138K) and I tried to get it recovered to Ford, they wouldn't take it saying no slots available until June. A 3rd party mechanic has diagnosed timing belt failure and a recon engine will cost me £4k fitted.

I have contacted Ford UK and got the 3 day response email, don't have much hope after reading this post as I have patchy records of service history.

This is my only van and rely on it heavily. 

I've got to be honest, I think you have almost zero chance of getting an acceptable solution from Ford.
The fact that it's recently had a visual inspection might go in your favour and the servicing dealer might be happy to assist.

The Transit Custom group on Facebook (COG) has a wealth of information, but wet belt posts aren't being well received as many members are keen to defend their van's reputation!

A new wet belt failure group has recently popped up, which may be able to assist, Ford Ecoboost Nightmare is another helpful group.

So my van is currently with Ford, let's see what they come back with. Apparently they have 8 vehicles with them with this issue all waiting on replacement engines.
There was an item on watchdog last week, The One Show, about wet belts. They are asking for people to get in contact with them if they have had this issue. Seems it is not just transit customs but all ecoboost engines

Tucosalamanca

Yes, as I understand it for the Customs, the official line is that failed dpf regens send unused fuel into the oil, diluting it and causing the belt to degrade prematurely.
Yet the 1.0 ecoboost is a petrol engine and suffers from the same fault, so Ford's reasoning appears to be incorrect.

The Facebook Ecoboost group admin is in contact with Watchdog / The BBC so we can expect further features.

Keep us updated (and perhaps join the Facebook groups to share your experience).

Ganga

The best Transit i ever drove and maintained was built in Hampshire , the timing belt was a doddle to change and the body work lasted forever ( we sold it when 13 years old )