Faulty 2016 Ford Focus Ecoboost

beepboopbeep

My wife and I bought a 2016 Ford Focus Ecoboost 1.0 automatic car from a smaller dealership in mid January 2023 for around £10k. The car came with 6-months warranty from RAC through the garage and we paid more to upgrade to a higher package to include more coverage.

It had done only done 44,000 miles when we bought it, passed all MOTs and all was going well until last week. We were on a dual carriageway when the oil light came on followed by the engine light and a warning saying "Service Engine Now". There was no layby and nowhere to stop for a few minutes and the car quickly started decelerating in speed but luckily there was a grass verge we drove onto just in time before the car completely shut down.

The RAC towed the car home very late at night and believed it to be a broken oil pump. The dealership insisted we had the car towed back to them 2 hours away so we agreed. They determined a broken oil pump had ruined the engine which they will have to rebuild. They have ordered a reconditioned engine (not new) and have said the repairs will cost a few thousand pounds. They then said as it's going to cost them so much to fix it and the part won't be covered under warranty - could we contribute some money...? They asked how much could we contribute. I said how much were you thinking and he said "How about a third of the cost at £750?". I just find this bargaining quite bizare. Surely either we need to pay a set price or not. I find it very strange they are asking us to suggest an amount that we can contribute.

We are not in a financial position at all to cover this and are completely shocked this has happened so soon after buying the car. The repairs won't be covered by the RAC warranty we have as the first part that broke then caused the engine to fail and the warranty doesn't cover this first car part.

Since having the issues we've since realised this engine issue is common in Ford Focus Ecoboost engines and the garage confirmed this over the phone by saying it's known about in the car industry and Ford are refusing to recall the cars or take responsibility for the problem. They claim that these issues or checking the oil pump wouldn't have come up in their checks before selling the car. This car put us in a very dangerous situation which could have been fatal if we'd not been able to get off the road quickly in time.

My question is are we liable to pay any costs towards the repair? We are concerned that the issue could happen again even with the reconditioned engine as it seems to be a common problem and we have only had the car less than 4 months and done no major mileage in it. Over the last 2 weeks we have spent a fortune on taxis to get to and from work and around as we heavily rely on having a car and found out we are not eligible for a courtesy car with RAC due to the issue not being covered by our warranty. Looking online at the Consumer Rights Act it seems we are able to return a used car to the dealership for repairs if we have found a fault in the first 30 days to 6 months.

I'm seeking advice on what others would do in this situation or if anyone knows the law on this. As we are 2 women I also have a feeling the dealership are trying it on with asking us to contribute. If we were liable they would surely ask us to pay the full amount for the parts and repairs.

Alderbank

Does the car have full service history?
Focus ecoboost 2014-2018 must be serviced every 12 months or 12,500 miles so should have had at least 6 services.

According to the DVSA Ford did a non-safety recall of (some) Focus ecoboost cars in 2021 after a number of them (at least 450) suffered catastrophic engine failure similar to yours.
Perhaps your car was invited for recall but the work was not carried out? I believe dealers can check whether cars they take in part-ex have been subjected to a recall.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ford_focus_10_ecoboost_engine_ca

daveyjp

Stupid design by Ford.

The oil pump is driven by a belt which is lubricated by the oil.  Before the oil leaves the pump it passes through a very fine strainer.

Unfortunately the belt sheds fibres, contaminates the oil, the strainer catches the fibres and other contaminants and then gets blocked.  This starves the engine of oil and it goes bang.

https://youtu.be/QOVdbj42RxE

The belt cannot be inspected and is a none servicable item!