Ecoboost Gamble - Should I Change the Wet Belt Now or Wait?

valueformoneydude1

Hey everyone,

 

I’m at a bit of a crossroads with my Fiesta (1.0L Ecoboost) and could use some advice. It’s about that infamous wet timing belt. Here’s my situation:

 

I can get the belt changed now, but it’s pricey at £2,000 that I can just about scrounge together. If I wait until early next year, I have a specialist mechanic lined up who’ll do it for a more reasonable £1,400, but that's most likely going to happen in January/February 2025. So, a bit of patience would save me some cash, but I want to weigh the risks carefully.

 

Background:

 Age: 18 Plate. Purchased in 2019 with 14,000 miles on the clock.

Mileage: 84,000 miles (most likely 89,000 miles by Feb next year)

Maintenance: Has been serviced by my regular independent garage every 12 months. On top of this, I change the oil and filter every six months. Always using the correct ford specification oil.

Condition: Vehicle has had a few issues but the engine itself has been trouble free so far. It's got a bit of a rattle but nothing that causes me any concern. I have also never had a low oil pressure event. 

 

Concerns:

Belt Reputation: Everyone says these belts have a nasty habit of failing early. Ford’s recommended interval is 150,000 miles, but a lot of stories suggest that’s wildly optimistic.

Warranty Coverage: I’ve heard that if the belt does snap prematurely, Ford may cover the engine repair costs, if you can prove the car has been properly serviced with the correct oil. I understand this used to only apply if your servicing was done at a Ford garage, but recently this was extended to be any garage. I think I came across this info in a YouTube video by one of the popular UK car YouTubers, but I have no solid source for this.

 

My Dilemma:

It was in my plan to change the belt at 100,000 miles or so. But now I’m questioning if I should get it done sooner just to be safe. Given that the maintenance record is solid, I might be covered by Ford if anything goes wrong in the meantime—but that’s still a gamble and trying to get anything from a ford garage / dealership has always been a pain.

 

Down to the meat of it -- Is it worth the risk to hold off a few more thousand miles to save on the cost? Or should I bite the bullet now and get it changed ASAP?

 

Thank you for your replies in advance; this is my first post, please be gentle!

fatbelly

At 6.5 years and 84 k you should be ok for a bit.

Did you know there are specialist garages?

https://palmersgarage.co.uk/2022/05/09/ford-fiesta-focus-cambelt-replacement/

MCT56

Why not trade it in for something else that doesn’t have this wet belt nonsense. Alternatively sell it to “we buy any car”  or similar trader. It will just be a constant worry that it fails and ruins the engine. Won’t be long before it reaches 100k miles and that old psychological barrier. Goodness knows why the design engineers thought that saving a few pounds on fuel by cutting down on friction is a good idea - only for the belt to fail and ruin the engine. Stupid design. A chain driven engine is what I,d be looking for, or next best - a dry belt. I know first-hand of someone this happened to. Fortunately they’d had the vehicle serviced at an independent garage who kept records and the manufacturer replaced the engine with a new one. However the vehicle was still under warranty. It was redundant and off the road for 2 months until they sourced a new engine from France as UK had none in stock. Vehicle was a different make to yours but lots of manufacturers share the same engine design these days.

valueformoneydude1

fatbelly - Happy to hear I should be okay for a bit. I've asked on a few local Facebook groups and some leads have come in, but I've not yet called them for quotes. 

MCT56 - It had not occurred me to trade it in because I really do like the car, enough that I have already mentally spent at least some of the money on it. I do agree with you what were they smoking when they decided a rubber belt in a hot oil bath was a good idea.

When it comes to next car time however I think I'll look at a PHEV.

Nobbie1967

It sounds like you’ve really looked after it well with regular changes of the right oil. I doubt you’ll have an issue leaving it an extra few months. I suspect most of the ones that failed were pushed towards the limits of the servicing schedule or maybe even used the wrong oil.

valueformoneydude1

Hi Nobbie1967, you're probably right. I

The service interval in the book for my Fiesta is two years or 18,000 miles which I think is pretty terrible! I can imagine people have stretched that out and snapped their belts.. 

Mildly_Miffed

Two grand to change the belt? Why?

The belt kit is £200ish.
Let's say £60+vat/hour for the labour at a non-franchise dealer.
For it to come to £2k, that'd be twenty five hours. No way will it take half that time.

£2k is a "We don't want to do it" figure. Or the price to replace the engine if the belt fails...

valueformoneydude1

The difference in prices did seem a bit fishy.. but eh. My thinking was that if i had it done at the ford dealership (which was £2000) then I'd at least be able to go back and have a go at them if the job wasn't done properly. 
I'm continuing to shop about for prices. 

Focus_Nightmare

Just had my 2018 Focus with 116300 miles in for a wet belt replacement at the dealership. 

£1500 to have it done. 

Ford should be ashamed of themselves. 

Why charge the customer so much to replace the belt as a precaution rather than wait for it to fail and have to replace the entire motor?

And don’t get me started on the sorry excuse for door seal rubber on the Focus either…

valueformoneydude1

My reading suggests that they initially didn't think the belt would need changing... Focus_Nightmare, why did you get your belt changed? Oil pressure warning light? 

tizerbelle

I have a 14 plate 1.0L Ecoboost Fiesta.  About 60K on the clock.  I got my wet-belt changed earlier this year and only because at 10 years old it seemed sensible to get it done before any potential issues arose as not planning on getting rid of it anytime soon.  Have had car for 4 years with no problems.  

I was quoted £1970 by Bristol Street Motors (local Ford dealership).   I got it done at a local garage for £1200 instead - which was cheaper than they'd normally do it as I got mates rates (through my brother).  No issues since.