OT Ford Eco Boost 4 cyl engine failure

moonlight machine · Feb 17, 2018

Son in law has a 2014 Ford sedan with the Eco Boost 4 cyl. 30,000 miles. Engine has a knock, sounds like the rod bearings are MIA. He bought this thing from a Ford dealer, they say he needs a new engine, that they have seen this before and the damage is bad enough that it is cheaper to replace the engine with a new one. The dealer claims this is an issue the factory knows all about but they will have a hard time getting Ford to warranty it. They say it will take 2 weeks to repair it and have given him a free loaner car while his is in for repair. So what is going on here? Is the replacement a 30,000 mile unit as well? Does anyone here know what the deal is?

eaglemike · Feb 17, 2018

There was an article saying Ford used the wrong head gasket on a bunch of eco-boost engines. Don't know if it applies to your situation, just remember seeing it. Might be a place to start? Good luck.

Limy Sami · Feb 17, 2018

If it's the same eco boost we have in the UK? ........ the word around the motor trade (my neighbours are a small engine shop) is the factory service intervals are far too long etc etc etc, ....if you want good engine life reduce the mileage between services and make sure you use the correct oil.

According to my neighbours who ''can fix just about any engine'' if you get my drift, say they're ''unrepairable'' with very few US & OS repair parts available and those that are, are $$$$$$$$$$$ :eek:

...and a new engine is the only way out.

Ray Behner · Feb 17, 2018

Sounds like the Chevy Equalknocks. Neighbor's daughter's shitbox blew the engine just out of warranty. Was going to cost thousands, but because they're dropping like flies, there was no charge. Mechanic even said they're absolute junk.
John, have your son in law pitch a bitch.

Joe Rogers · Feb 17, 2018

Have the owner contact Ford Corporate Customer Service. Have him calmly explain the issue. Have ALL pertinent information at hand, service records,dates locations and be prepared to display copies of all documents. Continue to escalate the concern to higher authorities if necessary. Open a local government consumer advocate case. BE THE SQUEAKY WHEEL. My guess is the dealer is under the gun to minimize warranty expenses and Ford like GM makes the dealer work harder to do warranty repairs. That vehicle if maintained properly should NOT need owner paid engine repairs. GM will warrant engines past 5 years and over 100,000 miles for oil use let alone hard parts failure. Even though their oil consumption bulletin states clearly that the conditions of the test are for vehicles with less that 50,000 miles.
Joe

DDoug · Feb 17, 2018

Wow ! Ford's Game plan from the "Missle launching spark plug Debacle".

Deny
Deny
Deny

Make customer the enemy.

I see nothing has changed over at Ford....

roll-a-leblond · Feb 17, 2018

I work on them all , all day long.

GM is definitely the worst out there right now, they keep the bills paid..

rbent · Feb 17, 2018

Which ecoboost engine?

Joe Rogers · Feb 17, 2018

roll-a-leblond said:
I work on them all , all day long.

GM is definitely the worst out there right now, they keep the bills paid..

I retired from a Chevy shop in October. Glad I don’ t have to play that game any more...40+ years as a Master Tech and they wouldn’t trust my diagnosis and deny the claim even though the car was fixed.
Joe

Tonytn36 · Feb 17, 2018

Yea, what Joe says above. That should be a warranty replacement. Also search for TSB's on it.

gustafson · Feb 17, 2018

I think the warranty dynamic is complex. The dealer does not get paid in very attractive fashion for warranty items, so has an incentive to deny warranty claims
I would escalate to Ford quickly, firmly, politely.

Modern cars they can do a data dump to see if you abused the car. IF you have receipts for oil changes, there is really no basis to deny a warranty claim

moonlight machine · Feb 17, 2018

gustafson said:
I think the warranty dynamic is complex. The dealer does not get paid in very attractive fashion for warranty items, so has an incentive to deny warranty claims
I would escalate to Ford quickly, firmly, politely.

Modern cars they can do a data dump to see if you abused the car. IF you have receipts for oil changes, there is really no basis to deny a warranty claim

He bought it used 2 months ago. Acording to the dealer, who also sold the car new all maintenance was done and it was in top shape.

sealark37 · Feb 17, 2018

Ford is not alone in this situation. My daughter bought a 2009 Nissan Murano with a V-6 engine. It had 60,000 miles. Problems started immediately. Dealer kept it 10 days, said it was a corroded cannon plug. It ran great for another 30,000 miles, did it again. Another dealer, (were she went to school) said it was a cylinder head gasket. The repair lasted 10 days, the charge was $3500. Another 30,000 miles go by, the same problem. The original dealer diagnoses cylinder head gasket failure, and admits it was the same problem they fixed originally, under warranty. I asked why they told me it was a corroded cannon plug. He said the factory was having problems with that year's head gaskets, and did not want it publicized. I called Nissan Customer Service and laid out what I knew. The nice lady told me that the same repair had been done on the engine at 30,000, 65,000, and 95,000 miles. I made the point that it was time to correct a manufacturing problem with a solution. She told me that the car was out of warranty, and Nissan had tried to correct the problem in good faith. I asked if she thought concealing a major repair was good faith. She would not give an answer.
I dug a bit further into the problem with two large engine rebuilders. I was told that they would not rebuild the Nissan V-6 from 2009. Later models had cured the problem, but the 2009 solution was never found. My daughter loved the car, but neither she nor I will ever purchase another Nissan. Regards, Clark

steve-l · Feb 17, 2018

I really hate to read threads like this. It is very important that the engine undergo a complete disassembly and a thorough failure analysis be done. Anything less than that, has no meaning. Without knowing what the real fault is, blame cannot be applied to where it should be. It is grossly unfair to blame Ford, the dealer or perhaps even the owners without total possession of all the facts.

JST · Feb 17, 2018

steve-l said:
I really hate to read threads like this. It is very important that the engine undergo a complete disassembly and a thorough failure analysis be done. Anything less than that, has no meaning. Without knowing what the real fault is, blame cannot be applied to where it should be. It is grossly unfair to blame Ford, the dealer or perhaps even the owners without total possession of all the facts.

And you seriously expect every individual case to have a $15,000 + analysis done to determine if a $4000 engine needs to be replaced under warranty? What planet do you live on?

ThisIsShopLife · Feb 17, 2018

I use one of (IMHO) the best oils out there, Castrol Edge Titanium - full synthetic, I own two fords '11 f150 with the 5.0 v8 that i put almost 200,000 on before wrecking, and now a 16 f150 with the 3.5L ecoboost that has 35000 miles on and runs like a champ. I do my best to try to have oil changed every 5000 miles, I don't care what manufacture recommends. I beleive its important for the turbo'd motors have to have the best oil we can give them.

crossthread · Feb 17, 2018

Steve, I hear what you are saying but sometimes it is definitely a design issue and you get very little help from the manufacturer. I have an F-250 with the Triton engine that spits spark plugs out at regular intervals. It is obviously a design problem. There are not enough threads in the head to hold the plug. Ford knows it and so does every mechanic I have talked to about it. When the truck was under warranty Ford would fix it but not with a re-designed head. They would just replace the heads with the same poorly designed head. Out of warranty and it's tough crap for you. There are so many of those engines spitting plugs that most repair shops carry a special kit to either helicoil, time-sert or whatever to repair them. It still bothers me to know that Ford knows it was a design flaw but really doesn't do anything to compensate folks for the 3 or 4 hundred dollars it costs to repair the stripped head.

Mike C. · Feb 17, 2018

Friend in SF had an ecoboost put a rod through the block with no warning last year at 100,000 miles. Dealer maintained it whole short life. Lousy engine.

kustomizingkid · Feb 17, 2018

I'm a mechanic... all I can say is I wouldn't buy a single fucking thing the big 3 are making right now. Plastic covered garbage. I could go on about the subject but its so bad it aint worth typing it all out.

Milland · Feb 17, 2018

A little info on the 4-pot Ecoboosts:

1) The EB in the Focus RS (the highest performing four cylinder EB available in the US) is the only one with the wrong head gasket, and that only for a partial engine build year (not car). If this isn't a RS (and it's almost certainly not), while the head gasket may be at fault it's not the "chronic" cause. And MRB failure won't be associated with the head gasket anyway.

Here's Ford's Official Warranty Fix for Focus RS Head Gasket Failure

2) Ford redesigned the earlier-generation 2.0 4-cyl Ecoboost for the 2015 model year, and had problems with a lot of other early EB engines, including the 1.0L and the 3.5 V-6

Ford to replace 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine after just 4 model years

Image hit for Ford's EcoBoost engines

3) MM says "He bought it used 2 months ago. According to the dealer, who also sold the car new all maintenance was done and it was in top shape."

If that's the case, there should be some protection (warranty) from the seller. If no luck there, email (and followed up with a certified letter to Ford Customer Service) about any TSB or other Service Bulletins that may be active for this car.

https://www.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/brochures/14frdwa2e.pdf

Vehicle Warranty | Service & Maintenance | Official Ford Owner Site

Some basic diagnostics that are fairly cheap can be done on the car, such as an oil analysis for bearing metals. Whether it's worth it to your SiL, it could help with making a claim against the dealer who says "all services were performed".

Agree with all those who say polite persistence will be key here. Good luck to them...

OT Ford Eco Boost 4 cyl engine failure

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Titanium

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