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17 year old Nissan Micra driving through Europe

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Original post by PTMalewski
I meant brake circuits(?) those with brake fluid. I'd prefer to lose coolant and stop, or suffer from head gasket failure than to lose my brakes. If the elastic cirucits were never replaced, they are no doubt a weak point.
Of course, it doesn't matter if driver's technique is wrong. Then in the mountains overheating will kill the brakes anyway. :tongue:



This shows a terrible quality of those radiators. In my 10 year old Fiat, there is no signs of age on plastic parts of radiator. In my 20 years old FSO I have replaced original radiator when it was 15 years old, which was a big mistake, because it turned out that the old radiator was still in good condition, and plastics even looks like brand new, while the new radiator made in Turkey required instant repairs due to leakings and there was even more corrosion than in the 15 years old Polish-made radiator (and Poland was not famous for quality of industrial production)
One more time this Turkish crap fails and I think I'm going to put the original part back into the car.



Replace the termostat. Replacement interval is 5 years for that. Then the bi-metal springs gets worn out. Only mind to pick the one with higher temperature of opening. Those with lower temperature are typically for southern-Europe versions.

Oh, you know now newer car quality has gone down hill, Its all about planned obsolescence and making profit, unfortunately :frown:
Original post by Mr. Petrol Head
Oh, you know now newer car quality has gone down hill, Its all about planned obsolescence and making profit, unfortunately :frown:


Buyers are guilty too. People got used to sell their cars after 3-5 years and rather little mileage.
This was often pointless in terms of economy as 80ties and 90ties cars were capable of reaching more than 350k miles, and 3times more with capital engine renovations even though they didn't use anything sophisticated in terms of material engeneering.
In Poland we still buy lots of cars, that Germans would send to a junkyard, only the really old cars like Audi 80 for example, are reliable and cheap to drive and maintain, while quite new cars can be real pain in neck.
On Earth's sake, it even turns out that even a 4 cylinder with 3 crankshaft bearings (5 became standard in many makes in 60ties), made of low quality materials can stand much higher mileages than new engines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6VqzElSdVk
This car's price was something like 3 000 pounds when they produced it, had an extremely obsolete engine with block and head which dates back to 50ties and design typical for late 30ties, and this thing can do another 70 - 100k miles without engine renovation.

Today we have far better engine designs, better methods of quality control, better metalurgy technologies, ceramic covers technologies and they make engines which get completely worn out after half of death-mileage for older engines which had similar power to capacity ratio, like 1.4 TSI vs. 1.8 Turbo for example.
Original post by PTMalewski
Buyers are guilty too. People got used to sell their cars after 3-5 years and rather little mileage.
This was often pointless in terms of economy as 80ties and 90ties cars were capable of reaching more than 350k miles, and 3times more with capital engine renovations even though they didn't use anything sophisticated in terms of material engeneering.
In Poland we still buy lots of cars, that Germans would send to a junkyard, only the really old cars like Audi 80 for example, are reliable and cheap to drive and maintain, while quite new cars can be real pain in neck.
On Earth's sake, it even turns out that even a 4 cylinder with 3 crankshaft bearings (5 became standard in many makes in 60ties), made of low quality materials can stand much higher mileages than new engines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6VqzElSdVk
This car's price was something like 3 000 pounds when they produced it, had an extremely obsolete engine with block and head which dates back to 50ties and design typical for late 30ties, and this thing can do another 70 - 100k miles without engine renovation.

Today we have far better engine designs, better methods of quality control, better metalurgy technologies, ceramic covers technologies and they make engines which get completely worn out after half of death-mileage for older engines which had similar power to capacity ratio, like 1.4 TSI vs. 1.8 Turbo for example.

Exactly, The old german Clunkers were built like tanks! I have tried a lot convincing my dad to get himeself a late 80s or early 90s Mercedes or a Volkswagen, but he has an perception that Japanese cars are the most reliable ones. In United Arab Emirates we have a strong perception that european cars are problematic and only get Toyotas and Nissans. I am big fan of Euro cars, I badly wanna get an 95 w124 E-class, these are beautifully made and have impressive reliability :smile: . Coming to the turbo charged/ Super Charged cars, the more compression you built in the engine, the more the chances of the engines to fail.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by PTMalewski

Today we have far better engine designs, better methods of quality control, better metalurgy technologies, ceramic covers technologies and they make engines which get completely worn out after half of death-mileage for older engines which had similar power to capacity ratio, like 1.4 TSI vs. 1.8 Turbo for example.


Not about driving through Europe specifically, but in terms of this could my micra survive more miles despite the fact it's a petrol engine?

I've been in two mind sets to get a new car (05 plate or above preferably) because it's failing it's MOT on a rusted crossmember this September. I can choose to get the cross member replaced for £80. My CV joint is also worn but has another year left on it (currently not letting in any dirt). The cost of getting it "road worthy" would be about £120 pound, then the MOT cost on top. However people have said because of the mileage I do, and the current mileage of the car, my car is a write off - I do an average of 15,000-20,000 a year - more if I do this trip. Could it potietally keep going? 😐
Original post by mcgreevy1993
Not about driving through Europe specifically, but in terms of this could my micra survive more miles despite the fact it's a petrol engine?



The petrol engine in your Micra can survive much higher mileages than many modern diesel engines. The one in your Micra should do at least 2 times bigger mileage if maintained properly and not pushed too hard when cold.

Original post by mcgreevy1993

I've been in two mind sets to get a new car (05 plate or above preferably) because it's failing it's MOT on a rusted crossmember this September. I can choose to get the cross member replaced for £80. My CV joint is also worn but has another year left on it (currently not letting in any dirt). The cost of getting it "road worthy" would be about £120 pound, then the MOT cost on top. However people have said because of the mileage I do, and the current mileage of the car, my car is a write off - I do an average of 15,000-20,000 a year - more if I do this trip. Could it potietally keep going? 😐


Yes it could. If you'll treat and maintain it properly, it may happen that it will keep running for over 300k miles without a capital engine renovation. As long as the bodyshell does not require reconstruction or replacement due to major rust damages (and rust can be stopped or slowed down with proper repairs, painting and conservation- some of those procedures, like spraying closed profiles with special conservation liquid are simple you can do it on your own in 15-30 minutes), It'll most likely be cheaper to run the Micra, than to buy and maintain something new, unless you're going to buy something similarly small and simple and ignore the cost of purchase.

The old Micra is a good, durable car. If the bodyshell is in quite good condition, I would give it a chance.
There may, of course, be minor age-caused failures like oil leaks, or crankshaft position sensor failure but this should not be expensive, you should ask your mechanic for costs, and make your mind on what do you want to do with your budget. At worst I would expect a head gasket failure at some point, but you newer know when it may fail in various models, so it may happen that you'll buy another car that has 90 k miles, and this part fails next week, especially if a previous owner liked to push hard on cold engine.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by mcgreevy1993
Not about driving through Europe specifically, but in terms of this could my micra survive more miles despite the fact it's a petrol engine?

I've been in two mind sets to get a new car (05 plate or above preferably) because it's failing it's MOT on a rusted crossmember this September. I can choose to get the cross member replaced for £80. My CV joint is also worn but has another year left on it (currently not letting in any dirt). The cost of getting it "road worthy" would be about £120 pound, then the MOT cost on top. However people have said because of the mileage I do, and the current mileage of the car, my car is a write off - I do an average of 15,000-20,000 a year - more if I do this trip. Could it potietally keep going? 😐


The reality is that it's pretty rare these days for a modern engine to wear to the extent that it needs a rebuild, as long as the routine maintenance is kept up. Basically you need to decide whether you're going to run the car into the ground or keep it going - which will involve spending money on it every now and then.
The bit to be careful of is the last 10 miles.

Going by the short term he's out there for and the fact he's in the Alps, he's working in the snow industry.

The vast majority of places he's likely to be working in won't require winter tyres but snowchains. Have you ever driven in the snow? I've worked in the mountains for a few years and have driven a lot out there. It's not to be underestimated.

There's an additional worry about where you're able to park. Places in resorts cost an absolute fortune - flying will be a lot cheaper.
(edited 7 years ago)
This is so awesome OP. Mechanically they are excellent cars and sadly it's usually the rust that gets them first. I think the idea of a Europe trip is excellent.
Reply 28
Original post by PTMalewski
The petrol engine in your Micra can survive much higher mileages than many modern diesel engines. The one in your Micra should do at least 2 times bigger mileage if maintained properly and not pushed too hard when cold.



Yes it could. If you'll treat and maintain it properly, it may happen that it will keep running for over 300k miles without a capital engine renovation. As long as the bodyshell does not require reconstruction or replacement due to major rust damages (and rust can be stopped or slowed down with proper repairs, painting and conservation- some of those procedures, like spraying closed profiles with special conservation liquid are simple you can do it on your own in 15-30 minutes), It'll most likely be cheaper to run the Micra, than to buy and maintain something new, unless you're going to buy something similarly small and simple and ignore the cost of purchase.

The old Micra is a good, durable car. If the bodyshell is in quite good condition, I would give it a chance.
There may, of course, be minor age-caused failures like oil leaks, or crankshaft position sensor failure but this should not be expensive, you should ask your mechanic for costs, and make your mind on what do you want to do with your budget. At worst I would expect a head gasket failure at some point, but you newer know when it may fail in various models, so it may happen that you'll buy another car that has 90 k miles, and this part fails next week, especially if a previous owner liked to push hard on cold engine.


Seen such horrible cases of flooring vehicles when cold...A lad on his 125cc floors it straight after starting and another one on Corsa keeps up with cloud of blue smoke out of exhaust. Horrible... Own 1.4 56 plate Corsa with 145k on clock and engine wise it is perfect, except a bit rattling chain due to tensioner. Fuel, oil consumptions are fine, idles ideally and when warm wouldn't feel any vibration on shell, just tiny bit of vibration on steering wheel. Compared to 2 e46 330i and they vibrated noticeably more, whilst I expected 6 cylinder engine to be more balanced.
Reply 29
Original post by mcgreevy1993
So..just some thoughts here.

My boyfriend moved to France for 4 months and I'm going out to visit him.
The journey is just over 800 miles (one way) in the Alps. Obviously I'd looked at flights but this would be so much cooler!!

My car is 17 years old, has about 115 thousands miles on the clock. Serviced back in June. It's going to fail its MOT in September this year because of rust, apart from that the car is mechanically sound. (the fan belt needs replacing but I'm doing that this month anyway before i go)

I've got Europe driving covered on my insurance, would just need to check my breakdown cover. My question is...would the car survive the journey?

I regularly drive it down to cornwall which is a 300 mile trip, and the car never fails or overheats or struggles. But obviously this is 500 miles more.

I'm selling the car in the summer anyway so thought it be cool to give it one last road trip before it goes to the scrap yard in the sky.

Thoughts???
Also would I need winter tyres or are UK tyres okay?


I occasionally drive to and from the Alps (but not in a micra). @Drewski's point about the last 10 miles is very important. Which resort are you going to?

Also don't underestimate the cost - never mind petrol (v expensive on autoroutes and in alpine petrol stations) French tolls are pretty high (approx £60 from Calais to the Alps, each way)
Yes, that is to be said again. Skills will be crucial. Engine braking and overall control. On snow there will be lots of sliding- that is not to be dealt with without previous and quite long training.
On ice a car is almost impossible to control and will slide in direction of previous driving line, affected by descents of surface. Especially black ice has to be taken into account as a hidden trap.


Original post by CurlyBen
The reality is that it's pretty rare these days for a modern engine to wear to the extent that it needs a rebuild,


This applies to engines that are, on average, at least 12 years old or older.
1.9 TDI BXE series VW/Audi from 2005 or younger need crankshaft bearings repracement after 140k miles routinely and 1/10 literally explodes due to crank failures. The newer 2.0TDI is not durable either. 1.4TSI routinely burns oil after 90 k miles.
In my acquintance's 2014 Ford Focus 1.6 Duratorq crankshaft's bearing failed after 53k miles- factory service decided that engine replacement is necessary as there are no spare parts for such repair produced!
This literally means the quality is worse than in a Lada assebled by a worker suffering from hangover, and worse acces to spare parts than in the East Block in a middle of cold war.
Planned obsolescense and material savings have come to an edge.


Original post by Recont
.A lad on his 125cc floors it straight after starting and another one on Corsa keeps up with cloud of blue smoke out of exhaust.


That are the piston rings going.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 31
Original post by PTMalewski
That are the piston rings going.


Oil control ring to be exact :smile: Or turbo if it is turbocharged engine.
Original post by Drewski
The bit to be careful of is the last 10 miles.

Going by the short term he's out there for and the fact he's in the Alps, he's working in the snow industry.

The vast majority of places he's likely to be working in won't require winter tyres but snowchains. Have you ever driven in the snow? I've worked in the mountains for a few years and have driven a lot out there. It's not to be underestimated.

There's an additional worry about where you're able to park. Places in resorts cost an absolute fortune - flying will be a lot cheaper.


That is a very valid point and tbh I overlooked as I was focusing much on the car's reliability.

I have driven in snow before in a built up area, which is going to be different and many hours after it settled. So these conditions would be very new too me. I googled map the route to the resort then street viewed the approach...many hills. The micras are not known for their compecency with hills. I've never had a break down, but the car does struggle. It is most happy on flat surfaces.

We have been talking potentially going out instead of the Alps, to the north on a ferry route as he is considering leaving. This could also be an option for the travelling/road trip experience and stick the the west coast to avoid the snow. of course we'll be taking the micra too, as his peaguot regularly overheats and breaks down
Original post by CurlyBen
The reality is that it's pretty rare these days for a modern engine to wear to the extent that it needs a rebuild, as long as the routine maintenance is kept up. Basically you need to decide whether you're going to run the car into the ground or keep it going - which will involve spending money on it every now and then.


I kept up with repairs up until the last MOT, where I was sure it would fail on the rust. It passed, (somehow) so I got the brake shoes changed and took it from there. I did tried to fix the rust myself with some sandpaper and some seal. Unfortunately it was too far gone. (2 holes to be exact) this year it will fail. CV joint needs replacing by next MOT too, and the fan belt in the next few months - if I do this road trip, I'll do it before then. Apart from all this stuff the car is mechicnally sound and I'd be happy to keep up with repairs if it wasn't rotting away. I get it serviced annually with a engiene flush and that seems to keep it happy for the rest of the year :smile: its a massive shame I'm losing it too the rust.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by mcgreevy1993

The micras are not known for their compecency with hills. I've never had a break down, but the car does struggle. It is most happy on flat surfaces.


This is not a problem apart from a fact that it may slow you down. I've been driving in mountains in CC700 which meant I could rarely use more than 2nd gear. Climbing is all about using the right gears and rpms. When your car is lacking power, you have to get most of it.

You should rather worry about traction. It's difficult to climb on snow, and impossible to do it on ice. In extreme cases, it is necessary to climb on reverse gear, to transfer additional weight on the powered wheels- front, if a car is front wheel drive.
Again, problem with grip on downhills- if there is ice, even engine braking without using brakes may be too much. Sometimes it is necessary to go down on high gear, so engine brakes really slightly, and in emergency situation, when there is lots of ice everywhere you're going downhill, all you can do is to slightly accelerate so back of the car doesn't overtake front, pick rally line, and aim just to stay on the road untill another uphill. Sounds like crazy Ivan style, but it's the only way to stay on road when car slides on ice downhill.
If there may be snow and you don't have knowledge deeper than that, and quite a lot of training, then better don't drive there. You may crash and even kill yourself or stuck somewhere, unable to go any further.

Original post by mcgreevy1993
I kept up with repairs up until the last MOT, where I was sure it would fail on the rust. It passed, (somehow) so I got the brake shoes changed and took it from there. I did tried to fix the rust myself with some sandpaper and some seal.


Don't bother with such "repairs". Getting rid of rust and painting is simple but requires electric tools, several chemicals and quite a lot of work.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by PTMalewski
This is not a problem apart from a fact that it may slow you down. I've been driving in mountains in CC700 which meant I could rarely use more than 2nd gear. Climbing is all about using the right gears and rpms. When your car is lacking power, you have to get most of it.

You should rather worry about traction. It's difficult to climb on snow, and impossible to do it on ice. In extreme cases, it is necessary to climb on reverse gear, to transfer additional weight on the powered wheels- front, if a car is front wheel drive.
Again, problem with grip on downhills- if there is ice, even engine braking without using brakes may be too much. Sometimes it is necessary to go down on high gear, so engine brakes really slightly, and in emergency situation, when there is lots of ice everywhere you're going downhill, all you can do is to slightly accelerate so back of the car doesn't overtake front, pick rally line, and aim just to stay on the road untill another uphill. Sounds like crazy Ivan style, but it's the only way to stay on road when car slides on ice downhill.
If there may be snow and you don't have knowledge deeper than that, and quite a lot of training, then better don't drive there. You may crash and even kill yourself or stuck somewhere, unable to go any further.



Don't bother with such "repairs". Getting rid of rust and painting is simple but requires electric tools, several chemicals and quite a lot of work.


Luckily, my dad is an ex welder by trade, so he knows many people who can do the job for £80 quid with the parts included. Which isn't bad for a cross member welding job. I even have a garage who have agreed to do it for me when the times comes and I decide the fate of the car.

By how you've described that driving I would honestly be massively out of my depth in them conditions. It's a massive shame, but I do not want to be that British tourist who stupidly drove off a mountain.
Reply 36
Original post by mcgreevy1993
By how you've described that driving I would honestly be massively out of my depth in them conditions. It's a massive shame, but I do not want to be that British tourist who stupidly drove off a mountain.


It's not *that* bad, usually, in the Alps. And snow chains or "autosocks" (Google them) give you grip and are required in most resorts (but you only put them on when there is actual snow on the roads, which usually gets cleared pretty quickly).

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(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by PTMalewski



This applies to engines that are, on average, at least 12 years old or older.
1.9 TDI BXE series VW/Audi from 2005 or younger need crankshaft bearings repracement after 140k miles routinely and 1/10 literally explodes due to crank failures. The newer 2.0TDI is not durable either. 1.4TSI routinely burns oil after 90 k miles.
In my acquintance's 2014 Ford Focus 1.6 Duratorq crankshaft's bearing failed after 53k miles- factory service decided that engine replacement is necessary as there are no spare parts for such repair produced!
This literally means the quality is worse than in a Lada assebled by a worker suffering from hangover, and worse acces to spare parts than in the East Block in a middle of cold war.
Planned obsolescense and material savings have come to an edge.

Well the Rover K series are well over 12 years old and ate head gaskets, so clearly all engines ever produced are crap :rolleyes:
I did a bit of googling about the BXE and there's surprisingly little on the internet for such a supposedly catastrophic issue. From the info I could find, there appear to be at least 2 different failure modes, with different root causes. They're on relatively old engines with multiple owners and so somewhat uncertain service history, and poor maintenance is the number one cause of engine failure. The big ends failed on my Mustang, but that was entirely because the previous owner hadn't kept the oil topped up (I knew that when I bought it and took a gamble). There's no mention at all of crankshaft failures, which suggests you don't know the difference between a crankshaft and a conrod, which is pretty fundamental (as is the difference between an explosion and punching a hole in the crankcase!).
As for spare bearing shells not being available, that actually suggests extremely high reliability. No point stocking spares for something that very rarely, if ever, goes wrong.

I could go on about how modern vehicles are designed (I used to work in off road vehicle design, after all) but I suspect I'd be wasting my breath. I think you've got some serious rose-tinted specs!


That are the piston rings going.

Well, it might be, it could be a number of other things. If it's only on startup and not continuous the valve stem oil seals would be the more likely culprit.

Original post by mcgreevy1993
I kept up with repairs up until the last MOT, where I was sure it would fail on the rust. It passed, (somehow) so I got the brake shoes changed and took it from there. I did tried to fix the rust myself with some sandpaper and some seal. Unfortunately it was too far gone. (2 holes to be exact) this year it will fail. CV joint needs replacing by next MOT too, and the fan belt in the next few months - if I do this road trip, I'll do it before then. Apart from all this stuff the car is mechicnally sound and I'd be happy to keep up with repairs if it wasn't rotting away. I get it serviced annually with a engiene flush and that seems to keep it happy for the rest of the year :smile: its a massive shame I'm losing it too the rust.

How critical rust is depends on where it is. The thing to remember about steel is that the paint is what's stopping it rusting, so it's always worth investigating issues - bubbling paint is an early indication that water has got behind it and the metal has started rusting. As with many things it's better to sort early! Same goes for your CV joint - from what you said previously it's the boot, not the joint that has gone. The boot is literally a rubber cover that stops dirt and crud getting to the bearing surfaces of the joint. If you replace it early, it's a cheap part, but if you wait til it fails the CV joint will have been contaminated and so that'll wear out much faster than it otherwise would have, and that's a more expensive part.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 38
Sounds like a lot of fun. I would do the trip in a heartbeat.

We have old cars, all 6 of them. My 13 year old hilux has 149k miles on it and my husband's 20 year old hilux has about 145k miles on it. The oldest car we have is 27 years old and still starts, it's just not drivable due to needing things done.

If your car is well maintained, I reckon you'll get to the alps and back. Remember to post pics of your road trip!!!

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Original post by CurlyBen
Well the Rover K series are well over 12 years old and ate head gaskets, so clearly all engines ever produced are crap



K16 was a cheaply produced and not durable engine for the time, still it's able to do 230k miles.

Improved MLS gasket and cautious use makes it reliable on the issue of head gasket, even without other mods that factory implemented together with the MLS.

Original post by CurlyBen


I did a bit of googling about the BXE and there's surprisingly little on the internet for such a supposedly catastrophic issue. From the info I could find, there appear to be at least 2 different failure modes, with different root causes. They're on relatively old engines with multiple owners and so somewhat uncertain service history, and poor maintenance is the number one cause of engine failure.



I've found that info in one of Polish car magazines. It claimes the numerous BXE owners replace the engine with older, more durable model.
Original post by CurlyBen


There's no mention at all of crankshaft failures, which suggests you don't know the difference between a crankshaft and a conrod, which is pretty fundamental (as is the difference between an explosion and punching a hole in the crankcase!).

As for spare bearing shells not being available, that actually suggests extremely high reliability. No point stocking spares for something that very rarely, if ever, goes wrong.






I know the difference, I don't know technical english, and don't have any proper vocabulary in home.

The fact that some spare part is not avaible, doesn't necessarily mean it's extremely reliable, it means it's not profitable to produce them.

There may be various reasons. One may be that, cars are expected to end in junkyard before their engines get worn out. Another may be, that makers do not wish their cars to be replenished, to lower the nubmer of cars avaible on market and increase demand for new ones.


Original post by CurlyBen


I could go on about how modern vehicles are designed (I used to work in off road vehicle design, after all) but I suspect I'd be wasting my breath. I think you've got some serious rose-tinted specs!



Are you trying to tell me that there is no planned obsolescense, production of non-separable parts doesn't make repairs more expensive, and lack of paint on unvisible parts of bodyshell, that makes them vulnerable to corrosion were my hallucinations?
You wouldn't waste your breath as I'm trying to be as open minded as possible, but there seem to some sort of misunderstanding. A comment from an engineer would be interesting, but first please read about what I've noticed.

VW has a norm of oil consuption of 1,5 liter for every 1000 kilometers. It often really happens which generates rather high costs and such consumption, as you probably know, used to be typical for extremely worned out engines in past.

-In my Fiat Panda from 2005, gear selector jammed when it was 5 years old and 33 k mileage.

Factory service said this was caused by corrosion of low quality connectors between stick shift and selector. The car also lacked proper protective painting at front stringers, so I had to paint it there on my own due to corrosion that hasn't been found anywhere else in the car. That's all the problems so far. Even worse problems with lack of protective paint were reported in case of Citroen C1 and on various models of Mazda.


Meanwhile here are some problems my acquintance had with his fleet:

- Skoda Citigo 2014 (october)
Mileage 40k miles.
Failures so far:
- clutch failire(bearing and disc fell apart)
- air condition failure ( water instead of outside, was leaking inside)
- cocpit fan failed
- right power window failed
- permanent failures of tyre pressure sensors
- right halfshaft joint failure
- right door handle and lock failed
- "boot lock works in a way it wishes"
- throttle stops reacting


Golf VII 2016 Mileage so far 9,3k miles
- fuel pump failure (the car turned off in a middle of a road, flashing lights on dashboard)
- starter failure
- battery failure

Ford Focus 2014 silnik 1.6 duratorq
- mileage so far: 56k miles
- air condition worked like heating
- overheating and aeration of cooling system
- lack of heating or 30 degrees inside cocpit all the time
- “electronics gone mad” various problems including engine that didn’t want to stop
- it was impossible to open the car (key pilot failure)
- it was impossible to start engine(key chip failure)
- at 50 k miles, turbocharger failure. Service decided to change turbocharger, collectors and egr.
- „lubrication system failure” light on at 56 k Miles and odd noises. Service decision: add oil and keep driving. Two weaks later, the engine has failed. Crankshaft bearing failure.

I understand that it is always possible to buy one unlucky car, but three is a bit strange.

Another car I know was Golf VII GTI Performance

15k mileage and:

-main display system crash (faulty software)
-occasionally lack of throotle reaction
-cruise control failure
-noise and lack of stability while driving. Differential failure.
-engine consumes 1 liter of engine oil every 660 miles. Factory service refuses to repair it, as “this consumption below the norm for that engine”
-radio and GPS failure
-rear wind shield wiper failure
-right front power window failure
-reverse camera failure


My suspicions are that company directors are pushing too hard to limit the costs, as they get bonuses for it, and feedback from engeenering teams and quality controll departments is ignored, as the cars cannot even reach their end of warranty mileage without causing lots of problems to their owners.

Original post by CurlyBen


Well, it might be, it could be a number of other things. If it's only on startup and not continuous the valve stem oil seals would be the more likely culprit.



Yes but we were talking about flooring a cold engine, and this usually damages the piston rings and pins, while the seals get worn out due to age and mileage. (as you know)
(edited 7 years ago)

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