Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

If we believe the boasts that modern cars are better built, more efficient and more reliable than at any time in the past then here is a sobering example that this may not be true.

Five years ago (2012) a young man here in the village bought himself a 2008 Ford Transit Connect van from a local Ford main dealer. Low mileage (40k), service history and in very good, lightly used condition.

One morning last week it was reluctant to start - the first problem he had had with it. It did start eventually and he went on his normal journey to work.
Five miles into the journey the immobiliser light came on, the engine cut out and he came to a stop.
The engine would not restart and he thought it must be a starter issue. The Transit Connect was recovered to the local repair garage.

He received a telephone call later that day asking him to call at the premises. He was told that his van was beyond economic repair because the immobiliser module had failed and the cost of just the replacement was around £1600 without the additional time costs of removing the old unit, fitting and reprogramming the new module.
Shocked, he went home and phoned the Ford garage he had bought it from and the service manager confirmed what he had been told was correct but that the fitting charges could be as high as £500 +.

The vehicle now has 85k miles on it's odometer and is still in outwardly good condition having been well looked after - serviced and rustproofed.

He did have the option of buying an used immobiliser module providing it came from a same year model but all such parts are normally sold without warranty and "as seen" or any warranty is restricted to value only of the part and not to cover any labour charges.

He cut his losses and his van is now at a breaker's yard.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[D4B]

Utter madness

[Rick]

Modern vehicles make sense to own during their warranty period (if you enjoy depreciation, or are on a lease), but the prices of many replacement items for something a little older like this are a scandal tbh. A friend scrapped an otherwise serviceable Astra due to the cost of a new fuel pump.

RJ
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[D4B]

I wonder if this fault could have been cured by resoldering a dry joint on a PCB?

[Peter_L]

A quick search came up with this company, of whom I have no knowledge.

However, back in the 90's my Senator ECU was reporting a cam sensor fault even after a new sensor was fitted I took the ECU to a company in Droitwich. who tested it for £30. Did something really techie for another $40 and when I plugged it back in all was well. Even back then garages were quoting £800 + which did not include whatever that sucking air through the teeth and head shaking could cost.

I believe that the electronic bits are really a scourge of the motorcar, but running parallel with this is a growing number of equally clever folk who can fix them.



https://www.autotronics.co.uk/ford-airbag-module-crash-data-reset-removal-service.html

[Kleftiwallah]

I'm even dubious about 'leccy windows!

Cheers, Tony

[D4B]

well researched Peter, it says Immobilser box can be sent in, recoded and returned for £144.

[Peter_L]

[Bitumen Boy]

I think we should have a law that forces the vehicle manufacturer to replace these sorts of electronic boxes gratis, indefinitely. After all it's all solid state, no moving parts - it shouldn't ever wear out. It's either as Ellis says, built in obsolescence or it's just shoddy junk. Either way it's not acceptable IMO.

[Ellis]

[ukdave2002]

[Dipster]

And some people wonder why I still run my (bought new) 1998 Defender...........

I describe it as a JCB with seats but without all the hydraulics! Flash it is not. Reliable and cheap to run (with loads of room) it certainly is.

[peter scott]

My 13 year old Mondeo has just reached 87k miles and my 1939 SS Jaguar is just about to turn 70k miles. The engine in the Mondeo is as good as when it left the factory and the engine in the SS has been reconditioned at least twice in my ownership.

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[MrWhite]

All car maufacturers have cetain parts they control and keep the prices high because they make more money from them when they go wrong. Sometimes it is electronics, sometimes mundane parts like drivetrain copmponents which are "Dealer only" and extortionate prices. With the internet now and more information readily avalable you can buy things from Europe, for example and by-pass the Dealer network. You can't afford to be in any kind of hurry for the parts though as they may take a while to get here. I have managed it a few times, sometimes I have not been sucessful though. There are also companies who normally work for "The Trade" who will repair ECUs and the like, I have also used them with varying degrees of success. I think if I had been the Transit Connect owner I would have gone into bloody minded mode and refused to scrap it. I woud probably of bought another van and kept it until I could find a way to fix it, maybe that's just me though
IMHO Ford probably wrote the rule book for this kind of thing (along with in-built water ingress and terminal rust), the number of cars I have had over te years which were great in teh beginning and then turned out to be a dis-appointment in one way or another, is ridiculous. I now refuse to be dis-appointed any more by Fords and just don't buy them, which incidentally makes the inflated price of classic Fords all the more unbelieivable!

[peter scott]