Ecoboost worries
I own a 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium X 125 with the 1.0 three-cylinder Ecoboost engine. The car has just turned 18,000 miles, it is regularly serviced, and I am aware that correct servicing and correct engine oil is of paramount importance. I am generally very pleased with the car, but recently I have been reading on various internet forums that this particular engine is prone to catastrophic failure. It seems a cooling system hose or pipe, apparently called a 'degas' hose/pipe, splits open without warning and rapidly dumps coolant, resulting in sudden overheating and terminal engine damage. Although this seems to mainly affect the Ford Focus, I am a little concerned as I have seen stories of similar failures with the Fiesta. I understand
Ford may charge £5000 to fit a replacement engine if the car is out of warranty.
Mark R Dawson
The cooling problems with the
Ecoboost engine are due to the high regional temperatures to which the hoses are subjected. The degas pipe runs from the coolant tank to the turbo and earlier examples had a plastic sleeve in the mid-section of this pipe. This was later changed to a metal sleeve as the high temperatures caused the plastic to crack. There was a recall on this which can be checked at https://ford.to/2qmr84v.
By entering your VIN number, you can find out if any action is required.
Although it is unlikely to cause such a sudden loss of coolant as the degas pipe failing, I would also check the coolant header tank for the formation of any tiny cracks. This is another common problem which can cause coolant loss on the Ecoboost engines, again due to the higher coolant temperatures.