2008 Ford Ka Style Climate 1.3 Duratec
Summary:
Good, but really let down by stupid faults
Faults:
- Squeaking noises from the front of car within first 2,000 miles. Fixed under warranty. The dealer never told me what it was, but I think it was the bonnet stops that needed adjustment.
- Various dashboard rattles. Dashboard assembly removed and refitted under warranty.
- Front driver's side shock absorber failed just before 5,000 miles; it was knocking loudly when I drove over bumps in the road. Replaced under warranty after much argument with the dealer!
- At 6,000 miles, a leak into the driver's foot well was discovered. Fixed under warranty - was due to bad welding from the factory, no kidding.
- At 6,000 miles I realised that the VIN plate (chassis number plate) in the engine bay was missing. Fixed under warranty. I've noticed lots of other Kas with these missing.
- Air conditioning light stopped working, then started working again. The LED needs replacing, but it's soldered to a circuit board behind the centre console (not just a simple bulb replacement). It still works, but becomes dim or turns off when the car's headlights are turned on. Ford don't cover electrics after the 1st year of warranty, so I didn't even tell them about it.
- Metal on the boot lid around the rear wiper grommet has started to rust after just 3 years. Not even going to attempt going to Ford with this, having it repaired by someone else instead.
- The car's interior fixings such as the dashboard trim still rattles when driving on a rough surface. Really lets down the whole car.
General Comments:
The car is very good to drive - the engine is responsive, it's good on the motorway/long journeys, and the equipment is good for a cheap small car - electric adjustable mirrors, heated front/rear screens, electric windows, and a radio/CD player as standard with AUX, so you can plug an iPod into it.
Overall, I am happy with the car. But the numerous faults have really annoyed me, especially since I bought the car NEW and I am the only person who has ever driven it. I take extreme care of it, I even had it rustproofed when it was 2 years old - the underside is immaculate. Unfortunately cavity wax didn't stop it rusting around the rear wiper.
I wouldn't buy another, purely because of the Ford dealer's poor customer service. And also because I want a larger and more refined car next time.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 19th September, 2011
1st Dec 2011, 12:37
This is the author of the review again, just updating it. (I intend to keep it updated over the course of my ownership of the car). Just had a diagnosis from a reputable mechanic to work out what's causing a minor noise that occurs over bumps/rough surfaces. He checked all over the car, and found that the rear trailing arm bushes have some play in the them.
Unfortunately, Ford use really cheap bushes that wear out very quickly. This would not be a problem if they were easy to replace, but they're not. The replacement bushes that Powerflex manufacture are known as poly bushes, and should last a lot longer, but they do cost a bit more than OEM ones.
My car has now done 15,700 miles; no other problems at the moment.