Faults:
Suspension, drop links knackered - worn bushes.
Exhaust - uses 2 backboxes joined across the rear, this is a bad design as when the pipe breaks off the silencer, it drags along the ground, damaging the other silencer into the bargain.
Moosing - this is a real pain, it's a loud humming noise caused by resonation of the plenum chambers I think. Ford say that this is normal - cos they aren't bothered about after sales service!
Lack of power - This is intermittent, and usually the car is struggling after 110 MPH to do any more. Can't decide whether its the IMRC (Inlet Manifold Runner Control - Opens the Secondary 12 - 24 Valves over 3250 RPM) or the Auto Box at fault. It's a real pain, as the car is great at slower speeds.
Air-Con -- HA HA HA, what air-con? - Condensor punctured due to its bad positioning at the front of the car, Ford want £500 to repair!- air "CON"!
Starter Motor - Misses the flywheel on occasions - either faulty starter or teeth missing off the flywheel - VERY EXPENSIVE repair if it's the flywheel!!, Had a Cortina 2.3 V6 that did this as well - seems to be a common fault.
Heater blower - Resistor burns out so that it only works on Setting 4 - fastest one.
General Comments:
It's a beautiful powerful car with all the bells and whistles, and at 8 years old, it's only expected that a few faults like the above will appear.
I loved it to pieces - so quiet and sleek with a lovely leather interior, the sheer grunt of the Duratec V6, beating boy racers at the lights!
The automatic is so smooth, but it's a LUXURY rather than performance feature, as the torque convertor zaps the power and lowers the top end speed, but well worth it for a long cruise in the country.
The cruise control is another great feature (not on the ST24), and so are the heated seats and trip/fuel computer.
The starter was an inconvenience, but I lived with it.
The only reason I sold it was that it was SO THIRSTY ON FUEL it just wasn't funny! 19MPG round town and 33 MPG on a run, averaging 25 mpg on the whole.
Also, the Ford Dealers were so PIG IGNORANT and USELESS at giving good service - 6 weeks wait to get a duplicate PATS key, LONG QUEUES AT THE PARTS COUNTER - ONE MAN on, taking an eternity to get each part, and having the usual nonchalant attitude of "You have to use us or get another make of car!
12th Jan 2012, 12:09
Hi, I own an ST24, and I have to say, it's one hell of a car to drive. It can boogie along, fuel consumption - on average £20 gets you 68 to 75 miles, but it's worth it. martynlees@tiscali.co.uk