I had a 13 plate eco boost in red. Lovely car but after owning for a year, one of my workmates mentioned the hose problem of which I knew nothing. I checked and the hose coming from the expansion tank to the engine, was leaking. Managed to get it sorted and it cost about £140 all in. 3 months later the hose going to the heater matrix burst whilst my wife was driving covering her foot in hot water. The unit was a good few quid as you couldn`t buy just the hose and the whole dash needed to be removed, around £700 in parts and labour. The mechanic done a repair on the hose and a week later I traded it in. Pity as it was lovely inside and out.

I had a 2015 B-Max with that engine, absolutely brilliant! The footprint of the Fiesta, and a cabin roomier than the Focus. First class suspension, and the engine never had any problem. It was a manual, so I avoided the power shift issues, and later I learned about the coolant hose corrosion issue, but it turned out that it was the new, improved version. I included the corrosion check for the coolant hose in my monthly-ish oil and coolant check (it is easy to find for visual inspection), and that was that. The icing on the cake was that, for some reason, nobody was actually buying B-Max-es, so at the end of 2015 dealers wanted to get rid of them, and I got a hefty discount. The only reason why I sold it is because I got the company car, so I got no use for the poor B-Max.

Hi James, just to prove they're not all trouble - we've got an Ecoboost 125ps Fiesta Titanium, bought new in 2013, 136,000 miles to date - only non-service item so far is we are about to replace the catalytic converter, plus it's chewed through a couple of lamda sensors. Not sure if the infamous defective pipe was dealt with way back when, but we did get it serviced by Ford for the first few. Still revs like a motorcycle, puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, love leaving diesels for dead when they tailgate you on the motorway and you drop it into third then boot it.

Drove these eco booms when they first came out, couldn't believe how well they went for a little 3 potter!! Thing with this one dude if its already gone BOOM and had all the recall work done you've got nothing to worry about really, good bit of retail stock 👍

That car also has the self parallel park option fitted. Its great fun!

I had one, and the main problem wasn't the recall on early cars. But the cylinder heads cracking resulting in loss of coolant..It was a shame because the cars was great to drive plus the engine was very refined.I never achieved more than 40mpg, even with long motorway journeys. So glad I sold it.

I've had a few Eco Boost engined Fiesta's, starting with a 2014 one. I'd have one again in a heartbeat!

Beautiful car as a customer I'd be delighted with a new main dealer engine fitted. Great find

Just traded in my 1.0 EcoBoost focus as it kept breaking down I lost my patience and got a 2.0 diesel mondeo, a mechanic told me these tiny tin pot eco engines cant handle the power they force through them and advised me to get rid asap before it goes bang

I had a 14 plate EcoBoost focus until last year and it didn't miss a beat it was 3 years old when I bought it so I don't know if it had the mods done but I bought it with 35k on it and sold it with 210k so impressed I bought another focus EcoBoost.👍lovely looking car looks immaculate?

Another interesting video james. I think if the car had no service history and not had a new engine i would of run a mile. But seeing as it has a full service history and a new engine its a cracking car to retail.

We’ve seen the timing belts that run inside the engine (so covered in oil ) , deteriorate to a level where they block the oil pick up at just 20.000 miles , it’s an absolute disgrace they put this engine into production

Interesting stuff. I've got the 1.6 4cyl ecoboost in a 2012 Mondeo. Apparently these are less prone to issues but it still had some recall work done pre-covid with an extensive overhaul of the cooling system. Been really happy with it though

Hi James, I suspect the new engine will have a warranty from Ford? If so, this reduces your risk and worth a punt in my book. Looks in great nick and in much demand. Keep up the great work 👍

Had 4 ecoboodts (1.6) have a 2.0 now. Best possible engines power/consumption. Just buy a well taken care of (serviced ca) that you check up fully and the ecoo boost is great!

Any one who knows and works on any engine will tell you that that engine is infact brand new straight from fords you certainly touched lucky with this ford focus its spotless its one the the cleanest cars i have ever seen i keep my car clean and the engine bay it clean if you look after your car and get it serviced at the right time then you have nothing to worry about .

The owner got the free engine replacement in agreement with ford by signing to not claim for any compensation due to this major issue. I presume they then immediately got shot of it before the problem occurs again. I think you'll be in the clear for 6 months but I still wouldn't touch these. The new engine should be fine though for that issue (surely they wouldn't use the same problematic parts again!)

i think your sound well spotted with the proof of engine change you will sell that very quickly and hopefully make a dam good profit well done for spotting that m8

For the warranty period of 6 months you should be fine. For myself thinking long term, well I'd go with any other brand's direct injection small engine if I absolutely had to, otherwise I'd stick to 1,6-2,0 diesels, or 1,4-2,0 turbocharged petrols. BTW if you know the weak points of the ecoboom, and for example clean the oil pickup (where the particles of the timing belt running in oil end up) regularly, replace the oil every 15k kms and replace the well known water pipes even they are the updated version in ever 50k kms or so you should be fine.

We had a 13 plate Fiesta Titanium with the 100hp output Ecoboost, even back then it was cheaper to run than my diesel. I did 100k in 3 years, never skipped a beat and averaged 54 mpg whist we owned it. They sound great when you rev them out, ours definitely ran better on super unleaded.

That little 1.0 3 pot is such a sweet unit. I had it in 2021 Fiesta Vignale. Very smooth, makes a lovely noise. And had plenty of grunt (125hp) for me. That does look a nice buy though.

Had 15 plate fiesta a few years ago which was fine. The problem pipe comes of turbo and rots and let’s go without warning and cooks the engine, to make thing worse the pipe is pushed in and can’t be changed, so you need to change the whole turbo if it starts to look rotten.

Most of these EcoBooms are only 1 litre 3 cylinder engines put into family sized cars. They're over worked straight away in order to achieve claimed power and this is before they're even put under load. Personally I'd never go near one.

I have owned a 2014 Ecoboost focus for over 4 years and the only work done to it is regular service and mot. No coolant issues or overheating and is at 85k. It has never dropped lower than 48mpg and has been as high as 58mpg in summer Time. If I was you I wouldn't worry about selling it someone will snap it up for the right price

I owned a 1.0 Ecoboost Focus for four years. It had been recalled prior to me buying it at 16k miles. I had no problems at all before I traded it, although I certainly didn't see anything like the economy Ford stated. I can't recall ever getting 45mpg. I traded mine for an ex demo Golf 1.4 Tsi petrol. The difference in quality was truly an eye opener. The Golf was much better built, smoother, much quieter, roomier, more comfortable, more economical etc.... Another thing to watch with the Ecoboost is the timing belt. I'm told they can let go at 80k, and they can take up to *14 hours* of workshop time to replace (assuming they haven't snapped!)..... I moved my Focus on at 50k miles. Some buyers now avoid the Ecoboost at any price. The Ford Powershift ( a.k.a. Powershit) auto boxes also have a crap reputation too. Lots of lawsuits pending in the US at one time...

Lovely Jubbly nice one Ford. Its not up top it's underneath Ford Focus have a problem and that is rust, rear suspension/ spring seats and mounting points, also door seals like to fall off. I've had two and both were the same. Great car to drive and sit in just let down by trivial things.

So nice you found out that the Ford had a new engine. It’s like the 19 year old CRV I have, it was nice to find out the car had been returned for the dreaded airbag fault (fired metal particles in the airbags when they were deployed) in my paperwork.

Probably lost faith in the car after they had the engine trouble so had a new engine then got rid!!!!

Have to laugh, Eco Boom title and how many times James used the word BANG lol

Ain't no replacement for displacement . Rather have a bigger engine in a smaller car . Not working hard and usually achieves the same or better MPG

My ex had a meriva , when the clutch went she got it replaced and then promptly traded it in saying she had lost confidence in the car . Madness in my view but similar to your recent experience with the corsa

Another one to avoid is the pre 2017 Peugeot/Citroen Puretech 1.2 turbo. Cambelt runs in oil and disintegrates blocking the oil galleries resulting in loss of oil pressure. There was a worldwide recall put out on these and if the belt passed the checks then they would send you on your way with the risk it will happen further down the line. They upgraded the composition of the belts about 4 times yet there are still reports on the owners groups that post 2017 cars are failing. PSA will do everything to get out of engine replacement if the car has nothing less that a full dealer history with the correct grade of oil used.

We have a 2013 fiesta with the 125bhp ecoboost engine with 108500 miles on it, solid as a rock in the 2 years we have owned it. I would buy that focus in a heartbeat if I was in the market. Only a clutch away from another 80'000 miles hassle free motoring is what I see. 🤔

Also the new Ford Transits with their wet cam belts failing and Fiesta with their water pumps catching fire 🔥

I had the same problem with a Ford Kuga ecoboost. Engine went on 80 000km due to overheating . Engine was replaced and all mods carried out. Nearly five years on and it runs awesome. Faultless car. Your car will be a gem for the next owner for sure.

I bought a mk7 fiesta st in December 2020 and in march 2021 the head gasket went with coolant issues so the same problem. Took it to Ford and they put a new crate engine in new bolts the lot free of charge. Got an invoice amount for 5k excluding labour. The car had 89k on the clock. Was shocked that it was put down as a jester of goodwill with that kind of mileage and 6 years old.

James I have a 2015 ecoboost 1lr had for 5 years never let me down just passed 50.000 miles only problem no one wants to do the wet belt or water pump. so had to get Ford to do the job. wet belt and water pump and oil pump and coolant bottle cost me £1500 all in they had the car 4 day's massive job

The early 1 litres also use a wet belt system for the timing belt which is awful and is well known to fail before it needs replacing. Also very expensive job to have done. Later 1 litres have now switched to a timing chain which is better. Should be a good car as-long as you know what you’re buying and do some preventative maintenance.

How many Joel's are out there working on Ford service? Unusual name, you've just dropped him in it

Hi James, this car will sell really well, people like the Focus and especially the high end models.

I'm afraid this is one of a few reasons why I would never touch a Ford with an Ecoboost engine, it's either the degas pipe that cooks the engine or the wet timing belt goes around 80K with little warning, I'm on the lookout for a newer car and as much as I want a Focus from this kind of age I would only get one with the older 1.6 TI-VCT engine, bullet proof reliable and is capable of much higher mileages than the Ecoboost, which is ironically the engine that has replaced the old 1.6. I believe they kept on making the 1.6 Ti-vct until around 2017 so that opens my options up.

45mpg from a 1.0 turbo, I recall a pug306 1.6 could do 50mpg in mixed driving over 20 years ago. Proper 8valve stuff when engines were designed for all round drivability not just too look good in tests.

I had one for about 2 years and it was a pleasant experience. Very nice to drive, smooth (specially considering its a 3 cyl), decently economical and 100% reliable. Did about 40000km in that time and it never failed a beat. It was a 2018

Very true early eco boosts are awful, I currently have a 2020 Fiesta ST, I'm getting 38 Mpg 👀

Doubt the problem will happen on this car if a new engine has been fitted surely that would resolve the pipe issue

I bought the 1.0 ltr MGZS turbo, new. Never managed more than 36 to the gallon! Engine with auto box always working too hard! Traded it in for a new MG5 EV. Love it, love it, love it! You are always happy to buck the trend, all power to you!

If it's had a new engine and the recall done, cant see it being risky. I think Ford only replaced the engines if the car had been serviced within their network though or at least that's what Honest John used to say.

James, that car has also had the degass pipe upgrade done which is a must on these. The colant tank cracks underneath as well so the fact it has been replaced is good. They are a great engine when serviced properly with the correct oil every year (not 2 as Ford says).

They are absolutely wonderful cars. The 1-litre EcoBoost engine fits onto a sheet of A4 paper and is an award-winning engine. The Focus itself has class-leading handling, which actually handles better than cars like the Kia Soul EV! All-in-all, the Frod Fococus is surprisingly nippy and smooth, fully loaded (in Titanium X trim level), decent stereo, comfy on long drives, handles amazingly, good on fuel, really quiet, etc :D

There are a few problems with the engine. The coolant hose breaks. The wet timing belts breakup and clog the oil pump inlet starving engine of oil. The manifolds can crack. The head gasket can go filling cylinders with water and damaging the engine.

I had a 14 plate focus titanium X. Great car. Had no problems

My chargehand had a 2014 Focus eco boost, his engine went bang and had his engine replaced FOC. He soon partex it for Vauxhall Mokka as he no longer trusted the Focus.

If it’s had a new engine I presume it will be a modified version now? It looks really good to be fair

It's not the pipe that is the problem, it is the wet belt they have. It was supposed to last the lifetime of the car, however the belt begins to breakdown and blocks the oil pipe...

I had a 2012 focus titanium 1.0 ltr ecoboost with 112000 miles on and still running great

"1.0 ecoboost are good" previous owner had to have engine replaced by Ford at 70k miles due to it over heating and going boom...i have owned a automatic 1.0 Focus and had a 1.0 manual Fiesta as a courtesy car while my auto 1.0 focus was in garage getting repaired! Having owned my 1.0 Focus for a year the MPG stats are way off, around town you'll be lucky to get 30mpg as you'll find the MPG is about as same as the 1.6 petrol with the powershift gearbox as its just poop, manual 1.0 Fiesta i had for 2 weeks was only getting slightly better MPG than the auto Focus. Don't get me wrong the 1.0 especially in the newer Fiestas have some kick to them like if you put your foot down your zooming lol but the engines are just too problematic to want one as a long term car, people say "but if you service" wont make a difference as the hoses can fail without warning and instantly the engine heats up and blows up hence the name ecoboom, i think having this engine is very risky even if you service and check it and even if you have the hoses changed etc as there is still tons more issues with the 1.0. The fact this Focus specifically has full service history and looks very well looked after and even still the engine had to be replaced at 70k miles for over heating tells you this "oh just service it" is nonsense and also i highly doubt Ford gave a free engine on a 2014 car with 70k miles...

My 2014 1.6 zs turbo 182 sounds like a tractor at idle but drives like a dream. Had 2 expansion tanks replaced and a new bypass valve but other than that been good. 67k on the clock

Love this engine. Rarely do we get European offerings from Ford in the States. It loves to rev, is so smooth and makes a neat sound.

I love my 1.6 Ecoboost Focus. I had the 5 door hatch from 2012 and put about 50.000km on it (I bought it second hand at 50.000), and I purchased the same one but the tourer version with just over 20.000km last year. Love this car! But yeah, I am aware of the potential risks.😛

You don't see too many Fiestas and Focuses sat by the side of the road steaming, so the problem can't be that common. In the US, bigger engined EcoBoosts have overheating problems for a different reason, with many of them needing a short engine at Ford's expense.

That'll make a great buy with the replacement engine

Nice 👍. I would think it’s had a good dealer history, with a good dealer as well. Good car to retail when you can explain the history

Listen, I'm a retired vehicle technician, if you listened to everyone telling you not buy this car because of ##**&&#....then you would never buy a car again. All cars have their faults. But you never seem to hear news about the good vehicles.

Prices of the focus have shot up quite substantially. I bought an st line last year less than 2 years old. The same car now, with the same mileage or more as mine, same 19 reg it's now £4k more to buy. Seems like the prices have shot up possibly due to the time it takes to receive a new one. Brilliant car so far.

Makes you wonder if the previous owner had already signed the order form for the EV when the Focus engine died, hence why they traded it in with a brand new engine?

I’ve got a 55 plate focus 1.6 TDCI. Also had a 2010 mondeo 1.8 TDCi, I loved the mondeo, but the focus, genuinely surprised me with how good it handles!. Had a shot of an eco boost 125bhp. It genuinely surprised me at how nippy it truly is for a 1 litre. But the problems put me off buying one. I’ll stick to diesel and pay slightly more for fuel

Everyone I know who has one loves it. One of them has put 90,000 miles on his (140 bhp Fiesta ST Line) and its needed nothing other than routine servicing.

I’d say it was a fantastic buy! Brand new engine, at least it’s good for another 70K + miles if not a lot more!! I would have thought you could make a good earner there James!!

I'd say thats a very good buy, a very lucky one too. Someone may have paid to get a new engine in and thats a huge job out of the way, with all those new parts I'd say it'll be a reliable daily for someone now. Best engine to get in these focuses is the 1.6tdci, I find it to be very reliable.

Looks great, the recall work just completed, great stock I’d say. I’d think the owner got spooked and so changed soon after the replacement. Good car well done James 😀

If you pull off the engine cover, you should find a sticker with manufacture date of the engine. I brought one in 2020 and was told it had an engine replacement… however was always at doubt even though the coolant tank and all bolts was new until I found that sticker which said it was manufactured in MAY19

I think generally speaking, stay away from small capacity turbos, but in this case, I think you're pretty ok

If you asked Ford they would tell you if the recall has been completed

My mate owned one of these. It went off at 64k, not just the engine failure, but also caught fire at the same time that the engine seized on the hard shoulder of the M4.

There’s a lot of histrionics around the Ecoboost, but plenty of places will do the wet belt for £8-900 now, if done properly this irons out the sump being blocked, the belt snapping and the timing cover leaking. The degas hose again, for about £40 you can change it to a Mk4 hose which won’t fracture. If you maintain it correctly and get the belt done it will be fine. Probably a bit of a bargain if you can look past the bar room idiots going on about Ecoboost etc.

I've had my 2014 100hp titanium fiesta from new and you'll never see 60mpg unless you get out and push it. Average milage on mine on long journeys is 47mpg and I'm no sterling Moss

Any mechanical thing is a ticking time bomb I think you’ve made a good choice buy on condition is best you can do

typical Ford , good designs with short cut engineering .

Remove drain plugs under rear bumper and let water out of leaky boot

So, chances are the engine will be ok. Did I spot an auto shift lever in the video. That’ll be the ever so reliable powershit gearbox then, the one that never needs clutches…… Good luck James. Trade it on.

Maybe the previous owner got rid of it because of the engine problems. Switched to a fully electric car with no engine. Sorted.

I have had my fiesta since 2010, it’s so far never let me down once. Only a bulb has blown

The Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta are all comfortable and "fun feeling" to drive compared to the Vauxhall, Hyundai, Kia, VW equivalents.

Good purchase? Depends upon the price. The coolant expansion tanks also crack / leak with age. The heater matrix pipes leak inside the car- easy or hard fixes . The rear vents can leak so check the spare wheel well for water ingress. Before car prices went high these cars were not exactly sought after. Whereas the MK2 went on a while the MK3 has a much shorter life. I have a 2018 MK3.5. Oh and was it a brand new engine OR a reconditioned one?

Bought a '62 1.0 with full service history annd jusy 52000 miles. Less than 12m and 2kwe had an issue, oil pickup blocked through the 'wet belt' issue. Went to Ford, they inspected it and said " Sorry, one service was late and there's no receipts just stamps in the book - £3k for a new engine please" Goes to show, a full service history isn't necessarily a good thing We've now got to keep the car till it dies, as we'll never get the money back we've spent. But it is a good car (now )

My 14 plate fiesta has been totaly hassle free. It's only got 27k miles on it mind you but it's great. Pulls from 1400 rpm and puts many modern diesels to shame for how well it can pull. It is suffering slightly from Cam phaser rattle but it will live.

Mike Brewer put a video a few years back about don't by a 1.0 ecoboost as it's horrendous

ive had to change the wet timing belt on these engines on engines with really low mileage if your lucky they break down and block the oil pick up furthermore you need special tools to change the timing belts since the crank pulley bolts are beyond tight

Not to mention the timing belt is submerged in oil too.

All I know is when we were looking for a Fiesta back in '17, I was at the dealers looking and the sales adviser said "I wouldn't bother, they are good for maybe 100k but nothing more", and we were looking at 2nd handers with70k on them say. I'n the end we bought the 74hp 1.4 diesel, had 48k, fsh with ford printout and company owned. Paid good maony for it however, it wasn't a strong as some garages were asking, does 40 ish weekly, in 50's if careful on run. Our daughter had a ;17 eco boost on these 3 yease deals and it went boom within 30k. Pays your money, takes your chances.

Kupio 2013 cmax 1.0 .ima sad 200045 km. Kupio prošle godine s 186 000 km. Promjenio problematičnu cijev odmah pri kupovini. Izvrstan auto. Lijepo ide,ima okretnog momenta puno na malim okretajima. Živahan na malim okretajima kao dizel. A ne čuje se. Oprema ista kao ovaj tvoj focus. Ima self parking. Opet bi kupio 1.0 Ford. Vozio sam dizel i atmosferske benzince. Ovaj mi je zaista odličan.

new engine, with upgraded hoses, also cover the wet belt issue that they suffered from if they are filled with the wrong oil like any car, they need to be looked after mechanically and they'll be fine the header tank was probably replaced due to the pipe breaking the end off as this is also very very common and yes, i've got a 2018 one and best mpg was 55.4, but otherwise, on really short trips the mrs makes, it gets roughly 28 there have been odd blips where it's got 8 and 11 and 12 mpg between quick fill ups but 875 litres of fuel and covering 4300 miles since we've got it nearly 18 months ago and it hasn't missed a beat

As mentioned below, the 1.6 petrols (duratec) are bombproof. Based off the old Zetecs from early 00's just a watered down version Only about 80bhp out of them but they work My neighbour once overfilled his with 5 litres of oil (!) And it survived in the end, didn't blow any seals etc He never gets any engine troubles out of it and it's nearing 100k miles on a 15 plate.

My guess would be that Ford gave them the run-around before agreening to a new engine. The last owner probably went shopping for a new car and picked the electric one. Bearing in mind that some electric cars have the longest lead times at the moment I wouldn't be surprised if Ford eventually gave in after they had committed to the new order and thus ended up trading it in with a brand new engine. I Can't really see another reason why it would have ended up as a trade in. If you've just given your existing car a new lease of life you're all set for years to come, and trade-in/sale isn't really gonna pay out the perceived value of a new engine so why else would you choose to give it up so soon?

Looks like a decent car. Not a fan of those engines though. My wife has one in her fiesta and it's good around town but drinks petrol at motorway speeds.

I bought a car private sale for a cheap ish price because of high mileage (150k on a diesel) (I knew I was taking a risk). However, 4 weeks later it kept going into limp mode. Turns out my code reader was too cheap to pick up any issues the car had. Anyway, the main problem was it needed 4 new glow plugs. I thought that didn't sound too bad as I've changed glowplugs before. However, because it was an Eco engine, it was over £120 + VAT for each glowplug.... I needed all 4!! £480 + vat without labour one garage told me. I like the idea of eco engines, but think I'll stick away from them because of this experience.

My freind Kim Henson wrote in Car Mechanics about how bad these engines were no good after 50-60,000 miles due to engine problems,

As long as it's got good service history then it should be a good buy for someone. Low road tax and cheap to run what's not to like 👍

I believe cam belt (wet belt) replacement at 10 years is very Labour intensive. This is another reason why the early ones are starting to come in as main dealer px's

One of the ecobooms maybe the 1.0 has a rubber oil pump belt that runs in the oil.It degrades blocks the oil pick up and bang goes engine some with very low mileage. To replace this belt is a massive job that most mechanics will not touch