2010 to 2012 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI problems

[orienharvey]

I'm looking at buying a used diesel Mondeo wagon and one of the first things I did was ask my Euro car mechanic if the Mondeo a were any good. He wasn't big on them, suggesting that (especially the earlier models) electronics, delays and cost in sourcing parts would make him think twice. Anyone out here had a similar experience and or can recommend or curse their 2010, 2011, or 2012 diesel Mondeo wagon?

[whitelion65]

Hi Orien,
mine's been faultless (early 2013 model).
The biggest gripe from my perspective is the transmission, and there's plenty in threads here on how to adapt to its idiosyncracies.
Cheers

Steve

[commodorenutt]

If you've had the car for a few years, all the niggles will have been sorted.
We've had dozens of them (TDCi) on the fleet at work for the last 6 years (in 3-year batches).

Most of them had warranty issues for a variety of niggles - one even had a critical seal left out of the AC system during assembly, which took 8 weeks to bring in from overseas.

We've had 3 2011 models spit their gearboxes completely, requiring a complete replacement. Seems they don't like being run for 14-16 hours continuously in hot, dusty environments, as that's when they all failed.

We had 2 more in Sydney that had something gearbox related go wrong, but these were fixed under warranty - the clue was you could smell trans fluid wen they pulled up. We've also had a handful develop funny noises when accelerating, but this was fixed by the recent software updates they applied to them.

Lots of issues with rattles & squeaks, especially from the backseat and door seal areas. And a handful of electrical gremlins in about 10% of them - from stereos not working all the time, to bulbs in the (prior to LED) tail lights constantly dimming due to earth issues.

But if you've had one for several years, and all of that has been fixed, you'll be fine.

[Deo]

Originally Posted by orienharvey

electronics, delays and cost in sourcing parts would make him think twice.

If you are accustomed to European cars then a Mondeo is actually better option for those things. Yes its designed and built in Europe but it sits in the global Ford brand so the servicing and part prices etc are more reasonable than the likes of BWM and VW. And of course reliability-wise, those other brands aren't the perfection they make out to be.

Of course the domestic Fords are far cheaper to maintain than a true Euro but the Mondeo sits in between (some parts more so than others). Also because guys like commodorenutt run them as fleets there are good numbers on the road, which means that secondhand parts are reasonably available - a great option if you have an indie mechanic.