New Owner - Steering Alignment/gear Selection/rough Running

[Whizkid]

Hello all.

 

Joined about 6 weeks ago before ordering my Galaxy. Now an owner of a Sea Grey Mk3 1.8 TDCi Ghia/6 speed with Panoramic roof/Climate seats/power flip windows.

 

I have had the car for 2 weeks. Its my second Galaxy - my first was a Mk1 2.3 GLX (98/R).

 

Its a totally different vehicle & very pleased with it ........... except

 

1. The steering wheel is out of alignment - straight ahead sters the car to the left. Been into Ford 3 times and still not right. Amazes me how I spend so much times explaning the problem & they never listen or understand your concerns !!! I'm gonna call them tomorrow and if they can't get it sorted I'm calling the Ford Customer Relationship Centre. They HAVE to take notice then !

 

2. On occasions, I have reversed the car, and put into first to move away ......... it goes backwards ! - reverse gear is still selected ! Anyone else had this ? The dealer has made 2 adjustments (apparently there are 2x TSB's on this). So far so good !

 

3. This happened tonight. In first gear, turning left out of a junction, and the car starts to stall, and then makes the most dreadful noise - sounds like a bag of nails. Cannot reverse. Switch the engine off & then on .... fine. Drove (35 miles) home. No problems. Something similar happened to me just after picking the car up. Sitting in the drive, turned the key to start it, and the noise was horrendous. Turned it off and on - no problems. It seems to happen when the engine is being starved of fuel (stalling & starting quickly). I can replicate it by turning the key to the point when it just fires, and then off again.

 

Anyone else experienced these or similar problems ? Cannot find anything on the forum. Would be interested to learn if I am alone with these ?

 

Looking forward to being a member of the site.

 

Whizkid

[mumof4]

welcome whizkid, i havent heard yet of any probs like yours on the MKIII, and we only have a handfull of a few MKIII owners.If i were you..id take the car back with the list of faults and quote the trade description act, your car sounds a very dodgy thing to drive.Ford are crap at diagnoseing what is wrong with Galaxys and the MKIII is no different.

 

I would insist that they take the car back and give them 2 weeks to fix it or you will be taking things further.

Gregers has had some experience here as he got his finance company involved after weeks of things still not being right.

 

The MKIII is a new breed of very poor engineering by ford.If they cant fix or diagnose either the MKI or MKII .. then they are certainly doomed with the MKIII in afraid.

 

 

Though i am sure there are sum good ford mechanics out there sumwhere. :lol:

[seatkid]

The MKIII is a new breed of very poor engineering by ford.

I think MO4 is being a little harsh there :lol:

 

Generally most dealerships can be frustrating to deal with, but with the mkIII Galaxy being a low volume car and newish, a learning curve is to be expected.

 

Just perservere and remember to be nice, shouting rarely gets the right result....... :lol:

[mumof4]

Hmmm...maybe, maybe not.....if its a learning curve....then why cant they sort probs out on the earlier models like the MKI and II properly without the "oh we'll fix this and see if it cures it" thinking?

 

from what i have read on here so far about the MKIIIs and their probs and the experiences with ford in trying to sort out said probs..then fords really dont know or havent trained their mechanics enough!

 

i mean..all the probs the others have had..and now the probs the new ones have...doesnt give much confidence does it really in buying a new galaxy.....

[tim-spam]

You could threaten to reject the car if they don't fix it within a defined timescale. That should focus their minds a little. Repairs under warranty are fine if they're done properly. The problem comes when the spanner monkeys are let loose on a new car and not only don't fix the original problem, but create new ones all of their own. With the Mk.2 Galaxy they had some sort of excuse as the car was basically a VW in drag, but they have no such excuse with the Mk.3.

[Lindsay Davies]

Hi

I returned my MkIII last week after we just avoided crashing into the car behind due to this recurring gear selection problem, which had been identified to my dealer - along with list of trim and mechanical issues. "Have your say" section within Timesonline MkIII review of 23 April 2006 has comments re similar gear selection experience - MkIII and S-Max. Now waiting on Ford's "Commitment" process to confirm vehicle should be replaced.

 

Lindsay

[seatkid]

Hmm.....wonder if the "Car of the Year" has picked yet another lemon for us! Edited September 3, 2007 by seatkid

[insider]

... Something similar happened to me just after picking the car up. Sitting in the drive, turned the key to start it, and the noise was horrendous. Turned it off and on - no problems. It seems to happen when the engine is being starved of fuel (stalling & starting quickly). I can replicate it by turning the key to the point when it just fires, and then off again.

 

I read something about this on the SMAX owners club site. If you do not allow sufficient time for the high pressure fuel pump to pressurise the fuel in the common rail then the engine is effectively starved of fuel. It is apparently more important on these cars to wait until the glow plug light goes out before attempting to start it, sometimes even waiting a few seconds longer than that.

[tim-spam]

I do not think that this is the cause of the problem. It is true that common rail systems sometimes take a little time for the fuel pressure to reach its maximum, but this usually just results in a second or two's winding on the starter (unlike the PD engine, which normally starts virtually instantly). Once the engine is running, fuel pressure will rise very quickly indeed if not already at its maximum during the starting process. Low fuel pressure should not cause the racket that has been described here.

 

If this was my brand new car, I would be very concerned indeed - what actually makes this racket, and is the engine being damaged in any way? However quickly the driver turns the key, it simply should not happen.

[insider]

If this was my brand new car, I would be very concerned indeed - what actually makes this racket, and is the engine being damaged in any way? However quickly the driver turns the key, it simply should not happen.

Agreed, nevertheless it is a recognised problem - http://www.smaxownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1235

 

However, at least following the correct starting procedure, i.e. waiting a few seconds after the glow plug light goes out would eliminate this as the cause of the problem.

[tim-spam]

I've just looked at the smax owners' club website - unbelievable. DMF and ECU problems which should have been sorted out well before production, especially now that these two items are established technology.

 

I still say that having to follow a particular starting procedure to avoid potential engine damage is ridiculous, and some customers are being far too 'understanding'. The only problem I have ever experienced when starting a diesel without waiting for the glowplug light to extinguish is delayed starting (especially on older technology IDI engines). On my Alhambra, if I do not wait for the glowplug light to extinguish on a cold day, it still starts fairly well, but there is just a little more 'diesel clatter' than ususal for a second or two - that's all, and that's all there should be.

[Lindsay Davies]

Message for WhizKid - love to know your garage details so can find out about TSBs on accidental engagement of reverse. My dealer said Ford's unaware of this issue!

[mikeohope]

My course of action would be to make sure you have recorded every discussion with the dealer on these issues, write to them to formally record it and give them a defined timescale to sort it as has been mentioned already and then threaten to ultimately reject the car citing a breach of the sale of goods act as the grounds

 

There is plenty of info on the web about your rights under to SOGA and contrary to much opinion these forums, cars are no different to any other commodity in terms of what you should expect and what is considered reasonable in the eyes of the law.

 

Be careful that you don't get yourself in a position where you are deemed to have accepted the vehicle. This can diminish your rights to reject the product. I would be making it quite clear to Ford that in its current condition you do not accept it and that you will exercise your right to reject it unless the matters are corrected immediately.

 

As it is brand new I would be rejecting it within the first month unless the faults are corrected to your satisfaction.

 

This is only my opinion, please do your own research though there is plenty of detail on the web. A simple google of "the sale of goods act" will give you loads to think about.

[gregers]

as mike has posted above,he gave me a lot of info when i had trouble when i bought mine(2nd hand),time is the essence the longer it goes on the better it is for them.also give the trade and standards a call very helpful.

[Whizkid]

Hi all - since I made the original post I have been on quite a journey (not literally) with this vehicle.

 

The noise problem was the flywheel. The dealer admitted to me that there is a problem with these with the Galaxy, usually early builds. It sometimes takes a couple of changes to get it right !! They think its down to driving style, but I do not know how they make that relationship !! In addition to the noise, another sympton is vibration around 2000rpm.

 

The reverse gear problem - the fix apparently is a complete new gear linkage. Had mine down a week or so ago, and its good so far.

[tim-spam]

They think its down to driving style

Do they now?

 

This sort of drivel really annoys me - the problem is poor quality control on the dual mass flywheels, and to blame the owner is just plain wrong (but unfortunately not untypical). We all know that there have been some occasional issues with DMF's in the past, but this is now an established technology. For the dealer to admit that it sometimes takes a few attempts to cure the problem beggars belief - it also means that Ford has not yet fixed the root cause, which is very worrying. I certainly wouldn't want the average dealership to remove and refit the gearbox on a brand new car once, let alone several times!

[GaryM]

Hi all - since I made the original post I have been on quite a journey (not literally) with this vehicle.

 

The noise problem was the flywheel. The dealer admitted to me that there is a problem with these with the Galaxy, usually early builds. It sometimes takes a couple of changes to get it right !! They think its down to driving style, but I do not know how they make that relationship !! In addition to the noise, another sympton is vibration around 2000rpm.

 

The reverse gear problem - the fix apparently is a complete new gear linkage. Had mine down a week or so ago, and its good so far.

 

I read this with intrest. I have an early build 06 and have had the odd reversing thing, thought it was just me.

 

As for the flywheel now I'm worried. I'd say that I may well be suffering from this. Always had a lot of vibes low down and just sent yesterday in town at low revs with the engine realy making a racket unless I reved up or dipped the clutch. I've done a few miles in this now and I can see what is going to happen. It is going to go just outside or warrenty.

 

Is there anyway I can look up all the tech builtens for this car? Already had it in for stalling when pulling away. New ECU map is better but now the throttle response is very lazy, so sometimes when changing gear the engine revs shoot up as you declutch.

[Seatdriver]

hi,

 

I was the unfortunate owner of a 1.8tdci Mk3 Galaxy. 56 plate.

 

It suffered DMF failure, wiring harness failure, clutch burn, release bearing failure and also suffered the flick start issue of running like a bag of nails if you flicked the ignition key and not turn and hold key at start position for min 4 seconds. The tyres wore out at 12,000 miles see my posts on this truly awful car. My solution to the whole issue was to get rid and buy a 06 1.9 pd 130 alhambra Stylance, a far better driving machine and although slightly dated now it wipes the floor with this absolute rubbish from Ford.

 

I have noticed the S max and Galaxy Mk3 are beginning to get bad press due to faults, not good.

 

If you tow using a 1.8 tdci start saving as I bet you will need a new clutch every 25,000 miles!

 

Oh and the Ford dealer was useless.

[GaryM]

Mine is on an 06 plate and now done 43K. It is a mix between a family car and a company van doing a lot of motorway miles.