TRANSIT CUSTOM 2017 CAM BELT FAILURE

[Steve2712]

Hi everyone.

Iam looking for some guidance on how to approach Ford and what the procedure is.

I received a letter 2 weeks ago asking me to book my transit in to have the cam belt checked.

It is booked in for 13 th April at Ford Stevenage.

Yesterday I was driving and completely lost power. Brakes and steering. There was a horrible noise from the
Engine.

Iam certain that the cam belt has gone or lost its teeth. Resulting in a severely damaged engine.

I have only done 60,000 miles ? So nowhere near normal time to change belt.

I have read in here that Ford covers the cost of this ?

My questions are.

How do I approach ford to get this done for free. Di I contact head office or local branch? And what do I say ?

Do Ford supply a vehicle while work is being carried out.

How long does the work normally take and what do they actually do to remedy it.

This is my only vehicle, so obviously really worried about loss of work ect.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks steve

[Chug]

Have a look through this thread Steve, Ford know its not fit for purpose, but will try and wriggle out of it so you have to push them.
viewtopic.php?f=64&t=204983&start=60#p1737166

[metalworker0]

Hi everyone.

Iam looking for some guidance on how to approach Ford and what the procedure is.

I received a letter 2 weeks ago asking me to book my transit in to have the cam belt checked.

It is booked in for 13 th April at Ford Stevenage.

Yesterday I was driving and completely lost power. Brakes and steering. There was a horrible noise from the
Engine.

Iam certain that the cam belt has gone or lost its teeth. Resulting in a severely damaged engine.

I have only done 60,000 miles ? So nowhere near normal time to change belt.

I have read in here that Ford covers the cost of this ?

My questions are.

How do I approach ford to get this done for free. Di I contact head office or local branch? And what do I say ?

Do Ford supply a vehicle while work is being carried out.

How long does the work normally take and what do they actually do to remedy it.

This is my only vehicle, so obviously really worried about loss of work ect.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks steve

in your case the remedy will be a brand new engine...probably more than a week once they get the engine .

[Wet belt failure]

Following thread, as my 2018 Custom has just done the same. I'm in talks with local dealership (UKCVSC1@ford.com are yet to respond to my emails sent over the past fortnight).

At this point (two weeks from failure), they're suggesting a new engine at £7,413.14.

I've asked them to take up with Ford UK as obviously not happy. Van has done 80k and has had three services.

RAC knew what it was before they even lifted the bonnet...

[richirich]

As long as its been officially serviced, any recalls have been done and your vehicle is recognised as being one of the models affected. They should sort it out for free.
Ford issued a field service directive as guidance to dealerships. This states that if the cam belt failed due to the known manufacturing fault that they will replace the engine (block) and supply a courtesy vehicle.
I am the third owner of my 2017 custom. I took it for the outstanding recall belt check as soon as I got it at 96k, Trust Ford Wimbledon. It passed. At 102k the belt went. They took it in for an inspection two days later and after a half hour check said that they would sort it out. I insisted on a courtesy vehicle which took a few phone calls but picked up a hire van a day later. My van was ready for me to pick up within a week. It was out of warranty but the recall check was done just before the 100k mark.
So they can do it. I got well prepped especially on the FSD, field service directive. All the info provided by this great site. It seems like they will wriggle as much as they can but Ford has stated that they will sort out this problem. Get as much info as you can. Know your rights !

[richirich]

Sorry i made a mistake on that last post its called a...Field Service Action...a directive sent to dealers to advise them on protocol. On the link posted above karl has posted this directive in full....very helpful.

[richirich]

Also the FSA is 20B44.. Hope this helps

[Chug]

Direct link to above FSA 20B44 post
viewtopic.php?f=64&t=204983&start=105#p1750970

scroll down that page to find this bit.....
Consequential Damage

If the timing belt delamination is not identified early, it could result in timing belt failure. The timing belt can fail in two ways, teeth can start to shear off the belt allowing the timing to slip or the belt can snap, both will cause poor running and lead to valve and piston contact. At this point the engine will need to be replaced.

The FSA will cover the costs of replacing the engine if it has failed due to the failure of the timing belt as described above or oil starvation due to excessive debris cause by delamination of the timing belt.


If you have identified an engine that has failed and the cause is confirmed as timing belt failure, you can bill the engine replacement to the FSA as a bill of material claim. Please submit a bill of material claim including all parts, labour and replacement vehicle hire required to complete the repair. The FSA no. 20B44 must be entered into the program code field. The labour time that can be claimed will vary depending on vehicle variant and if the repair is completed in combination with a routine service.

[metalworker0]

HMMM ... Could it be that fords check is flawed, if they fail by ripping teeth off.. the check they do only involves peering down the oil filler hole, looking at the top non toothed side of the belt, from what I've read here.


all the best.mark

[richirich]

It looks like that look down the oil filler check in many ways is fairly irrelevant and is no risk to the dealership that carried it out as long as it has been done (who knows how long that check is valid for is another question!)
In my direct experience the dealership that looked down the oil filler and thought it was fine and passed it, 4k later it failed, the same dealership that passed it used the FSA directive to apply to ford to pay for their costs to replace the engine and supply a hire van. They just submitted their costs to ford and presumably ford paid up. The dealership did not loose out by looking after the customer in fact it gave them another job!
Ford has said it will cover these failures in their FSA and as long as owners are aware of this they should be able to have their vans repaired properly with a curtesy vehicle provided as well.

[Garyy]

I have a 2017 custom and it has 92,000 miles on it and is due for a service. I have just bought it two weeks ago. Should I have the wet belt changed or ask the dealer to complete an inspection of the belt. So if it breaks Ford will cover the engine replacement as it was checked.
Thanks

[Bulldogboy]

Hi chaps, just seen this thread, and its pretty alarming, i have a 2019 custom with 42k on it, would it be advisable to just get this done as a preventarive measure? Which years are affected? Is there a mileage over which theyre known to go pop? Where are the belts and can they be inspected?

[Bulldogboy]

Hi chaps, just seen this thread, and its pretty alarming, i have a 2019 custom with 42k on it, would it be advisable to just get this done as a preventarive measure? Which years are affected? Is there a mileage over which theyre known to go pop? Where are the belts and can they be inspected?

[M.T.L wet belt]

My 2018 transit custom has the now famous wet belt issues at 49k miles ford a just dodging my calls and situation been over 1 months with out a vehicle being a self employed tiler they make my situation very hard especially when I can't afford the 8 to 9k for repair I may just put my business into liquidation so we all lose as it looks like ford aren't willing to help even tho this is a manufacturer problem.

Lets make a big online problem for ford I will have go pro video of how I get on with ford. They can destroy people's lives with their sh*t design engines

[Bulldogboy]

So sorry to hear that mate, this is exactly what im afraid of, i dont need that sort of sh*t in my life, which is why im getting a vw transporter, yeah ,theyve prob got their own issues, but the wet belt thing can be cataclysmic, ive had Transits for years, but im afraid theyre just not what they used to be, combine that with the cheap sh*t chinese ignition barrel seizing solid at 30k, on my van, leaving me stranded and costing me £500 to get home, i drive in France and either of those things in france would be hell ,im done with it now