Ford Problems

The people who sold you the vehicle have a legal responsibility under our consumer laws to find the fault and fix it. It clearly is not in a fit state to use while this fault is present. If that vendor is Ford, Ford should fix it. If it is the motorhome manufacturer, they should fix it. Either way it needs to be fixed, and must be under our laws. The fact that the engine can be restarted once it's been moved suggests that the system is being reset after falsely detecting a fault, and is electronic as you suspect.

We aren't aware of any websites that list the real world fuel economy of cars, and we'd be reluctant to give you any figures as they might not apply to your situation in any case. Working out the time required to recoup the extra cost of the diesel engine is difficult because it depends on the cost of both petrol and diesel at any given time and the relative reduction in fuel consumption from using diesel. Based on your annual mileage, and the fact that it is predominantly suburban, I would suggest petrol as the way to go. If you were doing a lot of highway driving, and a lot of towing, then diesel could be a better bet for you.

A second-hand Falcon on LPG would be cheap and effective, but you could probably get a Hyundai i30 wagon with your budget that would still have some factory warranty cover. Just do a trial fit for camping first.

That's a tough one. The Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 are rated to tow 3500kg, but if you tow the full 3500kg, as you want to do, the payload you can also carry is severely reduced. None of the other utes marketed here by the major manufacturers are rated to tow 3500kg, which rules them out. If you want to tow 3500kg and carry a decent load, you're really looking at one of the big brutes from America, like a Ford F-Series, a Dodge Ram, or a Toyota Tundra.

Thanks for the tip. We'll add that to our list of things to look out for on the Ranger. Presumably it's the same with the Mazda BT-50.

I bought a Toyota HiLux last year which I love, and it would be in your budget, but a Falcon would also be good. Avoid anything too old, also high-mileage, or with go-faster modifications.

With that budget you'll be buying second-hand in that class, and that makes the Hyundai i30 the best choice with plenty of warranty still to run. We do not recommend the Golf after the factory warranty. A turbodiesel gets better economy but you need to drive 30,000 kilometres a year for the total cost to beat a petrol car.

We contacted Ford for their advice and they told us that "that as the electric brake controller would have been an aftermarket fitting it would need to be fitted by a technician with a thorough understanding of vehicle electronic systems and access to the Kuga workshop manual. The controller for the electric brakes needs to be wired correctly into the vehicle electrical system. If connected incorrectly it may damage the vehicle's electrical system." Clearly the person doing the installation has got it wrong and the damage to your car's electronics is the result. You need to resolve it with the person who did the installation.

The Focus uses a dual-clutch transmission, which is really a manual transmission with an automated shift mechanism. They have two clutches that both come into play when shifting from one gear to another. Ford has had trouble with some vehicles fitted with the DPS6 transmission built from April 12, 2011 to August 23, 2013. Check the build date on yours to see if it falls within those dates. Even if it doesn't I would be monitoring the transmission operation very carefully, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it back to the dealer if you believe it isn't functioning correctly. What you report is typical of a problem Focus transmission.