Ford Territory Review, For Sale, Specs, Models & News in Australia

Ford Territory Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Ford Territory here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• Issues with the automatic gearbox of my 2008 Ford Territory

  Transmission fluid should generally be a pretty pink or red colour. If it’s black (and/or smells like burned toast) that suggests that it is way overdue for a change of fluid and a new filter, and also that there could be lots of wear inside the transmission.

  Tiny bits of the clutches and bands that control an automatic like yours wear off over time and it’s these that are discolouring the fluid. That fact that they’re black, also suggest they’re burned having been overheated at some point in the past.

  A transmission shop should be your first port of call, with instructions to diagnose what’s wrong and work out a strategy from there. If the transmission is badly worn, it may need replacing or rebuilding. But you might be lucky and discover that the fluid is simply old and depleted (from a leak somewhere) and the transmission may recover with a full service. Don’t count on it, however.

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• Does the 2009 Ford Territory Ghia 4x4 have a timing belt or chain?

  All versions of the Ford Territory form this era used the inline six-cylinder 'Barra' engine from the Ford Falcon. This engine used a timing chain rather than a toothed rubber belt. The chain should be good for the life of the engine and should not need replacing.

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• Can I still get my 2005 Ford Territory fixed under the brake recall?

  It shouldn't matter how old a safety recall is, it's a safety issue, so it needs to be fixed. That's why there's no actual time limit for these repairs to be made.

  Here's the official response from the Department of Infrastructure: “There are no time limits applied to vehicle recalls by the department. It is expected that if a vehicle is presented for an older recall, the manufacturer will repair it as per the original recall notice”.

  The potential spanner in the works there would be if the manufacturer is no longer represented in Australia or, if the parts required were no longer being made or otherwise available. In any case, this would definitely be worth chasing up with Ford as the recall was for potentially faulty brake lines which could cause a catastrophic failure with horrendous results.

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• 2013 Ford Territory wheel bearings keep needing to be replaced

  Clearly something is wrong here because wheel bearings should have a much monger lifespan than 12 months. I'd start by checking that the wheel alignment (yes, rear wheels need to be aligned, too) is correct and not putting weird stresses and strains on suspension components which could include the bearings. While you're at it, check the condition of the suspension bushes, too, as these can also allow alignment to become a problem.

  Do you tow heavy loads with the car? This can also place huge stress on things like bearings and cause them to wear faster. Also, who replaced the previous set 12 months ago? Can you be sure they didn't over-tighten the new bearings, causing them to wear faster? Were the new bearings a good quality or a cheap replacement? Has the supplier of the bearings received the same complaint from other customers, suggesting a bad batch of bearings could be the cause? I've personally seen a brand new wheel bearing collapse in under 20km because the surfaces had not been hardened properly during the manufacturing process.

  Finally, given the wild weather this continent has been experiencing, have you driven through flood-waters at any stage. Unlike fresh water, flood-water is often full of tiny silt particles which get into the bearing and then act as griding paste, causing the bearing to fail super fast.

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