Ford Transit Problems

Ford's Transit Connect compact panel vans are built in Turkey and Valencia, Spain.

All of today's diesel engines in light commercials are of the common-rail variety, which operate with very high pressures. That leads, in particular, to wear in the fuel injectors. They're all the same, most use the same pump and injectors and as a result they generally have similar wear patterns. I don't believe the Transit is any better, or any worse, than the others in this respect.

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.

Like you I think the value of some of the technology we're being sold is questionable. The fuel saving and emission reductions that flow from the start/stop function are miniscule.

Ford claimed the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel would do 8.1 L/100 km on average, their claim for the 2.4-litre engine was 9.4 L/100 km. Be cautious when buying a used commercial vehicle, particularly one that is as old as the one you are looking at. They generally do lots of kilometres, and an eight-year-old one could have done 500,000 km or more. The Transit is known to have problems with turbos, and the timing belt tensioner is a known weakness. If the tensioner fails, it could lead to the chain breaking, and major internal carnage can then happen. If you're serious about the van have it checked by a mechanic who knows them.

Go for the Transit. It has five-star safety with six airbags and you even get heated seats. Ford is also struggling to move them, so crunch a good deal.

The short-wheelbase Ford Transit Connect panel van is 4420mm long, while the long-wheelbase variant comes in at 4820mm.

It sounds like an alignment problem, or a problem with the suspension collapsing and throwing out the alignment. You need to have it checked by a suspension specialist.

If you are not sure about the van you're buying then back out of the deal while you have the chance. The next time you decide on a van have it checked by a mechanic.

They have a cam timing belt.