On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:19:22 +0100, David Millen
<notdmillen@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>I think I'm a fairly sensitive driver, so when my Focus came back from
>the dealer with a new clutch and front discs (and a very large bill) I
>was surprised; it's done less than 80k km/50k miles from new. It
>had gone in because it was reluctant to start from cold, and the
>brakes were noisy. The pads seem to be lasting about 18k km/11k
>miles. So, two questions:
>
>Is that normal clutch, pad and disc life?
>
>I was billed a total of 6.2 hours for the work, and just under 1000
>euros (700 quid) for the parts (clutch, flywheel, cylinder, discs,
>pads, consumables, etc) plus VAT. Is that sensible, or did they see
>me coming?
Finally got to the bottom of this. Thanks to all who've posted. The
principal culprit was the dual-mass flywheel, which apparently is
known to cause problems. This from www.honestjohn.co.uk :
"By 2008, dual mass flywheel failure on 2.0 litre models and diesels
had become common. 'Dual mass flywheel' failures create iron filings
which in turn ac***ulate on starter motor magnets, leading to starter
motor failure. Ford will sometimes contribute to the very high
replacement costs of dual mass flywheels and clutches (£1,200) if the
car has done less than 45,000 miles."
When I took the car back for the no-turbo issue, the stealer****p
discovered a split pipe of some sort which was allowing air to get in
where it shouldn't, stopping the turbo from spinning. They gave up
the idea of charging me for an hour's labour to fix it when I banged
the service receptionist's head gently on the wall.
It's back to large RWD petrol-engined automatics for me when thew
Focus goes.
--
All the best
David Millen
Xativa, Valencia
www.fincacasablanca.com
please reply in group
if you have to email me, remove the obvious:
davidtheobvious@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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