Small bump causing total engine failure???

[radus135]

Ok so last week my partners car - Ford Fiesta titanium 1.0 - had a minor bump to the front bumper - (rolled about 2 metres into a tree in the garden)it resulted in a crack in the bumper but no other damage to anything else on the front. Ie grill, lights, bonnet fine opening and closing etc etc

Thought we’ll just have to fork out for a new bumper and spray Job. Car ran fine after the impact for approx 5 miles. Next morning my GF and daughter are in the car about 6 miles in to the journey the fan is blowing cold air even though the heating is on. It eventually loses power and starts smoking from under the bonnet she manages to pull in and get them both out the car safely. Luckily it doesn’t catch fire.

A local mechanic towed the car back to his garage for a look and called to say it’s total engine failure and to look up ford eco boost engine problems.

After checking online I found that there’s massive problems with the eco boost engines due to a coolant hose failure resulting in engines overheating and cracking, spewing out oil and a number of times going up in flames!

The bbc broadcast a programme investigating and ultimately peer pressure has caused ford to accept liability and now pay 100% of repairs after a ford dealership runs diagnostics that confirm the issue.

Ford also issued a recall for cars made between 11-13. We have a 14 plate however the VIN says it was made in 2012. We never received a recall letter or any contact at all.

I spoke again with the mechanic who towed it back and said to him it was a bit of a coincidence and could it somehow be the bump. He said there was no way that could have caused the catastrophic failure.

Today the car was transported into the ford dealership we bought the car from about 14 months ago the dealership called to say the engine needs completely replaced and in his opinion it was caused by the bump.

I just can’t understand how this is possible considering the low impact!! If there’s anyone out there that can shed any light on this I’d really appreciate it because I’m starting to feel paranoid that the dealership is pulling a fast one.

[getthewheelsinline]

Seems unlikely but could be possible if the knock caused the coolant hose to become dislodged and/or connections to come loose.

The silver lining I guess is that if ford categorically state in writing that it was the accident that caused the failure then your insurance will pay out. This may be the best route depending on your excess + potential increase in future premiums.....

[radus135]

Thanks for the reply.

I thought the same - it could have knocked the hose off but it seems crazy that the engine is now totally knackered and needs replaced from a slight knock.

I’ve just spoken to my partner and apparently the guy at the dealership said that it’s not possible the car had been driven after the bump as something is crumpled inside. She can’t remember what he said exactly..The local mechanic said nothing about this and the car was driven and seemed fine until the fan issues above.

I’ll try and upload the only photo I have

[radus135]

I forgot to say as well. There was no warning lights at all on the dash Even when it packed in ..

[Hitch]

Whats crumpled inside? unless theres hoses/cables etc that have been crushed, they must be literally touching the bumper, that shouldn't happen. The bumper still looks inline with the bonnet, it couldnt have moved that far!

Job to know without looking in and around the wing/bumper area to see what has has been damaged, but i'd be asking for the man at Ford to show you and give you a written report on exactly what is damaged for a start, and how a minor bump has caused this issue.



Thats not much more than a carpark dent, no way should that cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a car.

[Mark G]

I’d be looking to see if the radiator has been damaged in the bump.
If the radiator has been punctured (good chance of this) then the coolant will leak out under pressure and the engine will overheat and seize up. You’ll be able to ask the garage to do a pressure test on the cooling system to see if this is the case.

With regards to the insurance, there’s a chance they may refuse to pay out if it is related to the bump. Reason being, that it wasn’t the bump that caused the engine damage, it seized because the car was driven after the damage had occurred (and probably before the insurance company had been notified of the accident).