Ford recalls 400,000 transit vans
- Thread starter K-9 SPRINTER
- Start date
Graphite Dave
Dave Orton
This is a well documented defect in the design of the Transit. Strange that it took Ford this long to admit to the error. My 2015 does show cracks in the guibo at 17,000 miles.
This so far is the second of two major defects that has surfaced. Very few posts on the Transit site of mechanical failures. Would not expect difficulties with the major drive line components since they are Ford F-150 items.
The second major design error is a stupidly designed air filter cover. The housing is backwards. The top housing sits in a groove of the bottom housing. Water runs down the housing side into the groove and gets sucked into the air cleaner. Very surprised that the housing has not yet been redesigned. My van has a garbage bag wrapped around the housing! Others have a Walmart plastic tub placed over the top of the housing.
There have been post about problems with the diesels. That should be expected and is not any different than diesels in other makes.
This so far is the second of two major defects that has surfaced. Very few posts on the Transit site of mechanical failures. Would not expect difficulties with the major drive line components since they are Ford F-150 items.
The second major design error is a stupidly designed air filter cover. The housing is backwards. The top housing sits in a groove of the bottom housing. Water runs down the housing side into the groove and gets sucked into the air cleaner. Very surprised that the housing has not yet been redesigned. My van has a garbage bag wrapped around the housing! Others have a Walmart plastic tub placed over the top of the housing.
There have been post about problems with the diesels. That should be expected and is not any different than diesels in other makes.
GeorgeRa
2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
It is little surprising that Ford doesn’t have a permanent fix yet, only the 30K miles one. A rubber flex coupling technology is neither new nor a rocket science. According to the press drive shaft separation can cause damage to adjacent fuel and brake lines.
George.
George.
Graphite Dave
Dave Orton
It can be worse than that George. The front end of the driveshaft driven by the rear wheels can destroy the back end of the transmission and everything around it.
It is surprising that Ford does not have a permanent fix. It has been well documented on the Transit site for a couple of years. Someone has been asleep while Ford while Ford continued producing a huge number of vehicles with a faulty design. Does not say much for Ford engineering/management.
The Quigley 4 x 4 conversion removes the rubber U-joint and replaces it with a conventional U-joint.
GeorgeRa
2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Fortunately for customers time required to replace the guibo is short.
From the US major manufacturers, I think that GM’s Mary Barra doesn’t let folks to fall asleep and she is an engineer. Time will tell if aluminum chassis choice for the F150 was a right decision, the claim for fuel saving doesn’t hold water for me among other less risky options.
George.
From the US major manufacturers, I think that GM’s Mary Barra doesn’t let folks to fall asleep and she is an engineer. Time will tell if aluminum chassis choice for the F150 was a right decision, the claim for fuel saving doesn’t hold water for me among other less risky options.
George.
Graphite Dave
Dave Orton
Apparently the guibo is easy to replace for about $350.00.
Dumb to not catch the design error before huge numbers of vehicles were sold. Also wonder why they did not copy the F-150 normal U-Joint design. Maybe the rubber donut helped with noise reduction in a big empty metal box.
There are some positives in the Transit. The metal box is much more rigid than a NCV3 Sprinter. The deep boxes above and below the window indents are deeper than a Sprinter. There is a substantial triangulated tube structure above both slider door openings. Very noticeable entering my driveway. 08 Sprinter would loose traction due to the body twisting. The Transit does not. The conventional McPherson strut front suspension does provide significantly better handling.
All vehicles have advantaged and disadvantages. Overall the Transit IMO is a better vehicle.
Just dumb that they screwed up the rubber biscuit design and even dumber to not correct it sooner. I did expect some mistakes in a new design and was not disappointed. Most of the mistakes are not a major problem. Even your favorite cab to cargo and back entry difficulty is not a major issue for my use. I would despise it if I was a Fed-Ex driver having to deal with it many tines/day. For some reason the Transit is much easier to enter/exit the driver seat from outside than the Sprinter which I do more often. I think it might be that the seat is further from the side of the van. Win some/lose some.
Dumb to not catch the design error before huge numbers of vehicles were sold. Also wonder why they did not copy the F-150 normal U-Joint design. Maybe the rubber donut helped with noise reduction in a big empty metal box.
There are some positives in the Transit. The metal box is much more rigid than a NCV3 Sprinter. The deep boxes above and below the window indents are deeper than a Sprinter. There is a substantial triangulated tube structure above both slider door openings. Very noticeable entering my driveway. 08 Sprinter would loose traction due to the body twisting. The Transit does not. The conventional McPherson strut front suspension does provide significantly better handling.
All vehicles have advantaged and disadvantages. Overall the Transit IMO is a better vehicle.
Just dumb that they screwed up the rubber biscuit design and even dumber to not correct it sooner. I did expect some mistakes in a new design and was not disappointed. Most of the mistakes are not a major problem. Even your favorite cab to cargo and back entry difficulty is not a major issue for my use. I would despise it if I was a Fed-Ex driver having to deal with it many tines/day. For some reason the Transit is much easier to enter/exit the driver seat from outside than the Sprinter which I do more often. I think it might be that the seat is further from the side of the van. Win some/lose some.
Sprinter Steve
Member
The answer: Buy Mercedes.
My wife and I owed upwards of twenty GM or Ford's for decades. Bought new about every third year. Finally, we got tired of warranty repairs. She tried a Subaru and has not gone back. I tried a Honda and recently switched to MB 2016 Sprinter 2500.
I will not be going back either.
My wife and I owed upwards of twenty GM or Ford's for decades. Bought new about every third year. Finally, we got tired of warranty repairs. She tried a Subaru and has not gone back. I tried a Honda and recently switched to MB 2016 Sprinter 2500.
I will not be going back either.
Graphite Dave
Dave Orton
Been there done that.
GeorgeRa
2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
There must be reasons why Ducato and its siblings own the camper van market in EU.
George.
asimba2
ourkaravan.com
MB or any other modern diesel = potential exhaust treatment issues, although the 4 cyl seems to have less of them
Transit = direct injection & valve coking issues
PM = general low quality. My friend can't keep flex plates in his small fleet of them.
Pick your poison, I guess.
Cheyenne
UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
They are cheap! (Well they certainly are compared to the MB).
But they are not without their share of issues! Instrument clusters which light up unwanted warning lights due to condensation, main fusebox junction (behind LH headlamp) which suffers terrible corrosion (known affectionately as 'Rusty junction), gearbox/clutch judder when trying to reverse uphill or on grass, EGR valves and solenoids failing, engine earth straps failing and causing starting & charging issues, and the list goes on!!!
I personally would not touch one with a proverbial barge pole!
A UK based MH forum I post on is plagued by problems with them! Mercs rarely get a look in thank god!
Keith.
asimba2
ourkaravan.com
I am not a Merc fanboy, I like all vans and I originally planned to buy the Promaster. After my friend's repeated problems with his, I was advised to stay away. That's when I started looking at the Sprinter and was a little surprised the price difference between the two vans was not more. The Sprinter has an engine and transmission that is shared with the E-Class, GLK, etc., $65k+ vehicles. The Promaster has a drivetrain lifted straight out of a Dodge Caravan. I wasn't expecting the Sprinter to be affordable based on that alone. In fact I was quoted significantly more $ for a diesel Transit...
N
Nomad_Elvis
Guest
Probably because a young engineer thought it would save a few cents per unit on the line.
Now it's going to cost Ford $142,000,000.
It's not just money. If the driveshaft doesn't have an intermediary bearing and/or a hoop around the it, premature failure of the joint behind the transmission can turn your low-mileage van into a giant pogo stick.
I know it's easy to say, 'it works OK in Europe..." But what works OK to haul mostly empty packages around, mostly in an urban environment, especially in Europe, doesn't cut it for US driving conditions and drivers who demand a lot more than typical euro-box drivers. Europe has gazelles and giant sloths. US has grizzly bears. Sorry if that's too obtuse.
Read the last post here:
There's a reason why you don't find stuff like this on HD pickups.rotozuk said:
Too bad there's only one van left that's still built like one.
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Maybe you should import a US gas model, they have completely different drivetrain addressing the problems you list. I'm on my 4th year without a single problem and not a spot of rust considering I live on the coast.
surlyoldbill
Well-known member
I'm wondering if the ecoboost equipped Transits are too much torque for the guibo as manufactured. I haven't looked at mine yet, maybe today. I need to rotate tires anyway.
I see the "permanent fix" in the recall notice is up in the air, and mentions the possibility of a U-joint.
I see the "permanent fix" in the recall notice is up in the air, and mentions the possibility of a U-joint.
autostaretx
Erratic Member
A friend of mine just bought a "surplussed" Transit (130" wheelbase) from Enterprise... 700 (yes, hundred) miles on the clock, $24,000, gasoline-powered.
Evidently Enterprise is dumping their fleet due to the driveshaft issue and switching to ProMasters.
--dick
Evidently Enterprise is dumping their fleet due to the driveshaft issue and switching to ProMasters.
--dick
surlyoldbill
Well-known member
Enterprise "dumps" every Transit as it approaches 30k and the end of the bumper to bumper warranty. When I was shopping for one last year, there were HUNDREDS in different wheelbases and heights from rental companies that had 28-29k on them.
lindenengineering
Well-known member
Remember the domestic manufacturers have an agreement to lease vehicles to rental car companies who then in turn dispose of them at low mileages to the general public. This is an added dimension to market penetration.
I can cite a customer who bought a year old Budget Rental Chev Suburban LTZ with 5000 miles on it for $55,000. The MSRP forth rig is about $77,000.
Clearly good deals are available if you can overlook that not so new car smell!
Dennis
I can cite a customer who bought a year old Budget Rental Chev Suburban LTZ with 5000 miles on it for $55,000. The MSRP forth rig is about $77,000.
Clearly good deals are available if you can overlook that not so new car smell!
Dennis