[Closed] Another car thread... Ford S-Max

has a terminal ECU problem

Best of luck with keeping this thread on track. 🙂

I've got a 2009 2.2 TDCi Titanium. I love it. It is plenty fast enough, handles well for such a big bus. It's now got 45k on the clock and i've not spend a bean on it over and above normal maintenance. Its been totally faultless. Its going in tomorrow for rear pads and discs (can't understand how the rears have worn before the fronts, but the fronts probably are not far off). Its OK on tyres. I got through the first set in about 15k miles but tracking was out, the current set are still going strong with about a years life left (so 10k miles-ish) after 30k miles. They are expensive though due to the weight rating - about £130 - £150 per corner for premium brands.

Its very comfy, has all the space you need, I can fit two big 29er AM bikes in the back on an internal racking system, so great for security if i'm leaving the car in a car park. The 6th and 7th seat are fine for kids, and for leggy adults might be a bit uncomfortable on a long journey as they are low to the floor so their knees are up by their ears - if you want the 6th and 7th seats for adults then go for the Galaxy.

I'm getting a consistent 40ish mpg - so thats about 550 miles per tank and I don't drive it particularly economically. On a long run i've had over 600 miles out of a tank and it probably could have squeezed another 20 miles or so out of it if i'd wanted to. It costs about £85 to brim.

With all the rear seats down you've got a totally flat floor and its cavernous. Brilliant for the tip run.

The middle rear seats slide fwd and back and recline, so are comfy for the occupants.

Its well built, very comfy, gobbles up the miles, attractive, is capable of putting a smile on your face when you're on your own (i'd love to strip out a 2.5T one as a track slag for the sheer hell of it), well specc'd. I really struggle to see anything else that i'd prefer to have - nothing else . I'm going to keep it for a few more years then get a big estate.

Can't help with most of you questions, or infact any of them but I put a deposit on a 2.0 s max today. I've done loads of research and spoken to lots of people who have/hire them and everybody raves about them. I'm coming from a V6 Audi A6 so it has a lot to live up to. Most people told me to go for either the 2.0 or the 2.2 as the 1.8 is under powered and uses more fuel than the 2.0 as you need to drive it harder. Go for the Titanium model if you can as it has all the bells and whistles. I really wanted a 2.2 but budget didn't stretch that far as I've also brought a VW T5 for work and biking.

Thanks for the input.

It's a toss up between the 1.8 and the 2.0. Published figures are better for the 1.8 but I can see the logic behind having to drive it harder.

This will spend most of its life doing 30 miles a day in medium to heavy traffic at 30-50 mph on the M60 and 70mph on the M61 so I don't need a flying machine.

Not too bothered about toys although a DAB radio would be nice. Having a dark interior is more important as my kids are a set of messy buggers and it will freight dirty bikes about at weekend.

Just happened to have the car loaded up with mine and my mates bike after an abandoned after work bike ride today, which has been re-scheduled for tomorrow......

two medium AM 29ers fit in comfortably...

[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/10023657045_0fc1490148.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/10023657045_0fc1490148.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/88504879@N03/10023657045/ ]IMG_0303[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/88504879@N03/ ]wobbliscott[/url], on Flickr

The internal racking system required removal of the front wheel and the seat post (or lower the dropper) with a Fork-Up adapter if you have an axel fork...

[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/10023672496_218d8440b9.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/10023672496_218d8440b9.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/88504879@N03/10023672496/ ]IMG_0304[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/88504879@N03/ ]wobbliscott[/url], on Flickr

Great cars, do eat tyres a lot and the 18" tyres on the titanium X are damm expensive, so we dropped down to a much cheaper slightly thinner tyre, our fuel consumption is similar to above.

Had an injection problem which cost a lot, but they are a standard item so not the cars fault.

Wobbliscott - loving the rack. Is that a standard Thule bar with a fork up adapter ? How do you attach to the car?

The rack is Thule and I saw it on the glossy mags in the showroom but had a right nightmare to source it as the guys in the spares dept struggled to find it in their system. I can probably get you the part numbers if you are going down the same route. It uses riv-nuts which need a special tool - but I improvised with a bolt and couple of nuts which worked fine - again, I can describe what I did if you're interested. I ended up getting the rails off ebay (about £19 each), but the actual fork attachments from Ford as they were more difficult to find - but since I have seen other alternatives out there so is a pretty generic item. The Fork-Up adapter was £20 from Wiggle.

To be honest the internal rack system is a bit of a faff. Great for after work rides where we can pack the bikes up and leave the car in the car park all day - but at the weekend when we just drive to the ride site and back you can't beat a roof rack and Thule 591's for sheer convenience and speed and keeping mud out of the car. If the bike is muddy you can't help but get mud in the interior no matter how careful you are - but I just wait for it to dry and hoover it up and it cleans up nicely.

60 reg 2.0TDCI Zetec here. Excellent car, we got ours as a super low mileage ex Motability. We subsequently had DPF problems but these were sorted(eventually) under warranty, no recurrence(touch wood). 16" rims so tyres a bit cheaper at £98 a corner, we're on the second set at the front, but rears going strong at 22k. Only niggle I have is Bluetooth handles phone calls well but ignores satnav voice from phone. Might be different on higher spec stereo on Titaniums.

Oh, the rails attach to the rear of the middle row of seats - so three short rails in total - though you don't have to fit a rail on all three seats. The holes are already there - you feel for them through the fabric covering the seatback, and use scissors to make holes. The riv-nuts are like pop-rivets with a 10mm threaded hole down the centre, so once you expose the hexagonal holes, you slide in the riv-nuts in then use the improvised tool to pull the riv-nut through the hole to deform it (compressing it like a pop-rivet) and you simply bolt the rail to the riv-nuts. Then there is a fork attachment from Thule that uses T-nuts to slide on the rail and you could mount straight on if you had a QR fork. The Fork-Up is just used for the 15mm axels.

you can remove the rails altogether and screw in plastic blanks if you want to remove them should you need a completely flat floor again.

You can get a longer rail that fits towards the rear and get a whole host of accessories to fit to the interior.

Thanks. I like it for my transporter. It looks better than lashing the bike to the racking. I have a spare Thule bar set here so might have a play at the weekend.

Chris, something like this would be perfect:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/saris-track-single-bicycle-rack-trk14/

Though if you've got a van then it would seem a shame to have a system that requires the removal of the front wheel - its always best to just put the bike in the back whole.

This is effectively what i've got that attaches to the rail but cheaper and better..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/saris-replacement-track-system-trap/rp-prod39590

Friends had major issue with theirs and an oil leak. Tried to fix it multiple times but regularly broke down on the motorway. Bit stressful but think theirs was just a lemon. Most reviews seem pretty positive.

Hi, I work as a patrol for a well known motoring organisation so I see all the problems.
The s max is a pretty good car. They do suffer from the dual mass flywheel breaking up, I've seen a few of those and it's £1000 to fix. The dpf (diesel particulate filter) will block up if the car only sees town work.
They can suffer from dodgy dashboards but these don't stop the car, just annoying niggles.
Have a look at a Mazda 5, similar amount of space but with Japanese reliability.

Shit mpg and the engine is pants. But then you knew that cos I told you 😉

We got a 2.0 tdci 6 months ago and it's been great. Drives well. Loads of room. I average mid 40s mpg on general running about duties. Keep it on or around 70 on the motorway and it goes 50mpg.

Couldn't be without my galaxy of similar vintage. It's a 1.8 and I don't struggle unless I'm fully loaded with roof box and 3 bikes on rack with interior maxed out with luggage,tent and 5/6 occupants on hills.
Motorway cruising is no different than the bigger engine ones although I regularly see over 750 miles from a tank of diesel.

The only car I could see myself replacing it with would be a converted transporter with 2x3 seat setup and loads of luggage room to rid the need of roofbox and racks.

Didn't mention the load and family lugging, it is huge inside, all the seats are comfy for full size people, but getting in to the back pair takes flexibility. The middle row slide forwards so the legroom can be shared for both rows and is ample. Load are is a flat floor when seats down, and extra cubby holes under middle row footwell and a few other storage areas. It takes a massive roofbox and bike rack on top, as well as a towbar for when you really push it. You really don't get bigger without going for a van. Oh and it's miles bigger than a Mazda5.

The diesel engines are shared across many manufacturers cars such as Puegeot's, Mazda's, Jag's, so no reason why the core engine itself should be less reliable than those.

I've just bought a 2010 facelift Smax titanium but after having a nightmare with the Ford tdci eengine in a cmax previously I've gone for the 2.0 ecoboost petrol engine so I'm not going to have probs with egr, dpf etc down the line.

Also has the powershift gearbox which is amazing!

If you do less than 15k a year I would consider a petrol as you can also get a newer car compared to the diesels!

I bought a 57 2.0 tdci a few months ago with 67k. EGR is playing up, sticks open and then won't start, give it a tap to close it and then unplug it and it will start but has started going into limp home mode, usually when travelling at about 80mph which isn't ideal. Think the carbon build up is stopping it from closing properly which causes the ECU to get confused. Have ordered a blanking plate but am regretting giving up my company car and hassle free motoring to be honest. That said the interior space is great for lugging 3 kids around.

bikemike1968 - you're the same bikemike from the PB forum and I claim my £5!

Correct!

My wife has 2.0 diesel smax which we bought new 18 months ago. Hasn't missed a beat, delivers over 40mpg and she loves it.

Personally I hate it. Neither fish nor fowl. Would rather have had another galaxy or a mondeo estate which at least know what they are for.

I've gone for the 2.0 ecoboost petrol engine so I'm not going to have probs with egr, dpf etc down the line.

What sort of fuel economy does that give you?

On a run up the motorway to Scotland the other day I was getting an indicated 37.4mpg. we got 550 miles out of that tank. Normally get around 450.

Had mine 3 years 2.0TDI,new discs on the front and thats it. 67k on an 06 plate roofbox, 4 bikes on the back and all the camping gear, south of France Scotland etc, its great. So good im selling it for a newer one!

Also worth bearing in mind that the 1.8 is a slightly older tech diesel, not as smooth/quiet as the 2.0 / 2.2. Just depends on your priorities, I owned a 2.0 for a while and thought it was a great family wagon.

Nice surprise today. Picked up my SMax after having rear pads and discs replaced. Was expecting circa £250 based on the best price I could source the parts for, actual bill was £149!! Must have just charged me trade prices for parts - I couldn't do it myself for that.

Wow, 450 miles out of a tank for the ecoboost engine? Is that a manual? My mate seems to average about 26mpg to 30mpg out of his for normal round town driving, but his is a DSG auto, which is supposed to be more fuel efficient than a manual. It drives very nicely though.

Wobbly mine is the PowerShift auto box!

Is 450 good then or bad?

Compared to what my mate says he gets, good! He must have a lead right foot. though he does have a roof rack complete with bikes racks and roof box on all the time so that must be worth 5 - 10% on fuel consumption.

Which model does he have then?

I found that a roof box acted like a windstop on the top of mine!

Oh and if I give mine the beans I can get it quite low!

They should have all the issues with that TDCi lump sorted by now. They're just a Mondeo underneath aren't they...

I'd sooner pick up one of the last VAG TDi Alhambras. We've an older Ford Galaxy version & for hauling 1500kg of caravan, bikes, lots of kids, etc, it's bloody ace.

Renton - its the same as yours, a 2.0 ecoboost with the powershift box (which is a DSG double clutch jobie as far as I can tell). I don't think he drives it particularly economically - a bit of a digital accelerator type of driver always either accelerating or braking, it winds me up whenever i'm a passenger.

This is mine.........

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Nice, I like the face lifted model, but you forgot to show the best bit in your photo's Renton. Something that you get on the 2.2 TDCi and the 2.0 ecoboost and older 2.5T models....the twin exhaust pipes! I'm still a boy racer at heart!

What.. do you mean these............

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Yep. That's them! A nice touch I think.

Looks familiar from SMOC Renton 😉

Yes mate are you on there too?

Wobbly it certainly sounds nice!

Yes mate are you on there too?

Yeah...paid up, even got the sticker :-)(not displayed though).

Who are you on there then bud?

I better PM it!