At the 128,000 mile mark (almost exactly), my car began to run rough. A couple of miles later the check engine light came on. I noticed my partner had left the gas cap loose, closed it, and the check engine light went out - but engine still ran rough (hesitating when switching gears and rough idling, mostly).
I took it in for a tune-up and they pointed out the spark plugs were coated in antifreeze. Ford's cheap-@ss plastic intake manifold had blown out (it looked like someone had poured acid into the thing; parts of it were just completely melted and/or warped by the heat) and the gasket was shredded to boot. The super heated antifreeze that was spraying all over the engine did some other (minor) damage as well; all in, it cost me $965 to fix (I'm not even counting the cost of cabs to & from my mechanic).
Come to find out, this is a known issue with Ford in several makes & models. The plastic their intake manifolds are made from breaks down at 127-129K like clockwork. No recalls or anything concerning this issue, which is ridiculous. If anyone starts a class action regarding this mess, count me IN.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
At the 128,000 mile mark (almost exactly), my car began to run rough. A couple of miles later the check engine light came on. I noticed my partner had left the gas cap loose, closed it, and the check engine light went out - but engine still ran rough (hesitating when switching gears and rough idling, mostly).
I took it in for a tune-up and they pointed out the spark plugs were coated in antifreeze. Ford's cheap-@ss plastic intake manifold had blown out (it looked like someone had poured acid into the thing; parts of it were just completely melted and/or warped by the heat) and the gasket was shredded to boot. The super heated antifreeze that was spraying all over the engine did some other (minor) damage as well; all in, it cost me $965 to fix (I'm not even counting the cost of cabs to & from my mechanic).
Come to find out, this is a known issue with Ford in several makes & models. The plastic their intake manifolds are made from breaks down at 127-129K like clockwork. No recalls or anything concerning this issue, which is ridiculous. If anyone starts a class action regarding this mess, count me IN.
- Dora B., Detroit, MI, US