Ford Kuga 1.6 (2013) Boost Issues

[Nether]

Good day everyone

I have a few issues with my 2013 Ford Kuga Ecoboost 1.6 model (Odo 113 000km):

The car seems to have an inconsistent amount of boost at various stages of driving, its completely random, but if I put my foot down hard (down a gear too) I would sometimes get a "Service engine now" error in the middle console display. (yellow i book icon)
After this the car would have severe reduced power making it hard to overtake a vehicle even when going down a gear.(limp mode I guess)

The weird thing is, when I shutdown the car and restart it, the error would be gone and it would appear randomly when giving it the beans, so I've learned to be very cautious and not to accelerate too hard.

Checking with a ODBII tool I see some error related to overboost and (I think) a code for P0234.
I think, because the tool has died on me recently, I'll get one later again.

Also, the AutoStopStart feature has an amber 'OFF' on the button consistently (but nothing shows up on the dash, there should be a amber A circle as well if there was a problem) I thought this was the battery, but its new only a year old, testing the battery I get a healthy 12.4v when the ignition is off, and 14ish volts when running. This problem is probably unrelated though.

Thing is I took my car for service at Paul Maher for its major service of 120k, it only has 113k on the odo though, but I took it as a yearly service, it didnt bother me to do the major service. But these problems occurred shortly after this service.

I did take it to ford, but after 4 days they still havent figured out what the issue was and was essentially just letting the car stand out there in the rain and weather, so I requested the car back.

Has anyone encountered such an issue before? Perhaps have a hint to look out for?

My plan is to take it somewhere reputable for a checkup, if anyone could recommend a good centre near Centurion perhaps, could be further away though...my trust in Ford isnt great as I'm fairly certain they'll overcharge me severely (just try and replace everything, maybe its best thing to do though)

Currently the car is sleeping most of her time in the garage, just once a week to the local Spar to keep the battery alive, 1km max

Thanks for reading!

 

[johnjm]

How old is the battery? You would be surprised how issues like these turn out to be electrical with either a tired battery or a loose terminal.

Give it a good clean and reclamp. If the battery is a few years old, replace it.

 

[TheChamp]

I don't think 12.4 is healthy, especially on idle. That's like 80% state of charge. Maybe take a reading when the car is not running and a battery rested and see what you get, I am expecting around 12.7V.

 

[Nether]

Apologies, wrong wording, what I meant by idle, the car isn't started, it's completely off (ignition off as well)

 

[TheChamp]

Apologies, wrong wording, what I meant by idle, the car isn't started, it's completely off (ignition off as well)

Yeah, I would still have the battery tested, 12.4V is a little on the low side, it should read at least 12.6V and above for a fully charged battery.

 

[Nether]

Thanks thechamp, I'll have a look at it and report back.

Found a workshop willing to look at the car, I'll report back if they find anything

 

[ssj]

Hi Nether. Did you ever manage to find the cause of the overboost condition. I have a 2013 kuga and am experiencing the exact same thing. The mechanic seems to think it could be caused by a slipping clutch?

 

[Drifter]

Variable boost, check the following:

Loose boost pipes, might not feel loose, but under boost pressure may leak.
MAF sensor : Could be dirty or need replacement.

If it was constant overboost, your car would go into limp mode.

 

[ssj]

Hi Drifter. Thanks for the reply. The overboost isn't constant, it mainly happens if I accelerate hard between 3to4000 revs. You can hear the revs increasing but the drive doesn't match the rev Increase. You need to tap off a bit and then the drive takes.
I get a service light which goes away when I restart the car. The car doesn't go I into limp mode but it does seem to have reduced power until I go and get the ECU reset.

 

["D"]

Next symptom to be expected and prepared for:

Fire from flames.

 

[ChrisThomas]

Hi Drifter. Thanks for the reply. The overboost isn't constant, it mainly happens if I accelerate hard between 3to4000 revs. You can hear the revs increasing but the drive doesn't match the rev Increase. You need to tap off a bit and then the drive takes.
I get a service light which goes away when I restart the car. The car doesn't go I into limp mode but it does seem to have reduced power until I go and get the ECU reset.

If the revs are increasing and the speed isn't then your clutch is most likely slipping quite badly, a test for this is to hold the car at about 2500 rpm and foot hard on the brakes and handbrake up, put the car into a high gear like 4th and let the clutch out slowly while modulating the accelerator, if the car doesn't immediately stall then your clutch is slipping. Obviously do this on an open road with no traffic so you don't accidentally drive into a wall or something. However the service lights you are getting I think like others have said, most likely a leaky boost pipe - it's a common issue, my Dad's ranger does it once a year just about and it's always the pipes.

 

[MarsWarrior]

Hello everyone
Nether, did you manage to get the problem with your 2013 Kuga 1.6 Ecoboost fixed?
I have a 2014 Kuga 1.6 Ecoboost and I'm currently experiencing a similar issue. When travelling at highway speeds and I suddenly have to overtake by either shifting down a gear or press down on the accelerator pedal, the car would experience a momentary but pronounced loss of power and a "Service Engine Now" message would appear on the information display. The car would continue the journey seemingly without further incident, but the warning message remains active until you switch-off the ignition and switch it on again. The car will then report no warning messages active.
I had something similar about a year ago with the car, but that time the "Service Engine Now" warning only came on once when the car seemed to have a momentary lapse of power whilst I was driving slowly (40 - 50km/h) with the engine under light load. The big difference though with this former issue, was that the whooshing sound made by the turbo as it spooled up to boost pressure under engine load, became very pronounced and loud. You could hear it from inside the car with all the windows closed. The cause in this case turned out to be a leaky turbo boost pipe caused by a lost flange bolt.

 

[neoprema]

I had the same issue on my Ford Fusion. The moment I tried overtaking and accelerated it would gear down, boost and suddenly all power gone and check engine light and it would just limp along slowing down until I was doing 40kph on a freeway…sometimes
restarting the car would help, other times not. The car had 56 000km on the clock.

I took it to Ford and they told me it was the boost sensor that needed cleaning. They did that and gave it back.

2 weeks later - same thing. So I went back and they said there’s a software issue the car is reading sensor data incorrectly. So they reset the ECU.

3 weeks later - same thing. So I went back again and this time they said the boost sensor needed replacing. They replaced it.

This one lasted the longest - almost a month before it did it again! This time while I was in the fast lane and I almost had cars hit me as it just cut out completely and rolled to a stop in the middle of a busy highway.

I took it back and they said the entire turbo needs to be replaced. I knew this probably wasn’t the problem but I let them replace it as it was under warranty.

I got the car back and went straight to another car dealer and traded it in on a new car.

 

[TheChamp]

If you want misery, hardship and sorrow in your life, buy a Ford.

 

[Nithan15]

If you want misery, hardship and sorrow in your life, buy a Ford.

From someone with experience this is so true

 

[epah]

If you want misery, hardship and sorrow in your life, buy a Ford.

Either you car has caught fire, or your 10 speed gearbox has suddenly seized, or your engine has overheated due to a coolant leak. Which is it?

 

[Crayons]

Either you car has caught fire, or your 10 speed gearbox has suddenly seized, or your engine has overheated due to a coolant leak. Which is it?

Could be the alarm didn't go off when someone tried to break in

 

[epah]

Could be the alarm didn't go off when someone tried to break in

Oh, forgot you could unlock the car with a screw driver.

 

[adrcl]

Should have come here for advice on what car to buy

 

[epah]

Should have come here for advice on what car to buy

Why do you need advice on what car to buy? You of all people should know there is only one car on the market. I am disappointed