I’m hoping someone might be able to shed some light on an issue, because my local Ford dealership certainly hasn’t been able to.
About 18 months ago I bought a Ford Transit Custom with 58k miles from my local Ford dealer. Within four weeks it was off the road for nine weeks due to a cracked DPF. Thankfully it was still under the three‑month warranty, so Ford replaced it—though the part had to come from Germany, which caused the long delay. Luckily I still had my old Ranger, so I could keep working.
When I collected the van, I noticed it was slow to start. I mentioned it over the phone and was told it might be the battery.
Over time the starting became very inconsistent. Some days it would fire up immediately, other days it needed several turns of the key. No pattern at all. Once it started, it ran perfectly for the rest of the day.
A couple of weeks ago it refused to start at a customer’s property and drained the battery. Jump leads got it going instantly. A mechanic and I both suspected the battery, but a local supplier tested it and said it was fine. The mechanic then suggested starting it from jump leads for a few days—every time it started immediately. He tested the battery again and still said it was healthy.
I’d read online that this can be a common issue, but with no clear answers. Rather than pay for endless guesswork at different garages, I decided to take it straight to Ford, assuming they’d know the problem.
I dropped the van off and got a call later: diagnostics showed nothing. Battery fine. They suspected glow plugs or injectors and asked for permission to investigate further. I agreed.
Next morning they called again—two glow plugs came out, but the other two were seized. They warned that forcing them could shear them off in the head, potentially causing major damage and even requiring a new engine. And even then, it might not fix the issue. At that point I told them to stop, and I collected the van.
So now I’m out of pocket and no further forward. The van still runs, just with unpredictable starting.
Has anyone had a similar issue with a Transit Custom? And if so, did you manage to get it resolved?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks.
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Assuming everyone has checked the earth lead is secure which is attached to the van body ?
I once had a Nissan kubistar which had intermittent starting problems often leaving me stranded on customers drives after starting first time in the morning ,driving without a problem to destinations but then refusing to start again .
After about twenty minutes of being stranded I would try again and most times the van would start .
Like you I tried garages to try and solve the problem but they could not resolve it even after replacing parts .
Eventually I traded the van in and the dealer contacted me asking if the van had some kind of hidden immobilizer as their mechanic could not start it with the key yet they saw me drive it on to their forecourt , obviously I had not got a clue .
However I had to call back at the dealers to. Collect some paper work about two weeks later and they told me they had resolved the problem .
Apparently spiders are attracted to warm electrical parts and they had spun webs in the ignition coil which was causing electrical circuits to short , apparently it can also happen to house alarm circuits and set the alarm off .
Not saying it's the cause of your problem and sounds bizarre but thinking about it putting garden waste in the van also comes with spiders and insects which lurk in the foliage .
Another van I owned with similar problems was more straight forward but the main dealer could not resolve it , it took an old school mechanic with experience and patience to trace the fault which turned out to be blocked drain holes allowing water to enter the cab and drip onto the ECU unit .
Every now and then I had to clean out the scuttler tray under the front windscreen and remove all the debris , mostly pine needles to keep the drain holes from blocking up and this resolved the issue .A tell tell sign was the glove box was flooded and van floor wet underneath gloves box .
It can leak onto fuse boxes etc .
Sometimes the mechanics or technicians just seem to rely on their obd technology which is excellent like it probably traced your dpf fault in seconds but problems can be down to less obvious issues .
Good luck in getting it sorted I know how frustrating it can be .
James , oh dear firstly we have a Transit Custom that I assume has the 2 lt eco blu engine and is .made after 2016 and if so will have a wet belt with all the catastrophic potential that implies , also has 2 seized glow plugs so when any of the plugs fail you can guarantee it will be the seized ones so cold starting will be very difficult! And it now has an intermittent starting fault. You have had it too long to throw it back at the dealer. If it were mine I would part ex it against something that does not have a wet belt as with the glow plug issue also it has the potential to be an absolute money pit.
As to the fault. Experience has taught that main dealers are not mechanics but fitters IE if they cannot sort they just fit new parts until hopefully it fixes the issue. We had a new van sometime ago with an intermittent fault that after 6 trips under warranty to the main dealer they could not sort got so pissed off called the AA who found a loose earthing strap within 5 mins problem sorted. Try and find an old school mechanic sort it then get rid.
Not saying it's this, but I had similar symptoms on a vehicle which turned out to be a newly fitted reconditioned starter motor which would start only intermittently. Usually perfectly fine. Until it wasn't. Then would take many turns of the key to work. Or not at all, yet could go back to it hours later and it would go. Got progressively worse but the (reputable) garage replaced it for free as they had fitted it in the first place. This was one of the 2.0 diesel Volvo's from a few years back which was basically a Ford mechanically
As suggested, I think I am going to have to go to a traditional mechanic who relies on knowledge rather than a computer.
I have thought about going the new route. With the high cost of vans, it would probably be on a lease. No need to worry about the mechanical side. Everything is under warranty. However, my van had a new wet belt when purchased, new DPF and Turbo. If I could get this issue resolved and keep everything crossed, it might go on for a few years.
As for wet belts. I did a brief search on the internet and it appears that almost all vans have now gone the wet belt route. I was shocked to find out that the VW Transporter is basically a Transit with a VW Badge.
Fiat Ducato. Dry belt not sure about the Puegeot and Citroen derivatives
Dpf problems are common in vehicles which only do short trips , previous owner may just have used the van locally and never gave it a good run .
Dpf problems can also result in a blocked egr valve which needs replacing , this can be checked with an obd scanner unless the code has been erased .
Has the van ever gone into limp mode ?
Also worth investing in an obd scanner these days ,very easy to use , just plug into the vehicles obd port and it will show up problem codes you can sort yourself if mechanically minded or pass onto a mechanic , some charge around £48 just to do a scan to get the code .
Van has never gone into Limp Mode. I often take it on a long run up the motorway.
I bought a cheap OBD scanner quite a while back. Fortunately I have a friendly mechanic who will put his more expensive scanner on it.
It goes from bad to worse. Just checked the coolant fluid this afternoon and the tank was completely empty. I didn't notice the engine running hot and there were no warnings. I know it was full when it went into the garage. Checked the oil to make sure that there was no water in that, which there wasn't. Looks like a call to the garage tomorrow to see what they have to say. I appreciate the cooling system doesn't need to be drained. However, I wonder if a pipe was disconnected to improve access. Seems very coincidental.
I do like the Fiats and will research the Ducato.
Check your exhaust to see if it's blowing white smoke or steam which indicates the coolant has gone into the combustion chamber in which case your oil won't have water in it .
If coolant was visible in the tank before you set off the pipes must be all connected .
What happens if you try and top the coolant up .
I have just ordered a new coolant bottle for a classic car I own , old one was leaking slowly through crazed plastic deteriation not evident when it was full it just went suddenly and now I can see the white lines in the crazed plastic .
The tell tale sign was the temperature gauge started to rise when idling in traffic but if the thermostat was faulty and stuck I would not have noticed and cooked the engine .
Yes get it checked , worth persevering to a point but sometimes you just have to draw the line when it's your livelihood
Also is it worth getting rescue recovery assistance if no coolant to take you to a garage , I wouldn't risk driving it personally .
Plugs can be drilled if they break.off usually a 3rd party job.and can be a bit of a wait to get done but definitely not a new engine that's a load of rubbish.
The only other advice I can give is avoid ford vans they are terrible, sorry not helpful but very true. Go for vw, mercedes or renault.
If I were you I'd fix the issue and trade it in, also if it's been doing it since the warranty work your garage should stand by this as it's obviously an.issue caused by whatever they did when it was in
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