I discovered rust less than 1" around back windscreen wiper and Ford refused to do anything about it as I had not had my last service done with them but elsewhere (I work in an office over the company's garage who I work). Ford quoted £350 to get it done. Went to independent garage (not my companys as they do not do bodywork) and they say its due to the wiper being too close to the rubber seal which has rubbed it away which has let water in - hence the rust. I applied to Ford again even asking for a contribution but they were adamant no - even though the car was less than 2 years old and their warranty for paint work is 6 years. Got it done for £100 myself in the end. My complaint was wherever I had had it serviced the wiper was faulty and was not fit for purpose. Perhaps they might be a different if it was of one of their top range model cars. 3rd Ford car this century - will I buy another one, no on principle. But saying that I like the KA.
well i love the look of my car... but since buying 2 months ago i need a new exhaust, cat convertor, clutch, drop links, the driver door lock is on its way out.... any1 think i have been ripped off!! thats what u get for bein a girl in a car garage, shoping!!
I've had my KA for 5 years and it has been a lovely car! the odd strut top has gone over time but it is so cheap to repair! It's a lot of fun, very "nippy" and negotiates the roads well. I've also had a few motorway journeys and it has been suprisingly comfortable! I love it.
Very girly (lovely interior), great vision and road handling. Cheap tax, insurance and fuel!
Reviewing a 2003 model.
KA Collection
Owned for 5 years.
Changing headlamp bulbs a nightmare of a job who ever designed the space in the engine area should try working in it they would soon change the design. Don't find the dealers very helpful when you have known problems to Ford they don,t seem interested in fixing things at a fair price or even admitting that the company knows of problems that are a hazard to road saftey and the occupents of the car such as 'the engine just dying at junctions' this fault is well documented on the web i took the car to the dealer who said they have repaired it but they had,nt i fixed it myself in the end from info found on the web !! only took me 10 mins ! Now the steering has gone stiff on bends power sterring so more £xpence either the pump or the rack Must check the spark plugs again another common fault on the KA they seize into the cylinder head put some copper ease on the threads this should stop the problem I know all cars have problems but some of them on the Ka in my humble opinion are due to bad design or trying to be different than everyone else some times it does not work, fashion and style first and to hell with fixing problems at a fair price when things go wrong when you are the owner of your first budget car a few years down the line the car is'nt that old so i think things like should just not happen to so many people proving that it is not a rogue vehicle that i have it is just a poor design for all who have bought one. i will not buy another Ford again the experiance with the KA has not been a very good one
good on fuel
lack of storage pockets no useful glove box don't like the seat belt clip so low on seat frame makes it difficult to locate and clunk click ( showing my age now ) mechanicaly i think it is poorly designed and some components are not up to the job
I'm a Ford KA owner - I previously owned an 03 plate KA but it was involved in a very nasty accident on the motorway at 70mph and was written off! Luckiliy I survived with no injuries whatsoever, despite the car shredding one of it's tyres off and hitting the armco barrier. I was KA-less for a while and had no problems with the KA up to the accident, front suspension bushings replaced under warranty at 15,000 miles. I replaced the car with a very nice low mileage (4000 miles at time of purchase) KA collection 04 plate in Vitro Silver. No problems to date - touch wood!
Cute, Cheeky looks, Small and easy to park - lots of space if used as a 2 seater for road trips and stuff. Nippy and fun to drive.
Getting a little long in the tooth now but still looks fresh.
Reviewing a 2004 model.
2004 Ford KA Collection
Owned for 4 years.
For a little car it has loads of room in the drivers seat, even for a 6 foot 2 inch guy like me! There is still enough room for two kids in the back and a suitcase in the boot. It is very nippy in town and is just as comfortable on the motorway. Would suit anyone really but, especially good for new drivers as it is only group 2 insurance and very cheap on the pocket. In all, highly reccommended.
Owned from new since 2000 ( 5.5 years ) Has been an excellent car. For the last few months have experienced the OVER-REVVING problem that has been sprouting up here and there in posts. From the info offered on this site about 4 weeks ago I removed the Idle Air Control Valve ( IAC ) (two 8 mm bolts) and the plastic housing the valve is attached to ( two 8 mm bolts ) . As stated just watch for the rubber air seals and remove the electrical plug. The whole lot will take you all of 10 mins max. O.K. what I done was NOT use WD40 as although this may work initially it will also create an environment for future carbon deposits to stick to and build up the problem again.
I used Methylated spirits and many cotton buds to clean out all the carbon build up from inside the valve and the housing. Gave it a good clean and refitted both parts back ( again only 10 mins max ) ( DO NOT FORGET the RUBBER SEALS ) There is no settings to do as none are required. The car has been operating as sweet as a nut like new ever since. ( By the way a Ford Garage would of billed about £180 for that ) Give it a go first if you have an over-revving/cut out problem first, you have nothing to lose. Regards
There is one problem i found that was with the spare tyre. I had a flat tyre on the motorway,not a good place but when hubby came to change the tyre he had great difficultyas the spare is stored under the rear of the car the bolt holding it in had corroded ,so we had to get the AA out, very inconvinient for some one if on their own.
We just bought a 2000 1.3 collection Ka with just over 40000 on the clock and are throughly pleased with it. However we have had the common problems reported so much on this review forum:
Spark Plugs corroded into cylinder head. Yes, like so many others two plugs snapped off as I was doing the plug change. These are a very old design of engine but reliable non the less. The combination of an iron cylinder head and small, cheap tapered plugs is always asking for trouble. If you like me have experienced this problem you can do alot to stop it happening again. First make sure you copper grease the threads and the taper of the new plug. Second, only very slightly tighten the plug into the head, nip it up. Over tightening the plug is a big mistake. Periodically, spray WD40 around the plugs and maybe take them out and re apply copper grease. No guarantee but hopefully these steps should stop the plug nightmare happening again!
Engine cutting out when coming to a stop. Several reasons for this but most point to the IAC valve. You can clean it out yourself and see if it cures the problem. Haynes picture 15.32, unclip wiring from valve, use an 8mm socket and remove the two bolts holding the silver valve to the plastic body, careful with the rubber seal. Spray WD40 (not water or petrol!) all inside valve to flush out muck and dry it off. Also remove the plastic housing the valve is attached to, again only two 8 mm bolts holding it to the main inlet manifold and be careful of the rubber seals. Clean out with WD40 and clean rag. Pop all back on and this could be the end of the problem. If not a garage will have to diagnose the problem.
Over revving. Not had this problem yet but before you take to a garage remove the air inlet duct from the throttle housing, Haynes picture 15.2b. Carefully clean any muck from around the throttle butterfly and the insides of the body itself. If the throttle is not closing properly the ECU throws a wobbly. Again this is a simple task and may cure the problem but a garage may be the best place for this to be sorted.
Constantly blowing hot air into cabin (or constantly cold). Found out that the heater valve (coolant valve) is a common part to become faulty in alot of Fords. Again this job is a simple one to do yourself, check out Haynes section 3.9 45-52.
Aside from these, what I consider to be minor issues, I think the Ka is a great, fun to drive car!
I bought my V reg Ford Ka Collection 1.3i last year with 34k miles on the clock. 4 months later, I pull off the slip road off the M1 and my car sounds like itÂ’s screaming when at a stand still and changing down the gears. The engine was over revving so loudly, I pulled over turned the keys in my ignition and removed them - and the engine carried on running for 30+ secs!!! I was so scared; I called out my breakdown who couldn't find a fault with it so towed me to a garage to have it looked at. They advised me it was my Idling Control Valve and so I asked for it to be replaced. 8 months later and its done exactly the same thing. Pulled over and called breakdown. No faults found, towed to another Ford garage, road tested twice and hooked up to a computer and advised they couldn't fault it if they tried. Have been told that I need to take it straight to them the minute it starts doing it again, in the hope that they can hook it up whilst its over revving - otherwise they don't know what this is.
Been speaking to someone from work that had the same problem. She gave me the name of a garage that fixed it for her (Brinsley Garages, Nottingham (01773 713332) as they told her that this is a common problem in older Ford Ka's previous to 2002. She didn't exactly know, but they drilled a hole in a part so that it couldn't re-adjust?! But it seemed to work the trick.
As many comments suggest, this is potentially a very dangerous fault that Ford dealerships should be doing their most to resolve. The minute Ford realised there were faults in these models, they should have recalled them, simple as.
My KA .. Hmmm ... I love it, I have owned Five Porsches and countless others I have an opionion on all of them .. but my KA ... Will never sell it and just love the thing the more I own it .. It was built like all cars "on a budget" and it seems we forget this, likewise all machines are different and there are good and bad. I took the time when I got it ( a 2001 KA Collection ) to rust proof all the areas that as an engineer looked like they might need it and as a result NO RUST ANYWHERE .. It has lived in Italy, UK , Malta , and at least ten dfferent garages it has been stored and has sat outside, it has done 60k and has had things go wrong .. BUT IT HAS NEVER FAILED TO START OR GET ME THERE and when we loose sight of that being its job we should all give up . I enjoy driving it for fun as well as use and ford should be proud of a great design .. but if you want it forever dont blame them if they cut corners in the build .. Rust proof it with the required effort and guess what it will look like new for ages, dont park it next to volvos or 4 x 4 s and the dents will not appear and wash it by hand .. AND LOOK AFTER IT .. if you do these things and it still crap .. Moan otherwise see it for what it is ...A FANTASTIC FUN and in my opinion future classic.
I've had my second-hand S-Reg Ka since May '99. I brought her on the belief that she is based a Ford Fiesta and therefore cheap and reliable, she gets a full, and an intermediate service once a year and spends her life bombing around twisting country lanes, stop-start motoring in town and whizzing along motorways. She lugs heavy building materials without complaint and her boot appears almost "Tardis" like. She is by far the most PRACTICLE and RELIABLE car I've known. Added to that she is STILL an absolute dream to drive.
I have owned my KA Collection for 3 years and i have had a few problems.The electric windows stopped working and then they rattled when you went round a corner. Also the central locking broke on drivers side and noW its broken again and is not covered now cause warranty has run out any ideas of how to fix it on the cheap please ford have said £100. The steering wheel broke the first week i had it the leather fabric peeled of in the sun. So they replaced it free of charge, my side stickers with KA Collection peeled of had to have them replaced and also my clutch went at 30,000 miles although i had trouble with it from the star costing £295 also my bushes but i didnt pay for them. Also the air conditioning broke and water was pouring into the foot wells it took a month for me to get my car into the ford main dealers and two weeks for them to fix it. The paintwork scratches really easily and i cant understand why Ford does not recognise faults on their cars. People are more likely to buy another ford if they fixed the faults instead of ignoring them. Im slightly worried about the prospect of keeping my ka but at the moment i cant afford to change it. Im going to send a letter to the main ford customer service complaining about the faults that have occured on my ka and i suggest everyone else does as well.Then perhaps they will start listening eventually.Happy motoring!
also i see people miffed at the ka cutting out basically its the idle speed control valve jus pop down to your local ford garage and they shall fit you a new one same happend to that happend bout 2 months ago and and my mum got had the car back in 98 untill i bought the car
hi i have a 98 model ford ka runs like a dream but im considering giving it some more beef so to speak im looking into an engine conversion from a company called pumabuild who can drop a 1.7 puma racing engine in my dinky car jus wanted to if anyone has had this done and what they thought of the end result, and if anyone has any comments on this subject and what there views are the price for the conversion is bout 3k thats the engine fitted with an ecu full stainless steel exauhst system along with the uprated brakes. cheers luke
Mine's a Ford Ka Millenium edition. 2001. Great, funky car. (Bright yellow.) Drives well. Precise steering. BUT, the cills DO rust. Mine after 18 months and low mileage. I had my Ka back to the dealer who eventually resprayed the cills - but they began rusting again within 6 months. Rust shows only too obviously on a bright yellow Ka so now I'm going to have to trade-it in before the problem becomes too obvious. Shame as it is a great car to drive.
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