Although I love my 98S ka, I'm starting to get jarred off with it's many faults. I've had to replace the entire exhaust system and cat (£600) - The back box failed not long after I bought it and was replaced for free . Suspension problems (Mot failure). Rust on door cills - common problem! Replacement TPS (over-revving) and the latest problem is smoke coming from the front wheel which I think is the disk brake caliper sticking.... The brakes have always been really bad and I took the car back because I thought they were faulty (made a grinding noise) but I was assured twice that they were fine. I've gotten used to the engine's tappet noise as this is one of the quirks of the car, and anyway this engine apparently dates back to the sixties! Luckily I've not had the engine cut out out on me yet - but I think the problems I've had are a bit "ott" for a modern car that hasn't reached 40k miles yet! - Sorry but I've had enough now and I'm going to get myself an Audi A2 .... "er indoors" says they're ugly so Good! she won't be driving it then!
I bought a P reg KA two years ago and upon noticing that the tappets were noisy set the valve timing. 100 miles later it was the same. One valve (no 1 inlet was constantly going out). I have since found out that this is a design problem in pre November 1998 engines and is due to a weak cam shaft. The new cam shaft and associated bits costs £400 in parts alone whilst a new reconditioned warrented Ford engine costs £600. I am therefore fitting a new engine. Ford will not take any responsibility for cars more than 3 years old so beware if you are considering buying a KA with an engine manufactured before November 1998. You can tell if the engine is the later modification since there will be a sticker on the top telling you that the exhaust valve clearence is now 0.50mm.
With regard to the over-revving problem, has anyone got a copy of the FORD TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 95/2000 referred to by another contributor? Ford Australia refuse to provide a copy.
I've had my P-reg ka2 for four years and think she's the most wonderful creature. I'm currently experiencing what seems to be the classic cutting out at roundabouts/ junctions/ generally changing gear. This only seems to be after I've done a longer drive (ie over an hour) and when I've done 70mph for a considerable chunk of that. When I do the same route that has previously caused cut out with a limit of 60mph and under she doesn't seem to cut out. I'll try WD40 inside the ICV trick and see how it goes, I'll report back if it helps! Anyhow general consensus I adore my ka and wouldn't be without her!
Had my Ka from nov '99 just replaced the second front spring which broke going over a speed bump @ 10mph.A water leak in passengers footwell. The over revving can be fixed by spraying the throttlebody spring with WD40. Rust on the door corners and finaly an annoying rattle from the rear drivers side going over concrete roads can anyone help with the knocking noise????
I'm afraid the Ka's now getting a thumbs-down from me too. I used to sing its praises but I now discover that I am one of many who have had the spark plugs corroded into the engine.
What a stupid design! And I only had it serviced only 14 months ago at a Ford dealership.
To all who have stalling problems when slowing down/stopping, its a minor problem with your Idle Control Valve whcih you can sort yourself without going to fords. Its very easy to do. I did my own, and i have no mechinical experience at all. All you have to do is take off the ICV (see Hayes manual page 4A.9, figure 15.32) and spray the insides with WD40 (but NOT water). It will clear out all the gunk that builds up and allow the revs to remain stable at idle. There have been a few cases of exhausts failing at low milage (recent one I heard of was 4800 miles!). I think this may be just the odd ones. Just replaced my exhaust at 53000, which is not to bad.
Creaking noises coming from suspension are quite common in small fords, it means that your bush arms need replacing, usually one one side needs doing (my near side needs doing, but haven't the money at the mo).
Problems with central locking with it locking, unlocking, lock etc... this means that there is most likely to be water in the electrics. If you sort your locks out, get the rest of your Ka checked for poor seals, otherwise you'll have the same thing all over again.
Hey, just to help alot of you people out there when your enginge is reving iraticaly and or cutting out at junctions from my experince as macanice it is always down to either a dodget air flow sensor or a leak in the air intake these new engines are really sensitive about it anyway hope this helps you people out FORD dealers are aload of cheese just tell them what u want im sure in 80% of these cases it will fix the problem
I bought my beautiful new vulcano red lovely SportKa last month. Given it's a 95Bhp engine in such a small car I was waiting for more punch. Anyway it's faster than the 60bhp SunCollection that I sold to buy this one (and a lot less comfortable to ride too). BUT, since day one the check engine lamp turns on sometimes. If know from the focus that pressing the odometer while turning the key enters a test mode where it shows "dt 412" after the gage and bulb test. I think this may mean "Diagnostic Trouble Code 412", but I'm not sure. I took it to the dealer and they said it had "an EGO communication problem", but it looks like trouble code 412 does have to do with idle speed regulation nothing to do with the EGO... and the engine light keeps turning on from time to time... once a week or so.
Richard Eva. My daughter bought her Ka collection 2 years ago.she has experienced the engine rev fluctuation, that was sorted by the dealer.But the problem she now has is with the steering wheel coming apart.All we can get out of Ford is that thier one year warranty is up,and they don`t want to know.She took out the exta warranty for four years only to be told that the steering wheel is a trim item and not covered.Ever heard of anything so stupid.Can you drive a car without the steering wheel?My advice steer clear of ford{sorry).I have always driven Rover cars and I have had the occassional evan when it was out of warranty they were always helpful and sorted the problem.I cant say the same for Ford.It seems the tyers last longer than the steering wheels.After only 21000 miles is it too much to ask a large company like ford to replace it free of charge.As for myself I will stick to Rover.Anyone else had this problem
This is my 2nd KA in 9 months. The 1st one had an unfixable oil leak so Ford let me have a new car. However in the 2 months I've had the 2nd KA I've needed a replacement headlight and now the air conditioning has broken down. There is also a funny grinding sound coming from the steering coloum. I had a Fiesta for 10 years and the only thing it ever needed was a new clutch!!
I have a V reg Collection. Bought 2 hand some months ago. Only 17000 on the clock. Major complaints are 1. Creaking from front end when going over speed bumps,this I am told is a known fault and requires new bushes to the lower wishbone at £150 a time ( oddly only one side does this )and 2. Water ingress, bad, very bad ! need to take up flooring, after removing seats as this in one piece, rip out sodden felt underlay, dry out interior, look for leak. Get hose and liberally soak. Where is leak ? who knows ? I dont, can anyone help with this [Log in to view email]
I bought a brand new Ford Ka Collection in metallic Panther Black in July 2003. It was a special deal with air-con. Generally, I have been very pleased with it and it's a nice drive. As a previous reviewer said, it does lose power with the air-con on and the door sticker on the passenger side is starting to come away so I'm going to get that replaced. The other thing I've noticed is that you get a 'clunk' noise when you quickly go into full lock on the steering - is this normal?
Ive had my P Reg Ford Ka for two years now and have enjoyed driving it. Have had problems with the doors locking themselves when you get out (unfortunately resulting in being locked out in the rain) and also with over-revving but nothing too serious until about a month ago. After braking for a roundabout the oil and battery lights came on and as I went to accelerate nothing happened. This was scary as was in the right hand lane and the car just rolled out into the middle with no power on one of the busiest roundabouts in Norfolk. It did come back after several seconds of frantic pumping of the accelerator pedal and hadnt happened since until today, travelling from Norfolk to Cheshire my car kindly decided to do exactly the same, first again after braking for a roundabout then more seriously on the outside lane of the A14 after I braked to let someone out. Not a nice situation to be in losing the power to accelerate on a busy stretch of road doing 70mph in the outside lane!! The rest of the journey I was terrified to brake, relied heavily on gear changes instead and avoided leaving the inside lane. Am going to take it to the garage in the morning however reading comments on this page this obviously isnt a one off, I just hope the garage can fix it as I have to do the drive back on Sunday and would quite like to get there in one piece!! Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated in case the garage cant resolve it. Julie
Hiya I have a R reg Ford car and for the last year have had a problem of it just cutting out when sat at junctions, thought it was my driving at first but its done it so many times now that i know for sure that its not me. Been into the maindealer too many times!!! and its still doing it totally fed up now. I'm a student and can't afford to replace the car otherwise i would!!! Had a new idle speed control which didn't make any difference so complained and got some money back! Been in for so many tests that i refuse to take it in anymore. However problem isn't getting any better, does any one have any idea's? Also have a problem of lack of acceleration when trying to speed up, any idea's? Ford just said that they couldn't say what the problem was unless it did it when they had the car but as both the problems are intermittant its never happened when they've had it in!! Can anyone offer me any advice on what will solve the problems as its getting dangerous to drive!!!
Thanks Nigel I was wondering if rad-weld can totally cock ones heating system up. I do not believe that it can, since it surely will only block pinhole gaps. However the fact remains that my heater failed after adding them both. Is this coincidence!!
Hi, My KA(P reg)heater does not work. I have changed the thermostat but to no avail. It starts to warm but all of a sudden after a mile or so goes back to cold. Any ideas??
I brought my 2nd hand R reg Ka2 in Aug Love it to pieces until 2 month's ago the engine has been irratically revving. It's fine when you first start the car and then when you come to a stop it almost wants to die on you. Took it to my local Ford dealer first of all they said it was the throttle control sensor they ordered the parts fitted it and it made no difference. They are now saying it has an air leak. Reading everyone else's commments I'm beginning to feel concerned that I may be getting ripped off does anyone have any suggestions for what it could be?
On second base KA. First one new last year and the second new this year. So far had the power steering pump replaced (took 3 visits to the dealership to cure) and due to have the water pump replaced. Uses about 1/2 pint a week (is this usual). I have done the big car thing and think the KA is great fun and so cheap to run compared to the BM's and Rovers etc. My next KA will be either the Sport or the Street Ka. Dont rate CD Bramhall's as a dealership. I'll be using a different one next time. And they are'nt girlie either. I'm 6 foot and 46!!
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