Mondeo/Focus etc? - Problems

My Mondeo 2004 : one where you unlock - or not - the bonnet with the ig key : a-clock - lift - clock lift . Flat battery - needed to go to Sheff : so put the charged battery / leads near the front . Key - no effect : Internet brains told me this is a common story : worse case scenario - car pick up / mechanic brought out , new grille/lock / labour ... - can cost 300 quid - plus .. and no contribution from the lunatic designers - . It cost me £15 and a lot of work : strongly advise anyone at risk to take preventative measures now .

Well it is fixed now because on my Mondeo it's a traditional interior one. I always did think it was pretty unnecessary as a design though I mean, is the interior lever really that difficult to engineer?

I empathise Hera.

My son closed his Mondeo bonnet with key still in. Lock snapped and was shut for good.

His mate drilled lock out and is now opened using a screwdriver.

Some cretin got paid a mint for that design feature.

Bet they're not driving a bloody Ford.

Nothing wrong with the mechanism or design. They need to be lubricated at least once a year, unfortunately they get neglected.

I agree. Failure due to neglect and / or wear over time (13 years is pretty good) not a design fault.

I empathise Hera.

 

My son closed his Mondeo bonnet with key still in. Lock snapped and was shut for good.

 

His mate drilled lock out and is now opened using a screwdriver.

 

Some cretin got paid a mint for that design feature.

 

Bet they're not driving a bloody Ford.

Quite . The reasons that it is a design fault is 1. it does not require lubrication : this was not the cause of the fault : the mechanism is simple and mainly involves a plastic rod . 2. the consequences of this packing up can be expensive and inconvenient out of all proportion to the fault 3 . It is a simple operation to unlock the bonnet by conventional means .

Do any cars , these days , use this same - unreliable - method ?

Quite . The reasons that it is a design fault is 1. it does not require lubrication : this was not the cause of the fault : the mechanism is simple and mainly involves a plastic rod . 2. the consequences of this packing up can be expensive and inconvenient out of all proportion to the fault 3 . It is a simple operation to unlock the bonnet by conventional means .

Do any cars , these days , use this same - unreliable - method ?

Its not unreliable. Ive had focus and mondeo with this bonnet release for years and never had a single issue.

A blast of lubricant at the annual service is all it needs. Its hardly fords issue that lack of basic maintenance sees the occassional failure

Hi, just had to stop by on my way through the forum and ya know

...

I HATE MY XXXXXXX Focus.. It XXXXXX me off all the time the stupid XXXXXX XXXXXXX piece of XXXX!!!!

I'm kidding I just got a focus 1.6 zetec16v 3dr, I have 1 key, broke fobb, and driver door takes me around half an hour of key turning to unlock

.. Unless I use the passenger to unlock etc.. I'm also in process of fixing my regulator In passenger door as always have to manually put window bk up to shut mode lol ,

Sorry but thought id focus on dropping my problems here hope you all find the right way in/out lol

Nothing wrong with the mechanism or design. They need to be lubricated at least once a year, unfortunately they get neglected.

righto.

My Mondeo 2004 : one where you unlock - or not - the bonnet with the ig key : a-clock - lift - clock lift . Flat battery - needed to go to Sheff : so put the charged battery / leads near the front . Key - no effect : Internet brains told me this is a common story : worse case scenario - car pick up / mechanic brought out , new grille/lock / labour ... - can cost 300 quid - plus .. and no contribution from the lunatic designers - . It cost me £15 and a lot of work : strongly advise anyone at risk to take preventative measures now .

Frankly I'm disappointed. I was expecting a better joke than this.

Do you know any more?

My Mondeo 2004 : one where you unlock - or not - the bonnet with the ig key : a-clock - lift - clock lift . Flat battery - needed to go to Sheff : so put the charged battery / leads near the front . Key - no effect : Internet brains told me this is a common story : worse case scenario - car pick up / mechanic brought out , new grille/lock / labour ... - can cost 300 quid - plus .. and no contribution from the lunatic designers - . It cost me £15 and a lot of work : strongly advise anyone at risk to take preventative measures now .

The problem , was of course , that metal met plastic and the metal , eventually won : bad design . I had to cut the grille in half , at the bonnet front : have used the plastic rod with the Phillips end , rammed a large dia. nail into the other end , put a plastic sleeve on to keep the Phillips end engaged and used a radiator key on the nail's other end - made into a square . Replaced the 6mm bolts - dome headed , needed slots cut in to remove - - with new ones : this latter might be an idea as a preventative : would then be accessible through holes cut in the plastic.

Nothing wrong with the mechanism or design. They need to be lubricated at least once a year, unfortunately they get neglected.

Thanks for the info ,i had better oil mine tomorrow its starting to get a bit dodgy.Ill get the GT85 spray out.