[fordfella]

Morning all, newby to the forum and
looking for some advice please. Been owning and driving most of the
Ford mid range since the late 1960's and now contemplating a 2-3 year
old B Max 1.6tdci which will be the tuition car for my Driving School
and therefore has to be reliable.
I've become aware of the battery drain
problem that seems to effect
this and other models but understand that Ford have a software fix.


Have
any of the forum members experienced this problem, had the software
update, and has it conclusively cured the problem?

Cars
seem to have evolved nowadays to become technical nightmares, my old
Anglia 105E could be repaired with in a trice with a 5/8
^th
inch ring spanner and a large hammer!

Many
thanks

PS
great Forum lots of knowledgeable people around.

 

[Hywel S Wales]

Hello and welcome !


I've had my (new) B Max for 7 months now and no problems whatsoever (he says , fingers crossed !)
Mine is the 1.0 Eco Engine with Start/Stop so has an uprated battery.
I'm guessing if you get a 2-3 yr old vehicle, any battery issues will have been sorted ??

 

[jackkook]

Welcome fordfella, the 1.6 tdci has a "Diesel Particulate Filter" and will not be very suitable for driving lessons.

 

[fordfella]

John - thank you for your response. your comment has some logic. All the comments that I've seen are related particularly to the 1.6tdci, although I can't think that Ford are going to have radically different systems for each model.
Jackkook - thank you for your comment. Most driving instructors favour diesel cars. The DPF doesn't cause too many issues with driving school cars - they clock up high mileage every day and the engine gets to working temperature and stays there for long periods. I've had 4 diesels in the last 6 years (all Fords) and none of them have suffered from DPF problems.
I note that you have a 1.6 tdci. I had a 1.5tdci Fiesta on lease for 12 months but found it cramped (I'm 6'2") very sluggish and not very economical on fuel - are you happy with yours?

 

[jackkook]

I think my B-Max is fabulous, I to had a 1.5 Fiesta before this and found it felt very small car against the B-Max, I have done 27000 miles in 14 months, MPG average is 67.+

 

[KeithW]

I have owned my B-Max 1.6 Tdci for 18 months and had no battery problems. The car is frequently left for several days without use and has always started without problems - touch wood.

 

[KeithW]

The B-max is much more spacious than the Fiesta on which it is based and the 1.6 tdci gives it better performance than the old 1.5 although I understand a new more powerful 1.5 tdci is now being introduced.

 

[fordfella]

Thank you so much for all the responses. I looked at a smart 2013 silver 1.6tdci yesterday with just under 17,000 miles and thought it was so good I bought it.
Driving tests committments through the month and a delay in getting the dual pedals fitted means that I can't start using it until the end of the month but ho hum everything comes to those that wait.
regards to all who helped
FF