2012 Ford Mondeo Titanium X 2.0 TDCi

Summary:

OK

Faults:

Clutch starting to judder, will need changing soon. Acceptable at the age and miles.

The car has a full history and lowish miles for its age. According to the receipts, the cambelt has been changed. You need full history with evidence of all oil changes done on these cars to avoid engine trouble.

Biggest headache has been excessive tyre wear. Checked all 4 wheel alignment and new suspension bushes, but new tyres fitted are still wearing on the inside edges after as little as a few thousand miles.

General Comments:

Mondeo Titanium X - a fantastic big car for the money, lots of equipment and leather sests.

Very comfortable and nice to drive. 2.0 diesel is strong and does 45 - 50 mpg even with spirited driving!

Great looking exterior, my car is blue, has massive wheels and window tints.

Love it, really hope to get my suspension issues sorted, the car has been fantastic otherwise.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th July, 2026

2012 Ford Mondeo Estate Zetec Power-shift 2.0 TDCi

Summary:

Never so glad to scrap a car!

Faults:

Driveshafts, oil leak, coolant leak, ABS, plus all the usual wear and tear.

An yes, of course the Power-shift auto-box has failed which led me to scrap it!

General Comments:

Good points about this Mondeo? Good looking, nice to drive, spacious and economical - when running right. Was not bad the first year or two I had the car.

Bad points? Unreliable. Seriously one of the worst cars I have ever had. Even my old 2009 Vauxhall Insignia was better. This 2012 Ford is trash. Yes I was unaware of the auto-box issues before I bought the car. So I have learned, but will never buy another Ford, it is unforgivably bad!

Rude main dealer didn't want to know and I had to seek out independent help but was still quoted a ridiculous expense to fix it! Even at low miles I figured it was not worth it and gladly scrapped this terrible car. Never again. Since bought a Toyota Avensis (2014) and loving it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th June, 2026

20th Jun 2026, 14:32

Just be glad it made it to over 70,000 miles.

I have heard of these power shift auto boxes failing as early as 30,000 miles.

Given it was 13 years old, I'd have scrapped it as well. But, at low-ish miles, it may seem a bit of a waste of a car, and it is, but there are some Fords on Auto-Trader right now being sold cheap as spares or repairs with these failed boxes with low miles because if someone is willing to replace the box, it may prove a reliable enough vehicle if everything else with the car is OK, but it is still a gamble. In short, you are better off finding a good manual version of any Ford from this time period.

21st Jun 2026, 15:26

These Powershift transmission should be avoided regardless how cheap you can get these cars second hand. Yes, they might last 200K kilometers if you maintain it carefully, never do any heavy towing and mainly do highway mileage. But it might blow up well before 100K kilometers.

Second hand units are not relevant, they don't exist and if so, they will fail within few years. You really can't fix these yourself, even if you are a experienced DIY. Believe me, I've tried and I know others that have tried. This unit requires specialized tools and software, if you intend to work on one. The early Powershifts are a disaster, even the later revised versions aren't any good either. What was Ford thinking here? VW had some problems with their early DSG transmissions, but at least VW was able to rectify this and later DSGs are generally good units. Ford doesn't seem to care. Same with their various wet belt engines. Total disaster. Ford used to make some of the most robust cars out there, but they have completely dropped the ball in the last years.

In reply to 21st Jun 2026, 15:26

21st Jun 2026, 22:17

Agreed. Ford (European), while not being Toyota, used to build the most sensible, usable and practical cars while still looking smart and being fun to drive. They were dependable and fixable at reasonable cost. A brand you could blindly purchase if you knew nothing about cars. They're now far riskier to buy than anything from VW.