2000 Ford Mondeo LX TD from UK and Ireland - Comments

Radio/CD died due to an incorrectly rated fuse in one of the live feeds. 2 minute fix.

Air conditioning cutting out at idle due to idle speed setting too low. Simple adjustment required.

Drivers electric window sometimes sticks near the top of its travel.

Headlamp bulbs fitted incorrectly.

A great, cheap family hack. Very reliable too - the problems I have had were down to poor/non existent preparation from the dealer I purchased the car from, and incompetent previous maintenance, particularly as it would appear by the last owner who thankfully only had the car for 3 months. In basic mechanical terms however, it wears its 100,000 miles superbly.

The car is a bit sluggish, but as long as you keep the turbo spooled up, acceleration is more than acceptable. It's easy to catch the engine in a "dead zone" below 1800 RPM however, and this can make progress painful. Given a few miles however, you learn to drive around this, and I would say real road performance is somewhere between the 1.6 and 1.8 petrol models, although obviously delivered very differently to either. Handling, ride, steering feel and brakes, as with all Mondeos, still shames some of the current competition, and indeed the car still feels fresh and bang up to date on the road.

Fuel consumption and range is excellent with about 600 miles easily achievable on a tank, working out at around 45 mpg seemingly however hard or gently it is driven. The engine oil has not needed a top up yet, and all fluid levels are where they should be. Motorway cruising is effortless, with an absence of road and wind roar, and a suppleness to the ride that wouldn't disgrace a premium sector car. Over 85, the diesel rumble becomes intrusive, but up to and including this speed, noise levels are no higher than the petrol equivalent. Perfect for "kids in the back" motoring.

In practicality terms, the Mondeo is superb. The boot is huge, and the hatch opens wide to create a huge loading aperture which avoids the need to manoeuvre bulky items into the boot. With the seats folded, the Mondeo will swallow huge loads. In terms of rear seat accommodation, there is enough leg and head room for six footers to get comfortable, and the knee cutouts on the front seat backs provide valuable extra inches.

Seat comfort both front and rear is superb, and the driving position natural, with a massive range of adjustment including electric seat height adjuster, and a reach and rake adjustable steering wheel. Equipment levels are generous, even on this lowly "LX" model. The car has ABS, a Quickclear heated windscreen, traction control (not that it really needs it with 90 bhp), electric windows, power steering, a good quality CD player and air conditioning.

Downsides? Nit picking really to be honest. Although the build quality is superb (comfortably better than our old 1998 Polo), some of the shiny plastics used inside look a bit naff. This wasn't helped when the supplying dealer drowned everything in back to black when they valeted the car, making things considerably worse. The performance also isn't great, although it doesn't have any sporting pretensions so you can hardly complain. Other that that however, and with the price we paid in mind (UKP 2600) it is a seriously hard car to fault.

Highly recommended as cheap, safe, reliable, dynamically accomplished and well specified family transport. Far better than the used values imply.

This is the best-written report I've read and very interesting.

Shows that you don't have to buy a "premium" brand or a new car to get satisfying motoring.

The owner obviously knows exactly what he is doing.

Compare this to all the Dodge Neon reports.

I agree this is the best posting I have read on this site, well

done.I currently own a civic coupe which has a few problems and have been offered a swap for a mondeo td lx. The car is currently a taxi and is making way for a newer one. After reading this review I have decided to go for it as it does not sound as if you have had much gone wrong. Being a taxi it will have been regularly serviced and maintained and I feel comfortable after reading your informative review to take the gamble.

Thanks again...a happy man!!!

Thanks for the comments! Here is an update on the original review.

Car has now clicked over 110,000 miles and continues to be a very reliable and comfortable workhorse. A few issues have arisen, but nothing out of step with a six figure mileage.

Firstly, I suffered a breakdown. Well, to be exact, ran out of fuel with a quarter of a tank still showing on the gauge. It happened to be one time I hadn't reset the trip meter on refilling, so I didn't notice. The gauge seems fine in the top area of its travel, so I suspect it's just the sender playing up. Not an easy job to change, so I just use the trip meter now. It will still achieve an easy 550 miles on a tank, with 600 manageable if you're light footed. That's up to 45 mpg - not bad IMO for a big tank with an old tech and underpowered lump under the bonnet.

The front CV joints have started knocking rather alarmingly on full lock. Being a Ford, the parts are cheap enough (UKP 65 per pair for quality brand pattern parts including delivery), so I just need to make the time to do the work. It does involve dismantling the front suspension, but it shouldn't be too bad.

The sticking electric window has got worse to the point where it will not now close without manual intervention. It feels like the regulator bolts have come loose allowing the window to "skew" as it rises, and become stuck. Either that or the regulator is broken. Need to sort it before it burns out the motor.

Throttle cable is displaying signs of fraying on the pump end. Needs replacing.

Other than that it's still a very solid feeling car. Didn't use a drop of oil in the 6,000 miles between the last two services, and has always fired first go despite temperatures in these parts nudging -7°C some nights recently. It's more than a neighbour's Golf TDI mk4 has managed through this winter, put it that way. I just need to get these jobs done before they cause more problems.

I would still recommend the car - you just need to keep on top of the little bits as they start to go. Something I am pretty shocking at.

Another update:

Throttle cable replaced. £19 from the local Ford dealer and about 20 minutes to fit. Much easier than some I've done before. Part wasn't in stock but it took them less than 24 hours to get one in!

New problem with the handbrake ratchet sometimes not "biting" properly. A sharp tap on the lever can release the handbrake which is not only dangerous, but an MoT fail as well. Went into the local Ford dealer and asked about the parts. Guy looks it up on the computer and asks for some details about the car. He then tells me there was a recall out on them a few years back which the previous owner seems to have ignored. They want the car for half a day, and Ford will cough up for the parts and labour. A nice touch.

Handbrake ratchet fixed by the dealer as promised, free of charge.

Found a few things while checking the car out prior to the MOT. Front tyres were getting low, so replaced these. Got a four wheel alignment done at the same time which feels as if it's taken about 50,000 miles off the car. Steering now much more positive and seems to have less play in it (why this is I don't know).

Also discovered the front brake pads had about had it, so replaced them. Discs will be fine for this set of pads, but will probably need replacing next time. The brakes feel great now the new pads have bedded in, and there's no wobble or judder so all seems fine.

Took her down for MOT and she passed first go with just an advisory on the CV joints. Exhaust emissions less than 20% of prescribed limit despite six figure mileage. No other MOT relevant faults found at all. These are well engineered cars.

The electric window problem is a worn regulator which needs to be replaced with the motor as a complete assembly at a cost of over UKP100 + VAT. I've decided to live with the problem for now.

Another update.

As a last resort before replacing the window regulator, I tried spraying a little silicone lubricant in the window side channels. That was four weeks ago, and the window has behaved perfectly ever since. Fingers crossed.

The car has just clicked over 118,000 miles and continues to rack up an average of 400 miles a week without complaining. It's due a service which is on the schedule for this weekend, and a slightly jerky reaction to open and closed throttle was traced to a slightly worn engine mount. A good, guarateed second hand part is winging its way to me off Ebay for £15 - better than Ford's demand for £95 + VAT for a new one.

CV joint is sitting in the garage waiting to be fitted. My mechanic had a prod about underneath and reckons it's just one side that's gone. The part came to £30, plus the £20 my mate reckons he wants to fit it

This, and the engine mount are the only faults on the car that have a) cost me money, and b) not been the fault of incompetent previous owners or mechanics. At a combined total of £65 for a year and 20,000 miles of motoring, plus a couple of routine services, I can live with that.

Managed a new "worst" fuel consumption of 38 mpg, but in the car's defence I was in a 5 mile traffic jam for two hours with the air-conditioning on all the time. Typical consumption over a tankful remains around the 44 mpg mark.

This car remains a very economical, comfortable and unfailingly reliable commuter and family runabout. Even the performance isn't so bad once you learn to keep the revs in the narrow power band, but it could never be considered lively.

As per others thoughts, your comments are the best I've ever read. I was considering buying a 2004/5 Mondeo TD90 LX, and having read the above I am now going to, I do about 37000 miles per year, and from what you say the Mondeo is well capable. Thanks for such detailed comments :-)

Thanks for your positive comments.

The 2000-on mk3 Mondeo is a very different beast mechanically (and in other respects) with a much more sophisticated engine.

My comments relate to the mk2 which finished in 2000. Mine is a September 2000 registration which was probably one of the very last built before production switched to the mk3.

The mk3 is a much better car all round, but from talking to my mechanic and other owners, I am of the firm belief that the new common rail diesels, for all their extra power and refinement are nowhere near as reliable as these old mechanical units. They certainly cost a lot more to fix when they do go wrong. Individual components such as pumps and injectors can cost anything up to £1,000 or more to replace because the massive pressures these systems run at require much more precise engineering, and therefore more expensive components.

By contrast, the most expensive component on this engine, the diesel pump, can be bought reconditioned with a warranty for less than £500, repaired for a couple of hundred, or picked up from any breaker for £50. Injectors cost £30 each brand new, the pump drivebelt a tenner, and the rest of it is just the plumbing linking it all together, a filter unit and a primer diaphragm. Unless the turbo goes pop or the timing belt breaks (new engine time), almost anything on these engines can be put right for less than a hundred quid.

With the newer diesels, you also have much more in the way of electronics involved in the whole process which, although generally reliable, do need specialist diagnostic equipment (and the associated labour charges) when they do go wrong.

I just took the view that I bought this car was ust to do a job. It's not a car I've always dreamed of owning, or one that beyond keeping it mechanically sound and safe for my wife and kids to travel in, I particularly lavish any love and care on. With this in mind it seemed daft to borrow money to buy a later, potentially more costly to maintain car. I wanted cheap, safe and reliable above all else, and in this respect the Mondeo is just about the best car out there in my opinion.

I have also have a superbike in the garage for fun that does 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. That helps!

Cheers.

Another update (now on 126,000 miles) :

I noticed the coolant level had dropped slightly and the engine started to develop a bizarre "chattering" noise particularly on idle. I suspected the water pump was starting to go, and sure enough when I popped the top cambelt cover off, there were traces of coolant on the timing belt and inside the cover.

On these engines, the water pump is driven by the timing belt, so any water pump fault needs to be dealt with immediately. If the pump bearings collapse or sieze, the timing belt will either snap, or be thrown off. This will destroy the engine instantly. The valve arrangement on the engine means the valves don't bend, but get smashed up through the head, and usually break the cam in two. This is not repairable if it happens.

So, a good quality aftermarket pump was obtained (£40), together with a timing belt kit (£70). The timing belt has to be replaced whenever it is disturbed, plus it was contaminated with coolant. The kit consists of a timing belt, fuel injection pump belt, tensioners for both belts and an adjuster eccentric. The timing belt tension is set by aligning two marks on the tensioner, so no special tools are needed. The adjuster is moved with a simple allen key.

It was a nightmare job with most of the components on the right hand side of the engine bay having to come out, plus an engine mount. No timing marks are available, so a special timing kit is needed with pins and a locking plate for the camshaft. This isn't a bank-breaker at £25 and can be bought from any good motor factor.

The job took an entire weekend to complete, but with the new pump installed, and the new timing belts and tensioners, the engine once again sounded as it should. 5,000 miles on, the coolant level hasn't moved, and the noise hasn't returned.

Plus I have the peace of mind of knowing the timing belt is now good for another 40k or so.

Fuel consumption has got better in recent months (no idea why), averaging 47 mpg. On one tankful I managed 50 mpg.

Still a good, reliable car which has yet to let me down. Copes admirably with my weekly commute, sips fuel and is comfortable and well screwed together.

Another update.

131,000 miles up, and it's time to part with the Mondeo. A growing family means we're going down the MPV route, and we're in the process of buying a Renault Grand Scenic 1.9dCi.

The Mondeo is still running well, although it seems to have aged dramatically in the last few thousand miles. The interior is becoming creaky, and the front shocks now feel well past their best, with the car floating and bouncing more than it used to over the Third World quality roads the UK is blessed with. It's also now showing wear on the seat squab and steering wheel. Nothing a few quid off Ebay couldn't sort out, but I'm not interested in tarting cars up when they get to this kind of value.

Reliability continues to be first class. There's something odd going on with the power steering intermittently when parking, but the fluid level is OK and there are no odd noises. The car still has yet to break down or fail to start, which impresses me immensely in 40,000 miles of hard use, the majority of which being the wrong side of 100k. Fuel economy continues to impress, with between 45 and 48 mpg regularly returned on my daily commute.

If you want a cheap, comfortable, reliable family car, I would recommend a mk2 Mondeo without hesitation. They may lack the trim quality of the Germans, but underneath, the basic engineering is as good, if not better. My brother-in-law has a VW Passat which is a year newer and has done half the miles, yet has been nothing like as reliable, and has cost nearly £2000 in unscheduled maintenance in two years.

Will be appearing in Autotrader in the next few weeks with a fresh MOT for a grand. Will probably make someone a bargain motor.

Another update.

After a period of disuse after the MOT expired I used our family Fiesta for work while I decided what to do with the Mondeo. After much deliberation, I decided to take her for an MOT and base my decision on what the MOT man said. If he gave me a list of failures or advisories, she'd go.

She sailed it with just an advisory on a tyre (down to 2mm)

So, she's back to the daily grind. Overdue a service, and I think one of the engine mounts is going (jerky on/off throttle) but still a reliable runner, and returned 46 mpg on the last tankful. Just bought all Ford genuine parts for the service (oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter) and got change out of £50.

I think I'm going to run her into the ground or at least until she chucks a big bill at me. I suspect this will be the clutch, which although not slipping, is definitely biting at the absolute upper limit of the pedal travel. Forgivable at 133,000 miles though.

It's nice to have air-con back as well.

Great review! Have you got and updates?

Kept it for a while longer, then was offered a nice Volvo S60 2.0T from a mate who'd had it for 3 yrs and kept up the Volvo history, and really looked after it. The Mondy was sold via Ebay at 141,000 miles to a Polish chap who drove her back to Warsaw for a left hook conversion and to sell on. The rubbish Renault Grand Scenic cost more to maintain in six months than the Mondeo cost in all the time I had it. Sold the French P-O-S and bought a Golf which is great so far.

The Mondeo was a great, reliable family car. No complaints at all.

Well as everyone has said, a great review. Only came across it through searching for a window winder. I recognise this car immediately. I have an R reg 1997 TD estate Mondeo that I bought in 2000 with 202,000 on the clock. Came from a local taxi firm that I do the signs for. Maybe I got the best of the 8 they replaced with mk3s, but it now has 373,000 on the clock and is just the best car I've ever had.

I agree on the mpg, have had even less to repair despite more years and miles. Been down to s. France at over the ton, can get a plywood lining for the old Dispatch/Expert/Scudo and installation tools etc in the back. I won't give it up til it surrenders to the old tin worm. One reason to keep it is you can get a 48 inch wide plywood in the back across the corners. They don't make them that big now, except MPV's.