Went through a set of OEM front tyres in 13k from new (Conti Premium Contact)
Washer pump failed at 14k - fixed under warranty.
Needed new rear brake pads at 25k, IMO due to defective handbrake supposedly fixed at 13k. Rear wheel trims also heat distorted due to binding rear brakes.
Plastic shroud on rear high level brake light distorted.
Door seals perished and cracked at two years old.
Coating on interior grab handles chips and peels off.
Rust on drivers door bottom weld seam at 40k - fixed under warranty.
Wheel trims on LX made of brittle plastic - clips tend to shatter when you take them off and put them back on eg when getting new tyres.
This is a good car to drive. In it's day it was modern and distinctive looking, but clearly a rip off of the VW Passat of that time - 2001.
Maybe I had a Friday afternoon car, or because mine was a relatively early model (01Y) it had a litany of faults - see above. In this respect it has been the worst car I have owned, but like I said a good drive.
The 1.8 Duratec HE is a decent enough engine, but if you do a lot of motorway miles it's a bit high revving - you may want to get a 2.0 or a diesel for a more relaxed cruise.
I was annoyed that the dealer stung me for a new set of rear brake pads at 25k when the fact they wore out was clearly down to the defective handbrake which was supposedly fixed at 13k (due to a recall of all early Mondeos). I tried to argue this point citing my melted wheel trims, but they had none of it.
Re: the possibly early teething trouble of a newly produced car. I've done "NPI - New Product Introduction" in factories and after doing this I wouldn't buy anything that has only recently entered production.
For the first 6 months there can be various problems with production, mostly teething problems including quality control with parts from suppliers. Some of these problems do not appear at the factory and will only make themselves known after a customer has been using the product for a while. Then once the manufacturer is aware of the fault, the manufacturer will need to increase quality/testing or redesign a new part and produce/test it, which all takes time.
After about 6 months most production faults are sorted out, and the suppliers are producing parts of good quality. If you're spending a large sum of money, or need something to be very reliable then I would recommend waiting at least 6 months before buying a newly introduced car.
Overall the Mondeo scores Average/Above Average in the JD Power owner's review.
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