10th Oct 2001, 01:39

I have a 1988 1.6 Ghia I model with 105,000 on clock.

Previous owner was Ford worker at Dagenham. It had 48k on the clock then.

Cost me £3000 and a further £2500 for repairs over 6 years.

New shocks all round

New clutch

2 new head gaskets

Brake Servo unit

New distributor

Fuel computer never works correctly

Reverse selector has gone in gearbox, (have to go via 4th to get reverse).

Tracking is not always out, but car often pulls to left when braking.

Engine starting to get noisy and burning/loosing oil now.

Passed MOT every time though.

Have had electrical probs - cutting out when rev counter needle started flicking - this was due to the Ignition module being faulty.

Now has some form of random tinkling/clicking sound when driving - heard from outside only not from inside.

Believe it or not I still like the car though.

Time for a change.

12th Nov 2002, 05:42

I have just bought a 1991 ford orion 1.6 glx, the car itself seems alright, but the electrics are not so good. I have a charge light on that gets brighter the higher you rev it and my rev counter in stuck over 7000 rpm, but seems to be charging, I have been told that they have a common fault when the fuse boxes get damp and found out how much for a new one and nearly fell over £190, still not bad.

1st Jun 2003, 04:30

My mate has his hands on a slightly unusual Orion H Reg 1991, RS Series 1 engine, front heated windows and a fuel cut off switch in the tyre well!!. All this under the old style body. Do you or anyone you know have any information on this car because all the parts are originals and we are both stumped.

17th Jun 2003, 15:53

I've had my Orion GLX (1991) for two years, it's a great car, except for a few problems. Third gear always crunches, the driver's chair doesn't slide forward or adjust forward or back-wards. Steering is so heavy it sometimes takes me a good five minutes to park, the other day I sprained my wrist parking!

The boot leaver doesn't work and just recently I've had problems locking the petrol cap after use, in addition I must always start the car by revving gently at the same time.

11th Mar 2023, 17:41

Poor fuel economy and engine not warming up - almost certainly the thermostat is stuck open and needs replaced (cheap and easy). I know this is an older review, but surprised no one has mentioned that yet.

As for everything else, these were not the most reliable cars, but problems sound typical of high mileage.