2000 Ford Ka from UK and Ireland - Comments

By 7,000 miles (over 1 year) the rear windscreen wiper would work when it wanted to, I took the car to the garage from where it was purchased and I was informed by the salesman that due to the low mileage, I had obviously not used the car enough and hence this was why the wiper would only occasionally work. I then returned to speak with the mechanic who told me it was a common problem and just a loose connection.

Over the last two years the car has started to over-rev whenever you slow down, so it sounds dreadful driving round a car park at 10 mph with the engine roaring.

The steering often becomes heavy and feels like a tank around bends especially.

Both these incidents have been reported to different garages who can't find any fault with the car, but it has been mentioned that there could be a fault with the steering rack.

The spark plugs have welded with rust to the engine twice. the car has only done nearly 35,000 miles and is on its third set of sparks! the last time it had to be drilled out because it had been broken off (by the mechanic)

The car failed its first mot with a broken wishbone, which for 18,000 the garage were very confused to how it could have broke.

The car has rusted on the back side windows, and by the passenger door and obviously the engine surrounding the spark plugs.

The brakes are not particularly brilliant even after the disc's and pads were changed. the garaged aired the brakes and tried changing the cylinder because they couldnt understand why the brakes were not working to their full capacity.

The boot has to be slammed very hard as sometimes it won't close, i have been advised to rub the mental components with sand paper.

The car is fabulous for a girly girl car, I was really excited when I got this car, but now 4 years on I have had enough with it, I know the wheel bearing is starting to go and no doubt the exhaust will be going soon as it has yet to be changed.

This car has a great exterior and looks fun and funky, but once you scratch beneath the surface its hard to find a happy ford ka driver and it didn't suprise me to hear that it had been voted in the top 10 worst cars.

I definitely won't purchase a ford again, but apparently their engines have never been modified and are based on the old fiesta engine.

I have a problem similar to your own with my X reg Ford Ka. After a motorway journey, it over revved as if the throttle cable was sticking, even when I changed into neutral! A garage has cleaned out the fuel injection system and adjusted the idle speed.

It is much better than it was, but I am still able to drive the car around at gridlock speeds without using the accelerator. Two dealers commented that the clutch must be the reason for this, before driving the car themselves.

I have a 3 year old Ka and when I put it in for a service and MOT the garage broke 3 of the spark plugs "trying" to get them out! Apparently it's a big problem with Ka's and Fiesta's. First I heard about it was when the garage phoned with the news - I wasn't even warned that this might happen.

I totally agree with your comments, my Ka has been nothing but trouble for the past year. It is now 6 years old, which in my book is no where near old, it's done 60,000 miles so far which is below average mileage for it's age. so far I have trouble with my rear wiper, it works when it wants to, but Ford have found nothing wrong with it. the brakes seem non existent although I have them checked on a very regular basis, just in case!! my front suspension springs suddenly went (costs around £200), apparently this is a fault with many Ka's! the door sills, nuts on the windows and petrol caps are known rust areas for Ka's, and mine is rusting everywhere, even the slitest little stone chip! my most recent problem has been the early corrosion on the Sump, as I have already stated its not even 6 years old (first registration date 11/1999) and not listed under the 6 year warranty. this I have been told by a Ford Dealer is another "common" problem with most Ka's! (How Many "Common" Problems ARE There!!!) this is also not a cheap problem to fix it cost me £150 pounds about £100 pounds cheaper than Fords price of £250. I have found Ford to be extremely unhelpful and overpriced, especially from dealer to dealer. I would recommend before to barter on price as much as they can, because they will eventually come down, if they know you are going to go elsewhere!!

Have not had all of the problems listed above, but concur with the problems with rust. Our 4 year old Ka with 30000 miles on the clock has a rust spot that has developed at the angle between the sill and the door pillar. Took it to the Ford dealer expecting it to be covered by the anti-corrosion warranty - they told me if was a design fault with the Ka as stone chips from the front wheel strike the body just at that point, and guess what, they don't cover rust due to stone chips.

A guy at an independent body shop told me he knew what I was going to show him before I got out of the Ka - because they all have them.

It infuriates me that Ford obviously know thay have a problem with this, but not only do they refuse to take responsibility for the problem and repair them as the warranty suggests they will, but they don't even warn customers about the problem so that they can take preventative action such as fitting front mudguards. My window bolts have rusted too.

The Ka is great fun to drive and still looks funky, but poor build quality and customer aftercare lets it down. I wouldn't have another Ford.

I am a VERY happy Ford Ka owner. I have just passed my driving test and bought the Ford Ka Collection the day before my test. it has 28k miles on the clock and is 5 years old. it has a slight bit of rust on the drivers door sil and I am waiting to find out from ford if it is under their warranty. it has 2 owners and is a 1st car so I don't expect it to be perfect. I am really impressed how nippy it is. only other problem is putting it into reverse. sometimes takes a few goes. not had it serviced as it has 6000 miles to go until its due. very cheap to run, £10 lasts me at least a week and then I can sometimes stretch to 2 weeks if I don't go on big trips. just bought myself a 'i love my ka' tax disc holder. if theres anyone else out there considering getting a ford ka for a first car, go for it. no regrets here : D.

The problems above are simple.. Ford Mechanics are muppets and as such they do not have a clue how to fix a car like the KA they just could not care to learn either... Ask yourself why they are not Richard Branson clones?? fact is every car has faults and its how you fix them that counts.. My KA is fantastic and I am a happy owner.. If the KA was made by Honda or Toyota they would be in the top ten best cars, but as they are serviced by ford.well you know the score.. Mine is great.. For the record reving KA... Crap Petrol caused it Idle control valve will fix it.. Don't buy cheap petrol from asda ect... No Rear wiper... Poor contacts on rear hatch area mostly caused by Dirt from the boot... Clean boot and avoid it.. Knocking and bad track rod ends..Don't HIT KERBS.. Look after you car and stop moaning when you don't and it goes wrong.

I just changed the heater thermostat valve, which cost £32 inc of VAT. The job took about two hours.

1. Which included syphoning the coolant out of the header tank.

2. Removing the wiper blades. They are different sizes so mark them left and right. Mark the windscreen with cellotape and take them off.

3. Removing the black plastic plugs and the philip's screws, and then opening the bonnet.

4. Removing the rubber seal travelling horizontally across the front on the bulkhead.

5. Opening the clips and removing the wires cables.

6. Carefully remove the split pastic grille and and unscrew the three philip screws that support the vertical plastic bulkhead.

7, The valve is now seen and is connected to 4 rubber pipes.

8. With a pair of mole grips, carefully compress the two studs on the clips which will allow you to retract the clip down the pipe. Repeat the same process on the other three pipes.

WARNING Be very careful with these rubber pipes as they connect to plastic pipes that are rather brittle.

The pipes are secured to the valve with metal clips.

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

When replacing the rubber pipes on the plastic tubes on the valve, a smear of vaseline is used on all surfaces, as any excessive pressure will fracture the plastic tubes connected to the valve body.

Repeat the replacement making sure the rubber mat is located under the valve assembly.

Don't forget to top up the header tank with coolant before starting the engine.

Good Luck.

My main concern with my Ka is what appears to be a design fault. The power steering hose is so close to the manifold that it breaks down, leaks and smokes. I've been told by my local mechanic and my local Ford dealer that this problem will re-occur every 2 or so years because of the design. My Ka is 4 years old. The problem occurred 2 years ago and has reoccurred now. Luckily the first time it happened it was still under warranty and I was not charged. It's going to cost around $600 every 2 years to fix. My ford dealer said this was not a common problem with Ka's.

I bought a second hand K.A. over five years ago- making it nine years old this year. It's been really great except for the NEAR SIDE REAR Hub/Bearings. Looking back through my service histories I notice I have had it done Oct '02. Aug '03 Hub/Bearing Oct '03 (the wheel cylinder) July '05 Hub / Bearing. It's noisy again. But looking at everyone else's problems I got off lightly.

Hi

Last month my Rover 100 metro died on me, Ihad it for 3 years and had spent money on it like you do, but this time was the straw that broke the camels back, shame because looking back it was a very reliable if basic car.

Anyway onto FORD KA1.

I have just bought a Ford Ka1 from a dealer not Ford and it has 49000 miles on the clock.

Silly it only had one ignition key and stupidly I thought that's OK only going to cost me about £15.00, oh no I was told could only get it done at Ford dealers cheapest quote I had was £90.00 to £140.00. so just payed out for that, then the front indicator stopped working, I phoned the main dealers and they quoted me £30.00 min, so took it to local garage who said no problem and fixed it for £3.00.

As for the car itself early days, but I like it I am nearly 6ft tall and plenty of room, took 4 of us on the motorway 200 mile trip, and car was really good.

I think my motto is to avoid the main Ford dealers if at all poss by the way one of the Ford dealers wanted me to pre-book the car in to sort out new ignition key and earliest app't was week later, for less than 1hrs work. They were on the phone to customer saying plug in test would cost up to £500, I thought let me outa here.

Hi

I last month my Rover 100 metro died on me, Ihad it for 3 years and had spent money on it like you do, but this time was the straw that broke the camels back, shame because looking back it was a very reliable if basic car.

Anyway onto FORD KA.

I have just bought a Ford Ka from a dealer not Ford and it has 49000 miles on the clock.

Silly it only had one ignition key and stupidily I thought that's OK only going to cost me about £15.00, oh no I was told could only get it done at Ford dealers cheapest quote I had was £90.00 to £140.00. so just payed out for that, then the front indicator stopped working, I phoned the main dealers and they quoted me £30.00 min, so took it to local garage who said no problem and fixed it for £3.00.

As for the car itself early days, but I like it I am nearly 6ft tall and plenty of room, took 4 of us on the motorway 200 mile trip, and car was really good.

I think my moto is to avoid the main Ford dealers if at all poss by the way one of the Ford dealers wanted me to pre-book the car in to sort out new ignition key and earliest app't was week later, for less than 1hrs work. They were on the phone to customer saying plug in test would cost up to £500, I thought let me outa here.

As an ex-mechanic, working on a Ford Ka was quite a joy, pretty straight forward to service and the parts reasonably priced, even genuine parts!

The car belongs to a friend of my son and I offered to service it to save him a bit of money. The engine is the old push-rod 1300 and reasonably simple to fathom out. The spark plugs were tight, but nothing unusual with the head being cast iron. A little copper slip on the threads may ease them for the next time they're out, although the heat probably will burn it away!

All in all, not such a bad little car; as with all things, regular maintenance will prolong life, as will a bit of wax-oil underneath!I did notice rust starting to set in underneath and recommend a good coating in wax-oil for all owners who wish to keep their cars in good order.

Happy motoring..

It's comforting to see I'm not alone, I can honestly say I have the exact some faults/problems, even though I've had it regularly maintained. My KA takes me back to the 1970's when I had my first mini, rusty, unreliable, noisy and Ford for some reason have come up with an exact replica!!! Well done Ford, you've lost another customer.

I agree about the unreliability of Fords. I had two Mondeos and there were far too many niggles. I will never buy another Ford again.

It's time the company woke up to the fact that far eastern products are way ahead of them in reliability and ease of ownership.

I have a Mondeo mk2 with 200,000 miles on it, and I still do a 120 mile round trip commute in it every day with no hassles. It has never broken down, never failed to start, and never let me down. The biggest bill was the clutch (nearly £500) but at 160,000 miles it had done well. One or two other little faults of course, but to say Fords in general are unreliable is a complete nonsense. Only a worn steering wheel rim and a slight sheen to the seat trim give the miles away. It sails the MOT every year, handles beautifully, is responsive, and good on fuel. I know people with BMW's with 2/3 of this mileage that aren't so dependable.

The Ka I feel a little different about. It's built way too much to a price for my liking, even taking into account it being a cheap car. My sister has a 1997 Ka base model which I look after for her, and the corrosion in the engine bay is a disgrace. It's reliable to be fair, and much more fun to drive than any other comparable car, but I hate working on it. Access too many components in the engine compartment is a joke, and very few things come undone or go back together without a gallon of Plusgas or a hammer. I've had to drill two spark plugs out after snapping them flush in the head, and most of the nuts, bolts and screws are made out of cheese from what I can make out. There is cost saving all over the place, which goes a bit far for my liking, even on a supermini.

That said, for £600 it's more reliable than anything with a Renault or Citroen badge based on my experience.