Thought I would share this. Our van is a Hymer Exsis-i 562 on Transit Chassis; registered November 2013; purchased used from Hymer in Bad Waldsee in February 2015.
We went away this August touring eastern Europe and planned to travel through SW corner of Ukraine from Romanian border to Slovakia. While driving up a fairly steep hill the van lost power and I pulled over. Engine was very juddery on idle.
We called ADAC who arranged recovery to a local Ford main dealer in Mukachevo. The following morning the van was inspected and I was told that there was zero compression on one of the cylinders which needed a new engine! This would take 3 weeks.
I called ADAC and after a lot of time deliberating and phone calls it was decided that it was best if we remained with the van until recovery into the EU, i.e. Slovakia. This is due to difficulties with passport being tied to vehicle import papers etc.
We eventually got recovery to the Ukraine-Slovakian border but the recovery vehicle could not leave Ukraine so I had to drive / freewheel over the border on what I thought was three cylinders. Extremely difficult border crossing in the dark with full searches.......quite traumatic at the time.
Anyway once into Slovakia we were picked up by another recovery vehicle who took us into Sloavakia and dropped us off at a Lidl car park on the outskirts of a town for the night (now around 2 am). The following morning we had another succession of telephone calls and ADAC recovered vehicle to a secure depot. We (me,wife,and son) were taken by taxi to Budapest (5 hours) put in a hotel and flown home the following day.
It took five weeks for the van to be repatriated back to our local Ford main dealer and diagnostics were carried out. I was told it was the dual mass flywheel. I questioned this stating what I had been told in Ukraine. They then tested cylinders and I was told that they all had full compression. I was assured that the dual mass flywheel would be replaced under warranty.
I received a call today stating that flywheel had been changed and that the existing one had seized up. However things were still not right and a plug in test suggested two of the cylinders were not firing! Furthermore,it had been discovered that as a German import it only has a two year warranty as opposed to three; nevertheless,the flywheel replacement would be honoured as I had been told that it was covered.
It is now due more diagnosis tomorrow but whole thing is extremely frustrating. I find it difficult to believe that two separate things go wrong on a vehicle less than three years old and with less than 30,000 miles at exactly the same time.
Have to say ADAC service was very good but not that happy with Ford at the moment.
We went away this August touring eastern Europe and planned to travel through SW corner of Ukraine from Romanian border to Slovakia. While driving up a fairly steep hill the van lost power and I pulled over. Engine was very juddery on idle.
We called ADAC who arranged recovery to a local Ford main dealer in Mukachevo. The following morning the van was inspected and I was told that there was zero compression on one of the cylinders which needed a new engine! This would take 3 weeks.
I called ADAC and after a lot of time deliberating and phone calls it was decided that it was best if we remained with the van until recovery into the EU, i.e. Slovakia. This is due to difficulties with passport being tied to vehicle import papers etc.
We eventually got recovery to the Ukraine-Slovakian border but the recovery vehicle could not leave Ukraine so I had to drive / freewheel over the border on what I thought was three cylinders. Extremely difficult border crossing in the dark with full searches.......quite traumatic at the time.
Anyway once into Slovakia we were picked up by another recovery vehicle who took us into Sloavakia and dropped us off at a Lidl car park on the outskirts of a town for the night (now around 2 am). The following morning we had another succession of telephone calls and ADAC recovered vehicle to a secure depot. We (me,wife,and son) were taken by taxi to Budapest (5 hours) put in a hotel and flown home the following day.
It took five weeks for the van to be repatriated back to our local Ford main dealer and diagnostics were carried out. I was told it was the dual mass flywheel. I questioned this stating what I had been told in Ukraine. They then tested cylinders and I was told that they all had full compression. I was assured that the dual mass flywheel would be replaced under warranty.
I received a call today stating that flywheel had been changed and that the existing one had seized up. However things were still not right and a plug in test suggested two of the cylinders were not firing! Furthermore,it had been discovered that as a German import it only has a two year warranty as opposed to three; nevertheless,the flywheel replacement would be honoured as I had been told that it was covered.
It is now due more diagnosis tomorrow but whole thing is extremely frustrating. I find it difficult to believe that two separate things go wrong on a vehicle less than three years old and with less than 30,000 miles at exactly the same time.
Have to say ADAC service was very good but not that happy with Ford at the moment.
Didn't seem to have any noticeable affect on anything else.
