WARNING - Possible design issue causing starter motor failures

I purchased my 54 plate X-Type diesel in 2008 with 54,000 miles on the clock. I was really pleased with the car, it was a high spec SE model with all the toys, had really good performance and fuel consumption – 50mpg on a long trip.

Trouble started in February 2010 at (66,000 miles) when the starter motor failed. Didn't think much of it at the time and had it replaced at a garage recommended by the recovery service.

The garage that replaced the starter motor provided a warning note stating that there was a known design issue with that engine where dust from the clutch builds up in the bell housing. The dust is attracted to the starter due to the magnets in it and will cause the starter motor to fail prematurely. Copies of the advisory note and Stratstone bills can bee seen at http://tinyurl.com/6kk8vns Alarm bells should have been ringing at that time but unfortunately I only filed this at the back of my mind for future reference.

Guess what? 9 months later in November, only 6,000 miles after being changed, the replacement starter motor failed!

This time I took the car to the Edinburgh Stratstone dealer who advised me that the clutch had failed and the bill to replace the clutch, flywheel, starter motor etc would be over £2000 !! They also wanted to hit me with another £650 bill for new brakes even although the car had passed its MOT the month before without even an advisory on the brakes – Thanks for the “free” health check Stratstone!

Now I've had many cars through the years and know when a clutch is on the way out, plus, I have never had a clutch go on a car with a mileage as low as this! The car pulled like a train - I live at the top of one of Edinburgh's 7 hills and there was never a hint of any slippage. The car was driven to Statstone's no problem and the car had never shown any sign of a clutch fault whatsoever.

When I got the Stratstone quote for the repair I challenged the Sratstone dealer with the service note advising of the design issue, given to me when the starter motor first changed in February 2010 (same engine used on some Mondeos and has the same problem – Mondeo owners beware!). He of course denied all knowledge stating that they were the “experts” (at charging inflated prices maybe!) and had no awareness of this being an issue. Those same experts stated that my clutch had failed even though there had never been any sign of the clutch slipping and the car was driven into Stratstones in the first place.

I took my case further and raised the issue with Stratstone UK customer service. You don't need to guess – yes they denied all knowledge of any design issue and washed their hands of the whole affair.

So beware if you intend purchasing an X-Type 2.0L diesel unless you're willing to pay big bucks to get “failing” clutches and starter motors repaired on a regular basis!