Ford Mondeo 1.8 LXury

[Mondeo Enjoyer]

Since I introduced myself and the car on the new users thread there have been plenty of developments on Planet Mondeo

1. I’ve fixed the rear washer. It’s remained fixed, which I’m very happy with. I’ve even managed to get most of the interior trim back in roughly the right position

2. I have secured the rear window brake light housing back to the glass using glue. I am not confident that it will hold

3. I’ve fixed the passenger grab handle with the same glue but have more confidence here, as I rarely have passengers and if I do I’ll tell them not to touch the handle

The car is going to get valeted. Personally I think this is largely a waste of money for something that’s already fairly clean and at this end of the market, but my girlfriend is getting her car done at the same time and insists that it’s worth the money so has paid for the Mondeo doing and all

There are some bad bits. The gearbox gaiter needs replacing. I don’t know how you damage one of these but someone has managed. There is also some strange discolouration in the steering wheel plastics which looks rancid.  See attached photos . Also the brake lights stay on but I am sure that this is a problem with the pedal not returning properly so I’m going to fix that on Saturday after I take my dad to buy a (not very Shite at all) 5 Series Touring. Finally, the plastic housing at the bottom of the drivers seat needs securing back to the frame and the aerial looks in bad nick

Future plans include touching bodywork scratches up, doing something with the aerial and getting the gunk out of the steering wheel if valet man can’t sort it. I may remove the MONDEO badging too but I don’t know if I’ll bother 

I have absolutely no regrets. It’s brilliant. 

[sierraman]

On one of those I’d make my first pit stop checking the brake line where it goes over the fuel tank. They rot something chronic and it’s impossible to spot on the MOT. 

[TheXUDfiles]

I have found a cotton bud and very very gentle poking with a toothpick gets rid of steering wheel gunk. It's weirdly satisfying and disgusting at the same time.

[Lord Sterling]

Welcome. Nice Mondeo. I nearly bought one of these many years ago from @gadgetgricey. There's one on a driveway in Birmingham that hasn't turned a wheel for years, strangely still clean looking though. 

Are those OEM mats you have or are they those unholy utterly horrid poundland cheapy things? Can find you an OEM set if required.

[BorniteIdentity]

I'm a big fan of these Mondeos.  I remember the first time I drove a MK3 (LX like yours) and it felt guargantuan.  Not because I'd only driven smoll cars at that tender age of 19, but because I owned a MK2 previously and my Dad a MK1.  I remember thinking "Cripes - this is more Granada than Sierra".  This would have been 2002.

Fast forward to 2008 and my very best friend had to - err - leave the country in a bit of a hurry (!)  It sounds dodgy because, largely, it was.  Some months earlier he'd bought a rather lovely Zetec example for about £5k, spunked £1000 putting a lovely sound system in it (Kenwood with flip out screen and DVD player) and rolled about in it for a while until the drug money came on stream and he bought himself a Jag.  He couldn't drive both out of the country and, with the Mondeo sat on the subs bench, told me I could have it for whatever I could get out of the cash machine.  £250!  Granted, it needed four tyres and two coil springs, but £600 later (proper tyres, see) I was motoring.

It was a lovely car.  Genuinely, lovely.  But the lure of old shite always wins me over and, when my Grandfather died, I took on his S reg Almera and cashed in on the Mondeo.

The next owner got six more years out of it and it shuffled off at 15 years old.  Not a bad knock.

I have no recollection whatsoever of it having a towbar! There you go.

And one more - outside my house with my friends AVAS sneaking into shot.

Great days.  

Happy motoring.

[Rightnider]

It’s lovely to see yet another Mondeo enthusiast on the forum! I’ve gradually turned into one without realising after buying a Mk2 some 18 years ago. Since then I’ve had three more Mk2s, five Mk3s and three Mk4, all estates. Current Mondeo fleet consists of a 2012 1.6 diesel and a 2013 2 litre diesel, but the star of the driveway as far as you’re concerned has to be this:

It’s a 2005 2 litre Titanium, same colour as yours! It’s currently not in use, with a broken front coil spring, but in quite good condition otherwise. 

Keep Mondeoing, and tell us how you do it here!

 

[Imhotep]

Had 3 of these, all in Ghia X format, a 2.0, 2.5 V6 and 3.0 V6. All were great except the 3.0, less said the better. 

The gaiters on these fall apart for fun, think I had to redo it on my 2.0 and 2.5.

[Mondeo Enjoyer]

On 06/11/2025 at 16:57, sierraman said:

On one of those I’d make my first pit stop checking the brake line where it goes over the fuel tank. They rot something chronic and it’s impossible to spot on the MOT. 

Thanks. I wasn’t aware of that. I’ve got a few weeks off coming up and I’ll put that on my to do list. I’m not driving the car before then, due to work commitments

19 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Welcome. Nice Mondeo. I nearly bought one of these many years ago from @gadgetgricey. There's one on a driveway in Birmingham that hasn't turned a wheel for years, strangely still clean looking though. 

Are those OEM mats you have or are they those unholy utterly horrid poundland cheapy things? Can find you an OEM set if required.

They’re definitely “aftermarket”. I think I’m going to wear them down until they’re deteriorated and then replace, but thanks

 

8 hours ago, Imhotep said:

Had 3 of these, all in Ghia X format, a 2.0, 2.5 V6 and 3.0 V6. All were great except the 3.0, less said the better. 

The gaiters on these fall apart for fun, think I had to redo it on my 2.0 and 2.5.

I’d have loved a V6 and imagine they’d suit the car well. It doesn’t feel short on power in 1.8 guise but it is a bit rough

 

11 hours ago, Rightnider said:

It’s lovely to see yet another Mondeo enthusiast on the forum! I’ve gradually turned into one without realising after buying a Mk2 some 18 years ago. Since then I’ve had three more Mk2s, five Mk3s and three Mk4, all estates. Current Mondeo fleet consists of a 2012 1.6 diesel and a 2013 2 litre diesel, but the star of the driveway as far as you’re concerned has to be this:

It’s a 2005 2 litre Titanium, same colour as yours! It’s currently not in use, with a broken front coil spring, but in quite good condition otherwise. 

Keep Mondeoing, and tell us how you do it here!

 

Everyone that has one seems to have had multiple, or intends on getting another in the future. It’s a shame that Ford has dropped it because try as I might, I can’t see people fawning over the current Puma in 20 years 

 

12 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I'm a big fan of these Mondeos.  I remember the first time I drove a MK3 (LX like yours) and it felt guargantuan.  Not because I'd only driven smoll cars at that tender age of 19, but because I owned a MK2 previously and my Dad a MK1.  I remember thinking "Cripes - this is more Granada than Sierra".  This would have been 2002.

Fast forward to 2008 and my very best friend had to - err - leave the country in a bit of a hurry (!)  It sounds dodgy because, largely, it was.  Some months earlier he'd bought a rather lovely Zetec example for about £5k, spunked £1000 putting a lovely sound system in it (Kenwood with flip out screen and DVD player) and rolled about in it for a while until the drug money came on stream and he bought himself a Jag.  He couldn't drive both out of the country and, with the Mondeo sat on the subs bench, told me I could have it for whatever I could get out of the cash machine.  £250!  Granted, it needed four tyres and two coil springs, but £600 later (proper tyres, see) I was motoring.

It was a lovely car.  Genuinely, lovely.  But the lure of old shite always wins me over and, when my Grandfather died, I took on his S reg Almera and cashed in on the Mondeo.

The next owner got six more years out of it and it shuffled off at 15 years old.  Not a bad knock.

I have no recollection whatsoever of it having a towbar! There you go.

And one more - outside my house with my friends AVAS sneaking into shot.

Great days.  

Happy motoring.

I think it’s the interior design that makes them feel bigger than they are. It’s certainly no bigger than an Audi A4 I once had, but the interior feels airy and spacious

[sierraman]

The 1.8 used to be quite prone to the oil control rings gumming up. Usually they’d start using more and more oil then it’d be MOT fail time due to either excessive blue smoke/failed emissions/cat goosed. 

[stuboy]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

The 1.8 used to be quite prone to the oil control rings gumming up. Usually they’d start using more and more oil then it’d be MOT fail time due to either excessive blue smoke/failed emissions/cat goosed. 

my 2007 did that..............

[sierraman]

15 minutes ago, stuboy said:

my 2007 did that..............

Once the rings have gone that’s the end of that im afraid. I’ve heard of soaking them with ATF for weeks with limited success. 

[stuboy]

10 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Once the rings have gone that’s the end of that im afraid. I’ve heard of soaking them with ATF for weeks with limited success. 

i gave it away... and brought the v6

[Mrcento]

18 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I have no recollection whatsoever of it having a towbar! There you go.

I had a near identical one to this, silver Zetec spec, same wheels, everything. (I have a real soft spot for the pre-facelift), mine had the 2.0 TDDI and in all honesty, i rated it even though that engine was properly gruff and agricultural. A really comfy, solid bus of a cruiser.

Mine sadly detonated in an almost comical fashion, multiple small to large failures all within 2 weeks.

From memory, Window regulator failed, Rear spring snapped, Turbo hose blew, it then shat a driveshaft coming home at midnight, thankfully about 5 minutes from home, even more thankfully the day after i'd been in the highlands in it.

Once that was repaired, it promptly rewarded me by a seal going in the clutch slave (i think), causing the pedal to stick to the floor every regularly once hot, could drive around it and pull it back up with my toe but was rapidly getting worse and worse, before finally frying the alternator with smoke pouring out. Which resulted in a phone call to the scrap man.

[R Lutz]

Two capless 501 bulbs and you'll have footwell illumination. Great cars. The engines need Forte flushing to stay fit mind. 

[sierraman]

20 minutes ago, stuboy said:

i gave it away... and brought the v6

The V6 are nice, not dreadful economically either if driven lightly. Unless fitted with the dreadful automatic which gave it the unique characteristic of being slow, thirsty and expensive to run. 

[Jamiesjamies]

This is a really interesting thread. Having owned and loved a Mk2 id be interested to know how the Mk3 compares. Sounds like it seems bigger. Also, how come the 3.0 was not a good buy? Was it a lot more powerful than the 2.5? The V6 in my Mk2 was a peach, especially as it was a manual.

[sierraman]

8 minutes ago, Jamiesjamies said:

This is a really interesting thread. Having owned and loved a Mk2 id be interested to know how the Mk3 compares. Sounds like it seems bigger. Also, how come the 3.0 was not a good buy? Was it a lot more powerful than the 2.5? The V6 in my Mk2 was a peach, especially as it was a manual.

The 3.0 was a good buy but not cheap to tax. The diesels were great for the first 3-4 years then fell to bits. Constant problems with DMFs/injectors/cold running faults/fuel pumps. Plus all the other mk3 problems, rear Calipers, brake pipes, subframe bushes, rot at back of sills etc. 

[Jamiesjamies]

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

The 3.0 was a good buy but not cheap to tax. The diesels were great for the first 3-4 years then fell to bits. Constant problems with DMFs/injectors/cold running faults/fuel pumps. Plus all the other mk3 problems, rear Calipers, brake pipes, subframe bushes, rot at back of sills etc. 

sounds a bit of a minefield! My last car before my current Escort was an 07 Volvo s40 2.0 diesel. Great engine and the car never let me down but I was always wary of looming DPF issues

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, Jamiesjamies said:

sounds a bit of a minefield! My last car before my current Escort was an 07 Volvo s40 2.0 diesel. Great engine and the car never let me down but I was always wary of looming DPF issues

No DPF on the U.K. spec Mk3 unless specified but who would have done that? It was early common rail technology on the TDCi so they were just getting to grips with the high pressure injection equipment. They had this design that the Delphi injectors were programmed to ‘fire’ a set number of times after which point they’d be presumed to have fell out of calibration. So you could reprogram the injector numbers back on and it would recalibrate them but you were on borrowed time usually by this point anyway. The TDDI didn’t have these problems as it was an interim measure before they had the common rail injection system ready by about 2002. But they will be practically extinct by now I’d expect. 
 

They were also pretty rough units as well, the perennial clattering aux belt tensioner didn’t help matters. The 130 was pretty quick especially if remapped to 170. 

[Dobloseven]

There's a 54reg diesel Mondeo hatch on our road.Been in the same family since new.Owners brothers company car.Would think the mileage went into six figures before he bought it for his wife at three years old.She ran it for a good while before it became the family run around.They always seem to be doing DIY projects so gets used for collecting materials and tip runs.It's come close to death a few times,but always gets reprieved.For added Shite points, it's doom blue with the original wheel trims.The owner also has an Audi Q5,an A6 V6 diesel and a Fiesta  I sold him,which seems to get the most use.

[sierraman]

They’re bloody awful to be quite honest the diesel Mk3. Quick and economical but rough, a lot of trouble to the point that the PSA based units are considerably better probably reflected in the fact that they gave up and went down the route of using PSA. A late petrol is the way to go but you’ve to watch the smoke on them, the 2.0 is significantly less trouble in this respect. 

[Dobloseven]

Thinking about it, that one I mentioned is 21 years old and quite a late one.If one has survived that long,it must have lead a charmed life and have something going for it regardless of what engine it's got.It replaced an older petrol Mk 3 which again had been a company car they bought just after it had been fitted with a new engine.