1.6 EcoBoost engine: faults and reliability

• 1.6 EcoBoost 120/150/160/182 (Ford, 2010-2019)

  2010–2019 · 120–182 hp

  With caution

  There are documented cases of coolant leaks and premature turbo failure in the Ford Mondeo and Ford S-Max, and this is the version involved in Ford's overheating and cracked cylinder head campaigns in South Africa and North America; it is worth checking the cooling system history and whether the car is covered by any campaign.^[3][5][6]

• 1.6 EcoBoost ST 182/197/200 (Ford Fiesta ST/ST200, 2013-2017)

  2013–2017 · 182–200 hp

  With caution

  The 2017 recall in the United States and Canada for fire risk expressly includes the 2014 and 2015 Ford Fiesta ST; it is worth checking whether the car is covered by that campaign, although we have not found an equivalent one in Spain.^[1][7]

• Volvo T3/T4 1.6 (B4164T3/B4164T/B4164T2, 2010-2018)

  2010–2018 · 150–180 hp · B4164T3, B4164T, B4164T2

  With caution

  It shares the basic architecture of Ford's engine, and fiches-auto.fr records a case of engine overheating in the T3 version of the Volvo S60; we have found no evidence that Volvo ran its own campaign equivalent to Ford's for the overheating and cracked cylinder head fault, so we can neither confirm nor rule it out with the same certainty as for Ford.^[8]

Buy: No known serious faults, or they have already been corrected, in this version. With caution: Worth buying if something specific is verified: history, a replaced part or a completed campaign. Avoid: High risk of a serious fault that is hard to check for or prevent.

1. 1Critical severityFrequency: CommonCylinder head and blockCracked cylinder head from overheating, with fire riskYes: Ford acknowledges that a loss of coolant circulation can overheat the engine, crack the cylinder head and let oil escape onto hot areas, with a risk of fire. It has issued recalls in South Africa (2017-2018) and in the US/Canada (2013 and 2017); we have not found an identical campaign in Spain.
2. 2High severityFrequency: OccasionalCoolingCoolant loss from hoses, water pump or expansion tankYes: there are owner reports of coolant leaks or consumption from hoses, the water pump or the expansion tank (for example a Ford Mondeo losing a litre a week), separate from the cracked cylinder head. If not dealt with, it can end up overheating the engine and leading to that more serious fault.
3. 3High severityFrequency: OccasionalTurboPremature turbocharger failureThere are documented cases of premature turbocharger failure: in a Ford Mondeo the turbo housing cracked at 47,000 km along with a coolant leak, and in a Ford S-Max the turbo failed at 60,000 km without the warranty covering it.
4. 4Medium severityFrequency: RareInjectionHigh-pressure fuel pump failureThere is at least one documented case of high-pressure fuel pump failure in a Ford Mondeo, at 82,500 km and already outside the 5-year warranty; we have found no further cases suggesting it is a widespread fault in this engine.

Severity colours: low, medium, high, critical. How we rate them

Manufacturer

Ford Motor Company

Family

EcoBoost

Fuel

Petrol

Displacement

1,596 cm³

Cylinders

4

Fuel system

Turbo

Injection

Direct injection

Timing

Timing belt (dry)

Power

120–200 hp

Peak torque

290 Nm

Production

2010–2019

Makes

Ford and Volvo

Technical data^[1][4]

1. 2010–2019

   1.6 EcoBoost 120/150/160/182 (Ford, 2010-2019)

   Ford offered this engine in different outputs depending on the model (120, 150, 160 and 182 hp) in the Focus III, C-MAX II, Kuga II, Mondeo IV, S-Max and Galaxy, always with a BorgWarner KP39 turbocharger and direct injection; we have not found Ford's own engine codes for this version.^{[1][9][10][11][12]}

2. 2010–2018

   Volvo T3/T4 1.6 (B4164T3/B4164T/B4164T2, 2010-2018)

   Version with Volvo's own branding and tune, with the T3 (150 hp, B4164T3) and T4 (177-180 hp, B4164T or B4164T2 in the E85 flex-fuel variant) designations, fitted to the Volvo S60, V60 and V40 between 2010 and 2018 until the gradual arrival of the Drive-E engines.^[4]

3. 2013–2017

   1.6 EcoBoost ST 182/197/200 (Ford Fiesta ST/ST200, 2013-2017)

   Specific tune for the Ford Fiesta ST (2013-2017), with 182 hp as standard and overboost up to 200 hp for a few seconds, Torque Vectoring Control and a 6-speed manual gearbox; the ST200 special edition (2016) raised output to 200 hp more sustained and torque to 290 Nm.^[7]