Last year, I as a great fan of the Ford Fiesta, was frustrated to hear that in 2023 the model was going to be discontinued. This almost killed me as the Fiesta is a legend, not just a model. It survived 8 generations and the two latest gens were very cool.
Even though, in June 2023, the Fiesta was discontinued, you still can buy some new cars at the time this article is published. Unfortunately, the only available engine is now 1.1L Ti-VCT. It’s available in most European countries and in the UK, while in the US the Fiesta was discontinued several years ago.
Here’s what I’m going to cover in this article:
- What should you know about the 1.1L Fiesta engine?
- How many miles is this engine going to last?
- What are the most common problems with 1.1L engines in the Fiesta?
- What can you do to prolong its life?
Key facts about the Ford Fiesta 1.1L engine
The 1.1L Ti-VCT engine belongs to the Sigma family. This is quite an old engine in terms of technology and it was only used in the last generation of the Fiesta from 2017 to 2023. The engine is small yet quite powerful and can drive you around the city without any problems. But when you go on the freeway, you feel all the problems that this small unit has in it.
The new Fiesta is actually a city car, so the manufacturer didn’t think much about highway driving. Even though this engine is really small, it can last quite long if maintained well and it has a really high score of customer reviews.
Here are some facts you may want to know about the 1.1L Ti-VCT:
- this is the non-turbocharged 1.1-liter 3-cylinder engine that offers 75 horsepower and 80 lb-ft or 108 Nm of torque;
- the engine is small, so the car won’t accelerate really fast – it takes about 14 seconds to get to 100 km/h or 60 MPH;
- the engine is equipped with the 5-speed manual transmission – it’s a good and reliable option but a good automatic option would be a good offer;
- this engine has variable camshaft timing which makes it much more efficient than you may think of this small unit;
- the cams are driven by the timing belt which is unusual for modern small engines that commonly have a chain;
- the manufacturer says the Fiesta 1.1L engine can offer 3.9L/100km or 72 MPG (UK) fuel economy on highways which is still questionable.
Ford was proud of this engine for its fuel economy and said that in the city you can get about 6.1L/100 km or 46 MPG (UK). This sounds cool until you start driving the Fiesta and your trip computer suddenly shows 8L/100km just because it’s impossible to predict the city consumption. Yes, you may get much better gas mileage if you drive without many stops, but the modern city is certainly not about calm and steady driving.
So, the 1.1L 3-cylinder engine obviously came here to substitute the legendary 1.25L 4-cylinder engine in the Fiesta MK7 and I have mixed feelings about whether it was successful in its mission or not. Let me know in the comments below what you think about it.
How many miles will the 1.1L Ti-VCT last?
So, the 1.1L engine in your Fiesta is certainly not the one that will last forever. It’s small yet quite powerful, it has only 3 cylinders and constantly shakes and vibrates, it has to be revved up like crazy to get at least more or less appropriate acceleration.
I suppose this engine will last about 100,000 miles or 160,000 kilometers given it’s maintained well and isn’t killed with constant abuse.
Yes, this is not much at all. But look at the 1.0 EcoBoost – it has even fewer miles of life in it. The good old 1.25L engine could go approximately the same distance before it threw several serious problems and started burning oil like mad.
So, I would say that the 1.1L Ti-VCT engine in the Fiesta has an average lifespan and isn’t too good or too bad in terms of durability. But to drive it for 100K miles, you will need to remember its common issues and some ways to prevent them.
What are the common problems with the 1.1L Fiesta engine?
I really couldn’t find a lot of negative reports about the engine. One of the reasons is that this unit was only used in the Fiesta and not so many Fiesta owners drive their cars 20-30K miles a year, so these engines just didn’t have enough time to show all their problems.
Still, I spoke to mechanics and Ford dealership workers to learn more about the potential problems with high-mileage 1.1L engines in the Fiesta and could gather some common issues to tell you about.
Here they are:
1. Oil consumption after 50K miles (75K km)
It’s very possible that your Fiesta engine will start drinking oil from the oil pan as if it’s kind of a cocktail for it. This will have a bad effect on the health of the expensive catalytic converter. Also, it may lead to low oil levels with all the worst consequences you can think of.
Another issue is that valves may get dirty with the oil buildup and won’t close well to form the proper compression. This problem is solved by cleaning the valves.
To avoid oil consumption, you will need to change the valve seals. While parts cost just a little money, the labor costs will be unbearably high.
2. Low power and abusive driving
With only 75 horsepower, this engine is weak. When you need to go up the hill or overtake someone on the highway, you will press the gas pedal to the metal and use lower gears. This will make your engine rev up to the sky. Unfortunately, such behavior will catalyze engine wear and tear.
If you buy this car, you should forget about fast acceleration. Just calm driving without pressing the gas pedal too hard is a good idea for better longevity.
3. Timing belt is not eternal
Although Ford says that the timing belt is here for the lifespan of the engine, I strongly recommend replacing it at 60,000 miles / 90,000 kilometers. Only use the OEM belt to drive the car another 60K miles before replacing it again. Also, with the belt, you should replace the tensioner, the pulley, and the water pump.
There are some occasions when the timing belt was broken or jumped one tooth in these 1.1L engines. This led to fatal engine damage and repairing the unit after such a case appeared to be more expensive than buying the new one from Ford.
4. Bad breakdowns when driving on low revs
This is the feature that the 1.1L Ti-VCT engine inherited from its predecessor, the 1.25L unit. If you drive it in high gear and low RPM, the engine gets a high load and is worn out heavily. You should always keep RPM between 1500 and 3000 when you drive.
Yes, this engine doesn’t like revving up to more than 3500 RPM but driving it at 1200 RPM means just killing it slowly. At this rotation speed, the engine doesn’t get proper lubrication and the oil pressure is too low. This means that the head will work almost dry and will be destroyed very quickly.
What can you do to drive the Fiesta 1.1L engine longer?
Prolonging the life of modern engines is not a simple task. It’s not a big secret that car manufacturers don’t want us to drive our new vehicles for 300,000 miles anymore. Now, a vehicle is considered old after it has driven 100,000 miles or 150,000 km.
To drive your Ford Fiesta longer than that, you will need to remember several important tips:
- replace the timing belt at least once every 60,000 miles or even more often;
- change oil 20% earlier than Ford recommends;
- use exactly the recommended oil viscosity – you better just buy Ford oil for this engine;
- avoid driving the Fiesta at too low or too high RPM;
- control the oil level at least once a week;
- warm up the engine for at least 1 minute – this is the old technology and it badly needs warming up for proper lubrication;
- forget about aggressive or abusive driving – for this, you better buy the 1.5L EcoBoost ST version of the Fiesta.
If you follow these maintenance tips, you will probably be able to take your 1.1L engine to 140,000 miles or even further. In Europe, I saw the Fiesta 1.1L Ti-VCT with more than 300,000 km on its odometer which is almost 200K miles. But that Fiesta was mostly driven on highways with cruise control at 90 km/h (about 55 MPH).
To wrap up
I really feel bad about the discontinuation of the Fiesta. This ends a huge page in the history of Ford and makes us closer to buying EVs and SUVs which is the blue dream of car manufacturers.
If you still want to get a Fiesta, new or used, with the 1.1L Ti-VCT engine, now you know all the possible problems that you may encounter with it. Even though it has some bad sides, as with any other engine in the world, I still love this small engine and can recommend it to you.
Any questions? Please write in the comments below!
