I have had one for a year, no problems, well kitted out, not the most economical but a ton of room and plenty of grunt for towing. Great family car.
mileyfan73,
Nov 13, 6:43am
Basically a BA Falcon on stilts.Plasticy and no personality.Drive nice though,great visibility,good audio system,but the fuel guage has a habit of sinking to empty very quickly even when driven moderately.The later 6-speed ones area better option.BUT they have been known for oil leaks around the timing case and rear main seal,also trans fluid leaks.Rust has also been an issue.Interiors,like Holdens,are flimsy and fall apart.Central locking unlocks itself intermittantly,and water leaks into the jack compartment.A nice comfortable vehicle,let down by build quality and electrical quirks.
pt,
Nov 13, 6:44am
Ball joints, tail gate rust.
unbeatabull,
Nov 13, 7:00am
Ball joints are covered under a Ford Recall now, any ford dealer will replace them if it hasn't already had them for free.
Rear balljoints sometimes give trouble, only a $40 part though and half hours labour
Other then that, common problems are window switches, usually just dirty contacts, window regs and motors are also fairly common.
Haven't seen many with tail gate rust, but people reckon they are bad for it. I have only seen maybe one example and I work on these cars every day.
Front timing cover can be a problem, but really its not enough for it to drop down below the low mark in between services, trans pan occasionally leak on the 6 speed ones, 4 speed ones generally aren't that bad for it.6 Speeds also occasionally leak around the o-ring seal that seals the wiring loom where it enters the rear of the trans
The only potentially costly thing that isn't a Service item is the HIM Module, requires the front dash to be pulled out, a good 4-8 hour job depending where you take it.
The car itself is a great car, one of the better SUV cars around. Great to drive, good performance, handles well for its class. They are a lot better then the latest ones out (SZ Series, Diesel Turbo)
mugenb20b,
Nov 13, 7:07am
In what way, if you don't mind me asking!
dinky65,
Nov 13, 7:30am
thanks for that ihinking of giveing my xr8 up for one
gman35,
Nov 13, 9:23am
Like almost any aussie-built car , one will be great , the next will have been built like it was thrown together !A frustrating shame that a country that has some of the nicest-exterior styled cars around just cannot assemble them all nicely.
scotty20001,
Nov 13, 9:27am
bloody nice comfy trucks, drive like a car.
jfstyle,
Nov 13, 7:15pm
Hi there, about the rust.it is in the rear seem under the tailgate seal rubber on the body not the tailgate itself.yes they rust and very badly if not fixed and the seal pulled off and cleaned.for most people they can not see it till it is so bad.they all do it .it is a design fault as the seam points upwards trapping the water.have seen rust holes you could put your hand thru but is hidden under the rear bumper.
mopsy3,
Nov 13, 10:53pm
I did exactly that dinky. Never looked back. Got a turbo one though wouldnt bother with anything else and cant see myself ever going back to a sedan. However, for handling improvements it has been lowered and sits on the road better than any Falcon.
richardmayes,
Nov 13, 11:41pm
My boss had a Ghia one for a while. Beautiful pale leather interior.
It didn't quite handle like a car, but in saying that it had far better roadholding than you would expect from something of that height. Back axle was hard, and transmitted a lot more thumps from the road than I would have expected. (This surprised me as I drove its cousin the BA XR6 quite a bit and the ride in that car was really nice - in spite of being the spoilers and spotlights 'go faster' model Falcon.)
He had all of the ball joints issues, and some problems with the diff, it was in the shop having work done far too often for a new company car so he gave up on it in disgust and got a Lexus RX350 instead.
But if those are sorted out, I would have thought a Territory Ghia was a pretty nice wagon.
gman35,
Nov 14, 1:48am
That's the problem with any Aussie Ford or Holden , one will be fine , the next will be rubbish , would like to know how many "company cars" are in for repair all the time , yet you don't always hear of the complaints because they were not purchased with the driver's own $$$. There must be so many ex Aussie-assembled vehicle drivers out there who think "Jap only" for me now.
unbeatabull,
Nov 14, 4:53am
Where to start!
You can only get petrol in RWD - if you want AWD you have to get the Diesel. The diesel has considerable less performance then just the petrol I6 let alone the Turbo version of the previous model.
The cooling system is a nightmare - on the front there is about 7 hoses that all go into one central junction. The R/H Driveshaft goes through the sump of the engine. Leaking sump - remove the diff. CV boots! - Remove the sump. Has a front and rear timing belt, and the rear timing belt is guaranteed to I think it was either 170k or 270k - Considering its the same engine as in the Range/Land rover which has a lower spec interval and the exact same belt. To someone who doesn't have factory tools you may be looking at engine removal as well. Electric Power Steering Rack which isn't serviceable - we had one apart - all that drives it is a small belt that is irreplaceable - belt brakes = whole new rack.
There has already been two recalls on them, before they even went on sale (one do to with a fuel line that could come off!)
Still has the same rear suspension and balljoint layout - most likely will get the same rear joint and shock issues of previous models.
They are a nice car inside though, the interior and ICC etc is a lot nicer, but I think in terms of driveability the petrol one would be a better option, except for the fact it's RWD only - If you plan on using it for anything other then dropping your kids off at soccer I'd be getting an SYII Territory (Which has the same updated front susp geometry that the FG Falcon and SZ Territory have)
mugenb20b,
Nov 14, 6:24am
Wow, thanks. Very good info. The reason I ask, is that we've had two of our clients buy the diesel versions (but there will be more), and no doubt we'll be servicing them in the not too distant future.
unbeatabull,
Nov 14, 6:42am
You have to loosen the filter on top of the engine first, drain the oil underneath, then finish loosening and remove & replace the cartridge filter after - otherwise you will spill oil all down the centre of the V of the engine and if you see how much junk there is there, you won't be cleaning it out in 5 minutes.
mugenb20b,
Nov 14, 6:56am
Thank you for the heads up. I'm glad someone knows the ins and outs on new Territories.
richardmayes,
Mar 3, 2:12pm
My boss had a Ghia one for a while. Beautiful pale leather interior, really transformed the car even though most of the switchgear is straight off the coon.
It didn't quite handle like a car, but in saying that it had far better roadholding than you would expect from something of that height. Back axle was hard, and transmitted a lot more thumps from the road than I would have expected. (This surprised me as I drove its cousin the BA XR6 quite a bit and the ride in that car was really nice - in spite of being the spoilers and spotlights 'go faster' model Falcon.)
He had all of the ball joints issues, and some problems with the diff, it was in the shop having work done far too often for a new company car so he gave up on it in disgust and got a Lexus RX350 instead. (The Lexus hasn't done enough miles yet to be able to compare the reliability.)
But if those are sorted out, I would have thought a Territory Ghia was a pretty nice wagon.
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