Diesel reliability

[Tidmo]

Looking to buy a 2000 plate 4WD diesel. Any things i should look for or any tips? Also how reliable are they? The one im looking to buy has 72000 miles on it. Thanks.

[Muzorewa]

If they're looked after and have the oil & filter changed regularly, they're bulletproof. Ours has over 270,000 on the clock and still going strong

[mikeonb4c]

If they're looked after and have the oil & filter changed regularly, they're bulletproof. Ours has over 270,000 on the clock and still going strong

Might a 2000 plater have the v. expensive to fix fly-by-wire diesel injection pump though? Something to bear in mind if so

[Tony Hunt]

I havent had my Bongo long and hopefully I have bought a good one. Its a diesel 4wd S reg with 89,000 km on the clock. The dealer gave it a good service before I took delivery, filters, oil etc plus cam belt change and a new set of tyres all round. first few trips out and about and it drives like a dream and hopefully touch wood will keep going strong. None of us know how a vehicle will be after purchase, I have a guarantee from the dealer for a period and a promise that if anything goes wrong after that runs out he will help us out if possible.

One things for sure I think if I had joined this forum well before I contemplated buying a Bongo I dont think I would have bought one. After reading all the posts by owners and prospective owners on all the things that can and might go wrong with a secondhand Bongo, usually might, I would have been totally frightened off for good.
Any secondhand vehicle can have problems even new ones.
I have owned many vehicles in a lifetime of driving from Vans to tractors to cars and Lorries, I can honestly say that the most reliable ones and the least expensive to keep running have been all the japanese ones, Honda (several) Mazda, Toyota, nissan (several) Izuzu. I have owned and driven an old Mitsubishi Shogun (grey import) for several years now that hardly costs me a penny in spares and still wont breakdown, I told the missus I was buying the Bongo to replace it ready for the day it dies but it still keeps going. I drive it over fields and up over hills and dales carrying out my hobby of metal detecting through all the mud and crap.
What a vehicle, I just hope, providing I keep it well serviced the Bongo will keep up my faith in Japanese builds. I know for a fact and its sad to say, the last 4wd vehicle I would ever buy is a Landrover. Everybody I know who's owned one has had to have a very deep pocket for repairs.

[bigdaddycain]

Well said! Needless to say, on the whole, the bongo is an extremely reliable vehicle! I'm no more biased than any other owner, and in the almost seven years of ownership of the vehicle, i can testify that the bongo has cost little, if in fact anything in repairs during that time! I've replaced wear and tear items of course... But has it cost me a penny in seven years in replacement parts due to failure? Nope! Not a penny! OH, i tell a lie! The relay to the glowplugs failed a year or two ago... It cost me a fiver for a new one, and even then i still managed to start her from cold with no power going to the plugs It took a few cranks, she ran lumpy for a minute or two, but she still started, and just a fiver to put right again... A fiver in seven years ain't too bad i'd say! I've spent a few bob on paint mind...

The chances are you'll read only about things that have gone wrong... My posts would be even more boring than they are already if i made a new post each day saying something like "nothing to report, bongo still working as it should"

Newer "fly by wire" diesel bongo's are no more unreliable than the old school diesels, just a little more problematic to fault find due to the extra sensors etc SHOULD it play up.

[mikexgough]

I agree.... a reliable beast if maintained..... like all vehicles....
My radiator split in the usual place 2 yrs ago and my diesel pump was "breaking up" inside putting swarf into the injectors.....and recently a hose has had a pin hole leak..... from my 3 incidents of "unreliablility" the rad split where they go with age as did the hose and the diesel pump issue was rare, the specialist who changed mine sees 2 per year like that... yes 2....
Otherwise I have changed coolant etc and oils/filters as you do...... putting my summer wheels back on in a couple of weeks and will be changing the brake pads for fresh ones while the wheels are off...... not because they are needed to be changed.
I was a bit freaked out when looking at Bongo's after the horror stories on this forum and the "must have" this alarm or that alarm etc....enough to put you off of purchasing, in fact from what I can gather from Jap owners and UK importers/dealers that the Japs never fit Temperature alarms etc and I guess that is down to them changing coolant/thermostats and water pumps 5 yearly at coolant changes ....from what I have researched....Bongo's only really seem to have major issues with the cooling system in the UK mainly due to ignorance of Japanese coolant chemistry.
If we continue to maintain our Bongo's like the Japanese do with Prevention rather than reactive maintenance then they will go on forever.

[321Away]

2000, is the pain in the backside turbo version, make sure on the test drive you take it for at least 10 miles, up to temperature and give in a good hard drive up to 80 or so then let the speed coast down, if the wastegate is sticky, its the heat soak from being driven hard that causes it to occur.
Julian

[Alacrity]

I agree.... a reliable beast if maintained..... like all vehicles....
My radiator split in the usual place 2 yrs ago and my diesel pump was "breaking up" inside putting swarf into the injectors.....and recently a hose has had a pin hole leak..... from my 3 incidents of "unreliablility" the rad split where they go with age as did the hose and the diesel pump issue was rare, the specialist who changed mine sees 2 per year like that... yes 2....
Otherwise I have changed coolant etc and oils/filters as you do...... putting my summer wheels back on in a couple of weeks and will be changing the brake pads for fresh ones while the wheels are off...... not because they are needed to be changed.
I was a bit freaked out when looking at Bongo's after the horror stories on this forum and the "must have" this alarm or that alarm etc....enough to put you off of purchasing, in fact from what I can gather from Jap owners and UK importers/dealers that the Japs never fit Temperature alarms etc and I guess that is down to them changing coolant/thermostats and water pumps 5 yearly at coolant changes ....from what I have researched....Bongo's only really seem to have major issues with the cooling system in the UK mainly due to ignorance of Japanese coolant chemistry.
If we continue to maintain our Bongo's like the Japanese do with Prevention rather than reactive maintenance then they will go on forever.

Agreed, don't be put of by the scary posts on here - it is a technical forum that we go to when we have an issue so as said before we don't post if nothing is wrong. All Bongo's are getting on a bit now and any vehicle that has been abused/poorly maintained will have suffered as a result no matter what it is. I have had two diesels now (albeit not the fly by wire ones) with no problems at all, fly by wire is very common on vehicles today so is not to be feared.

[Tony Hunt]

Well I fitted Haydns coolant alarm today just to join the club so to speak. Im touching wood and keeping my fingers crossed that none of the other usual Bongo problems occur. I feel a lot happier now Ive read your posts

[mikeonb4c]

Is anyone able to put some accurate figures to relative cost of replacement parts of old vs. new Bongo pumps, turbos etc. It would be useful if it helps challenge reports I've read on here about the high replacement cost (I seem to also recall a Bongo mechanic saying something similar). One report even suggested a Bongo was written off (presumably not insurance, just scrapped by the owner) due to the high repair cost (3-4k GBP was qoted I think, though that sounds fantastic).

[splitpin]

2000, is the pain in the backside turbo version, make sure on the test drive you take it for at least 10 miles, up to temperature and give in a good hard drive up to 80 or so then let the speed coast down, if the wastegate is sticky, its the heat soak from being driven hard that causes it to occur.
Julian

Not sure what you mean here , can you explain what should or shouldn't be happening on this test please.