New Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXI : issue with shocks. Is this car reliable?

[amolathalye]

Hi All ,

I have already mentined that i was not finding the fiesta as solid and as VFM as my old Ikon. I have a post fiesta vc ikon where i have tried to explain my concerns. Now again i have one issue.

Since the day of the delivery there was some noise coming from back of the car while driving at slow speeds which i had shown to the sales guy at Shaman Ford mumbai , he thought it was minor issue of some sort and as the noise was not all that loud even i did not bother much. Then after alsmost 2.5 months i decided to take the car for the first service and there i told them about the noise , they initially thought that it was due to some rear seat setting.

Finally after checking it out they found out that it was coming from the rear shock absorbers. Without any trouble they have changed it within warranty period , they were nice but this really worries me about the quality of the assembly and the spares , is FORD cutting costs here ? are they using substandard spares ? what should i think abou this ? mean within 600 kms or so they ahd to get the shocks changed , what will happen in future ? It's a nice car but is it relable ?

[GTO]

Ford's cars come with intermittent quality at best. Though their reliability / precision rates are far superior to our two home manufacturers, the odd part failure is not that uncommon.

The good news is : The worst is probably behind you. I don't think you should expect trouble anymore. But yes, do opt in on an extended warranty package. Peanuts in exchange of the peace of mind you get.

[aaggoswami]

Are there any other issues with the car ? If not there is nothing much to worry about. Ford is not reputed to give the best A.S & S., but you got a good response from Ford and its nice to hear that ford replaced them as manufacturing defect.
Sometimes a part or two does filter in, nothing major. Fiesta is known for not giving much trouble i.e. the car in reliable.

Dont worry if there are no major issues with the car.
And I too agree with GTO : go for extended warranty.

[lamborghini]

The fiesta is a very reliable car, however, there are some issues that might crop up in a few cars. It happens with every manufacturer, be it Hyundai (like with Sam Kapasi's Verna), an SX4 (which now comes with substandard parts as Maruti tried to cut costs).
However, in the long run, the fiesta is quite reliable and it shouldn't give you and more problems, provided you service and maintain her on time.
Like for eg: the first service is in 1 month/1000kms, whatever is earlier.

Also, like the others pointed out, an extended warranty gives you peace of mind unless you want to modify the car.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

The fiesta is a very reliable car, however, there are some issues that might crop up in a few cars. It happens with every manufacturer, be it Hyundai (like with Sam Kapasi's Verna), an SX4 (which now comes with substandard parts as Maruti tried to cut costs).
However, in the long run, the fiesta is quite reliable and it shouldn't give you and more problems, provided you service and maintain her on time.
Like for eg: the first service is in 1 month/1000kms, whatever is earlier.

Also, like the others pointed out, an extended warranty gives you peace of mind unless you want to modify the car.

Can you elaborate on the substandard parts on SX4? I have 3 SX4s in my immediate family and have not experienced anything. Since they would contact me if anything does go wrong, I would like to know in advance what the problems would be like.

[abhibh]

Might be a little off topic.

Well i recently drove New Fiesta 1.4 TDCi with 15K km on the ODO. To be honest i think Ford is cutting out on insulation. My friends OLD Fiesta 1.4 TDCi engine done more than lac KM is better when it comes to insulation. I was really amazed how much engine noise was there while cruising and idling. 100 KMPH @ 5th gear i was easily able to make out it was diesel. Where as my friends car is pretty silent.

I don't know if anyone else observed this but i also drove a the New test car at BHAGAT FORD with 8-9K on ODO and it sounded same as the car which had 15K on the ODO.

I was really disappointed as i used to claim to people that FIESTA TDCi is the most silent / smooth car till the price range of 15 lac

[lamborghini]

srishiva: Check out some of the threads on the forum.

[krish3]

Amol-: Be glad that the service guys were prompt in replacing the part and resolving your problem. I had to make multiple calls and mails and disturb them day and night to get them to look at the problem in my Fiesta. Now they will be sending another FORD engineer on April 11th to check problem.

For more details, check my thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...engineers.html


As to if this prolem is specific to Ford, I would say NO. Every manufacturer has its own set of problems. For them, if the ratio is like 1:1000 cars, then they would be happy. There will always be some unfortunate people out there.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by GTO

The good news is : The worst is probably behind you..

literally speaking in this case !

wondering whether the A S S gave you the reason for changing the shocks ?

[sammyboy]

well I own a ford and I have been called a Ford fanboy by a few ppl but I think Ford should learn from Skoda and price its parts lower and understand that there is something called repair and not replace only. I have a lot of friends who have Fords and its ridiculous the way they keep wanting to change everything every part rather than trying to repair it.Thankfully your case is under warranty but what about the rest of us? I think they deserve a kick in the backside so they learn.

[krish3]

I hardly see any true mechanics nowadays and certainly none in the A.S.S of any manufacturer. None of them know how to repair, they only know to replace and thats because the manufacturers encourage only that. It means more money for them and more profit.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by krish3

I hardly see any true mechanics nowadays and certainly none in the A.S.S of any manufacturer. None of them know how to repair, they only know to replace and thats because the manufacturers encourage only that. It means more money for them and more profit.

Exactly---even Maruti is a culprit for such practices. My WagonR had some sounds emanating from the tie-rods of the front wheel, and unfortunately this happened just after the warranty was over in 2004. They have never managed to subdue the sounds so far, over the past 4 years. Even they are trigger-happy in suggesting a replacement rather than repair.

[amolathalye]

Hi ,

thanks , good to know that there are people like me who know how superiror ford cars are compared to other manufacturers. BUt still i think they are not as reliable as maruti cars. I had used esteem for 7 years and never had to change any major part. Ikon required exhaust assembly replacement due to corrosion , engine coil failed , ac motor failed all within 4 years and less than 25000 kms travelled.

regards

amol

Originally Posted by GTO

Ford's cars come with intermittent quality at best. Though their reliability / precision rates are far superior to our two home manufacturers, the odd part failure is not that uncommon.

The good news is : The worst is probably behind you. I don't think you should expect trouble anymore. But yes, do opt in on an extended warranty package. Peanuts in exchange of the peace of mind you get.

[GTO]

Well, Amol, no one can touch the Japs on reliability (especially Toyota followed by Honda). That said, they have their occasional - rare - hiccups too. My esteem's compressor was replaced under warranty after it went kaput during the initial ownership period. And many an initial Accord owner were left stranded on our highways due to a faulty fuel pump design.

The Ford Ikon does have it's share of trouble now & then.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

I have a lot of friends who have Fords and its ridiculous the way they keep wanting to change everything every part rather than trying to repair it.

Not the only American manufacturer in India who insists on that. Give huge discounts and then recover that through parts.