Fiesta engine jerks and rpm varies while idling

[tortoise]

Hi,

I own a Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXI (ABS) since 28th Sep 2006. Right from day one, I could feel jerks in the engine particularly after gear shifts. Even during idling the tacho needle wavers. I was suspecting bad fuel initially, but even after two top ups from near empty with Shell super unleaded fuel, I faced the problem.

I called up the sales person from dealership ( Cauvery Ford) yesterday and he asked me to bring the car today which I did

The service advisor took test drive and acknowledged that there is a misfiring and when the hood was opened I could clearly see the engine rock

They took the car into the repairs area and made me wait till 4.00 pm. After that the service advisor comes back and says that they are not able to figure out what is going wrong and they need the help from Ford India and that they will deliver the car only on Monday.

I just shook my head in disbelief

Is it that no other Fiesta s have gone into the wokshop with such problem ( they claim that this is the first time they have received such a complaint!! )

I asked them to share with me the printouts they have got after the engine was connected to their computer, they said the system do not have anything like that ( ie option to take printout )

Lastly, I asked them to return the car and that I will bring it later. they say it is dangerous to drive that car and dont want to return it until they fix this once and for all.

Having heard that I did not want to take a chance ( even if I did not believe 50% of what they are saying ). I had to leave the car there and took a standby from them

Pals, I am really scared now. I am not sure if the dealer is taking for a ride. If he had returned the car today and asked me to bring it on Monday I would not have been as much concerned as I am now.

Fella fiesta owners - have you faced the same problem as I have? Is it such a problem that the dealer is making it out to be? Is it true that the system does not allow any printouts?

I definitely have a couple of sleepless nights ahead

-Tortoise

[rks]

Nothing to worry as far as leaving the car is concerned. They are the authorized dealers after all. I am neither a Fiesta owner nor an expert, but my guess here is that there is some problem with the ECU or some of the associated sensors. If there is a problem with the electronics, as I suspect, the authorized dealers will not have a clue -- hence Ford India's inputs will be required. Since the car is under warranty, it will be fixed. You can sleep in peace.

[ram_hyundai]

yes tortoise,
dont worry. it would be settled .its normal and rare that you end up in such a situation.but they have thier responsiblity to solve it for you.spending 7 laks and ending up in your situation is not a happy one but be confident they will help you out and you would feel proud with your dealer.
ram

[Octavia2]

Tortoise,

Could be a simple problem with plugs or wires - should not be anything serious. Else butterfly for instance could be clogged - in which case a few sprays of carb clean would resolve it. Also, remember its diwali, people like to leave early where ever they work. Any which way relax man, you are still very early in your warranty period. Enjoy your diwali man - everything should be sorted out by Monday or so for sure!

-P.

[tortoise]

After 6 days (discount two holidays ) I received the car today.

I was given various hypothesis. all along I was assured that "they are working with Ford India on this"

1. problem with onboard processor
2. power delivery module need to be replaced. Requested for the part, it will arrive on Wednesday


finally when I went to take the car, I saw the bill which said replaced spark plugs

I would expect that spark plugs be the ones to be suspected initialy for engine misfiring. when I told the same, the reply I got was "This is the first time they are seeing a fiesta with spark plug problems"

questions remain

1. Does it take 6 days to analyse a spark plug problem for engine misfiring?
2. If yes, is this the level of comppetency we can expect from Ford authorised service center
3. Doesnt Ford India equip their service center with gears that can identify a spark plug problem
4. or was it plain ignorance and not attending to my poor car that they gave various stories for silly problem

Finally,

how can Ford release a car which has spark plug problems?

I am planning to send a strong mail to their customer service

-tortoise

[Ford Rocam]

Was this problem present at the time of delivery ? or during initial 1-2nd days & how frequent it was in your 1 month tenure?

The service advisor took test drive and acknowledged that there is a misfiring and when the hood was opened I could clearly see the engine rock

Can you elaborate more, what did you mean by engine rock?

[suman]

Tortoise, have never faced this problem in my Fiesta 1.6sxi (with ABS) but in a new car, I would have also diagnosed it as a problem with the electronic modules; I don't think anyone would have expected a spark plug defect.

Couple of questions - you haven't mentioned it specifically so I guess the problem has now gone completely? Also, as Jitu has asked, when did this problem develop? I'm sure it wasn't there on delivery, if it was you wouldn't have accepted delivery, right?

Jitu, by "engine rock" I guess he's saying he saw the engine block shake due to the misfire (possibly at idle)

On a different note, most dealerships are not as conversant with Fiesta issues as they are with Ikon or Fusion or Endeavour - so if its anything that requires out of the box thinking, it takes a while. To give an example, there was this funny squeaking noise that had developed from the rear in my car. I'd read in other bhpians posts on this forum that it could be from the bumper. Told them to check that out, they refused and after one full day of tweaking & testing various things, they came to the conclusion that it was a beam bush on top of the dead axle. Part wasn't available, they indented, it arrived, job done and lo behold, squeaking started again! In the meantime, they'd also spoken to Ford India so guess what the final diagnosis was (and correct one this time around!) - they took out the handbrake cable, sprayed it and put it back and that's been the last of the noise!

[tortoise]

I guess the problem was there when I took the delivery. It was prominent only when I started driving the car. Especially after I shift the gear and pickup from low rpms, I could feel this misfire . But ,then as I did not suspect my brand new Fiesta engine ( which is supposed to have gone through tests both by Ford and then dealer). I was suspecting the initial load of fuel. I waited till I tanked up twice from Shell from near empty.

The engine shake during idle was visible when I opened the bonnet. It was not consistently shaking but in regular intervals

now, the problem is not there. though I can feel the pulse of the engine in my feet during idle, especially with the AC on

-tortoise

[drifter]

The first fill up of fuel could have put dirt in your fuel filter....have they checked the fuel filter?

Drifter

[esteem_lover]

squeaks & rattles are challenging for a mediocre mechanic. but it is much easier to find the cause for an engine misfire. i wonder how the 'trained' mechanics in this service station had taken this long to identify, especially in the festive season, when anyone would love to have their new cars with them.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tortoise

though I can feel the pulse of the engine in my feet during idle, especially with the AC on

-tortoise

Sounds to me that the problem hasn't gone away completely......one of the USPs of the Fiesta is that there should be no perceptible difference in vibration levels with or without the AC...if you can still feel the pulse, there could be an issue.

Drifter, about the fuel filter - again, one of the strong points is that it is supposed to go 20,000 kms so difficult to imagine that it would give up on the first fill (though I'm not saying its impossible )

[drifter]

@Suman: Like you said, it ain't impossible.

Drifter

[Pankaj401]

[SIZE=2]Isn't the misfire recorded as fault code in the ECM?[/SIZE]

[iraghava]

It could be a clogged filter (Like Drifter mentioned) or a malfunctioning Fuel Pump. I had the same problem in my car (an OHC) and after replacing the Filter the problem went away for a while but came back again. It was finally traced to a faulty fuel pump. If the fuel pump is not feeding enough fuel to the engine than at low revs there could be a visible shake.

[lamborghini]

Hey tortoise
Why don't you go for for a TD of anothe fiesta and see if the pulse can be felt in that vehicle.
If it can't, then ask the Ford mechanics.
Cheers