re: Figo TDCi: Dies occasionally while downshifting! Solved: Updated firmware by Ford Quote:
Originally Posted by gemithomas i really dont know if its psychological or sheer coincidence. Just read your previous update on the car shutting down again and i had the same thing happen twice in the next 2 days. Both times i was trying to take a right turn and was shifting the gear.
The only change i can remember of is that i was driving her sedately for over a week now. Hardly saw anything above 2.5K rpm. When i think back now i have a feeling that the last time i experienced the same was when i had not revved her hard for over a week.
I have moved back to my slightly aggressive driving style and the car has been behaving normal.
Could it be the sooth deposit on some sensor causing this. |
Haha Gemi, I'm pretty sure it's nothing psychological, but your car acting up. If it's really the sedate driving that is causing the issue don't you think Ford is taking the tag of an "Enthusiast's car" a bit too dangerously over the top?
Anyways, here is a major update from my side.
I had an appointment today with Kairali Ford, Trivandrum for getting my issue checked. I reached there at around 2:30 and was made to wait as usual till a S.A. got free and attended me. As we walked to the car, another gentleman joined us and started asking me questions like how long this issue has been plaguing my car and so on. He then asked me to get in for a test drive along with a mechanic there. I kinda lost my cool a bit and told him a test drive will not reveal anything due to the sheer unpredictability of the issue. I've had many test drives like this and all of them came out unsuccessful in recreating the issue and finally they would say "We can't do unless we see it". After arguing with him for over 10 mins, I came to know that he was the customer relations manager there. And he explained since this issue would be taken up with Ford Chennai directly, they would need to provide information on what all tests they conducted on the car and so on. Finally I decided to yield to him and I got behind the wheel and went on a test drive on a beach road.
Thank god! For the first time, I was able to recreate the problem on a test drive and the guy who accompanied me understood that I was not some crazy guy complaining about a non-existent problem. When we reached the A.S.S., the guy informed the CRM that the issue did crop up and I was relived to hear they accepting it. He came over soon and informed me that they would contact Ford Hotline for this issue and they would get back as to what step need to be taken next. They would apparently send the error report today itself and should be getting a reply by tomorrow.
I inquired if I could get a spare car till I get my car back since there are no other vehicles in my house including 2 wheelers which are banned at my place. I was not expecting it, but the CRM told me he would check and get back, later he came over and informed me that I could get a petrol Figo, which I accepted. I was given a chill metallic Titanium. I was happy that they could arrange a car for me.
I was told I would be updated on the status of my vehicle tomorrow. Hope it's not a major work which would hold up my car at the A.S.S. for a long time. Just want to get it back fit and fine. Will keep this thread updated with the outcome.
While I'm at it, some other points about the Petrol car I received and the A.S.S as a whole: - The AC seemed to cool better than in my car
- I now totally get what some Titanium owners complained about a clicking noise from the left side of the dash. The spare car too had that noise and it seemed to be coming from the airbag assembly, not sure though
- The gear shifts were smoother compared to my car. With which I mean there was not much jerking while I upshift from 2-3 and 3-4 etc, while my car most ofter jerks during these shifts and is quite annoying. I was wondering if there was any chance of this jerky shift being connected with the "engine switching off while using clutch" issue. Just speculating
- The rear tires of the spare car are almost bald and the car wobbles at even rolling speeds, felt like sitting in a bullock-cart. I guess the car badly needs some wheel alignment/balancing
- The car did feel slightly underpowered. The TDCi is certainly more fun to drive even though the power on paper is lesser than the petrol version. The pull in 3rd gear in the petrol version is incomparable with the eager turbo pull in the TDCi
- Because of the above point, I felt the overtaking to be much easier in the TDCi. With the petrol, you need to plan well in advance
- Braking seemed to be better than in my car. It had more bite
- The horn felt much more difficult owing to the airbags on the steering wheel and I also realized my horn kinda sounds too fragile compared to the spare car. I guess one of the horn in my car might have conked off since I could clearly make out the twin tone horn in the spare car while mine is more like a single tone now. Need to confirm
- Ford really needs to expand in terms of dealerships/service centers. The centers are getting crowded by the day and I heard the front desk lady telling a customer that they are fully booked until 6th of May.
- The A.S.S. seemed to have more customers coming in at a point in time compared to the Hyundai A.S.S. I used to visit for our Xing until recently. Due to this bottleneck, service levels are bound to deteriorate which Ford can't afford right now
Last edited by jayded : 2nd May 2011 at 20:21.
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