[MaserQ]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

I got a call from Mr.Ruchik Shah who happens to be the VP(Service) for Ford India on this past Tuesday.

We had a brief chat about how there are some issues that are common in most Figos right from engine stalling to the headlight fogging & also the steering rack problem in some. I also stressed on the fact that the main bone of contention has been the way Ford representatives especially the SC guys have dealt wih customers.

Ruchik thereby requested me to send across a list of people who are facing issues (any sort) and/or if for some one the customer service has been a point of concern.

However, whoever is willing to share their problems & contact details, please send me your PMs so that I can forward the details to Ruchik & try to get Ford to pay attention.

Lastly, a feeling that I am harbouring since the past couple of days is that despite taking this initiative with Ford when I am not even a Ford owner, I did not receive any participation from anybody here regarding writing to Ford or a consolidated/combined effort to bring the issues to light & make Ford do something, although it's evident looking at the numerous threads dedicated to Figo that the car has problems & a lot of people are troubled.

Being the festive season, people would have been away from their desks the last few days. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Good job mate! A gentle nudge by way of a PM would elicit response from concerned members.

gemithomas was in the process of compiling a list of Figo owners with the same stalling problem. Now that we have a direct line to the VP Service, Ford, who better to address the issue and provide a solution?

[scanD]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

@Velum; my query is about fuel efficiency. Is a car running in 5th gear@1500-1700rpm more fuel efficient than one in 4th gear@2000rpm?
Consider that peak torque is delivered at 2000rpm.
Also at 1500-1700rpm, the turbo is not spooling efficiently.

Very good question.. I too would like to know what the experts think about it.

Originally Posted by tj123

Ya looks like they have been using similar grade oil as earlier, however after extensive testing Ford might have found that there is no need to changing the Oil at 2.5K Km. If the manufacturer says so then we have to believe them as they know their babies best.

I checked the condition of the oil it is still flowing freely and it is not that black (As per the diesel standards) so I think the oil will hold good for the next 7.5 k kms else will change it some time later.

BTW I have not faced any niggling issues (squeaks/rattle) till date as reported by some fellow t-bhpians. I will insist with the service fellows tomorrow not to tinker with any setting of my car as everything is just working perfectly fine.

Yes, in my manual also there is a sticker which hides out the oil /filter replacement portion at 2.5k km.

TJ .. your car and mine were delivered 2 weeks apart and mine did undergo an oil change during first service.
btw.. the car became more noisy and the engine felt a little rough after the service. I suspected the Engine oil (as in.., mistakenly putting in Petrol engine's oil into my TDCi) and discussed with SA. He took me to Quick Service bay and showed the 2 nozzles that deliver engine-oil. They were clearly marked as Petrol and Diesel.. and he said no such mistake would happen on their part.

BTW .. the roughness of the engine vanished after a week from when I started using System-D.. everything was fine for some 2-3 weeks and now it seems to be gradually coming back (despite System-D).

Like many people have reported, the cars come out with more issues than what they had when they went in for service. so its better if they are not required to touch anything in the car during 1st service.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Even if it is 10K kms I usually go for an intermediate oil and oil filter change. If you drag it till 10K kms for an oil change the car starts sounding a bit gruff for the last 2K kms.

Mine doesn't have a sticker on the manual and I got the oil changed at 2,500kms.

Good observation Vid

With my Figo D nearing 9,000 kms, I can feel it. I haven't changed oils since the 1st service, but post the 2nd service, I plan to change every 5k. Overkill? Let me know.

[blackfire_9]

Originally Posted by tj123

I checked the condition of the oil it is still flowing freely and it is not that black (As per the diesel standards) so I think the oil will hold good for the next 7.5 k kms else will change it some time later.

hey mate, just wanted to pitch in here with my POV. I believe the colour of the oil is often not the best indicator of an engine oil's health, & a case in point is the synthetics that lose their original colour pretty soon compared to minerals due to better cleansing properties.

Originally Posted by MaserQ

gemithomas was in the process of compiling a list of Figo owners with the same stalling problem. Now that we have a direct line to the VP Service, Ford, who better to address the issue and provide a solution?

Thanks maser, really appreciate your response. I will contact Geni on PM right away & see if he can be with me on this.

I also feel that such opportunities shouldn't be let off easily since it's not every time you can get a company to start looking at something seriously. This is not just about me, or you or any single Figo owner. I urge all BHPians to just think of it as an effort to make sure that no complaint or suggestion or feedback goes unheard or unacted upon as is probably the norm with a lot of companies operating in India.

Drive safe.

[vina]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

@Velum; my query is about fuel efficiency. Is a car running in 5th gear@1500-1700rpm more fuel efficient than one in 4th gear@2000rpm?
Consider that peak torque is delivered at 2000rpm.
Also at 1500-1700rpm, the turbo is not spooling efficiently.

Assuming the pedal needs some pressing in both cases (i.e. engine is making some decent effort - e.g. it will not be making much effort while going downhill) the 5th gear will be more fuel efficient in general and specifically for a Figo.

For MJD I'm not sure, though the answer would be same if comparison is between 5th@ 1900 and 4th@2400



Reason:

Under similar driving conditions, the output power from the engine will be similar no matter which gear you select. However if you use 5th (vs. 4th) a higher fraction of the peak-torque possible will be used up. This usually means higher efficiency.

In the absence of any other FE-busters (e.g. lagging can cause excessive losses in turbo etc.) lower rpm for the same output power gives better FE.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

hey mate, just wanted to pitch in here with my POV. I believe the colour of the oil is often not the best indicator of an engine oil's health, & a case in point is the synthetics that lose their original colour pretty soon compared to minerals due to better cleansing properties.

Agree to your POV that colour of the oil is not the best indicator to judge the of condition for oil, but I think the colour and the viscosity of the oil gives the best guess from a laymans POV who does not have any specialized instruments to check the status of the oil.

[vina]

Originally Posted by tj123

Agree to your POV that colour of the oil is not the best indicator to judge the of condition for oil, but I think the colour and the viscosity of the oil gives the best guess from a laymans POV who does not have any specialized instruments to check the status of the oil.

Guys

the colour on my dip stick was black the day I got the car and black the day I received it after service

reading your comments I'm not sure this is normal. Any comments?

[sary]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

Sary, trust me, you MUST try the Tata Vista once. LX will match your budget, but i will recommend you upgrade your budget just a little bit and get a VX.

Thanks for your recommendation bigvishnu, however TATA is no where in my list. Even though its a good car, I would definately 'mind' to stand with cabs and Nano ques at service stations !! Snob value do matter a lot to me

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by vina

For MJD I'm not sure, though the answer would be same if comparison is between 5th@ 1900 and 4th@2400

In this scenario 5th@1900 would be more efficient. But the turbo is spinning in both the cases.

Originally Posted by vina

Reason:

Under similar driving conditions, the output power from the engine will be similar no matter which gear you select. However if you use 5th (vs. 4th) a higher fraction of the peak-torque possible will be used up. This usually means higher efficiency.

The power output changes with every gear. The gearbox is basically a torque converter with low ratios providing crawling ability and higher ones allowing cruising. To maintain a speed of 40kmh, at 1st gear will require more power than 4th gear.

[EagleEye]

Wanted to tell you about how the first service went.

Had asked them to install USB and a new mudflap (rear right) as it had broken off.
Went to collect the car in the evening, and saw that total charges for first service was:

Rs. 0.00

(Of course, it makes sense since they no longer change oil or oil filter or anything else).

Yes, they charged me around 1300 for the USB cable installation. But they had fixed the mudflap for free too.

Altogether the experience was very good, and they came across to me as very professional people (even if they charge a bomb for a piece of cable).
I'm "feeling the difference" and loving the Ford experience.

[Blood Hound]

Got my diamond white figo titanium tdci delivered about a week back . Have driven about 650 km in the first week of the ownership. And i must say i am enjoying my ownership experience .

The car is great to drive, as suggested in many other posts i am some how not facing any GC issues, may be as i am begin extra care full.

I would like to ask all of you what all things do i need to take care, as i am new to the diesel experience.

[tj123]

Guy got my Figo Tdci serviced today at Metro Ford, as mentioned in my earlier post there was no Oil & filter change. They did some routine lubrication ,washing & polishing.

On the C-piller the inside plastic housing both Left & Right side (above the parcel tray) was removed & the service fellow put some good quality double sided tape as per the technician that part has a tendency to rattle, though I never faced none.

I observed on all Figo's which came for service they were doing the same fix.

Overall quality of service was good, the vehicle was thoroughly cleaned inside out.

To top it all the overall Bill came to zero rupees. That was cool...

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by Blood Hound

Got my diamond white figo titanium tdci delivered about a week back . Have driven about 650 km in the first week of the ownership. And i must say i am enjoying my ownership experience .

The car is great to drive, as suggested in many other posts i am some how not facing any GC issues, may be as i am begin extra care full.

I would like to ask all of you what all things do i need to take care, as i am new to the diesel experience.

I too am not facing any GC issues with my Figo. I keep he tyre pressure at 30 psi. I get a feeling that the company has done something to solve the complaints about GC it had been hearing about. (Tweaked the suspension height??)

About taking extra care, the manual says not to go over 2000 rpm before crossing 2500 kms on the odo. That's what I did (ahem.. tried to do )

Originally Posted by tj123

On the C-piller the inside plastic housing both Left & Right side (above the parcel tray) was removed & the service fellow put some good quality double sided tape as per the technician that part has a tendency to rattle, though I never faced none.

Oh.. I don't think this has been done for me. Can you describe exactly what part they fixed? Maybe some pics? I just want to check whether mine is fine...

[tj123]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

Oh.. I don't think this has been done for me. Can you describe exactly what part they fixed? Maybe some pics? I just want to check whether mine is fine...

Attaching a picture for better understanding of the fix, the red arrow marks shows the plastic portion covering the C piller which were removed and a double sided type black tape was pasted on the plastic grommet of the section. This was done so that the part fits snugly without creating any noise.

Its a simple DIY fix, hope this answers your query.

[fiery enzyme]

Hi Guys,

My TDCi has done 40k kms. I have given it for service and had asked them to check the suspension as I was hearing noises.

Yesterday I got the call from the SA and he said the stabilizer link was broken. I tried to get him to explain the broken part to me but he was very vague.

I asked him to replace it and asked him if this covered under warranty. Get this - No. Apparently since my car has run 40K not all parts are covered under extended warranty. Is this true? I asked him to provide me a list and he said he will give me the contact of the concerned department.

Please let me know if this true regarding extended warranty.