[capt_rocker]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

5K in two months flat? Capt, Are you living in your car or something? Good to know that Fiesta is serving your driving purpose.

Sad to know that there is an issue with the brake booster. What was the reason given by Ford for the failure. Has it to do something with the disc brakes, any sign of worn off? I think you must have breaked too hard on more than one occassions to have an issue. See the link below.
What Is a Brake Booster? | eHow.com

Why is it you are driving with the clutch depressed, I think it is one of the main reason for poorer performance. Agreed that city driving is mostly in 1-2 gears only but does not qualify for driving with clutch depressed. You are going to wear off the clutch pads sooner than normal.

thanks ghodlur for your information on brake booster.
im not sure how did it fail. i never braked too hard. once i remember to avoid a most certain collision, i braked very hard and the ABS was engaged. I came to know coz the brake peddle rapped very hard too.. so says the car manual also.
but that was a long time ago. I felt the softness in the brakes from Day 1 but was not sure what the problem is, or rather how the brakes should behave.
About completing 5K kms in 2 months.. it didnt take much effort. I did just 2 highway trips to rishikesh (700kms total) and kanpur (1000kms total). Since i have only one car, i use the S for all purposes. ( i think i should invest in a bike/bicycle too!! for small odd jobs)
Also, being in the merchant navy, ill be off to my ship for 4-5 months. Ill be living away from my S, so I spent more time in it!!! the mrs. will be driving it in my absence.. but I wont be driven much im sure.

About the brake booster once again - do you think i need to contact Ford for this.. will just replacing help? what could be other damages??
I feel a drop in performance after the First service. Also the DTE has become very erratic now. It keeps on going up n down by 40-50kms by itself. The niggling issues I had with the sounds coming from the dash n doors is also not fixed.. Im just trying to find some timeout to take her back to the service..

[nairrk]

yes, a bike or scooter will be more ideal for small rides/busy town shopping(difficult to get parking for the big car) etc..and saving on fuel too.
DTE fluctuation: it happens some time. DTE is not a guaranteed reading of fuel level.
Just watch the low fuel warning lamp and then refuel the car at the earliest.
Sound from dash: have you checked any lose items in the glove box or nearby?
this can be fixed in the next service

[ghodlur]

Capt,

Do write to Ford customer care regarding the failure if you have recd in writing from the Ford dealer about the same and enquire about the brake booster being in warranty.

As read in the attachment, I think the brake booster has to do with the entire braking system, do take a second opinion from Ford dealer. Its better to tackle to problem if any at the intial stage than wait for something major to happen.

Do let us know Ford's response for your query.

[ruchirtnt]

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

hello amigos,
here are some more gloss pictures of the "S" after the underbody coating and paint protection job by 3M. Although the gloss might seem to be hidden due to background wall reflections and good 'ol dusty Delhi weather (always the same excuse.. need to think of something else!!!)

thanks capt_rocker, your snap of the silencer helped me out in my question of the silencer built of the S, it is a straight one and exhaust tip is fixed, i have put a chrome tip in my silencer but need to straighten it up to make it more visible

[capt_rocker]

Dear friends,
completed 5800kms on this lovely car. I am currently undergoing a battle with Ford and the dealership for replacement of a faulty brake booster.
I will take it to the next level because even after 15 days there has been no responce from Ford. The only spare they managed to get was non-ABS and didnt fit in the 1.6S.
Read the whole story here at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...help-info.html

Other Details:
1. Got a few more dents/scratches/bruises and a nasty front bumper crack near the left fog light.. my heart was cut out!!

2. After the 1st service, the DTE has been very very erratic. I know it shows an inducative value only but 70-80 kms up/down on the DTE is unaccceptable.

3. The fuel level indicator also keeps moving up and down. Guess the fuel level sensor must be faulty!!!

4. The mileage has come down to about 8-9 kmpl. The service manager had no clue about it when asked. He should have been rather a road mechanic instead!! He just said that in the 1st service, we do only inspection nothing else!!!

5. Finally got System-G from a BPCL outlet outside The Great India Place Mall in Noida Sec-18. Used about 30ml for 30 ltrs of normal petrol. The change in performance is yet to be seen.

6. There is a big Question Mark over the Ford publicity campaign for India, as the A.S.S is still very poor (as judged by me during the recent rounds to the service station). Also there is no response from Ford Customer Care even after repeated attempts to contact them.

Finally there is a lot of mixed feelings. The car is an absolute thrill. But the fun is spoiled by the pathetic A.S.S and Ford Customer Care being ignorant to their customer's demands!

[ruchirtnt]

As per the ford specifications, the ground clearance of all the fiesta is 168mm, but the 1.6S has a Sports side skirts which must be technically reducing the GC, but the specs speak that it is still the same, any idea

[capt_rocker]

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

As per the ford specifications, the ground clearance of all the fiesta is 168mm, but the 1.6S has a Sports side skirts which must be technically reducing the GC, but the specs speak that it is still the same, any idea

i think the ground clearance of the vehicle is calculated as the vertical distance from the under belly of the car. This will be same for all models of the Fiesta. The 1.6S has side skirts which do not reduce the ground clearance. On the contrary the larger 15" alloys on the 1.6S increase the GC by an inch or so as compared to other Fiesta models.

[rapideffect]

@Capt: 8-9 average still sounds good compare to mine 7.7-8. Hope, things will improve after the first service which is due in 3 weeks time.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

2. After the 1st service, the DTE has been very very erratic. I know it shows an inducative value only but 70-80 kms up/down on the DTE is unaccceptable.

capt, disconnect teh battery and wait for a few minutes. This will reset the ECU and you will find that the DTE readings are a lot more accurate after that. I have tried this and it works.

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

3. The fuel level indicator also keeps moving up and down. Guess the fuel level sensor must be faulty!!!

It can move just a little bit depending on if the car is standing on a slope etc, but it cannot move up and down. You need to get this checked.

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

4. The mileage has come down to about 8-9 kmpl. The service manager had no clue about it when asked. He should have been rather a road mechanic instead!! He just said that in the 1st service, we do only inspection nothing else!!!

This is about the mileage you get when runs are very short.

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

As per the ford specifications, the ground clearance of all the fiesta is 168mm, but the 1.6S has a Sports side skirts which must be technically reducing the GC, but the specs speak that it is still the same, any idea

The S has got a much better ground clearance than its other sisters due to the 15 inch wheels and stiffer suspension at the back. It's very difficult to make an S scrape the ground.

Originally Posted by rapideffect

@Capt: 8-9 average still sounds good compare to mine 7.7-8. Hope, things will improve after the first service which is due in 3 weeks time.

Nothing is done in the first service that can impact mileage.

[ruchirtnt]

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

i think the ground clearance of the vehicle is calculated as the vertical distance from the under belly of the car. This will be same for all models of the Fiesta. The 1.6S has side skirts which do not reduce the ground clearance. On the contrary the larger 15" alloys on the 1.6S increase the GC by an inch or so as compared to other Fiesta models.

Right @capt and @gilead, i just forgot that S has 15" alloy, that is why if i will go for a sports kit in my 1.6SXI, the GC will be reduced.

[capt_rocker]

Originally Posted by Gilead

capt, disconnect teh battery and wait for a few minutes. This will reset the ECU and you will find that the DTE readings are a lot more accurate after that. I have tried this and it works.

right Gilead, will try this and revert if any changes are there.
But just to point out one thing.. during the trial replacement of the brake booster, they did disconnect the battery for sometime. When they failed to replace the brake booster and finally placed the original booster only, i noticed that the Trip meter reading had gone to "0.0" and even the Audio System was reset and was asking for the 4-digit activation code, which I had to figure out and key-in from the manual.
But still I'll try by disconnecting the battery and wait a few minutes.

[sanjayc]

Capt...better focus on the brake issue and get it resolved asap before getting into the DTE/Fuel indicator mess, which has been reported by quite a few Fiesta owners here. If you observe the same issue in the next couple of tankfills, then maybe you can take this up..nothing much to worry about in this case.

Are you still driving the car even with the problem not fully sorted out?

[capt_rocker]

Originally Posted by sanjayc

Capt...better focus on the brake issue and get it resolved asap before getting into the DTE/Fuel indicator mess, which has been reported by quite a few Fiesta owners here. If you observe the same issue in the next couple of tankfills, then maybe you can take this up..nothing much to worry about in this case.

Are you still driving the car even with the problem not fully sorted out?

yes im still using the car sanjay! Cant help it as i dont have any other vehicle. I use the fiesta to ferry my child from school and other mundane jobs. Being on vacation, i dont use the vehicle much. Also i have been driving with restrain since i came to know of this problem. Its not a thrill to be behind the wheels of a 1.6S and not being able to go flat out!
Im not too much worried about the DTE etc right now.. just mentioned it because I was observing this difference.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

i think the ground clearance of the vehicle is calculated as the vertical distance from the under belly of the car. This will be same for all models of the Fiesta. The 1.6S has side skirts which do not reduce the ground clearance. On the contrary the larger 15" alloys on the 1.6S increase the GC by an inch or so as compared to other Fiesta models.

I'd say GC is the distance between the ground and the lowest part of the vehicle.
functinally and from a peace of mind POV, use this method to know which part of your car would be the first to go "scraaaaappeeee" over a big bump...

[ghodlur]

I di scrape the Fiesta yesterday when I was ferrying my parents sitting at the rear to a relatives house where the housing complex had a monstrous looking speed breaker. Even in the first gear the bottom was scapped.

One question though would filling 44 psi at the rear tyres have saved the scrapping. How does one manage filling the rear tyre air from no occupants to full occupancy?