[RishikeshK]

Originally Posted by TDCi4Life

Ithe engine would occassionally start knocking - specifically when on an incline with 4 or 5 people on board, shifting from 3 to 4th gear, post speed of 50kp/h. Any input from the accelerator pedal at that point and I could see the rpm needle stuggle to rise and fall slightly, as the engine would simply fail to respond.

Almost similar behavior is shown by my March-2020 BS6 Ecosport TDCi. When loaded and on incline/hard acceleration the car shudders, RPMs struggle to rise and the whole front of the car shakes as if someone is rapidly applying and releasing brakes. The moment the car is back on a flat road, the car just zooms off as if nothing happened. The effect is more pronounced when AC is on. I also got the wheel-alignment done to rule-out that possibility but that didn't help.

I suspect this is related to exhaust. My 2011 TDCi Figo (even though underpowered as compared to the Ecosport) didn't exhibit any such behavior ever on the same inclines with same load. Took it with the Ford ASS and they were clueless about it.

Thankfully, I haven't got the DPF warning on MID in all of the 10K km running so far. May be sufficient amount of highway running is keeping things under control there. But the shuddering on inclines with load is irritating for sure. Hoping to find some solution during the next scheduled servicing.

[Nikhil Beke]

This really has the potential to be the final nail in the coffin for Ford (considering how many enthusiasts like their Diesel powertrains) if they don't get their act together and proactively reach out to all customers and fix this issue.

Or it could be Ford's way of simply indicating that they are no longer interested in selling anything but Endeavour in India: they might simply bring investment and support to Figo triplets/EcoSport down to a level where the ordinary car owner looking for a fuss-free ownership may simply look elsewhere(Their petrol engines are good, but not definitely superior to Koreans/MS).Ford US may then pull the shutter down quoting low sales figures.

"Programmed obsolescence" is a term I learnt and liked on one of the threads on this very august forum- Ford seems to have taken to adore it so much that it is using it for its suicide mission in India.

[giri1.8]

Looks like Ford should have simply discontinued the diesel variants instead of this disaster. Perception of high maintenance has been Ford's biggest enemy, this might cement people's sentiments about the brand.

[sukarsan]

I work on DPFs among other engine related things.
Looking at the issue coming 1 year after launch I can be sure that some cost optimization exercise under pressure has gone terribly wrong.
Now, this could be either by Ford or anyone in the supply chain. The ones who supply DPFs are global giants and they might have done some change which had unforseen consequences.
Now, there are 2 ways out of this . A low cost software solution or a high cost hardware replacement. Ford is now probably scrambling their software team to solve the issue . For this the SW guys have to first understand it and then deliver. This is probably what they are doing now. They were also hoping that this will not blow over till they come up with a interim fix.( sadly that has not happened).
Depending on the availability , the old part is probably being procured and updated in all vehicles in their yard at least.

The owners on the other hand will have to bear with the issue for now. 100% certain that they will receive some made up excuse and apology in some standard format. Being united will make all the difference in getting an interim fix and a permanent fix.

Also, DPF clogging is a serious concern. Assuming that the filter is actually getting chocked, its the safety mechanism which is now causing the regeneration cycles. If this mechanism too fails, its a fire hazard.

[Hondaboy]

Hi Ayush, thanks for sharing this info so others can benefit from it.

Hope Ford resolves it for you.

Do need to call out the fact that you should not be clicking pictures of your speedo while the car is in motion. It can be lethal.

Good luck

[Turbo_head]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

So now Ford BS6/Euro VI diesels need a new sticker saying "Drive to (let the engine) Live".

Or LIVE TO DRIVE(To the service Center)

[TDCi4Life]

Originally Posted by sukarsan

I
Now, there are 2 ways out of this . A low cost software solution or a high cost hardware replacement. Ford is now probably scrambling their software team to solve the issue . For this the SW guys have to first understand it and then deliver. This is probably what they are doing now. They were also hoping that this will not blow over till they come up with a interim fix.( sadly that has not happened).
Depending on the availability , the old part is probably being procured and updated in all vehicles in their yard at least.

The issue for my 2020 BS6 TDCi Aspire was reported and escalated to Ford's Chennai IT team back in Dec/2020. By Feb 2021, I was informed that the Chennai IT team was unable to replicate the issue/find the bug during virtual testing. The issue was escalated to Ford Detroit (or so I was told) and I have been following up with my dealer/FASS quite regularly until the last few months. I was informed during the last communication that Ford Detroit have come up with a patch and the Chennai IT team is working on making it available to users in India.

Every follow up since then has resulted in the same response - The software patch is still not available at the dealer's end. I have since then, given up on the follow ups.

[srivatsahg]

I recently got the delivery of my 1.5TDCi Ecosport after much delay due to lockdown and Software update issue. One thing that stands out in the time between my booking and delivery is that although my dealer/service personnel and Ford kept me updated about the delivery delay due to lockdown through email and phone, but once this DPF related delivery delay issue came out none of them sent updates regarding to my queries/concerns.

I called up my dealer / delivery personnel / service advisor and even finance guy. Each of them gave a different response much to my shock and surprise.

• Dealer : Emission smoke related software update
• Delivery guy : Semiconductor shortage
• Manager : Form 22 related updates in RTO for BS6 engine changes (I'm still trying to figure this out)

I had almost cancelled my booking at one stage. But my love for this car and engine that I zeroed in after lots of research for my specific requirements made me stick to it in spite of this bad experience

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sukarsan

Looking at the issue coming 1 year after launch I can be sure that some cost optimization exercise under pressure has gone terribly wrong.

Awesome post, thanks.

Cost optimisation indeed - you nailed it. The EcoSport Diesel BS6 cost merely 13000 bucks more than the BS4 version!


Source (Ford EcoSport BS6 launched at Rs 8.04 lakh)

[TDCi4Life]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

I had almost cancelled my booking at one stage. But my love for this car and engine that I zeroed in after lots of research for my specific requirements made me stick to it in spite of this bad experience

This sums up why die hard TDCi afficionados like us take the plunge with Ford, overlooking all popular sentiment, their legacy reputation in India and shocking deletion of basic features (in case of Aspire top end variants).

That TDCi is like no other and I almost have no regrets in forsaking LED headlights, rear AC, rear arm rest, legacy build quality of body panels, comfortable seating, 3 stage door opening mechanism, Android auto/Sync 3 etc in the Aspire's Titanium+.

Ford has taken great strides in lowering the cost of spares/overall maintainence costs.

I sincerely hope that justice prevails when Ford takes ownership of the issue and comes out with a long term concrete resolution, soon. Only then, will we be vindicated for our faith in the TDCi, going against all current wisdom.

[harwinder]

Had the same error come up while driving my Ford Endeavour done 17000 kms (September 2020). Was a Sunday and after coming back home, I removed the battery terminal and cleaned the air filter, which was quite dirty. The service interval is 10,000 kms and as per Ford app the company recommends to change the air filter after 30,000 kms. Next morning started the car and error was there, I drove straight to the service center. It was taking long and I was getting late for my work. Meanwhile the technical person who updated the car software last month arrived. I started the car to show him the error, which to my surprise was gone. Did not get anything done and drove back. Have been driving the car for three days now without any error.

Moral: Long service intervals do not suit the Indian conditions and am thinking to change the air and oil filter after every 10,000 kms.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by sukarsan

...
Looking at the issue coming 1 year after launch I can be sure that some cost optimization exercise under pressure has gone terribly wrong.
...

This looks to be a very likely scenario. This engine did not have so many DPF complaints in the early days even though BS6 fuel still hadn't reached all parts of the country.

In addition to undoing whatever change seems to have been made, they should also add a 'park regeneration' mode like the XUV300 instead of making people drive on highways at high speeds or running to the service centre.

[RMN]

This is extremely sad to hear. But realistically, can we expect anything positive from a company that's at the verge of shutting shop? If this is an issue only for the indian vehicles, then I highly doubt they will do a recall or invest in a fix? Unless someone takes the legal route.

[NowNew7]

This seems to be an intermittent issue with BS6 diesels from some other manufacturers as well.

I have seen occasional mentions on some social media groups for Nexon for example.

Seems the decision to pull in my diesel vehicle purchase to a couple of months before BS6 roll out is giving additional benefits not anticipated!

[vtecblast]

This is the same issue my friend is facing in his Titanium S. The service centre guys are constantly asking for more time and scratching their heads looking for solution of the same. Result: nothing. The car was particularly bought to be driven within city limits only, the sales advisor was very sweet at the time of selling, assuring that this is perfect vehicle they can buy for city run. He doesn't have that much time to take the car every now and then to the highway, that's why he's suffering since the car completed its 800kms. The car has been driven for test for approximately 300kms yet no solution found. Please note that no cost of the diesel spent was given by these guys. Ford is constantly dead in terms of either giving replies or solution.