Problematic Gear boxes in Fiesta 1.4 EL?

Venkatesh.C · 14th November 2007, 20:21

My Brother in law is a doc and drives a Fiesta 1.4EL. He has been using the car for a year and is done about 15k on the odo(99% city). His gear box just dropped dead on him one day and thankfully he got it fixed under warranty
The problem was the cables were cut (this is a cable operated box. Remember?) and the bushes had gone kaput.
This was a shock to us. No other car we have owned has had problems in the gearbox area and this was unheard of
When inquired the dealers said that it was pretty common in fiestas.

Now, that was even a bigger shocker.

Is this true fellas? Do fieastas have weak cogs setup?

LandCruiser · 14th November 2007, 20:27

Never heard of it. The fiesta gearshift is one of the best in class and it has been pretty smooth for me. My car met with an accident and the "transaxle" was changed. It was at 20k kms. Till date 40k kms i dont have any problems with the gearshift! (Touchwood...)

rohan_fonseca · 14th November 2007, 23:33

The fiesta's gearshift is sweet. Never heard of any problems with it.

Venkatesh.C · 15th November 2007, 09:08

Even I find the gearshift really sweet. But this was a shock for us. The more shocking thing was the dealer saying that this is not an unusual problem!

vasudeva · 15th November 2007, 10:31

Dear Mr. Venkatesh

For all cars, it is a question of probability. If consumer surveys say that so and so car is highly reliable, that means that there is a likelihood that it would give few problems. But for some the problems may be more, and they would laugh at the surveys. Why some companies are high on reliability and some are not is that better companies have the systems, processes, and integrity to ensure that they do it `consistently' right most of the time. For others, it is mostly luck, some go right, but most are lemons. When people who get lemons complain, the people who got the right quality say it has not happened and their car has been running for 20 years.

It is not directed at the replies on this thread but in general. That is why in any product market, companies cannot rest on their laurels. They must ensure consistency and extremely high quality and reliability all the time across every single product that goes out of the factory for them to be successful in the long term.

NIP · 15th November 2007, 11:46

i've never heard of chronic gearbox problems with fiestas either. must be a one-off issue. strange that the dealer claims its a common thing.

and while saying 'dealer', it usually points to one individual who is most likely a new employee/sales guy etc. who probably doesn't know jack about the cars. and by now, we all know the crap that 'dealers' give us...!

benbsb29 · 15th November 2007, 14:08

Can someone ask the guy from the dealership who gave this news to please go on record and utter the same? Or even give some statistics on the same? I bet he wouldnt.

Venkatesh.C · 15th November 2007, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIP

while saying 'dealer', it usually points to one individual who is most likely a new employee/sales guy etc. who probably doesn't know jack about the cars. and by now, we all know the crap that 'dealers' give us...!

Yeah true. I agree totally.

Mr.Vasudev. Thanks for your note. Yeah. I just thought i will check this forum to call the dealer's bluff.

@benbsb29, true, they wont go on record. But being a warranty replacement and his saying so is shocking. If it is paid replacement one can suspect he is pulling a fast one on us.

vnabhi · 15th November 2007, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venkatesh.C

Yeah true. I agree totally.

Mr.Vasudev. Thanks for your note. Yeah. I just thought i will check this forum to call the dealer's bluff.

@benbsb29, true, they wont go on record. But being a warranty replacement and his saying so is shocking. If it is paid replacement one can suspect he is pulling a fast one on us.

e

Perhaps the mechanic had a pal with a Fiesta that was out of warranty, and he wanted to replace his parts for free by using your car's warranty.

Venkatesh.C · 16th November 2007, 09:46

But the gearbox in the Fiesta did have a problem in the first place and that recurred even after a so called attempt to fix it. Anyways G.O.K. I guess there is no definitive answer to what could have happened. It is only obvious that other fiesta owners in the forum have not experienced this problem and therefore the service guy was either bluffing or they did favours or we got a lemon

14th November 2007, 20:21	#1
Venkatesh.C BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 286 Thanked: 78 Times	Problematic Gear boxes in Fiesta 1.4 EL? My Brother in law is a doc and drives a Fiesta 1.4EL. He has been using the car for a year and is done about 15k on the odo(99% city). His gear box just dropped dead on him one day and thankfully he got it fixed under warranty The problem was the cables were cut (this is a cable operated box. Remember?) and the bushes had gone kaput. This was a shock to us. No other car we have owned has had problems in the gearbox area and this was unheard of When inquired the dealers said that it was pretty common in fiestas. Now, that was even a bigger shocker. Is this true fellas? Do fieastas have weak cogs setup?
	() Thanks

14th November 2007, 20:27	#2
LandCruiser BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 711 Thanked: 51 Times View My Garage	Never heard of it. The fiesta gearshift is one of the best in class and it has been pretty smooth for me. My car met with an accident and the "transaxle" was changed. It was at 20k kms. Till date 40k kms i dont have any problems with the gearshift! (Touchwood...)
	() Thanks

14th November 2007, 23:33	#3
rohan_fonseca BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Panaji Posts: 984 Thanked: 9 Times View My Garage	The fiesta's gearshift is sweet. Never heard of any problems with it.
	() Thanks

15th November 2007, 09:08	#4
Venkatesh.C BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 286 Thanked: 78 Times	Even I find the gearshift really sweet. But this was a shock for us. The more shocking thing was the dealer saying that this is not an unusual problem!
	() Thanks

15th November 2007, 10:31	#5
vasudeva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 2,221 Thanked: 212 Times	Dear Mr. Venkatesh For all cars, it is a question of probability. If consumer surveys say that so and so car is highly reliable, that means that there is a likelihood that it would give few problems. But for some the problems may be more, and they would laugh at the surveys. Why some companies are high on reliability and some are not is that better companies have the systems, processes, and integrity to ensure that they do it `consistently' right most of the time. For others, it is mostly luck, some go right, but most are lemons. When people who get lemons complain, the people who got the right quality say it has not happened and their car has been running for 20 years. It is not directed at the replies on this thread but in general. That is why in any product market, companies cannot rest on their laurels. They must ensure consistency and extremely high quality and reliability all the time across every single product that goes out of the factory for them to be successful in the long term.
	() Thanks

15th November 2007, 11:46	#6
NIP Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,179 Thanked: 152 Times View My Garage	i've never heard of chronic gearbox problems with fiestas either. must be a one-off issue. strange that the dealer claims its a common thing. and while saying 'dealer', it usually points to one individual who is most likely a new employee/sales guy etc. who probably doesn't know jack about the cars. and by now, we all know the crap that 'dealers' give us...!
	() Thanks

15th November 2007, 14:08	#7
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 10,106 Thanked: 14,207 Times View My Garage	Can someone ask the guy from the dealership who gave this news to please go on record and utter the same? Or even give some statistics on the same? I bet he wouldnt.
	() Thanks

16th November 2007, 09:46	#10
Venkatesh.C BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 286 Thanked: 78 Times	But the gearbox in the Fiesta did have a problem in the first place and that recurred even after a so called attempt to fix it. Anyways G.O.K. I guess there is no definitive answer to what could have happened. It is only obvious that other fiesta owners in the forum have not experienced this problem and therefore the service guy was either bluffing or they did favours or we got a lemon
	() Thanks