[akroy]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

wow man 70K in 3 years and that too in a petrol car. Over that you have the safari. Do you spend most of time outdoors?? I really envy you Suman.. lol. By the way, nice report and good to see that you are still enjoying the car after 3 years.

Suman da, 70K in 3 yrs for the car which is used for pickup/drop your kids from/to school. I doubt whether you have taken it out of Delhi anytime. How far do you stay from school, office etc?

More than anything else, I want to know your usage on this car.

Abhi

[suman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Anyway who cares? I am rushing with Rs 4500 this weekend! Cheerio!

Yah, just go for it!

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

wow man 70K in 3 years and that too in a petrol car. Over that you have the safari. Do you spend most of time outdoors?? I really envy you Suman.. lol. By the way, nice report and good to see that you are still enjoying the car after 3 years.

Hey, thanks, I do spend a lot of time on the road but unfortunately not in the type of surroundings that I'd prefer - want hills, water & jungles but get mostly concrete jungles!

Originally Posted by akroy

Suman da, 70K in 3 yrs for the car which is used for pickup/drop your kids from/to school. I doubt whether you have taken it out of Delhi anytime. How far do you stay from school, office etc?

More than anything else, I want to know your usage on this car.

Abhi

Heh-heh Abhi - we live in Gurgaon & my Office, kid's school & wife's office (earlier) were all in Delhi, about 25 to 30 kms each way from our house. Before I bought the Safari, I used the Fiesta for my Office commute too. Then, kids school in the afternoon & wife's office in the evenings - that itself would add on 100 kms + in a day.

Now, only kids school (wife is taking a break) so the running has gone down to almost half of what it was earlier. You are correct - haven't been out of town with this baby yet

[suman]

Six months down the line & another 10k kms done & dusted! There are quite a few updates, let me go chronologically.....

Relay & New Fan Assembly
When we were in Leh, my brother was in town & using the car. Driving home in the evening one day, he faced a coolant boiling issue. Car was taken to Harpreet Ford, turned out to be an problem with the Relay. Was replaced under warranty & they decided to change the Fan assembly as well! My brother felt there was no need for that but it was free so we didn't complain!

Tie Rod ends & Shock absorber
Less than a week before we were to leave for Leh, my wife heard a sound from the front right side when the car was turning left. She alerted me, I tried the car out the next morning & realized that it was probably the tie rod end. The Dilemma - too close to Leh trip, Safari was also to be serviced, couldn't make do with a "no car" scenario! Took it to Harpreet Ford, the Service Advisor tested it & pronounced it fit for another 500 to 750 kms of careful use. The Verdict - fix it after we get back. My brother was coming to town & he'd need mobility as well. So, once we returned from Leh, this was top priority. Turned out that both Tie rod ends had gone, as had the front right Shock absorber. Shock abosorbers are bloody expensive, around 2k each, which is way more than what even the Safari ones cost. Anyway, it had to be done. Late afternoon it was discovered that the mounting also needed to be changed. At the end of the day, I was poorer by around 4.8k but, car had done 77k kms so I couldn't really crib. Just thanked my stars that they didn't have to change both shocks! Alignment was done at Star Wheels post the Tie Rod end change (I'd specifically told Harpreet Ford not to do it).

Power Window Switch
Front right was a little sluggish while going up so they changed the full unit (driver's door) under warranty while the shockers etc were being done.

Front & Rear walloping!!!
Ouchhhhh!! This was last Thursday. I'd given the Safari for servicing & the driver was dropping me to work. On MG Road, a little after crossing Ghitorni & the Petrol pump, we could see a slippery patch of garbage that had been left across the road. We approached the patch. Now, the unforeseen happened. A biker was in the extreme left hand lane - not in front of us but at least two bike widths to our left. This guy saw the garbage trail, panicked & braked!!!! Next thing we know, the bike has skidded, toppled & he's sliding our way at great speed (aided by the slippery garbage on the road).......my driver stood on the brakes (thank God for ABS) and we came to a halt. But -

• The biker came sideways & thudded into the left corner of the bumper ("Oh God, there go my fog lamps & God knows what else" I thought). And then I cringed because.....
• An Indigo coming from behind rammed into our rear bumper. I just think he was careless because if he had been vigilant, he should have been able to stop. My driver was watching the mirror as he braked hard & according to him, the Indigo was still some distance away.

So, we got off & prepared for the worst. Luckily, another biker who was parallel to us had seen the incident so he knew that the guy had skidded & come straight in our path. Else, we may have been in trouble. The guy was hurt on his knee (since the bike had fallen on him & dragged him). He was in pain but nowhere as bad as it could have been. My fogs were intact, the bumper wasn't damaged, just a whole lot of scratches & paint! The biker was escorted to the side of the road. And we went to survey the damage on the rear. The bumper had gone in, smack in the center & had also bulged out on the right rear, just before the wheel well!!!!! God, I could have killed that idiot in the Indigo!!! Now, there was no point wasting further time because there was already a long line of cars forming. The biker was still nursing his knee, it would be a while before he'd be mobile (seriously, had it been a non-ABS vehicle or had it been a truck or a bus, I think he'd have been a goner). So we moved on & stopped up ahead to resurvey. The rear bumper had gone in quite a bit & I wanted to make sure the dicky wasn't damaged. I made the mistake of telling the driver to open the dicky. It sprung up nicely but.....it refused to shut!!! LOL!!!

After a few tries, we headed to Office. Arrived there & I decided to see if we could realign the bumper by hand. I fiddled around, put pressure from both ends and - Lo & behold, the dents came back out & the bumper was more or less in shape. But the dicky still wouldn't close because the bumper was still marginally out of alignment. Even though the car was supposed to go for servicing on the weekend, it would be pointless asking Ford to repair. They'd start off with a bumper replacement if nothing else. Spoke to GD who put me on to his workshop, I decided to visit him the next day. Somewhere in the course of that day, we found that the dicky would shut but that meant dropping the lid from a height. Not a good idea because the impact each time was also causing a crease to develop. As far as the front bumper was concerned, the driver managed to get most of the scratches & (bike) paint off courtesy Formula One Scratch Out. All that remained was a small patch where the car paint had gone - an ugly scar.

Next morning, went to GD's workshop where Mr Rakesh fixed the dicky problem in a couple of minutes & strongly advised me against removing the bumper & trying to fix the slight alignment issue. The paint had really not been damaged either so decided to leave it like that. However, I was really cheesed off by the entire incident - for no fault of ours, the impeccably maintained vehicle got scarred!! And I know that the bumper will play up somewhere down the line.

80k Service
The extended warranty would run out at 80k & I'd spoken to the Service Advisor when the shocks etc were being repaired. We decided on the strategy of getting the service done a tad before it touched 80k. A thorough scrutiny would be carried out so that it there was anything (warranty covered) which had a remote possibility of conking off in future, it would be changed. So car was sent last weekend with the odo reading somewhere nearing 79.7. Apart from the routine oil & filters, I was told that Spark Plugs would be changed, injectors would be cleaned, engine would be flushed & decarbonization would be done. The car had been sluggish & thirsty of late. My brother (he also drives a 1.6) told me that he felt that maybe it was the clutch playing up. I thought that she needed a good old injector cleaning so I had planned on OWS treatment in any case. But the OWS hadn't arrived so I decided to go with the Ford beauty treatment & restore her to her earlier Performance glory. All components were checked thoroughly & pronounced OK. They also touched up the ugly patch on the front bumper (free of charge!). It was an expensive service by normal standards because of the decarb & other labour charges. Set me back by 5.1k.

Took her out on Saturday evening & floored the pedal. Wohhhhh.....she was back to her scorching form!!! I could feel the huge difference immediately. So the plugs & the treatment had done the trick!! Lets see how she fares on the mileage front but I think there will be a definite improvement. Next in line is wheel rotation & balancing which will be done today.

With the extended warranty having now expired, I'm keeping my fingers crossed & will watch over the next few months. Based on past performance, I really don't see any reason to be alarmed but one never knows. And, as I mentioned somewhere on this thread, replacement options are severely limited. That's what we were talking about over the weekend - as & when, do we go for another Fiesta or what do we do? We've been very happy with the reliability, cost & FTD factors of this car so maybe that's what the final decision will turn out to be. Hopefully, in 2010, Ford will come with a better option........till then, the love story continues!!!!

[vnabhi]

Thanks for the update Suman. How much did the boot and bumper repair cost you? How much damage did the Indigo guy have, considering it was the front of his car that bore the impact?

I have another question for you----I want to know more about that sound from the front right of the car. I was having some kind of a clang sound in similar situations, but it was set right during service by greasing the front right shock, and it is mostly gone now. I want to know if that could be a symptom I would need to watch out for.

[suman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks for the update Suman. How much did the boot and bumper repair cost you? How much damage did the Indigo guy have, considering it was the front of his car that bore the impact?

Didn't cost anything - boot wasn't damaged, it was just the bumper that was marginally out of alignment. The latch was adjusted (miniscule adjustment), I wasn't charged. So I was lucky from the cost angle! And I must confess that I was bloody impressed with how solid the Fiesta bumpers are - no dent on front & the back one just resolved itself with a bit of coaxing! No cracks, nothing!

The indigo guy had damage on his grille & on the tip of his bonnet (it had crumpled into the top of the grille) - he was cribbing like hell about how his damage was more than mine! It would cost him a bit to get it repaired, not sure if his bonnet was opening at that point or not.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I have another question for you----I want to know more about that sound from the front right of the car. I was having some kind of a clang sound in similar situations, but it was set right during service by greasing the front right shock, and it is mostly gone now. I want to know if that could be a symptom I would need to watch out for.

This was more of a "Gud-gud" if you went over a speed breaker or a pothole and was happening on left turn or left lock. Wasn't a clang really. My SA told me that one should expect Tie Rod end wear past 50k kms so I think its too early for you. But if the shocker problem continues, you should try & pressurize them for a warranty replacement.

[kpzen]

Wow !! 80k kms in 3 + years.

How much have the Michelins done till now ?

[zuch]

Great update suman! Good to hear that no major damage was done from the impacts.

Did you mean 2k or 20k for the shock absorbers?

Also my fiesta has done 15k now. I've been facing a weird issue. Whenever it's driven in stop go traffic for longer periods after a while in the first gear if you ride the clutch or even try to start softly the car judders like anything. At first I thought it was an issue with the axle or the engine mounting being loose or something but it only happens when you are stuck in a jam for long. Also this one time my brother switched off the ac and the problem went away immediately. Have you experienced anything like this with your car? Any suggestions on which is a good workshop for ford in NCR to get this checked?

[suman]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Wow !! 80k kms in 3 + years.

How much have the Michelins done till now ?

Yup, 80k kms in 42 months!

Michelins were added at 51k so almost 30k completed.

Originally Posted by zuch

Great update suman! Good to hear that no major damage was done from the impacts.

Hey Zuch, thanks, long time, how you doing? Ya, tell me about it! I was expecting far worse when I got out of the car.

Originally Posted by zuch

Did you mean 2k or 20k for the shock absorbers?

2k for each shocker, only the front right one was changed (along with the mounting which was another 1k & both Tie rod ends which were 1k for the pair)

Originally Posted by zuch

Also my fiesta has done 15k now. I've been facing a weird issue. Whenever it's driven in stop go traffic for longer periods after a while in the first gear if you ride the clutch or even try to start softly the car judders like anything. At first I thought it was an issue with the axle or the engine mounting being loose or something but it only happens when you are stuck in a jam for long. Also this one time my brother switched off the ac and the problem went away immediately. Have you experienced anything like this with your car? Any suggestions on which is a good workshop for ford in NCR to get this checked?

Hmmm, now that you mention it, my driver had mentioned this judder in traffic & I had asked the SA to check this out during one of the earlier services. He didn't find anything alarming during the TD (no traffic as such) & told me to just observe - if it started happening frequently then we'd need to get the clutch checked out. I'd noticed a judder last week when I was reversing into the parking slot at home - came & went away so I didn't bother.

I now use Harpreet Ford Gurgaon - the Service Advisor is a very decent & helpful kind of a guy. Always tries to save you from unnecessary expense so I'm quite happy with him. If its convenient for you, you can try them out - I'll give you his details & keep him informed.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by suman

Didn't cost anything -

This was more of a "Gud-gud" if you went over a speed breaker or a pothole and was happening on left turn or left lock. Wasn't a clang really. My SA told me that one should expect Tie Rod end wear past 50k kms so I think its too early for you. But if the shocker problem continues, you should try & pressurize them for a warranty replacement.

Wow, you sure were lucky for not having to shell out anything. I agree about the bumpers--I was hit by an 800 once on the rear, but there was not even a dent, though the 800 had one.

As regards shock absorbers, I thought they were not covered by the warranty.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by suman

Yup, 80k kms in 42 months!
Michelins were added at 51k so almost 30k completed.

What a thread suman, I really missed it all these months. Had to finish the whole thread in few hours. It really gives lot of confidence to any fiesta owners. Running 51k on the stock footwear was really impressive, as majority of people prefer to upgrade when its new. Congrats on the rocking ownership review !

Mine is just 110 km on the ODO, already thinking of upgrading the stock MRF to Michelins, not yet decided on the profile. As you posted somewhere here, I may not go for any performance based driving anytime as of now. Majority of the drives are within city, ocassionaly doing some long drives (twice a year within 2000 kms each time up and down).

Whats your suggestion on tire brand and the correct profile ? I am also wavering between 14" and 15", but dont want to compromise on driving comfort and silent ride. Alloys also could go along with my tire upgrade as I find it adding to the style and other related positives.

Reply greatly appreciated !

[suman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

As regards shock absorbers, I thought they were not covered by the warranty.

Yes, but since your car hasn't done much mileage & these guys have tried to get rid of the problem by greasing it, perhaps you could put pressure on them if it recurs and tell them that its a defect & not arising out of "normal wear & tear" (which is not covered).

Originally Posted by shajufx

Whats your suggestion on tire brand and the correct profile ? I am also wavering between 14" and 15", but dont want to compromise on driving comfort and silent ride. Alloys also could go along with my tire upgrade as I find it adding to the style and other related positives.

Shaju, thanks! Yes, this car has been the epitome of reliability for us. I'm quite happy with the Michelin Energy XM1+ in the 185x65x14 configuration. The grip is way better than the stock MRFs & they're pretty noiseless & give a very comfortable ride. I think they'd be the right choice along with some Aura 14 inch alloys

[RP_812]

Hey Suman , Nice writeup , even I own a Fiesta and have just completed 9000 kms on the ODO in a year. Never going to reach the milestone your car has done though.

Major mistake I made was that I did not take the extended warranty since I assumed it was a waste of money but reading your post has changed my mind.

Question: My old warranty just expired on July 31st 2009 , can I get it renewed.?

[suman]

I think its good to get the extended warranty, you can easily get yourself covered till the end of the 4th year. Will save you some money should anything major crop up......

Originally Posted by RP_812

Question: My old warranty just expired on July 31st 2009 , can I get it renewed.?

Not sure, I would suggest contacting your dealer ASAP. Its just a few days over so it may be workable.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by suman

I'm quite happy with the Michelin Energy XM1+ in the 185x65x14 configuration.

Thanks suman, my only worry was the ODO error of 100kmph Vs 102.2 in real. Infact its a trouble only when we cover speed limit areas as the interceptors can catch the speed even for just 1 kmph more than the limit.

Yesterday my friend was caught on the new airport road for doing 81 as the limit was 80 ! I dropped my sister few weeks ago doing 120 throughout, luckily it was early morning 4am. Best matching profile is 185/60/R14 which has a marginal difference of only 100 Vs 99.1 kmph. May be I am worrying about something silly. Thanks again.

[BAKIYA_2K12]

Originally Posted by RP_812

Major mistake I made was that I did not take the extended warranty since I assumed it was a waste of money but reading your post has changed my mind.

Question: My old warranty just expired on July 31st 2009 , can I get it renewed.?

you can renew the external warranty, i think it will cost around 8k.

my fiesta turbo charger gone kaput last week.If i had made the same mistake as you did, i would have end up paying 42K for the turbo charger.