[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by tortoise

I also thought so and i could have lived with it. But, I did not want the steering to shiver in my hand.




It is 1.2k . Had it been 1.2 l I would have cannibalized the car and started a Fiesta spare parts sale . Looking at the number of Fiesta fans, I am sure it would have been nice business

Phew, what a releif---I was totally carried away when I imagined the figure in lakhs!

Steering wheel vibratiions at certain speeds could be due to improper wheel balancing. My brand new car had steering vibrations at a speed of 120, but it used to vanish at speeds over that or under that.

Balancing at Ford A.S.S. solved the issue.

[tortoise]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Steering wheel vibratiions at certain speeds could be due to improper wheel balancing. My brand new car had steering vibrations at a speed of 120, but it used to vanish at speeds over that or under that.

This was only when I was braking..so it got to be the discs

[suman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Wow, what is that?

Nothing much mate, just an update on the regular service that's all

On the 29th of May, she clocked up 120,000 kms -


and I sent her across the next day to Harpreet Ford Okhla for the routine 10k Kms service. Since I had not attended to the Thermostat Housing & the Gear Box mounting during the 110k kms service, I was pretty sure (and apprehensive) that I wouldn't get away lightly this time around. Sent a fair amount of cash with the driver & was prepared to shell out more if required. They'd told me that the following would be attended to apart from the routine stuff (and I'd told them to go ahead) -

• Spark Plugs - eventually not changed
• Throttle Body Cleaning - eventually not done
• Injector Cleaning - not done as machine out of order

Apart from Engine Oil & Oil Filter, the Air Cleaner Filter was changed, both Wiper Blades (mentioned as required in 110k kms service) as well as the Coolant Bottle (which had developed a leak). The Gear Box mounting was brought up again but I told them to just let it be & they didn't pressurize me much. And, wonder of wonders, there were no visible leaks around the Thermostat Housing so that wasn't required either! All in all, came away with a much heavier wallet than I'd expected - total cost was only Rs 4,900.

This brought the total cost of ownership to Rs 81,291; as on date, the odo reads 120,839 - that's a healthy cost of 67 paise per km , what say?

The only that's been bothering me of late is the mileage - with the onset of the Delhi summers, it has been hovering between 8.5 & 9 kmpl, which is low by earlier standards. I think the plugs need to be changed (they were last changed at 80k kms) & although I did give her the OWS Injector Cleaner treatment a week ago, I think a thorough throttle body & injector cleaning is also in order to bump up the mileage. More on that when it happens.

With 120k kms done & dusted and Petrol prices going skyward time & again, perhaps its time to look at replacing the Silver Streak? Well, here's what I'm thinking - sell the Safari now & get a new sedan in (as mentioned earlier, the Cruze looks a strong contender). Keep this "addiction" going for another four to six months. By then, my daughter's licence would be done & she would be a little more comfortable with driving in traffic & with a bigger car etc. And (hopefully), the Merlin would be out by then. That's when we'd probably be saying "Bye" to this beauty & getting an SUV - does that make sense?

[lamborghini]

Great to see the twin doing well!
We have completed 80Kkm on ours, and she still manages to put a smile on our faces!
Since you were apprehensive about the turbo-lag in Cruze M/T, do look at the current Jetta. With the excellent discounts, M/T gearbox, superb safety equipment, and a very agile and eager engine (absolutely no turbo-lag), the Jetta makes a strong case for itself. In fact, it is as much fun to drive as well with minimal body roll, and a stiff suspension that is pure bliss at higher speeds. Sure it is going to be replaced, but the new model might be more expensive. Either ways, before plonking for the Cruze, do check it out.
The replacement for the twin is still on. Have decided on Passat, but even then, the 320d puts across a good case for itself, as does the new Jetta (which is within budget). Still to TD the Cruze A/T. But still contemplating putting it off for another year, and replacing the Merc first for mom, but will try to convince dad only after mech. gets back to me.

[suman]

Well, some reasons why I didn't explore the Jetta option -

• The TDI Comfortline is 17.5+ on-road gurgaon, which is almost 3 lacs over the Cruze LTZ. Even with discounts, it is unlikely to reduce much
• Don't want to buy an outgoing model - frustration levels will be very high, each time we see the "new" one float by! And the new one will be way over my Budget
• The Cruze beats the Jetta fair & square on the bhp front - 148 vs 108 - as well as the torque (IIRC)
• Yes, the Jetta does have more Airbags & TCS but the Cruze has a Sunroof & the delectable Start-Stop button (drool-drool)
• The Cruze has higher ground clearance.

That annoying turbo lag is the only fly in the ointment actually (and, to a lesser extent, the rear legroom) but then I'm thinking - I drive a Safari so I should be able to live with the turbo lag LOL!

[Deeps]

Although the GC may be good. But the overhangs in the Cruze (especially the front) do cause a fair amount of scraping. Have experienced it first hand and saw one in Chitkul going through the same problem.

[suman]

Last Monday evening, got a frantic call from the driver that the self was refusing to crank & the instrument cluster lights were going off in the process. Asked him to get out & lock the car & try unlocking with the remote - didn't work. Sounded like the Battery had given up, confirmed by switching the lights on (didn't come on) & I was surprised till I checked my records & realized that it had been changed way back in Jan 2009! Sent it to HF Okhla the next morning for a confirmed diagnosis - it was indeed the battery & cost Rs 3,300 to replace.

And, on Thursday morning, a little over five & a half years of FTD & reliability down the road, the odometer reading that brought a smile to our faces -


The journey continues..........

[vnabhi]

Wow, stupendous landmark on the odo there!!

BTW, I think your battery has given in too soon---even the stock one did not last 3 years it seems. And this one lasted hardly 2years 8 months.

Does your driver have any driving habits that drain the battery?

My Fiesta's nearly 4.5 years old on the stock battery. Even my Waggie is nearing 6 years on its second battery! The stock one lasted 4 years 2 months. That reminds me that my M800's second battery lasted for 5 years 11 months.

Is it just me who is lucky with car batteries?

[suman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Wow, stupendous landmark on the odo there!!

Thanks mate!

Originally Posted by vnabhi

My Fiesta's nearly 4.5 years old on the stock battery. Even my Waggie is nearing 6 years on its second battery! The stock one lasted 4 years 2 months. That reminds me that my M800's second battery lasted for 5 years 11 months.

Is it just me who is lucky with car batteries?

Well, maybe you are lucky - the Ford ones are covered for only a year under warranty as you know. From what I've gathered from my conversations with them, anything over two years is considered to be very good. Also, in my case, with the mileage that I've covered, the number of starts would also be way higher

[gemithomas]

The OEM one on our fusion 1.6 lasted 4.5 years. We've never got over 3 yrs on the exides on our Uno.

[benbsb29]

Congrats Suman! This is surely maximum utilization from the vehicle over these 5 years.
About the battery, the OEM battery on my Ikon is nearing the end of its life at close to 5 years and 64,000+ kms. Time to replace it.

[silver_shadow]

don't check in here much nowadays. but since i'm subscribed to this thread, i get the odd update in gmail. so thought i'd head here.

nice to see a fiesta running so long and relatively maintenance free. makes me happier as the proud owner of a (now) 10 month old baby

looking forward to a few good years of trouble free & FUN driving for all of us

[Sugeeta]

Suman, Congratulations on your car achieving this milestone. Mine just crossed 80K and is running fine though I have put it up for sale.

[sandeepmohan]

The Motorcraft batteries by Ford are excellent.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

The Motorcraft batteries by Ford are excellent.

The motorcraft label signifies ford's own parts division. This is the name used globally.

As far as the motorcraft battery goes, it is being manufactured by amaron under contract from ford India and is hence labelled as motorcraft.

And the best part is that if you buy an amaron battery from the market, it costs double than the motorcraft battery, even though the performance and reliability is same.