[kiku007]

Throttle Body is about 8K.

Try this one MY10. I was able to find my DTC Error Code.

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi.../OBDSM1001.pdf

[vnabhi]

Over the past week, my car stalled twice at traffic junctions, when I switched on the engine when the lights turned green. But on second attempt, it started and was as normal as it could be, even with AC, lights and cd player on.

But as the stock battery (Amaron for Ford) was 63 months old, I had a lingering suspicion that it was packing up. As I have a long trip planned soon, I did not want to get stranded in some unknown place. I'd already experienced it once on my friend's Sonata at Tirumala, and therefore did not want another horror story.

I called Ford A.S.S. and asked them if they'd do a battery check. They agreed. But when I asked for the price of a new battery, they said Rs 5800 inclusive of taxes. I do remember mustang101 posted that Ford acquires Amarons in bulk and sells for Rs 3500 or so. But I was told that the prices have increased from April.

Instead of driving all the way to Ford, I googled for Amaron dealers in Hyderabad. I found one a mere 3 kms away from my house. I proceeded to him after he agreed to give me a new battery for Rs 4600 (actual cost Rs 5084), in exchange for the old one.

When he checked the old battery with his meter, the reading was 1400, which is normal. But when he checked when I cranked the engine, it fell to 800. I believe it should not be below 1000. He also asked me to put the headlamps on, blower in full speed, but engine off. He asked me to lower the power windows too with the engine off. These tests too indicated a weak battery.

Hence I took the plunge. I am quite happy that the stock battery lasted me this long.

[Rastapopoulos]

Vnabhi -I think 5 years battery life is quite good.
I know its off topic but I am not much of a everyday caring owner for my fiesta. I do regular servicings, drive as much nicely as possible in the heavy traffic (not revving it for no reason and going slowly through potholes), the car cleaning guy gives a daily wipe to the exterior and interior cleaning biweekly.

But even then I see my car has not given me a single issue till date of my ownership of close to 3 years.

I still have not changed the wiper blades which are not as good as day 1 but they are not missing out on any water. I think I will do it this monsoon.

Love the car !

[vnabhi]

That's fantastic to know. Keep taking care of her and she will reciprocate.

I have completed 32565 kms as of now, and plan to change the tyres on attaining 40 K kms.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I have completed 32565 kms as of now, and plan to change the tyres on attaining 40 K kms.

Venu sir,
Is this the first time you will be changing the tyres or have you done it earlier? Normally at what life/kms should the tyres be changed? Mine has done 27K kms and its been 2.5 yrs now since the purchase, I am running on Michelin Energy XM1+.

I have been experiencing some peculiar issue, atleast once in a week the engine takes time to come alive. Requires two cranks. On all other times one crank and the engine roars. Servicing is due in last week of June.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Venu sir,
Is this the first time you will be changing the tyres or have you done it earlier? Normally at what life/kms should the tyres be changed? Mine has done 27K kms and its been 2.5 yrs now since the purchase, I am running on Michelin Energy XM1+.

I have been experiencing some peculiar issue, atleast once in a week the engine takes time to come alive. Requires two cranks. On all other times one crank and the engine roars. Servicing is due in last week of June.

If you drive mostly on good road surfaces, then tyres should hold out till 40 K and sometimes even 50 K. I guess yours will last you for another 15 to 20 K. XM-1s are the best of the lot. I plan to go for XM-2.

My tyres are the original MRFs that came with the car.

As regards your engine cranking, please get your battery checked. I suppose it is happening on Mondays, assuming the car is idle in weekends.

[nairanupg]

As vnabhi said the tyres should hold good for 50k.
Just through with 47000 kms on my 3 year old Fiesta 1.6 and the stock tyre setup should last me 15000km more.
Take care of the beast and it never lets you down. no complaints whatsoever in 3 years of ownership.
And i too faced trouble with cold starts a few times. The battery might be an issue but if the car feels sluggish or grumpy when cranked, check the fuel filter.
Mine has been smooth once i got the filter changed and had all the liquids replaced.

[vnabhi]

After a gap of nearly 4 years, I was able to go with my wife and kids for a week-long drive to Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty/ Coonoor and back from June 17th to 23rd. The Red Injun covered 1967 kms in all, bringing the odo count to 34610 . The car performed flawlessly the entire trip, and was a hoot to drive.

As the car was fully-loaded, I filled in air pressure of 32 in the front and 35 at the rear. I did not want to fill in more, though recommended by the manual, as heavy rain was expected, and I did not want to lose traction. But I have a feeling the air meter at the bunk was faulty as it showed the existing pressure of all 4 tyres as 25, though I'd filled in 30 only a week before.

There was very heavy rain and cross-winds between Hyderabad and Kurnool, and the steering was slightly pulling to the left due to this. Moreover, when my son was driving, he felt the car losing traction at triple-digit speeds, especially on roads where water was more. Perhaps the extra air I'd filled in was also the culprit. So we kept speeds below 100 till rain subsided.

But from Kurnool onwards, it was a dry road permitting triple digit speeds upto Devanahalli. The GPS we had proved its worth in guiding us to our guest house in Koramangala from Hebbal.

The drive from Bangalore to Ooty was also great, and the car performed brilliantly on the Kalhatty ghat that had 36 hairpin bends. It was only once that I had to drop to 1st gear when there was an Innova in the opposite direction on a hairpin bend. The heavy steering and the fantastic low-end grunt helped me immensely all the way to Ooty and later to Coonoor. It was only on reaching the guest house in Ooty that I found the fan running for a full 4 mintues even after switching off the engine. Perhaps the steep ghat road had tired the engine.

The return from Ooty to Bangalore via Gudalur was quite scenic. But it was the return trip from Bangalore to Hyderabad where the Red Injun showed its true dynamics. We were able to reach home from Benson Town, Bangalore in 7 hours, despite stopping for 30 minutes for fuel and tea on the way. Speeds according to GPS log varied from 100 to 160. Never did the car disappoint us. The wide and free roads upto Kurnool were fully exploited by this wonder machine.

The only downside of high-speeds was the F.E. The refuel at Kurnool on the return gave us only 12.4, while the onward trip gave us 14.5. The trip from Mysore to Ooty and back gave us also around 12.5 due to ghat roads. AC was on for the entire trip except on the ghat section.

I look forward to many more of such trips.
Here are a few pics:

[intothewild]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I thought I should update my FE figures on the previous page:-

Date Petrol Bunk Odo Litres Mileage
25-May-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 267.8 24.52 10.92
3-Jun-08 IndianOIl Co outlet 172.4 15.12 11.40
22-Jun IndianOIl Full Moon 261.2 22.06 11.84
3-Jul IndianOIl Full Moon 119 9.53 12.48
2-Aug-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 317 25.94 12.22
24-Aug-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 256 22.15 11.55
5-Oct-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 536 44.51 12.04
22-Oct-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 389 35.96 10.81
4-Nov-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 312 24.62 12.67
22-Nov-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 340.6 29.83 11.41

Hi vnabhi,

I have been following your Fiesta ownership thread for some time; thanks for all the information and religious updates!

I must say I'm quite intrigued by your FE figures. I myself own a 2 year old Fiesta 1.6 SXI and have never achieved 10+ FE in 100% city driving conditions. I usually manage 9.2 to 9.4 in city driving conditions with almost 100% AC (I usually keep the setting at the lowest blower level and would sometimes need level 2). My usual drive to office is around 8KM one way through quite a bit of traffic. I usually upshift at around 2000RPM and hate to lug the engine around. This will usually result in me staying in 3rd gear most of the time and sometimes in the 4th at a rare empty stretch. I would be happy if you could answer these:

1. What is your average recent FE figure? The numbers I have quoted from your post were from atleast couple of years (maybe traffic has worsened lately)

2. How much of the quoted figure is in city traffic condition and what percentage of AC usage?

3. When do you upshift? What is the usual gear usage pattern in your drive?

4. Do you use any additive with petrol?

I'm very intrigued because I do not abuse my car and would like to achieve similar FE figures; would also love to hear from other Fiesta posters about their average FE!

Vijay

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by intothewild

4. Do you use any additive with petrol?

would also love to hear from other Fiesta posters about their average FE!

The average FE I am getting for my Fiesta is close to around 14 kmpl mostly for 80% highway and 20% city running. The AC usage is 50%.
I do use the System G additive and till date have been getting somewhat consistent mileage.

[intothewild]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The average FE I am getting for my Fiesta is close to around 14 kmpl mostly for 80% highway and 20% city running. The AC usage is 50%.
I do use the System G additive and till date have been getting somewhat consistent mileage.

Ghodlur, thats quite a good mileage number you manage. But I see that the data is for 80% highway condition; do you have any data on 100% city driving condition?

Vijay

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by intothewild

Hi vnabhi,

I have been following your Fiesta ownership thread for some time; thanks for all the information and religious updates!



1. What is your average recent FE figure? The numbers I have quoted from your post were from atleast couple of years (maybe traffic has worsened lately)

2. How much of the quoted figure is in city traffic condition and what percentage of AC usage?

3. When do you upshift? What is the usual gear usage pattern in your drive?

4. Do you use any additive with petrol?

I'm very intrigued because I do not abuse my car and would like to achieve similar FE figures; would also love to hear from other Fiesta posters about their average FE!

Vijay

Hi Vijay
My updated figures are attached. The FE in city hovers around 11 to 12, if you see from the figures. The AC usage is 100% in April, May and June, and in the rest of the time it is around 40 to 50%.

I used to use System G, but have not used for the past 6 months as it is not in stock in Hyd with the Ford dealer.

I upshift between 2500 to 3000 rpm, and rarely go to 4000 rpm once in a while.

One important parameter is that I leave for work early and return early too, avoiding bumper-to-bumper traffic, and that could be my saviour.

Try driving around 2500 to 2800 rpm range and see if your FE improves.

Good luck.

Fiesta_Fuel.xls

[Fordmanchau]

Quite a record for last 5 five years Venu sir!!
I see you have hit the 15-16kmpl in 2007 and then after you have not achieved those figures!!
As regards to System G, after my current tankful, I put in the system G into the tank,after a gap of almost a year and noticed immediate smoothness and quietness of the engine. With a airport trip last weekend, I hope this time I'll get more than 13kmpl of mileage in city.
I am not sure if Mody ford has this running, but Fortune Ford has a monsoon camp running and I have sent my car for check up today.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Quite a record for last 5 five years Venu sir!!
I see you have hit the 15-16kmpl in 2007 and then after you have not achieved those figures!!
As regards to System G, after my current tankful, I put in the system G into the tank and after a gap of almost a year and noticed immediate smoothness and quietness of the engine. With a airport trip last weekend, I hope this time I'll get more than 13kmpl of mileage in city.
I am not sure if Mody ford has this running, but Fortune Ford has a monsoon camp running and I have sent my car for check up today.

Thanks for the info, but is the camp only for today? I might give them a shot as they are closer to my office.

Yes, I've achieved 16 to 17 in year 1, but that was at speeds of 90 to 110, without AC, with the tacho around 2800 to 3000. But once one gets a taste of power unleashed at triple digit speeds, it is difficult to drive that slow .

I'm sure I can achieve those figures even today, but I desist from mileage runs.

As regards smoothness of engine after using System G, yes, it does sound smoother, but I don't see any improvement in FE. In the absence of System G, I found that revving the engine to around 4000 rpm on the ORR for a few minutes does magic to the smoothness. To cite an example, after my return from Ooty, my car has been extremely smooth for the past month.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I'm sure I can achieve those figures even today, but I desist from mileage runs.

@vnabhi - The mileage you have mentioned in the excel file is not based on the tank fill to tank fill basis right. I could see at one entry you filled 44 ltrs in the tank, I assume its a typo error.
I do agree the engine feels a lot smoother after System G addition during petrol refueling. But I have observed a marginal increase in FE. Maybe my office timings are such that I avoid heavy traffic, hence the noticeable FE increase.