[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

No, I dont have parking sensor nor camera in my Fiesta although few months back was contemplating of putting one. Then realized the rear bumper which already has few scratches can take a few more if at all I mis judge anytime. Thought of getting bumper painted, but costs and ever bulging traffic conditions made me rethink.

I can also put one only after going for a painting in the rear bumper. I have stopped short of doing it now, but want to do it certainly by March/April next year. If the classic's indigenously made bumper costs this much, what will be the case with the new Fiesta?

Vipin.

[vnabhi]

Sorry for my late response. I was in Sri Lanka for a week when the posts above were made, so completely missed it.

As regards bumper cost, I'd got my front bumper painted a couple of years ago, which cost me Rs 2500. At that point of time, another bhpian said I could have gone for a new one at the same cost. It was that post that led me to believe that I'd done a foolish thing. But now it looks like that person had only referred to the cost of the raw bumper, and not taken into account the cost of painting it.

As regards reverse camera, I do have one, but have not been using it from the time my windscreen was changed. This is because the IRVM fell down soon after I returned home with the new windscreen. When I took it to the service center the next day, they applied that special adhesive and it has stuck for good since then. But as an additional mirror needs to be mounted on the IRVM to get the camera to work, I have not so far dared to do it, though it is out of sheer laziness now. Initially I was scared that with the extra weight, the IRVM might get dislodged again.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by rapideffect

Anyways the throttle body of my fiesta has got replaced under warranty by SC ford.

I have noticed one thing during the problem stage as If I accelerate immediately to rpm level around 3K on starting the car , the exclamation mark warning light didn't appeared.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks for the hint---I'd have tried it had I known earlier. But was your problem also during wintery early morning starts?

Originally Posted by rapideffect

Yes my problem too happened during this winter.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

In my case, I'm heaving a sigh of relief that the symptom vanished on its own.

The winter effect is only a hypothesis, but at least 3 of us have had this symptom only in winter.

It looks like my hypothesis is true. The winter syndrome seems to strike again.

The temperature in Hyderabad plummeted in the last few days. So when I started my car on Saturday (after a gap of 3 days). the dreaded light did not go off again. But it vanished soon after switching off and re-starting the car.

But it did not happen yesterday. So it looks like this is more or less a winter syndrome that I have to live with, unless things get worse. I wonder why the A.S.S has not seen this from the winter angle.

[vnabhi]

I've been getting a few PMs for the maintenance cost of the Red Injun. I know it takes a bit of effort to scan through this long ownership thread to get to know them.

Therefore, attached is a summary of my service costs over the past 68 months of ownership. The service costs are reasonable in my opinion. The only costs that have increased are the price of oil, filters for oil, AC etc., apart from labour charges.

There was a 3-fold increase in some filter costs this April (something that used to cost Rs 90 is now around Rs 300), but that does not pinch much. My latest service cost was Rs 9141, which comprises of Rs 2700 worth of front windscreen film (it has 95% VLT and has escaped cops so far). Minus that, the cost is around Rs 6400, up from the 4 K margin in the previous years.

Comparatively, even my WagonR's service costs have seen a similar increase. And compared to Hyundai (my pal owns an i-20 crdi), it is a lot more reasonable.

Fiesta Service Cost.xlsx

[vnabhi]

Usage of the Red Injun has taken a mild hit after we got the Figo. Normally my son uses the Figo, but I do use it to drop my wife whenever she gets training classes, and this week she was engaged on all 5 days. The normal rule I've set is that whoever needs to go the farthest gets to use the Figo, as it makes sense to spend Rs 3+ per km instead of Rs 6+.

As the Red Injun was lying unused for nearly this whole week, I decided to use it despite having to drop my wife today. I've said this before and I'm saying it again--nothing comes close to driving a Fiesta with a 1.6 Duratec Sigma engine ! Despite the Figo tdci having minimal turbolag and equal handling, it does not hold a candle to the tremendous grunt the Duratec has, both at the low end and top end. And the addictive snarl is something I was missing in the Figo. This apart, after getting used to the Fiesta, I sometimes feel the Figo is running on punctured tyres!

To make up for my neglect, I took the longer route via ORR again today to office to put the Red Injun to its paces. The rush of power on top gear even from 100 to 150 kmph never failed from causing a gush on my face. Alas, the stretch was too short to go faster. So finally I will be crossing 37 K on the odo today! And every km was a km enjoyed to the hilt.

As for the dreaded engine/ drive train warning light, it came on twice this winter on early morning starts, when the outside temperature was below 22 deg C. No issues so far with the car. It has really lived up to its image of a 'poor man's BMW'!

[ghodlur]

Venu sir,

I can only nod in agreement to your words regarding the Fiesta. Although I have been getting a good mileage in my Platinum beast, as an alternative was trying something as an experiment. Take the Fiesta on Mon & Tues to office and use public transport on rest of the weekdays. Believe keeping myself away from Fiesta for 3 days is a torture. But since I have decided to experiment for a month, I will have to hold myself back. My fiesta is due for its service in the last week of Dec.

I can see from your excel file which you posted earlier that you got your Fiesta serviced after a year, dont you have to get it serviced every 6 months? Also what was the Wurth windshield film?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Venu sir,

I can only nod in agreement to your words regarding the Fiesta. Although I have been getting a good mileage in my Platinum beast, as an alternative was trying something as an experiment. Take the Fiesta on Mon & Tues to office and use public transport on rest of the weekdays. Believe keeping myself away from Fiesta for 3 days is a torture. But since I have decided to experiment for a month, I will have to hold myself back. My fiesta is due for its service in the last week of Dec.

I can see from your excel file which you posted earlier that you got your Fiesta serviced after a year, dont you have to get it serviced every 6 months? Also what was the Wurth windshield film?

Hi ghodlur. Nice to see that you're in the same plight when it comes to abstaining from driving the Duratec!

As regards service, as my car is out of warranty, and also because mileage is not much, I've decided to get it serviced once in a year or so. I've had many calls from the dealer, but politely declined after stating this reason.

Wurth sunfilm was being sold by the dealer when the car went in for last service. It was given at a discounted price of Rs 2800 instead of Rs 4000. As it had 95% VLT, I went in for it, despite knowing that Hyd police will crack down on films that month. So far I've gotten away, but I did remove the film on the windows and the rear glass.

[toothless]

A Duratec being kept safe in a garage? Thats not what its meant for! I mean, yeah the petrol prices are making it difficult to enjoy the ride but once you are behind the wheel, its all worth it
Oh well actually my weekly average is less than a 100 kms so I manage to get by.
Anyhow, Vnabhi, hope you got rid of the sunfilm now.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by toothless

A Duratec being kept safe in a garage? Thats not what its meant for! I mean, yeah the petrol prices are making it difficult to enjoy the ride but once you are behind the wheel, its all worth it
Oh well actually my weekly average is less than a 100 kms so I manage to get by.
Anyhow, Vnabhi, hope you got rid of the sunfilm now.

I fully agree! My car has covered 7000 kms this year--the highest so far. This is mainly due to the Ooty trip in June. But in the past 2 months, it has done only 550 kms, as I was using the new Figo on and off.

Despite the Figo seeming to be a better handler owing to upsized Michellins, I still feel that I'm driving a Fiesta on punctured tyres, especially when I try to gun the engine. It is only when I get back to the Duratec that I get to feel 'ecstacy' behind the wheel.

My plan for 2013 is to use the Fiesta as much as possible till the new fiscal so that I can change the tyres to XM2s, as I'd done on the Figo. Hope to cross 40 K by then, though it sounds ambitious.

[unni.ak]

When did you get a Figo!! Good to know that you have been keeping the Duratec ticking. I love the rev happy engine, even though I own a Duratorq. Keep mile munching. Don't let her be idle. It helps with handling and the feel to get Michelins or Yokos. The change is evident.

[vnabhi]

Thanks @unni.ak. Figo was purchased on Oct 18th under company-lease scheme. It is mainly used by my son, though I've used it on and off when the distance to be covered is more.

Now here's an update on the Fiesta. Last year, on New Year day, the stock CD changer was not playing CDs as one had got stuck in it. I got it fixed by a local expert for Rs 1500, instead of going to Ford A.S.S, who said it would cost around Rs 4000 and would take more than a week as the player would have to be sent to Ford, Chennai.

Today (exactly a year later), the reverse lights stopped working. I noticed them flickering on and off in the past 2 weeks and thought it was some loose connection. Today, they refused to switch on, despite repeated efforts.

As I was off from work today, I took it to Mody Ford, who immediately diagnosed it as a reverse gear switch failure. I got it replaced, and it cost Rs 1121 including Rs 96 labour, VAT, etc. A bit expensive indeed for a switch, but considering the fact that the car was nearly 6 years old, I felt it is acceptable to have few part failures.

What I liked was that the car was given back in 15 minutes, though there were other cars getting serviced. Even the couple of SAs I had rapport with were on leave, but the new guy (who'd serviced my Figo) was quite adept in his job.

As an added bonus, when I also pointed out that the left fog lamp was hanging loose (caused by bumper twist 3 years ago--refer post 135 on page 9 of this thread), he immediately took the car to the ramp, elevated it, and then manually adjusted it to the extent possible. This manual adjustment is needed whenever it hangs loose, as the supporting bracket was broken, and I did not want to spend 5 K on a set of fogs. I used to get this jugaad done whenever the car was serviced.

What was more re-assuring was that this new guy (Mr Sharath) assured me that he'd carry out a permanent fix when I got the car serviced next. Very kind of him indeed.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Hi ghodlur. Nice to see that you're in the same plight when it comes to abstaining from driving the Duratec!

Venu sir,

Seems like the torture days are over. Couple of colleagues from office has asked me for car pooling since we all stay in the nearby premises only. I happily obliged knowing that I got an opportunity to ride the Fiesta every day to office with the fuel costs being shared now. My Fiesta has completed 32K and is going for service this weekend. Now this service would also be the 30K service, so what is done apart from the regular service. Any ideas?

Should I also opt for 3M services from Ford? Are they worth it?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Venu sir,

Seems like the torture days are over. Couple of colleagues from office has asked me for car pooling since we all stay in the nearby premises only. I happily obliged knowing that I got an opportunity to ride the Fiesta every day to office with the fuel costs being shared now. My Fiesta has completed 32K and is going for service this weekend. Now this service would also be the 30K service, so what is done apart from the regular service. Any ideas?

Should I also opt for 3M services from Ford? Are they worth it?

Good to know about your car pool plan. Happy driving!

I don't think you need to ask for any specific check, unless you are experiencing some problem. You can get your suspension and brake pads checked. Perhaps you could ask for throttle body cleaning.

I'm not sure what is 3M service from Ford. Could you please elaborate? And why not go to 3M directly instead?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I don't think you need to ask for any specific check, unless you are experiencing some problem. You can get your suspension and brake pads checked. Perhaps you could ask for throttle body cleaning.

I'm not sure what is 3M service from Ford. Could you please elaborate? And why not go to 3M directly instead?

The reason I asked is apart from the regular 6month/10K servicing is there anything which needs to be done once the car clocks 30K. .
There is no seperate 3M stores in Thane. Their dealership/distributor for Thane is Shreeji Ford which is the only Ford Workshop in Thane. Also at this Ford workshop, its not Ford who does the detailing but 3M guys only. Just wanted to know if someone had got the 3M detailing doen through Ford workshop? Last time I enquired it was to cost around 3500/-.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The reason I asked is apart from the regular 6month/10K servicing is there anything which needs to be done once the car clocks 30K. .
There is no seperate 3M stores in Thane. Their dealership/distributor for Thane is Shreeji Ford which is the only Ford Workshop in Thane. Also at this Ford workshop, its not Ford who does the detailing but 3M guys only. Just wanted to know if someone had got the 3M detailing doen through Ford workshop? Last time I enquired it was to cost around 3500/-.

Then in that case you can give 3M a shot. My colleague got is new Cruze detailed in 3M at Hyderabad and is quite happy with the outcome.

Ford has a standard checklist for 30 K and 60 K service, but I don't remember what was done on my car. My car got the 60 K service done last year, though it had clocked only 30 K !